美国6岁女童被列入“禁飞”名单 -新概念英语

　　年仅六岁的美国俄亥俄州女童阿丽莎•托马斯最近与父母乘飞机从克利夫兰飞往明尼阿波利斯时，赫然发现自己的姓名被美国国土安全部列入“禁飞”名单，被视为威胁国家安全的可疑人物。虽然阿丽莎最终获准与父母一起登机，但是国土安全部在事后表示阿丽莎的名字不会从名单中删除，并且拒绝确认她的个人信息。阿丽莎的父亲表示，她的女儿两个月大的时候就跟他们做飞机出行了，从来没有出过问题;今年二月份，他们还曾经乘机去过墨西哥，当时也没有禁飞名单一说。对此，美国运输安全局表示，阿丽莎此前出行都没有遇到遭“禁飞”的问题是因为针对所有国内航班的“安全飞行计划”是今年六月才开始实行的。该安全局发言人称，“禁飞”名单是阻止任何与恐怖主义有关的个人搭乘飞机的一个重要的安全防线。

　　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.