美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Changing The Mindset': Female Inmates In Training For A Life After Prison

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

More than 2 million people are incarcerated¹ in the United States, and recidivism² is a major concern. Finding a legitimate³ job is one of the biggest obstacles for people released from prison. The Washington Corrections Center for Women outside of Seattle aims to give its inmates⁴ a better chance by running a pre-apprenticeship⁵ program inside the prison for careers the women may never have envisioned. NPR's Cheryl Corley has the story.

CHERYL CORLEY, BYLINE⁶: Inside one of the buildings at Washington Corrections Center for Women, it looks like a prep site for construction. It's full of cement blocks, wheelbarrows and wooden frames. Instructor⁷ Steve Petermann watches as more than a dozen women wearing bright orange safety vests and hardhats pound nails into the frame.

STEVE PETERMANN: There's a method here. They got to do so many nails in so many minutes. And they have to do those nails down on the side and overhead.

CORLEY: Petermann is a retired⁸ carpenter. He's been managing the TRAC program, Trades Related Apprenticeship Coaching, for about six years. Petermann says in a prison, female inmates may not think about the trades as an option when they leave.

PETERMANN: And if they do well in here and complete their testing, what they - what we can do is we can get them direct entry into a living-wage job.

CORLEY: When TRAC graduates finish their prison terms, they have what Petermann calls preferred entry or apprenticeships with four unions - the carpenters, ironworkers, laborers⁹ and cement masons. The starting wage first day on the job is about $25 to $26 per hour, and that's important. Many of the women here are single mothers with children. Thirty-five-year-old Crystal Lansdale has four children. On this day, she's near the end of her sentence for identity theft and drug offenses¹⁰. No longer addicted¹¹ to meth, Lansdale says she made bad decisions she doesn't want to repeat.

CRYSTAL LANSDALE: The construction trades is something, like, way out of the box for me. But I need a career that's going to give me retirement¹², that's going to give me benefits, that's going to give me an opportunity to take care of my kids.

CORLEY: To get into the program, the women have to be in good health. They go through screening. That includes testing for math skills and physical agility¹³. For about 16 weeks, the women spend up to six hours a day learning about tools and techniques. There's homework and physical work that requires plenty of stamina¹⁴. Desiree Jensen just completed one exercise.

DESIREE JENSEN: I was doing the blocks. We have to do a set of 13 blocks back and forth¹⁵ four times in under 11 minutes.

CORLEY: The cinderblocks weigh about 30 pounds apiece.

JENSEN: I did 6:37. I love it. It gives me a good workout.

CORLEY: Jensen was convicted of assault. She has two daughters. She also has a background in welding and likes math and detail. She's interested in becoming millwright, a high-precision craftsperson who works with machinery¹⁶. She says she's plenty motivated.

JENSEN: This is my future. The way I've been living my life the last 30 years is - isn't working. So it's time I do something else because I'm never going to come back to this place.

CORLEY: Many former felons¹⁷ return to neighborhoods that offer few opportunities, so the women in TRAC get encouragement from others who know what they'll face on the outside.

LISA MARX: So I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Lisa Marx.

CORLEY: Lisa Marx is an outreach worker for Northwest Carpenters Institute. She worked building and taking down scaffolding for oil rigs in Washington state and acts as a mentor¹⁸ now for many women working in the construction trades.

MARX: Now when you guys think of carpentry, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Wood.

MARX: Wood.

CORLEY: Marx is here to tell the women the carpentry union offers eight different apprenticeships. She's also honest about what they'll face from outright¹⁹ sexism on the job to awkwardness that may come with being the new kid in a field dominated by men. She tells them the job market is more accepting of women and to stay determined²⁰.

MARX: I mean, I'm not going to say everything's going to be peaches and cream and rosy²¹ because it's not. There's been a lot of times that I've been set up for failure. And you may face that at times, you know? And just know that you do not jeopardize²² your safety for anybody.

(CROSSTALK)

CORLEY: Out on the training floor, inmates are getting timed as they shovel²³ gravel²⁴ and sand. The women wearing red hardhats are leaders who are paid and help run the classes. Thirty-seven-year-old Chantal Trotter, who wants to become an ironworker, has four children and was convicted on drug charges. Trotter says TRAC has made her confident, and she wants to pass along the excitement she has about the future to other women she's helped train.

CHANTAL TROTTER: And to be able to walk in here - it's more than just digging ditches and shoveling gravel and carrying heavy things really quickly. It's more of a - getting to know who you are, where you want to be...

CORLEY: And learning how to navigate²⁵ the outside world successfully. In the last six years, there have been about 120 graduates of TRAC. Trainer Steve Petermann says there has been about a 3 to 5 percent recidivism rate with most women returning to prison for technical work release violations²⁶. Late this year, Washington state expanded the pre-apprenticeship to its other women's prison. Petermann says not everyone who starts a trade union apprenticeship makes it all the way through. He has high hopes, though, for Crystal Lansdale and Desiree Jensen who will start their union apprenticeship soon. Cheryl Corley, NPR News, Gig Harbor, Wash.

1 incarcerated   

钳闭的

参考例句：

• They were incarcerated for the duration of the war. 战争期间，他们被关在狱中。 来自辞典例句
• I don't want to worry them by being incarcerated. 我不想让他们知道我被拘禁的事情。 来自电影对白

2 recidivism   

n.累犯，再犯

参考例句：

• Many areas and work units have experienced no recidivism at all for as long as ten or more years.不少地区和单位出现了连续几年、十几年没有发生重新犯罪的好典型。
• It needs to supplement the personality factor to confirm the ordinary recidivism.在普通累犯成立的条件中,应增加罪犯的人格因素。

3 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

4 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

8 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

9 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

10 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

11 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

12 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

13 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

14 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。

15 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

16 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

17 felons   

n.重罪犯( felon的名词复数 )；瘭疽；甲沟炎；指头脓炎

参考例句：

• Aren't those the seats they use for transporting convicted felons? 这些坐位不是他们用来押运重犯的吗？ 来自电影对白
• House Republicans talk of making felons out of the undocumented and those who help them. 众议院共和党议员正商议对未登记的非法移民以及包庇他们的人课以重罪。 来自互联网

18 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

19 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

20 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

21 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

22 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。

23 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

24 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。

25 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

26 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。