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新視野大學(xué)英語(yǔ)讀寫教程第二冊(cè)u(píng)nit9-a Stop Brain Drain

所屬教程:新視野大學(xué)英語(yǔ)讀寫教程第二冊(cè)

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Unit 9

Section A

Pre-reading Activities

First Listening
Please listen to a short passage carefully and prepare to answer some questions.

Second Listening
Listen to the tape again. Then answer the following questions with your own experiences.
1) Why do you think big countries and big companies offer jobs to people from abroad?
2) One of your friends wants to accept a job overseas. What advice would you give him/her?
3) If a company hires many people from a different country, does it have any responsibilities toward that country? Explain your answer.

Stop Brain Drain

A bill now before Congress would give preferential treatment to foreign students with advanced degrees in science and engineering who want to work in the United States.
To those of us who are immigrants, the bill seems simply to sanction a policy secretly implemented by U.S. industry for nearly four decades — namely, stealing brains from the third world.
In general, the "21st Century Technology Resources and Commercial Leadership Act", which Sen. John McCain brought to the Senate in late 1999, is designed to keep the U.S. high-tech industry on top by filling the need for skilled technology workers. One provision of the bill states that, among non-immigrant visa applicants, the state should give preference to foreign nationals with secondary degrees in math, science, engineering or technology. Such a provision would provide "temporary skilled personnel" in those fields.
During the 1960s and 1970s, politicians in my native country, India, used to wave the slogan "Stop Brain Drain" — a reference to the fact that the cream of India was leaving for the lucrative shores of England and America.
In that post-independence era, when everything foreign was considered contaminated by colonialism, we talked of cottage industries and economic imperialism. We threw Coca-Cola out and invented "Thumbs Up Cola".
But it was also the era of Sputnik, of nuclear power and the green revolution. Every year, on Independence Day, our Prime Minister Nehru spoke of the benefits of science and technology.
Our institutes of technology, built with European and American aid, offered students free room and board, even salary. Indian taxpayers footed the bill in the hope that one day the graduates would help reconstruct the nation.
I was one such student. But studying my textbooks late at night in the library of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), I would dream, not of India, but of America, the land of opportunity. Many students like me, indeed, left during those years, never to return.
So our government set up special programs to tempt foreign graduates. Our leaders saw parallels to the independence movement founded by people like Nehru and Gandhi who, after absorbing Western political thought at institutions like Eton and Oxford, returned home to serve their native land.
But few foreign graduates came home to "pay their pledge", as Nehru had put it. Our leaders had failed to see that the emphasis on symbol manipulation at IIT left little room for social thought and much scope for the greedy outcomes of capital-driven business.
Over the next two decades, IIT graduates — educated at the expense of Indian taxpayers — played a major role in founding California's Silicon Valley. The personal computer revolution and the invention of the Internet made the demand for skilled labor mushroom to such tremendous proportions that even if every American child were to study nothing but science from now on, we would be unable to keep pace with demand in the decades to come.
In other words, the legislation would benefit not immigrants, but American industry which would be crippled without it. In India in the meantime, the entire education system has shifted gears to feed the appetite of the American computer industry. As IIT cannot graduate enough students to fill these needs, every street corner now sports billboards for private academies offering certificates in computer programming.
At a book show in my hometown of Nagpur recently, large crowds of young people examined books on engineering and software.
Comments about "Brain Drain" don't hold much water when every politician has a son or daughter aiming to go abroad.
And why bother rebuilding the nation when the only goal is to abandon it? At the Nagpur book show, for example, the latest American social publications were conspicuous by their absence and India's politically conscious leadership has been replaced by a new generation, riding on the wave of the Internet, making fortunes within a span of years.
This new leadership has abandoned all talk of economic imperialism in favor of market economics. Indians now put flowers around Bill Gates' neck and offer him the kind of reception once offered only to the Queen. And Thumbs Up is a branch of Coca-Cola.
Mid-sized cities like Bangalore are now the Silicon Valleys of India — their workers generate demand for the very products that they produce. But the nation is slowly disintegrating. India's population recently hit 1 billion, but its interior framework in water, transportation and health care is fast falling apart; its citizens breathe air that is dangerously polluted.
India had gone from an agricultural society to the cyber-revolution, without passing through intermediate stages such as the welfare state and the creation of social services.
Perhaps it is time to pass legislation calling for a "Brain Trust". Funded by corporations like Microsoft and Intel which have drained India of its brains for decades, the trust could set up new institutes in India aimed at training students not in symbol manipulation, but in social thought. Such an effort is our only hope of creating the social structure needed in the next century.
Words: 840

