VOA常速英语2021--拜登将2021年难民收容上限增至6.25万人

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday he will pardon nine imprisoned¹ Catalan separatists who've been charged with sedition² over their roles in a 2017 referendum on Catalan independence. The announcement came during a speech in Catalonia's capital, Barcelona, about the future of the region. Sanchez said his cabinet would approve the pardons on Tuesday. Twelve separatists were convicted and given long prison sentences for their roles in holding the banned secession referendum in 2017. They then declared independence a few days after the results. Unionists boycotted³ the referendum, which was held amid a large police presence intent on stopping it. The pardons have been a divisive issue in the rest of Spain. National polling indicates 60 percent of Spaniards oppose them. Earlier this month, thousands opposed to the pardons took to the streets in Madrid to protest the idea and call for Sanchez's resignation.

西班牙首相佩德罗·桑切斯周一表示，他将赦免9名被监禁的加泰罗尼亚分离主义者，他们被控在2017年加泰罗尼亚独立公投中参与煽动叛乱。这一消息是首相在加泰罗尼亚首都巴塞罗那发表有关该地区未来的讲话时宣布的。桑切斯表示，他的内阁将在周二批准赦免。12名分离主义分子因2017年参与举行被禁止的分离主义公投而被定罪，并被判处长期监禁。他们随后在公投结果公布几天后宣布独立。统一派抵制公投，他们在公投举行时派遣大批警察驻扎，意图进行阻止。赦免问题在西班牙其他地区一直争议不断。全国民调显示，60%的西班牙人反对赦免。本月早些时候，数千名反对赦免的人走上马德里街头，抗议这一想法，并要求桑切斯辞职。

U.N. High Commissioner⁴ for Refugees Filippo Grandi says the asylum⁵ system in the United States has become "unmanageable" and that his agency supports, quote, "a gradual improvement toward a more effective and humane⁶ migration⁷ system." In an interview with VOA, Grandi said reform is a complex operation that will take years to achieve, but he added he is encouraged by what he has seen from the Biden White House after a big cut in resettlements during the Trump⁸ administration. The maximum number of refugees allowed into the United States fell from 85,000 in 2016 to just 18,000 in 2020. The Biden administration has boosted the cap to 62,500 refugee admissions this year and says it hopes to push the number to 125,000 sometime in the future.

联合国难民事务高级专员格兰迪表示，美国的庇护制度已经变得“难以控制”，他所在的机构支持“逐步改善，建立一个更加有效和人道的移民制度”格兰迪在接受美国之音采访时说，改革是一项复杂的行动，需要数年才能实现，但他补充说，在特朗普政府期间大幅削减移民安置后，他从拜登政府看到的情况令他感到鼓舞。允许进入美国的难民人数上限从2016年的8.5万人下降到2020年的1.8万人。拜登政府今年已将难民收容上限提高到6.25万人，并表示希望在未来某个时候将这一数字提高到12.5万人。

Afghanistan's former president said Sunday the United States came to his country to fight extremism and bring stability to his war-tortured nation and is leaving nearly 20 years later having failed at both. In an interview with AP just weeks before the last U.S. and NATO troops leave Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai said extremism is at its "highest point" and the departing troops are leaving behind a disaster. Still, Karzai, who had a conflicted relationship with the United States during his 13 years in office, wanted the troops to leave. He said Afghans were united behind an overwhelming desire for peace and need now to take responsibility for their future. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton, VOA News.

阿富汗前总统星期天说，美国来到阿富汗是为了打击极端主义，给饱受战争折磨的阿富汗带来稳定。将近20年后，美国在这两方面都失败了，即将离开阿富汗。卡尔扎伊在接受美联社采访时说，就在最后一批美军和北约部队离开阿富汗的前几周，极端主义正“空前高涨”，撤离的部队将留下一场灾难。不过，卡尔扎伊在任13年期间与美国关系矛盾，他希望军队离开。他说，阿富汗人因对和平的强烈渴望而团结在一起,现在他们需要为自己的未来承担责任。我是玛丽莎·梅尔顿，为您远程报道美国之音新闻。

1 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

2 sedition   

n.煽动叛乱

参考例句：

• Government officials charged him with sedition.政府官员指控他煽动人们造反。
• His denial of sedition was a denial of violence.他对煽动叛乱的否定又是对暴力的否定。

3 boycotted   

抵制，拒绝参加( boycott的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Athletes from several countries boycotted the Olympic Games. 有好几国的运动员抵制奥林匹克运动会。
• The opposition party earlier boycotted the Diet agenda, demanding Miyaji's resignation. 反对党曾杯葛国会议程，要宫路下台。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

6 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

7 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。