2010年ESL之商务英语 13 Applying for Unemployment Benefits_在线英语听力室

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13 Applying for Unemployment Benefits

unemployment agency – a part of a government that helps people who do nothave jobs, usually by giving them money and helping² them look for a new job* At the unemployment agency, people without jobs can use computers to lookfor new jobs.

unemployment benefits – money paid by the government to people who do nothave a job, usually less than the amount they made before, but hopefully enoughto help them cover their basic expenses* Alfredo’s unemployment benefits are less than half of what he used to make asa systems analyst⁴.

that depends – a phrase used to show that one cannot give a direct yes/noanswer, because many factors must be considered* - Will your wedding be indoors or outdoors?

* - That depends. If the weather is nice, it will be outdoors, but if it’s too cold orrainy, it will be indoors.

to calculate – to compute³; to add, subtract, multiply, or divide* Please calculate the monthly payments on a $175,000 mortgage with a 5.75%interest rate.

based on – with reference to; referring to; depending on* As a new employee, your salary will be based on your education, experience,and performance.

quarterly earnings⁵ – the amount of money one received for working during athree-month period* Justin got a great job in June, but his quarterly earnings were low because hewas unemployed⁶ in April and May.

to be laid off – to be fired; to be told that one no longer has a job, often becausethe company has decided⁷ to have fewer employees* How many employees were laid off by that company during the last recession?

to qualify – to be eligible⁸ for something; to meet the basic requirements to haveor do something* If you made less than $50,000 last year, you may qualify to file your taxesonline for free.

part-time – related to a job in which one works less than 40 hours each week* Many mothers try to find part-time jobs that will let them work in the morning butbe home in the afternoon when their children are not in school.

self-employed – working for oneself, not for another company or organization* Misty⁹ likes the flexibility¹⁰ of being self-employed, but she misses having paidvacations and retirement¹¹ benefits.

eligible – qualified¹²; meeting the minimum requirements to receive, have, or dosomething* Only U.S. citizens are eligible for this scholarship.

full-time¹³ – related to a job in which one works at least 40 hours each week* Linnea worked full-time until she was 60 years old, and then decided to reduceher hours.

to affirm – to officially state that something is true* Will you affirm your commitment to give money for this project?

actively¹⁴ – not passively; with strong participation¹⁵ and involvement* Are you actively looking for a new home, or just thinking about moving?

to seek – to look for something; to try to find something* He’s seeking a challenging bookkeeping position in the entertainment industry.

meaning to – wanting to; intending to* I’ve been meaning to call you, but I lost your phone number.

to hire – to give someone a job; to get a new employee* If you know any companies that are hiring SQL programmers, please let meknow.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. Which of these people was laid off from a job?

a) Someone who was fired.

b) Someone who got a raise.

c) Someone who decided to quit.

2. Which of these people might be eligible for unemployment benefits?

a) Someone who was working 35 hours per week.

b) Someone who was working for himself.

c) Someone who was working 50 hours per week.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to qualifyThe verb “to qualify,” in this podcast, means to be eligible or to meet the basicrequirements to have or do something: “High school students need a grade pointaverage of at least 2.75 to qualify for admission.” In sports, the phrase “to qualifyfor (something)” means to demonstrate that one’s skills meet the minimum levelrequired for a competition: “What do runners have to do to qualify for the NewYork Marathon?” The phrase “to qualify as (something)” means to be consideredin a particular way: “Having a child doesn’t qualify you as a parent unless you’realso involved in that child’s life.” Finally, the verb “to qualify” can mean to addadditional information that limits the meaning of something: “She originally saidthat she planned to run for president, but later she qualified that statement,saying that she really meant she would run only if certain conditions were met.”

meaning toIn this podcast, the phrase “meaning to” means wanting to or intending to: “I wasmeaning to file my taxes early this year, but I didn’t.” The phrase “What’s themeaning of this?” is used when one wants to receive an explanation forsomething that has happened: “What’s the meaning of this? How dare you sellmy favorite chair without telling me!” The phrase “to get (someone’s) meaning”

means to understand someone’s message, especially if he or she isn’t saying itdirectly: “She dropped a lot of hints, but he never really got her meaning.”

Finally, the phrase “to know the meaning of (something)” means to trulyunderstand something, usually because one has experienced it directly: “I neverknew the meaning of true love until I met you.”

CULTURE NOTEA state unemployment office has many “responsibilities” (things that one mustdo). When someone contacts the office for the first time, the unemploymentoffice first has to “orient” that person, explaining the office’s services to him or herand introducing him to “key” (important) people. Then the individual needs toreceive the “forms” (papers requesting information) to apply for unemploymentbenefits.

The unemployment office reviews the application to determine whether theindividual is eligible for benefits. The unemployment office contacts previousemployers to “verify” (confirm; make sure something is true) past employmentand “compensation” (the amount that someone was paid). Then theunemployment office defines the benefit “level” (amount), determining how muchmoney the individual should receive each month while he or she is looking for ajob.

As payments are made, the unemployment office needs to make sure that theindividual is “in fact” (really) looking for work. The individual might need toprovide written “proof” (something showing that something is true), such ascopies of job applications that he or she has “submitted” (sent) to “potential”

(possible) employers.

The unemployment office may also help the individual find a new job. This couldbe as simple as giving him or her access to computers and job “databases”

(collections of electronic information), or it could involve helping the individualimprove his or her resume and cover letter. Some unemployment offices helpindividuals find “retraining programs” where they can learn new skills for adifferent type of work in a new “field” (area; industry).

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 596: Applying forUnemployment Benefits.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 596. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at www.eslpod.com. Go there to download a Learning Guidefor this episode, an 8- to 10-page guide we have for all of our current episodesthat gives you the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additionaldefinitions, cultural notes, comprehension questions, and a complete transcript¹⁶ ofeverything we say on this episode.