NEW WORDS

drain
n. 1. [C] anything that continuously uses up sb.'s strength,time, money, etc. 不斷消耗(力量、時(shí)間、金錢)的事
2. [C] a pipe to carry away the unwanted water 排水管(道),下水道
v. (cause to) become dry as water or sth. similar flows off; (cause to) flow away (使)漸漸流干;(使)逐漸流出

Congress
n. the highest law-making body e.g. of the U.S. 國(guó)會(huì)(立法機(jī)關(guān),如美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì))

advanced
a. 1. not elementary 高級(jí)的,高深的,程度高的
2. highly developed 先進(jìn)的

immigrant
n. [C] a person who has come into a foreign country in order to live there permanently (外來(lái))移民,僑民

namely
ad. (and) that is (to say) 即,即是

commercial
a. 1. of business practices and activities generally 商業(yè)(上)的,商務(wù)的
2. making or intended to make a profit 商業(yè)性的,贏利或以贏利為目的的

leadership
n. 1. [U] being a leader 領(lǐng)導(dǎo)
2. [U] the ability to be a leader 領(lǐng)導(dǎo)能力

senate
n. [U] 上議院,參議院

skilled
a. 1. experienced; trained 有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的,訓(xùn)練有素的
2. (of work) needing skill (指工作)需要技能的

provision
n. 1. [C] a statement within an agreement or a law that a particular thing must happen or be done 規(guī)定,條款
2. (pl.) supplies of food and other necessary things 給養(yǎng),供應(yīng)物
3. [U] giving, lending, supplying or making sth. available; providing sth. 提供,供應(yīng),供給

▲visa
n. [C] an official mark made in a passport which allows one to enter or leave a particular country (護(hù)照上的)簽證

applicant
n. [C] a person who formally applies for or requests sth., esp. a job or a place at college or university 申請(qǐng)人

▲slogan
n. [C] a short easily-remembered phrase intended to bring an idea or a product to public notice 標(biāo)語(yǔ),口號(hào),廣告語(yǔ)

reference
n. 1. [C] a statement, etc. speaking of or mentioning sb./sth. 提到,說(shuō)到,暗示
2. [U] information or instructions to look at for help 查看,查閱,參考

◆lucrative
a. bringing in plenty of money; profitable 賺錢的,可獲利的

independence
n. [U] state of not being dependent on others 獨(dú)立,自主,自立

post-independence
a. [U] 獨(dú)立后的

era
n. [C] a period of time that is marked by particular events or developments 時(shí)代,歷史時(shí)期

▲colonial
a. of, relating to or having a colony or colonies 殖民地的

colonialism
n. [U] the belief in and support for the system of one country controlling another 殖民主義

▲imperial
a. of a large powerful country or its ruler(s) 帝國(guó)的,皇帝的

imperialism
n. 1. [U] a country's efforts to have a lot of power and influence over other countries, esp. in political and economic matters 勢(shì)力擴(kuò)張
2. [U] a system in which a country rules other countries 帝國(guó)主義

thumb
n. [C] (手的)拇指
v. get a free ride by raising the thumb as a signal 站在路邊豎起拇指要求免費(fèi)搭車

prime
a. 1. most important 最重要的,主要的,根本的
2. of the best quality; excellent 最佳的,第一流的
n. [U] state or time of greatest strength, beauty, energy, etc. 青春,壯年,全盛時(shí)期

institute
n. [C] an organization which exists so that its members can do a particular job (esp. educational or social work), or the buildings which it uses 組織,機(jī)構(gòu),學(xué)院

textbook
n. [C] a book with detailed information about a subject for people who are studying that subject 教科書,課本

parallel
n. 1. [C] sth. very similar to sth. else; (a point of) similarity 可相比擬的事物;相似處
2. [C] a line that is always at the same distance from another line 平行線
a. (of two or more straight lines) having the same distance between each other at every point 平行的

pledge
n. [C] a promise, or sth. that is given as a sign that one will keep a promise 誓言,誓約,保證
vt. give one's word as a pledge 發(fā)誓,保證

▲manipulate
vt. 1. control (sb./sth.) to one's advantage 操縱,控制
2. work with skillful use of the hands 操作,使用

manipulation
n. [C, U] act of manipulating or being manipulated 操縱,控制

scope
n. 1. [U] the chance of doing sth. 余地,機(jī)會(huì)
2. [U] the range of a subject covered by a book, program, discussion, class, etc. 范圍

outcome
n. [C] (usu. sing.) a result or effect of an action 結(jié)果,后果

■capital-driven
a. driven by the desire of getting more capital 為資本所驅(qū)動(dòng)的

