VOA慢速英语:US Has a Long History of Restricting Immigrants

短语讲解：

1. They petitioned Congress to require immigrants to show that they could at least read.

at least 至少
例句：He's been away for at least a week.
他走了总有一个星期吧。

2. And it completely restricted immigrants from Asia, except for Japan and the Philippines.

except for 除…之外; 若不是
例句：Everyone was late, except for Richard.
除了理查德，其他所有人都迟到了。

3. At the same time, the historian’s page at the State Department notes that the act made more visas available to people from Britain and Western Europe.

at the same time 同时; 一起; 但是; 然而
例句：At the same time he still believed himself financially honest.
同时，他还认为自己在经济上是正直无欺的。

4. Instead of being from Western Europe, most immigrants to the U.S. by the end of the 20th century were originally from Mexico, the Philippines, Korea, the Dominican Republic, India, Cuba and Vietnam.

instead of （用…） 代替…， （是…）而不是…
例句：The farmers will be paid for their grain in cash, instead of IOUs.
农民卖粮，将以现金支付，而不是白条了。

5. He points out that the Supreme Court has historically permitted the president and Congress a good deal of authority to regulate immigration.

point out 指明; 指出，把注意力引向…
例句："No matter who point out our shortcoming, we will correct them."
不管谁指出我们的缺点，我们都改正。