2019 Text 3（英语二）美国农业劳动力短缺

Text 3

文章 3

American farmers have been complaining of labor shortages for several years.

近些年美国农场主一直在抱怨务农人手不足的问题。

The complaints are unlikely to stop without an overhaul of immigration rules for farm workers.

除非彻底修正针对农场务工的移民政策，否则农场主的抱怨无法停止。

Congress has obstructed efforts to create a more straightforward visa for agricultural workers that would let foreign workers stay longer in the U. S. and change jobs within the industry.

本希望给务农工实施更加快捷的签证，延长外国务工在美国居留时间，允许他们在行业内部更换工作，但这些措施遭到了国会阻止。

If this doesn't change, American businesses, communities, and consumers will be the losers.

假如局势没有改观，美国的商业、社区和消费者将深受其害。

Perhaps half of U. S. farm laborers are undocumented immigrants.

美国大约半数的农场劳工是无证移民。

As fewer such workers enter the country, the characteristics of the agricultural workforce are changing.

随着进入美国的无证移民减少，农业人口的特征正在发生变化。

Today's farm laborers, while still predominantly born in Mexico, are more likely to be settled rather than migrating and more likely to be married than single.

现在农场上的务工绝大多数在墨西哥出生，他们更加可能定居下来，不再四处漂泊；更有可能结婚成家，不再单身。

They're also aging.

他们正在老化。

At the start of this century, about one-third of crop workers were over the age of 35.

本世纪初，大约三分之一的务农人口超过35岁。

Now more than half are.

现在则达到半数之多。

And picking crops is hard on older bodies.

上年纪的人很难承受种田的辛苦。

One oft-debated cure for this labor shortage remains as implausible as it's been all along: Native U. S. workers won't be returning to the farm.

应对务农人口短缺有一个争议很久的办法，不过一如既往难以奏效：本土的美国人根本不愿意回归农场干活。

Mechanization isn't the answer, either - not yet, at least.

农业机械化也不是解决办法，至少到目前为止没有解决问题。

Production of corn, cotton, rice, soybeans, and wheat has been largely mechanized, but many high-value, labor-intensive crops, such as strawberries, need labor.

玉米、棉花、水稻、大豆和小麦等农作物的生产基本上实现了机械化，但是很多诸如草莓一类价值高、人口密集型的作物需要手工劳动力。

Even dairy farms, where robots do a small share of milking, have a long way to go before they're automated.

即使在牛奶农场，机器人也只能分担少量的挤奶工作，完全实现自动化遥遥无期。

As a result, farms have grown increasingly reliant on temporary guest workers using the H-2A visa to fill the gaps in the workforce.

结果农场越来越依赖使用 H-2A 签证进入美国的短期外来工，指望他们填补用工缺口。

Starting around 2012, requests for the visas rose sharply; from 2011 to 2016 the number of visas issued more than doubled.

从2012年开始，此类签证申请量急剧飙升。2011年到2016年之间，签发的签证数量翻了一番。

The H-2A visa has no numerical cap, unlike the H-2B visa for nonagricultural work, which is limited to 66,000 a year.

H-2A 签证没有数量限制，有别于非农就业的H-2B签证，后者每年只有 66000 个名额。

Even so, employers complain they aren't given all the workers they need.

即便如此，雇主们还是因为找不到足够务工人员而怨声载道。

The process is cumbersome, expensive, and unreliable.

签证申请手续冗长，费用昂贵，而且很不靠谱。

One survey found that bureaucratic delays led the average H-2A worker to arrive on the job 22 days late.

一项调查发现，官僚延误导致持 H-2A 签证的务工人员到岗时间平均推迟 22 天。

The shortage is compounded by federal immigration raids, which remove some workers and drive others underground.

联邦移民局实施突袭，造返部分务工人员，迫使其他务工人员转入地下，也会加剧用工短缺。

In a 2012 survey, 71 percent of tree-fruit growers and almost 80 percent of raisin and berry growers said they were short of labor.

根据 2012 年的一项调查，71% 的果农，大约 80% 的葡萄和浆果种植业者声称人手不足。

Some western farmers have responded by moving operations to Mexico.

为了应对这种局面，西部的一些农场主直接把农场业务转到墨西哥。

From 1998 to 2000,14.5 percent of the fruit Americans consumed was imported.

从 1998 年到 2000 年，进口水果占据美国水果消耗量的 14.5%。

Little more than a decade later, the share of imports was 25.8 percent.

之后十年多一点的时间，进口水果份额上升到 25.8%。

In effect, the U. S. can import food or it can import the workers who pick it.

实际上，美国要么进口食品，要么进口劳工。

31. What problem should be addressed according to the first two paragraphs?

31：根据文章前两段内容，什么问题有待解决？

[A] Discrimination against foreign workers in the U. S.

外国工人在美国遭受的歧视

[B] Biased laws in favor of some American businesses.

偏向于美国企业的法律。

[C] Flaws in U. S. immigration rules for farm workers.

针对农业工人美国移民政策的缺陷。

[D] Decline of job opportunities in U. S. agriculture.

美国农业工作机会减少。

32. One trouble with U. S. agricultural workforce is () .

32：美国农业劳动力有一个问题是（）。

[A] the rising number of illegal immigrants

非法移民人数上升

[B] the high mobility of crop workers

农业工人的高流动性

[C] the lack of experienced laborers

缺乏经验丰富的工人

[D] the aging of immigrant farm workers

农民工的老龄化

33. What is the much-argued solution to the labor shortage in U. S. farming?

33：文中指出解决美国农业劳动力短缺的且有争议的方案是什么？

[A] To attract younger laborers to farm work.

吸引年轻的劳动力从事农业工作。

[B] To get native U. S. workers back to farming.

让美国本地工人重返耕种。

[C] To use more robots to grow high-value crops.

使用更多的机器人来种植高价值的农作物。

[D] To strengthen financial support for farmers.

加强对农民的财政支持。

34. Agricultural employers complain about the H-2A visa for its () .

34：农业雇主抱怨 H-2A 签证的哪一点？

[A] slow granting procedures

缓慢的下签程序

[B] limit on duration of stay

停留时间限制

[C] tightened requirements

严格要求

[D] control of annual admissions

每年人数控制

35. Which of the following could be the best title for this text?

35：以下哪一项可作为本篇文章的最佳标题？

[A] U. S. Agriculture in Decline?

美国农业正在衰退？

[B] Import Food or Labor?

进口食物还是劳动力？

[C] America Saved by Mexico?

美国被墨西哥拯救了？

[D] Manpower vs. Automation?

人工与自动化的较量？