▲silicon
n. [U] 硅

mushroom
vi. spread or increase in number quickly 迅速蔓延,迅速增加
n. [C] 蘑菇,傘菌

legislation
n. 1. [U] the laws made 法律
2. [U] action of making laws 立法

shift
v. (cause to) move or change from one position or direction to another 移動(dòng),轉(zhuǎn)變,轉(zhuǎn)移
n. 1. [C] a change of place, nature, form, etc. 移動(dòng),改變,轉(zhuǎn)變
2. [C] a group of workers who do a job for a period of time during the day or night; the period of time itself 輪班職工;輪班

gear
n. 1. [C] (usu. pl.) (汽車的)排擋
2. [U] equipment, clothes, etc. that you use to do a particular activity 裝備,用具,衣著
vt. organize, make ready or prepare a person or place for a particular event or type of activity 使準(zhǔn)備好,使適應(yīng)

appetite
n. [C] a desire or need for sth. esp. food 胃口,欲望

■billboard
n. a high fence or board on which large advertisements are stuck 廣告的招貼牌

academy
n. 1. [C] a school for special training 專科學(xué)校
2. [C] an organization intended to advance art, science, language, etc. 學(xué)會(huì);研究院

software
n. [U] the instructions which control what a computer does; computer programs (計(jì)算機(jī))軟件,程序

abandon
vt. leave (a place, thing or person) forever; stop doing sth. before you have finished it 拋棄,遺棄;放棄

reception
n. 1. [U] (usu. sing.) a particular kind of welcome 接待,招待,歡迎
2. [U] way in which sb./sth. is received 反應(yīng)

integrate
v. combine sth. in such a way that it becomes fully a part of sth. else 連接(各部)使成一整體,(使)結(jié)合,(使)完全,(使)并入

disintegrate
vi. (cause to) break into small parts or pieces (使)分裂,(使)分解

billion
n. [C] 10億

framework
n. [C] a supporting structure around which sth. can be built 框架,構(gòu)架,結(jié)構(gòu)

transportation
n. [U] a means or system of carrying passengers or goods from one place to another 運(yùn)輸(系統(tǒng)),交通(系統(tǒng))

■cyber-revolution
n. 網(wǎng)絡(luò)革命

intermediate
a. 1. placed or coming between two people, things, etc. in time, space, degree, etc. (在時(shí)間、空間、程度方面)中間的,居中的
2. between elementary and advanced 中級(jí)的

PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS

in general
mainly; mostly; usually 主要地;大部分;通常

on top
in a better or higher position 處于領(lǐng)先地位

talk of
talk about; mention 談?wù)?;提?br />
throw sth. out
throw sth. useless or unwanted away 扔掉,處理掉某物

thumbs up
an indication that sth. is seen as good or has official recognition 伸出大拇指表示接受或贊成的手勢(shì)

speak of
talk about; mention 談及,提到,講到

foot the bill
be responsible for paying the cost of sth.付賬

in the hope that
because of the wish that 懷著……希望

keep pace with
move forward, develop or increase at the same rate (as sb./sth.) (與……)同速前進(jìn),(與……)并駕齊驅(qū)

in other words
expressed in a different way; that is to say 換句話說(shuō),也就是說(shuō)

in the meantime
meanwhile (與此)同時(shí)

hold water
(of an argument, an excuse, a theory, etc.) be able to stand up to examination or testing; be valid (指辯論、辯解、理論等)經(jīng)得起檢驗(yàn),站得住腳

in favor of
in support of; approving of 支持;贊同

call for
require, demand or need sth. 需求,要求

drain sb./sth. of sth.
make sb./sth. weaker, poorer, etc. by gradually using up his/its strength, money, etc. 使逐漸耗盡(力量、金錢等)

PROPER NAMES

John McCain
約翰·麥卡蓋因

Coca-Cola
可口可樂(lè)(一種飲料,商標(biāo)名)

Thumbs Up Cola
頂呱呱可樂(lè)(一種類似可口可樂(lè)的飲料, 商標(biāo)名)

Sputnik
(蘇聯(lián))人造地球衛(wèi)星

Nehru
尼赫魯(1899-1964,印度獨(dú)立后首任總理[1947-1964]、國(guó)大黨主席[1929-1964],萬(wàn)隆會(huì)議和不結(jié)盟運(yùn)動(dòng)倡導(dǎo)人之一)

