The United States admitted over 967,000 people as new citizens in 2022.
2022 年，美国将接纳超过 967,000 人成为新公民。
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said that was the largest number of people naturalized since 2008.
美国公民及移民服务局（USCIS）表示，这是自 2008 年以来入籍人数最多的一次。
To become a U.S. citizen, a candidate needs to live in the country as a permanent resident for at least five years and be over 18 years old. After applying, a candidate for citizenship needs to pass an interview with a USCIS officer.
要成为美国公民，候选人需要以永久居民身份在美国居住至少五年且年满 18 岁。申请后，公民候选人需要通过美国移民局官员的面试。
In the interview, an official assesses the person for their English ability, knowledge of American history and government, and personal background. Over 96 percent of people pass the naturalization test. But changes are coming to the test that could make it more difficult for English learners.
在面试中，官员会评估此人的英语能力、对美国历史和政府的了解以及个人背景。超过 96% 的人通过入籍测试。但测试即将发生的变化可能会让英语学习者变得更加困难。
Carolyn Quinn and John Schmelzer teach a free class in Montgomery County, Maryland, to help prepare people living in the area for the interview. They said it is most important that people are able to understand the questions the interviewer is asking. It is not as important to speak in grammatically correct sentences. The question the interview is trying to answer is: “Do these people understand enough English to be a functioning citizen?” Schmelzer said.
卡罗琳·奎因 (Carolyn Quinn) 和约翰·施梅尔泽 (John Schmelzer) 在马里兰州蒙哥马利县教授免费课程，帮助居住在该地区的人们为面试做好准备。他们说，最重要的是人们能够理解面试官提出的问题。用语法正确的句子说话并不那么重要。采访试图回答的问题是：“这些人是否懂足够的英语来成为一名正常的公民？”施梅尔泽说道。
At the beginning of each class, Quinn and Schmelzer ask their students simple “small talk” questions they might hear in the interview, like “How did you get here today?” or “Why do you want to become a United States citizen?” Much of the interview is based on questions on the Application for Naturalization Form, called the N-400 . Most are personal questions related to employment, family and personal history.
在每节课开始时，奎因和施梅尔泽都会问学生一些他们在面试中可能会听到的简单的“闲聊”问题，比如“你今天是怎么来到这里的？”或“你为什么想成为美国公民？”面试的大部分内容都是基于入籍申请表（称为 N-400）上的问题。大多数是与就业、家庭和个人历史相关的个人问题。
Rajbit Kahn took Quinn’s class and passed the naturalization interview in August. She said the class gave her more confidence to speak English in the interview. Before the class, she rarely spoke English, she said. But now, “I talk to anyone.”
Rajbit Kahn 参加了 Quinn 的课程并于八月通过了入籍面试。她说这门课让她更有信心在面试中说英语。她说，在上课之前，她很少说英语。但现在，“我和任何人交谈。”
However, Quinn stresses to her students that her class is not an English class. And she has students enter her class without enough English knowledge to pass the interview.
然而，奎因向她的学生强调，她的课不是英语课。她让学生进入她的班级，但没有足够的英语知识来通过面试。
With the increase in Afghan immigrants into the United States, Quinn said she has had a few Afghan women come into her class. She said, “They never had any kind of schooling. So, they don’t know how to write. They don’t know how to read. They don’t know letter sounds.” Often, family members with better English skills will fill out the N-400 form for them. But they would be unable to answer the interview questions themselves.
奎因说，随着进入美国的阿富汗移民的增加，她班上有一些阿富汗女性。她说：“他们从未接受过任何形式的教育。所以，他们不知道如何写。他们不知道如何阅读。他们不知道字母的发音。”通常，英语水平较好的家庭成员会帮他们填写 N-400 表格。但他们自己无法回答采访问题。
Possible changes to the naturalization interview would make civics questions multiple choice to “reflect current best practices in test design,” USCIS said in a document explaining the update to the test. Schmelzer said that would make the test harder for immigrants who may not have a great understanding of American history or English.
美国移民局在一份解释测试更新的文件中表示，入籍面试可能发生的变化将使公民问题成为多项选择，以“反映当前测试设计的最佳实践”。施梅尔泽表示，对于那些可能不太了解美国历史或英语的移民来说，这将使测试变得更加困难。
For now, students memorize 100 civics questions. Ten of the questions will be asked on the day of the interview and applicants must answer six correctly to pass. One question is “Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s.” Currently, people just need to memorize one war fought during that 100-year period. But a multiple-choice test would require knowledge of four wars presented as answer choices and know which one was fought in the 1800s.
目前，学生们记住了 100 个公民问题。面试当天将提出十个问题，申请人必须正确回答六个问题才能通过。其中一个问题是“请说出美国在 1800 年代发动的一场战争”。目前，人们只需要记住这100年期间发生的一场战争即可。但多项选择测试需要了解作为答案选择的四场战争，并知道哪一场战争发生在 1800 年代。
“You're forcing them to expand their memorization,” Schmelzer said.
“你是在强迫他们扩大记忆范围，”施梅尔泽说。
Another proposed change would add a speaking test to assess English ability. The officer would present three photos and the interviewee would have to describe what is happening in the pictures. Currently, English knowledge is assessed through questions from the N-400 and other small-talk questions.
另一项提议的改变是增加口语测试来评估英语能力。警官将出示三张照片，受访者必须描述照片中发生的事情。目前，英语知识是通过 N-400 问题和其他闲聊问题来评估的。
The new interview changes are currently being tested in several locations around the country. USCIS will hear feedback about the tests before the end of the year.
新的面试变化目前正在全国多个地点进行测试。美国移民局将在年底前听取有关测试的反馈。
Quinn and Schmelzer said the test should be updated. Just one civics question is related to a female American historical figure, Schmelzer said.
奎因和施梅尔泽表示测试应该更新。施梅尔泽说，只有一个公民问题与一位美国女性历史人物有关。
But Quinn questions what is to be gained by making changes to the test to make it harder.
但奎因质疑对测试进行修改以增加难度会带来什么好处。
People in her class “put their souls” into becoming citizens. “How much more do we need to ask them to do?” she said.
她班上的人们“全身心投入”成为公民。 “我们还需要要求他们做多少事情？”她说。
John Yepow is another of Quinn’s students who along with his wife, recently became a U.S. citizen. Yepow came from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He lived in Zambia for 10 years before moving to the United States.
约翰·耶波 (John Yepow) 是奎因的另一名学生，他和他的妻子最近成为美国公民。 Yepow 来自刚果民主共和国。在移居美国之前，他在赞比亚生活了 10 年。
Yepow, who works as a medication technician, said he follows American politics closely. He calls himself a lifelong learner and has even taken online classes about American history.
耶波是一名医药技术员，他说他密切关注美国政治。他称自己是终身学习者，甚至还参加了有关美国历史的在线课程。
“I want to learn and make sure I’m integrated into American society,” he said.
“我想学习并确保我融入美国社会，”他说。
Yepow added: “This is the land of opportunity . We are dreaming big." He said he will make sure to take advantage of every opportunity.
Yepow 补充道：“这是一片充满机遇的土地。我们的梦想很大。”他表示，他将确保充分利用每一个机会。