2006年NPR美国国家公共电台七月-Working Teens Are a Dying Breed

OK, so maybe rifling through your boss' desk for trade secrets is not the best way to get ahead on the job, keep that in mind. Commentator¹ Angela Nissel picked up a few other tips working summer and after-school jobs.

When I turned 14 I dragged my mother to the mall and begged her to buy me a pair of Air Jordan sneakers. Once my mother saw the price on the sneaker box, she dropped it like it was burning her hand. "60 dollars for sneakers! For that price Michael Jordan better be in this box too." After embarrassing me by pretending to look for mini Michael Jordan in the box, she asked the salesman for a job application. Instead of sneakers, my mother had decided² my birthday gift should be learning the value of a dollar. According to the Bureau of Labor³ Statistics, mothers like mine are a dying breed. Fewer teens work after school now and many don't even attempt to find summer employment. On Internet message boards, parents argue that competition for college is intense and students have too many extracurricular activities to take on a job. Some claimed that tuba or soccer camp can provide the same life lessons. I beg to differ.

My minimum-wage after-school jobs taught me as much as those activities designed to pad my college resume. After-school telemarketing taught me the value of persistence⁴, house after house people called me names like phone-Nazi or placed their phones next to a blasting stereo speaker. The pain from my eardrum quickly dissolved when I reached my goal. The one person who understood that three months of free accidental deaf insurance is an incredible deal. Basketball camp claimed to teach me that tenacity⁵ but all I learned was that short flat-footed players like me are great at keeping benches warm.

In high school there's so much pressure to fit in whether it's through cutting classes, drinking or having sex. One of the most important lessons a teenager can learn is how to say no to her peers. After working at a dress store and refusing to return prom dresses for hundreds of girls who cried and swore they didn't wear them, even the ones with the corsage still attached, I found that saying no to drugs was a cinch.

I learned to be a concerned student not in history class but when I saw the amount of taxes deducted⁶ from my paycheck. When I cleaned the bathrooms I learned that my colleagues weren't always going to be my age, from my neighborhood or even speak my language. In fast food I learned that people like their lettuce⁷ washed before they eat it. Being a child raised on microwave cooking I don't know where else I could have learned this lesson.

While I'm sure college admissions officers will be impressed that your daughter has mastered the upright bass⁸, they might be more impressed with the personality that emerges after a summer of old fashion hard work. And even if your daughter doesn't get early admission into Stanford, at least next summer she will be able to pay for her own music lessons.

Commentator Angela Nissel is consulting producer and writer for the television show Scrubs. Our summer job is working for Morning Edition from NPR News, I'm Steve Inskeep. And I'm Lynn Neary.

【WORLD BANK】
dying breed
He's one of a dying breed (=a type of person that is no longer common) .
tuba
a large metal musical instrument that consists of a curved tube with a wide opening that points straight up. It produces very low sounds when you blow into it.
eardrum
a tight thin piece of skin over the inside of your ear which allows you to hear sound
flat-footed
informal moving in an awkward way
synonym clumsy
The defence looked flat-footed as Sutton scored easily.
cinch
[singular] informal
1
something that is very easy
'How was the exam?' 'Oh, it was a cinch!'
be a cinch to do something
The program is a cinch to install.
2
American English something that will definitely happen, or someone who will definitely do something
be a cinch to do something
Most observers say the President is a cinch to win re-election.
corsage
a group of small flowers that a woman fastens to her clothes on a special occasion such as a wedding
rifle
also rifle through [transitive]
to search a place or container quickly because you are looking for something, especially something to steal
Sally rifled through her wardrobe looking for a dress. The killer⁹ had rifled his wallet and stolen $200.
I beg to differ
spoken formal used to say firmly that you do not agree with something that has been said
I must beg to differ on this point.

1 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

5 tenacity   

n.坚韧

参考例句：

• Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
• The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。

6 deducted   

v.扣除，减去( deduct的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of your uniform will be deducted from your wages. 制服费将从你的工资中扣除。
• The cost of the breakages will be deducted from your pay. 损坏东西的费用将从你的工资中扣除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

8 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。