Gandhi
甘地(1869-1948,印度民族解放運(yùn)動(dòng)領(lǐng)袖,有"圣雄"之稱,印度國(guó)大黨主席[1925-1934],首倡"非暴力抵抗",多次發(fā)動(dòng)反英"不合作運(yùn)動(dòng)",領(lǐng)導(dǎo)爭(zhēng)取印度獨(dú)立的斗爭(zhēng),印度獨(dú)立[1947]后,被印度教極右分子暗殺)

Eton
伊頓(英國(guó)英格蘭南部城鎮(zhèn),在倫敦之西,是著名的伊頓公學(xué)的所在地)

Oxford
牛津(英國(guó)英格蘭中南部城市,牛津郡首府和牛津大學(xué)所在地)

Silicon Valley
硅谷(舊金山東南圣克拉拉谷的別稱,美國(guó)主要微電子公司集中于此)

Nagpur
那格浦爾(印度中部城市)

Bangalore
班加羅爾(印度南部城市)

Microsoft
微軟公司

Intel
英特爾公司

 

    制止人才外流                                                                                                               
    一份議案已遞交到了國(guó)會(huì),這一議案要求給予那些想在美國(guó)工作、具有理科和工程學(xué)科高級(jí)學(xué)位的外國(guó)留學(xué)生以優(yōu)厚待遇。
    對(duì)我們這些移民來(lái)說(shuō),這一議案只不過(guò)是正式批準(zhǔn)一項(xiàng)美國(guó)工業(yè)界已秘密地執(zhí)行了近40年的政策而已--即從第三世界竊取人才的政策。
    總的說(shuō)來(lái),參議員約翰·麥凱恩在1999年下半年遞交給參議院的"21世紀(jì)技術(shù)人才資源及商業(yè)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人才法案"是為了填補(bǔ)美國(guó)對(duì)熟練技術(shù)人員的需求, 以保持美國(guó)在高科技工業(yè)中的領(lǐng)先地位而制訂的。 該議案的一項(xiàng)條款規(guī)定:在非移民簽證申請(qǐng)者中,政府應(yīng)優(yōu)先考慮給那些具有數(shù)學(xué)、自然科學(xué)、工程或技術(shù)方面中級(jí)學(xué)位的外國(guó)公民, 這一條款可以為這些領(lǐng)域提供"臨時(shí)性的技術(shù)人員"。
    在20世紀(jì)60和70年代,我的祖國(guó)印度的政客們常常喊著"制止人才外流"的口號(hào), 所指的是這樣一個(gè)事實(shí): 印度的精英們正在離開(kāi)印度,到能到掙錢的國(guó)家--英國(guó)和美國(guó)去。
    在獨(dú)立后的時(shí)代里, 當(dāng)每一樣舶來(lái)貨都被認(rèn)為含有殖民主義的毒素的時(shí)候,我們談?wù)摰氖羌彝バ」I(yè)和經(jīng)濟(jì)帝國(guó)主義。 我們把可口可樂(lè)扔出去,然后發(fā)明了"頂呱呱可樂(lè)"。
    但這也是個(gè)衛(wèi)星、核能和綠色革命的時(shí)代。 每年的獨(dú)立日,我們的總理尼赫魯都要講一講科學(xué)技術(shù)的好處。
    我們的技術(shù)學(xué)院是用歐洲和美國(guó)的援助建造的,向?qū)W生們提供免費(fèi)膳宿,甚至還給發(fā)薪水。 印度的納稅人支付著稅單,希望有朝一日大學(xué)的畢業(yè)生們能幫助重建這個(gè)國(guó)家。
    我就是這其中的一個(gè)學(xué)生。 但是, 當(dāng)我深夜在印度技術(shù)學(xué)院的圖書館里啃著書本的時(shí)候,我腦子經(jīng)常想的不是印度,而是美國(guó)這個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)之國(guó)。 許多同我一樣的學(xué)生確實(shí)在那幾年里離開(kāi)了印度,再也不會(huì)回來(lái)了。
    所以我國(guó)政府制訂了專項(xiàng)計(jì)劃來(lái)吸引海外留學(xué)生。 我們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人看到了與諸如尼赫魯和甘地這樣的人所發(fā)起的獨(dú)立運(yùn)動(dòng)類似的情況:他們?cè)谝令D和牛津這樣的學(xué)府里吸收了西方的政治思想后,就回來(lái)報(bào)效自己的祖國(guó)。
