VOA慢速英语2009-Education Report - Studying in the US: The J

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

In America, May and June are the traditional months for graduations. A listener in China, Jack¹ Hoo from Jiangsu province, wants to know how American college graduates find jobs. Right now the answer is: not very easily.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers collects information on the college job market. NACE's latest survey in March found that employers expected to hire twenty-two percent fewer graduates this year than last. Most blamed the recession².
　
Just before graduation, a student, left, explores job possibilities at Temple University's career center

The most recent student survey showed that just one-fifth of those who looked for jobs before graduation have one by now. This is compared to half of students who had looked for a job by this time two years ago. But one difference: fewer of this year's graduates have started to search for jobs.

Still, NACE found no big increase in graduates who plan to stay in school and avoid the job market. About twenty-seven percent said they plan to go to graduate school, compared to about twenty-four percent a year ago.

Engineering and accounting³ graduates were more likely to have started their job search already and to have accepted a job. These are among the best paid professions for people with just a college degree. On average, engineering majors expect to start at about sixty-two thousand dollars a year. Accounting majors expect about forty-five thousand.

So how can students increase their chances for a job? Mimi Collins at NACE says the most effective tool is a school's career counseling⁴ center. Counselors⁵ can help students with job applications and preparing for interviews. They also let students know about job openings and events like job recruitment fairs. They can also help first-year students decide what to study.

Another way to look for a job is to do an internship⁷. This is when a student gets experience in a position that may or may not be paid. The latest NACE survey found that seventy-three percent of graduates who did get jobs had completed an internship.

The group reported in March that employers expected to increase hourly wage offers for college interns⁶ by five percent from last year. But, because of the economy, employers reduced the number of internships available by twenty-one percent.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. You can find our Foreign Student Series on studying in the United States at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

3 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

4 counseling   

n.咨询服务

参考例句：

• A multimillionaire media magnate has shocked his employees with his candor by telling them all that he's putting his business affairs on hold to enter an alcoholism-counseling program. 一位身份数百万的媒体大亨，坦诚地告诉他全体员工他将暂时搁置他的事业以便参加戒酒班，令员工大为惊愕。
• She will need medical help and counseling to overcome the tragedy. 她将需要医疗帮助和心理咨询来平复这场悲剧。

5 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

6 interns   

n.住院实习医生( intern的名词复数 )v.拘留，关押( intern的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Our interns also greet our guests when they arrive in our studios. 我们的实习生也会在嘉宾抵达演播室的时候向他们致以问候。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• The interns work alongside experienced civil engineers and receive training in the different work sectors. 实习生陪同有经验的国内工程师工作，接受不同工作部门的相关培训。 来自超越目标英语 第4册

7 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习