美國6歲女童被列入“禁飛”名單 -新概念英語

　　年僅六歲的美國俄亥俄州女童阿麗莎?托馬斯最近與父母乘飛機從克利夫蘭飛往明尼阿波利斯時，赫然發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的姓名被美國國土安全部列入“禁飛”名單，被視為威脅國家安全的可疑人物。雖然阿麗莎最終獲準(zhǔn)與父母一起登機，但是國土安全部在事后表示阿麗莎的名字不會從名單中刪除，并且拒絕確認她的個人信息。阿麗莎的父親表示，她的女兒兩個月大的時候就跟他們做飛機出行了，從來沒有出過問題;今年二月份，他們還曾經(jīng)乘機去過墨西哥，當(dāng)時也沒有禁飛名單一說。對此，美國運輸安全局表示，阿麗莎此前出行都沒有遇到遭“禁飛”的問題是因為針對所有國內(nèi)航班的“安全飛行計劃”是今年六月才開始實行的。該安全局發(fā)言人稱，“禁飛”名單是阻止任何與恐怖主義有關(guān)的個人搭乘飛機的一個重要的安全防線。

　　Alyssa Thomas, 6, is a little girl who is already under the spotlight of the federal government. Her family recently discovered that Alyssa is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.

　　Alyssa Thomas, 6, is a little girl who is already under the spotlight of the federal government. Her family recently discovered that Alyssa is on the "no fly" list maintained by U.S. Homeland Security.

　　"We were, like, puzzled," said Dr. Santhosh Thomas. "I'm like, well, she's kinda six-years-old and this is not something that should be typical."

　　Dr. Thomas and his wife were made aware of the listing during a recent trip from Cleveland to Minneapolis. The ticket agent at the Continental counter at Hopkins Airport notified the family. "They said, well, she's on the list. We're like, okay, what's the story? What do we have to do to get off the list? This isn't exactly the list we want to be on," said Dr. Thomas.

　　The Federal Bureau of Investigations in Cleveland will confirm that a list exists, but for national security reasons, no one will discuss who is on the list or why.

　　The Thomas family was allowed to make their trip but they were told to contact Homeland Security to clear-up the matter. Alyssa just received a letter from the government, notifying the six-year-old that nothing will be changed and they won't confirm nor deny any information they have about her or someone else with the same name.

　　"She's been flying since she was two-months old, so that has not been an issue," said Alyssa's dad. "In fact, we had traveled to Mexico in February and there were no issues at that time."

　　According to the Transportation Security Administration, Alyssa never had any problems before because the Secure Flight Program just began in June for all domestic flights. A spokesperson will only say, "the watch lists are an important layer of security to prevent individuals with known or suspected ties to terrorism from flying."

　　Right now, Alyssa has other priorities. "My Barbies, my magic mirror are jumping on my bed!" But her name will likely stay on the list and as for the next time she flies, the FBI says they'll rely on the common sense of the security agents.

　　"She may have threatened her sister, but I don't think that constitutes Homeland Security triggers," said Dr. Thomas.

　　The Thomas family can still fly, but the check-in process will likely take much longer. They plan on making another appeal to U.S. Homeland Security.