地道美语听力播客:High School Jobs

I got my first part-time job when I was 15 working at a car wash in the summertime. A friend of mine, Rob, worked there and got me the job. I think it paid $2.90 an hour, which I considered a fortune . There were no allowances¹ in my family, so most of my brothers and sisters started working as soon as they could to get spending money. I hated working at the car wash, drying cars all day. After only about six weeks working there (though it seemed much longer), I up and quit one day. I felt badly about not giving a two-week notice , but I had it up to here with the job. Luckily, another friend of mine got me a job working at a nursing home, washing dishes in the kitchen. I started the day after my 16th birthday, qualifying² me for a slightly higher minimum wage.

Life scrubbing³ pots and pans was no picnic, let me tell you. I lasted there for only three months, working after school and on weekends while trying to keep up with my homework in high school. My next job was much better: Making keys at a locksmith. The working conditions were much better, and I had flexible hours around my school schedule. I stayed at that job for nearly seven years, right through my college years at the University of Minnesota. To this day I still know the names of all the common key blanks, but it doesn't come in handy very often!

 

1 allowances   

津贴( allowance的名词复数 )； 补助； 1 限额； 定量 2 免税额

参考例句：

• Government officials who travel on business are given traveling allowances. 因公出差的政府官员享有出差补贴。
• The court was asked to make allowances for his age. 人们要求法庭考虑他的年龄。

2 qualifying   

使具有资格的

参考例句：

• players who fail at the pre-qualifying stage 在预选赛中淘汰掉的选手
• A doctoral candidate is required to pass a qualifying examination. 考博士需通过一个资格考试。

3 scrubbing   

v.用力擦洗，刷洗( scrub的现在分词 )；取消（原有安排）；对…不予考虑，取消；涤气

参考例句：

• I found him in the kitchen, scrubbing the floor. 我见他在厨房擦地板呢。
• Give them a thorough scrubbing and soaking in hot water. 好好洗洗，用热水烫一烫。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说