This episode is called “Applying for Unemployment Benefits.” In many countries,if you lost your job, you can get money from the government until you find a newjob. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Agency Employee: Hello, state unemployment agency.

George: Hello, I’d like to apply for unemployment benefits.

Agency Employee: Okay, give me your address and I’ll send you an application.

George: How much can I get?

Agency Employee: That depends. Your benefits are calculated based on yourquarterly earnings. You were laid off from your job?

George: Yes, I was. I qualify, don’t I?

Agency Employee: People who work part-time jobs or are self-employed aren’teligible. If you worked in a full-time position, you should qualify. Fill out theapplication and we’ll let you know.

George: What else does the application ask for?

Agency Employee: You have to affirm that you’re able to work and that you’reactively seeking employment.

George: I’m definitely doing that. I’ve been meaning to ask you, are you hiring?

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with someone answering the phone, saying, “Hello, stateunemployment agency,” telling the caller what office he has reached – he istalking to. This is a government office, the state unemployment agency.

“Unemployment” refers to people who do not have jobs. The opposite would be“employment.” An “agency” is just a particular group of people in thegovernment, who work on the same kind of thing. So, the state unemploymentagency would be, for example, the California government organization that isresponsible for helping people who do not have jobs – who lose their jobs, Ishould say.

“Unemployment benefits” is money that the government gives to people who losetheir job. It’s not as much money as they made when they were working, but ittries to cover their basic expenses until they can find a new job. Unemploymentbenefits don’t last forever; you only have so many weeks to find a new job. Thegovernment is not going to necessarily continue giving you money for the rest ofyour life. If that were true, we would all just quit our jobs and collectunemployment benefits! We often abbreviate¹⁷ that, and say simply “collectunemployment.”

George calls and wants to apply for unemployment benefits; he needs to fill outsome paperwork, as all government actions require. The agency employee says,“Okay, give me your address and I’ll send you an application (give me yourmailing address).” George asked the person, “How much can I get?” He wantsto know how much money he will receive. The employee says, “That depends.”

We use this phrase to show that you can’t give a definite answer because theremay be many different things that determine the answer. So the agencyemployee says, well, “That depends,” meaning it’s going to depend on a numberof different things. She says, “Your benefits (the money you get) are calculatedbased on your quarterly earnings.” “To calculate (something)” means to get amathematical answer, to compute – add, subtract, multiply, divide, or use someother mathematical equation in order to get an answer. The “benefits arecalculated based on (meaning depending on) your quarterly earnings.” Your“earnings” (earnings) refers to how much money you were paid by yourcompany. “Quarterly” means for the last three months, or three months out of the year. There are four quarters in a single year; each one is three months.

Usually we refer to these by number. The first quarter is January, February,March; the second quarter is April, June, July, and so forth¹⁸.

The agency employee asked George, “Were you laid off from your job?” “To belaid (laid) off (off)” is an expression that means you were fired. You lost your jobbecause the company could not keep you on as an employee for whateverreason. Usually when we say someone was “laid off” we mean that the companygot rid of the person not because they were a bad employee, but because thecompany needed to save money for example. “To lay off” is a phrasal verb;that’s what a company would do, it lays off employees.

George says, “Yes, I was (I was laid off). I qualify, don’t I?” “To qualify” (qualify)means that you meet the basic requirements to do something. We might alsosay you are “eligible for.” The employee says that people who work part-timejobs (or work in part-time jobs) or are self-employed aren’t (are not) eligible. A“part-time job” is a job that would be less than, in the United States, 40 hours perweek. Anything less than that is usually considered a part-time job, so you don’twork as much as someone who is “full-time,” which would be someone workingtypically 40 hours a week or more. “To be self-employed” means that you workfor yourself. You have your own company, you have something that gives youmoney; you don’t work for another company. If you have a part-time job, or areself-employed, however, you are not eligible. That is, you don’t qualify or meetthe basic requirements for unemployment benefits. The agency employee says,“If you worked in a full-time position (a full-time job), you should qualify (meaningif you do not have another job now, and you used to have a full-time job youshould qualify; you will be eligible). Fill out the application and we’ll let you know(we’ll tell you).”

George says, “What else does the application ask for?” What other informationdo I have to provide? The agency employee says, “You have to affirm thatyou’re able to work and that you’re actively seeking employment.” “To affirm”

(affirm) is a formal term meaning to officially state or declare, to say usually infront of a government official that this thing is true. What you are saying is true isthat you are able to work and you are actively seeking employment. “To seek”

means to look for something, to try to find something. “Actively” means withstrong participation and involvement, meaning you’re actually going out andtrying to find a job. That’s actively seeking employment. You look in thenewspaper – nowadays you look online, you try to find a job. You’re not justsitting at home waiting for someone to call you.

George says, “I’m definitely doing that (meaning absolutely I am doing that). I’vebeen meaning to ask you, are you hiring?” “To be meaning to do (something)”

means that you want to do something, that you were intending or planning ondoing something. Usually it’s something that we say when we forget or when wedon’t have time to do something. But it can mean simply to be a polite way ofintroducing a question, as it is here: “I’ve been meaning to ask you, could yougive me 10 dollars?” Well here, George is asking for something more than 10dollars worth; he wants to know if the unemployment agency is “hiring,” if theyare giving jobs to new employees. Perhaps George is trying to prove that he isactively seeking employment by asking this agency employee for a job.

I have lost a few jobs in my life, but I have never collected unemployment. I havenever received any money from the government because I didn’t have a job. Iusually just went out and found another job. But of course, that isn’t always easyto do.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.