VOA慢速英語:US Farmers Keep Eye on Immigration Reform

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語農(nóng)業(yè)報道。

Farmers in the United States are experiencing a shortage of people to work their fields. The workers they do have are mostly from Latin America but enter the country with false documents. Farmers say that without immigration reform, both problems will continue.

美國農(nóng)場主正缺耕種土地的人手。他們急需的工人多大來自拉丁美洲，但他們都持假證件進(jìn)入美國。農(nóng)場主表示，如果不進(jìn)行移民改革，這兩個問題都將繼續(xù)。

Imperial Valley is an agricultural area near the border of the western state of California and Mexico. Temperatures there are always above 38 degrees Celsius in the summer month, as a result, not much grows in the Imperial Valley at this time of year, but in the winter the fields are filled with lettuce and celery. And in the spring, farmers grow foods like cantaloupes and watermelons.

帝王谷(Imperial Valley)是西部的加利福尼亞州和墨西哥之間邊境附近的一個農(nóng)業(yè)區(qū)。這里夏天的氣溫常常在38度以上，因此，每年的這個時間帝王谷都沒種什么。但在冬天，這里的田地里滿是生菜和芹菜。而在春天，農(nóng)場主會種植哈密瓜和西瓜等。

There is work to do in the fields in the summer, Francisco Saucedo uses farm equipment to prepare the land for planting in the autumn. He lives in Mexico and wakes up in the middle of the night everyday, so he can avoid long lines at the border crossing.

夏天地里也有活可干，弗朗西斯科·薩瑟多(Francisco Saucedo)會使用農(nóng)機(jī)設(shè)備平整土地以待秋種。他住在墨西哥，每天半夜起床，這樣就能避免過境的長隊。

Mr Saucedo says that if he did this kind of work in Mixico, he would earn about $6 a day. But in the United States, he makes as much as $90 a day.

薩瑟多先生表示，如果在墨西哥做這類工作他每天可以賺到6美元。但在美國，他每天可以賺到多達(dá)90美元。

Farmer Larry Cox says growing and harvesting vegetables depends on immigrants or day laborers from Mexico, but he says not enough migrants are crossing the border.

農(nóng)場主拉里·考克斯(Larry Cox)表示種植和收獲蔬菜依賴來自墨西哥的移民或短工，但他表示越境的移居者還不夠多。

"We have had a chronic shortage of help almost for the last 10 years."

他說，“最近十年我們一直存在長期的勞動力短缺。”

Larry Cox says it has been difficult getting visas to work in the United States, as a result, many farm workers from Latin America carry fake documents.

考克斯表示，獲得美國工作簽證一直都很難。因此許多拉丁美洲的農(nóng)場工人都有假證件。

Western Growers President Tom Nassif says there are about 11 million workers in the United States with false documents, over 1 million of them work in agriculture.

西部農(nóng)場主協(xié)會(Western Growers)的主席湯姆·納斯夫(Tom Nassif)表示，美國大約有1100萬攜帶假證件的工人，其中有100萬以上從事農(nóng)業(yè)。

Mr Nassif has been working with American lawmakers on immigration reform. He supports of bill to legalize the workers who are already in the United States. The bill will provide a way for the workers to become American citizens in the future. The Senate has approved the measure.

納斯夫一直在移民改革方面同美國國會議員合作。他支持參議院讓已經(jīng)在美國的工人合法化的議案。該法案為工人未來成為美國公民提供了一種途徑。參議院已經(jīng)批準(zhǔn)了這項措施。

The United Farm Workers Foundation represents the farm workers. It supports the Senate bill. The group's Erica Lomeli says immigration reform will improve the working conditions of many migrants.

美國農(nóng)場工人基金會代表了美國的農(nóng)場工人。該組織支持這項參議院議案。該組織的埃里卡·洛美莉(Erica Lomeli)表示，移民改革可以改善許多移居者的工作條件。

"So they will have a right to stand up for themselves and not be intimidated or in many states be put in slave-like positions."

她說，“這樣他們就能有權(quán)利為自己維權(quán)，不會被嚇到，不會在許多州被當(dāng)作奴隸對待。”

American Jack Vessey owns a farm. he says without immigration reform, the labor shortage on farms will continue, as a result, he says, Americans might have to pay more for fruits and vegetables.

美國人杰克·維西(Jack Vessey)有家農(nóng)場。他說如果不進(jìn)行移民改革，農(nóng)場的勞動力短缺就會繼續(xù)，這樣一來，美國人在水果和蔬菜上就得花更多錢。