    但是只有寥寥無(wú)幾的海外留學(xué)生像尼赫魯所說(shuō)的那樣學(xué)成后回國(guó)"履行他們的諾言"。 我們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人沒(méi)有看到,當(dāng)印度技術(shù)學(xué)院在重視計(jì)算機(jī)編程的時(shí)候,幾乎沒(méi)有留下任何空間讓學(xué)生們?nèi)リP(guān)心社會(huì), 卻給受資本驅(qū)使的企業(yè)的貪欲留下了極大的空間。
    在接下來(lái)的20年中,印度技術(shù)學(xué)院的畢業(yè)生們--那些用印度納稅人的錢培養(yǎng)出來(lái)的畢業(yè)生--卻在加利福尼亞硅谷的創(chuàng)建過(guò)程中發(fā)揮了主要作用。 個(gè)人電腦革命和因特網(wǎng)的誕生導(dǎo)致了對(duì)熟練勞動(dòng)者的需求猛增,以至從現(xiàn)在起即使每個(gè)美國(guó)孩子都去自然科學(xué),我們?cè)诮窈蟮膸资昀镞€是無(wú)法趕上這種需求的增長(zhǎng)速度。
    換句話說(shuō),從這個(gè)法規(guī)獲益的不是移民,而是如果沒(méi)有了這項(xiàng)法案就會(huì)陷于癱瘓的美國(guó)工業(yè)界。 在此期間,印度對(duì)其整個(gè)教育體系進(jìn)行了調(diào)整,以滿足美國(guó)計(jì)算機(jī)工業(yè)的需要。 因?yàn)橛《燃夹g(shù)學(xué)院無(wú)法培養(yǎng)足夠的畢業(yè)生去滿足這些需求。 現(xiàn)在,每一個(gè)街角都引人注目地豎著私人學(xué)校的招生廣告牌,這些學(xué)??梢灶C發(fā)電腦編程證書。
    在我的家鄉(xiāng)那格浦爾最近舉辦的一次書展上,大群大群的年輕人在仔細(xì)翻閱著工程學(xué)及軟件方面的書籍。
    當(dāng)每一個(gè)政客都有一個(gè)兒子或女兒在往國(guó)外鉆的情況下,有關(guān)"人才外流"的批評(píng)就不會(huì)有實(shí)際的意義。
    還有,既然人們的惟一目標(biāo)是拋棄這個(gè)國(guó)家,為何還要費(fèi)心去重建它呢? 例如,正因?yàn)槟歉衿譅枙股嫌嘘P(guān)美國(guó)最新社會(huì)學(xué)出版物的缺乏,這些書籍反而變得引人注目起來(lái)。此外,印度有政治意識(shí)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層已被那些在因特網(wǎng)上沖浪、在短短幾年內(nèi)發(fā)了財(cái)?shù)男乱淮怂〈?br />     這些新領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人贊成市場(chǎng)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué),擯棄了所有有關(guān)經(jīng)濟(jì)帝國(guó)主義的言論。 印度人現(xiàn)在把鮮花掛在了比爾·蓋茨的脖子上,而且還把過(guò)去只獻(xiàn)給英國(guó)女王的盛大歡迎獻(xiàn)給了比爾·蓋茨。 而"頂呱呱可樂(lè)"也成了可口可樂(lè)公司的一個(gè)分號(hào)。
    像班加羅爾這樣的中型城市現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是印度的硅谷--那里的工人們激發(fā)了市場(chǎng)對(duì)他們生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品的需求。 但是這個(gè)國(guó)家正在慢慢地瓦解。 印度的人口最近已達(dá)到10億,但是國(guó)內(nèi)的供水、交通和保健體系卻正在迅速地分崩離析; 它的公民們呼吸著對(duì)他們有很大危害的、被污染了的空氣。
    印度已從一個(gè)農(nóng)業(yè)社會(huì)走向了網(wǎng)絡(luò)革命,沒(méi)有經(jīng)歷過(guò)諸如福利國(guó)家和創(chuàng)立服務(wù)體系之類的中間階段。
    也許現(xiàn)在是通過(guò)一項(xiàng)法規(guī),以建立"人才信托機(jī)構(gòu)"的時(shí)候了。 由像微軟和英特爾這樣的公司來(lái)提供資金,因?yàn)樗鼈儙资陙?lái)一直在掠奪印度的人才。 這個(gè)信托機(jī)構(gòu)可以
 

 

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