Al Hussein is 19. He is struggling to stay seated on top of a huge truck crossing the desert. He has been riding like that for hours， breathing dust， in an unbearable heat. He has left his home， his twin brother， and the rest of his family down South. Beyond the desert lies the sea， and maybe， if he is lucky a boat to Europe where he hopes to get a job， to start a new life， and to send money to his village.

Al Hussein is hardly alone in his perilous trek. Some 150 million men， women and even children， about three percent of the world‘s population， are outside their country of origin coming as strangers to the country where they reside. There is no continent， no region of the world which has no migrants within its boundaries. Every country has become a country of origin， transit or destination of migrants. Many are all three. More than half of international migrants live in developing countries. According to the International Organization for Migration， the

largest numbers of international migrants are located in Asia; Europe and North America have about equal numbers followed by Africa， Latin America， and Oceania with progressively fewer numbers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that up to 80 million of these are migrant workers. In 1997， ILO estimated that the number of migrant workers was as follows： Africa， 20 Million; North America， 17 million; Central andSouth America 12 million; Asia 7 million; the Middle East (Arab countries)， 9 million， and Europe 30 million.

Migration is hardly a recent or localized phenomenon. Women and men have been leaving their homelands in search of a better job. People also leave their own countries because of civil conflicts and insecurity or persecution. However， in this globalized world， we are witnessing unprecedentedly high labor mobility and an increasing pressure of migration. Gareth Howell， International Labor Organization representative to the United Nations， points out that “the increasing restrictions on immigration leads to increased trafficking of migrants often with tragic personal consequences.”

Women and children account for more than half of the refugees， and their proportion are increasing in the case of other categories of migrants. 96 percent of children who work and sleep in the street are migrants，about half of them girls aged between 8 and 14. Migrants are a particularly vulnerable group and see their rights routinely violated， not only as workers， but as human beings. They commonly face discrimination and xenophobic hostility. According to the International Organization for migration (IOM) migrants “are more and more targeted as the scapegoats for all manner of domestic problems facing societies today， particularly unemployment， crime， drugs， even terrorism.” As noted by Ms Gabriela Rodriguez Pizarro， United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants “This is especially true in the case of the many migrants who are undocumented or in an irregular situation， including the victims of trafficking in persons， who are the most vulnerable to human rights violations.” According to the UN， between 300，000 and 600，000 women are smuggled each year into the European Union and certain Central European countries. The problem is also widespread in Africa and Latin America.

Reading Comprehension

1.Which of the following is not mentioned in the first paragraph?

[A] Al Hussein was going abroad for work.

[B] The work that Al Hussein intended to do was very hard.

[C] Al Hussein was so young.

[D] Al Hussein wanted to start a new life.

2.What‘s the most suitable title for the article?

[A] Working Far From Home?

[B] Migration and Discrimination.

[C] To go abroad.

[D]Problems about migration.

3.Read the third paragraph and find out which one was not true.

[A] Migration is a phenomenon which exist for a long time.

[B] Migration is not a localized phenomenon.

[C] Migration is localized but not a recent phenomenon.

[D] Globalized world has high labor mobility.

4.Which of the following is true?

[A] Women required for their human rights.

[B] Children account for 96 percent of migrants.

[C] Half of the female migrants aged between 8 and 14.

[D] Male adults account for less than half of the refugees.

5.What does paragraph 5 mainly talk about?

[A]The problems of migrants are increasing

[B] Migration need to face discrimination， and there human rights are vulnerable.

[C] Migration need more of human rights.

[D] Most women are smuggled each year.

答案与题解：

1.[B]

细节题。A、C、D项在文中都有提及，B项是干扰项，作者说Al Hussein前进的路上会充满艰难，但没说他要从事的工作是一项困难的工作。

2.[B]

主旨题。本题需要把握全文主旨。通观全篇会发现，本文重点在于讲述移民以及对移民的歧视等社会问题。所以选择B。

3.[C]

这道题重点在于区分前三个选项。见文章第三段第一句话，"Migration is hardly a recent or localized phenomenon."这里面的"hardly"是几乎不的意思。如果忽视了这个词则会对全句的理解造成偏差。

4.[D]

细节推理题。见文章第四段，上面说，妇女和儿童占移民总人数的一半以上，那么成年男性占移民人数的不到百分之五十，所以D正确。

5.[B]

段意归纳题。读完该段可以发现本段讲了两个问题，一个是移民遭受歧视，另一个是移民的****问题得不到保障。综合这两点考虑，该题选B。