VOA慢速英语--大学应届毕业生担心自己的未来

College 'Seniors' Worry About The Future

American Carter Oselett is back in his childhood bedroom. He was sent home from Michigan State University because of the coronavirus crisis¹. But, he told the Associated Press that he is still paying to use an empty apartment near his college

Oselett buys food for an aunt recovering from COVID-19, the disease² caused by the virus. His mother is now seeking government unemployment payments³.

Oselett's summer study program at a university in Brazil has been canceled, and he is not sure he will graduate in December as planned.

For many of the nearly 2 million people in the United States expected to earn bachelor's degrees in 2020, the crisis has taken away many things. These include their housing⁴, friends and dreams of a graduation ceremony.

Some college students in their final, or "senior," year face real-world responsibilities as they try to support themselves or struggling family members. For others, adulthood⁵ is being delayed. Their plans for after college, including work and travel, have been canceled. Now, they must move back home.

Nearly all of these students fear their first steps into adulthood will be affected⁶ by a worldwide recession⁷.

Barry Schreier is a University of Iowa psychologist and communications chairman of the Association⁸ for University and College Counseling⁹ Center Directors. He urges students to hold on to their goals although they may have to delay their plans. He said they should also expect to go through levels of sadness, which include denial¹⁰, anger and depression.

Schreier noted¹¹ that accepting adult responsibilities, often called "adulting," is difficult on good days. "And these are certainly not good days," he added.

Axel Lopez is in his senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, known as UCLA. He takes pictures of sporting events for the school's newspaper, The Daily Bruin. He had hoped to take a last walk through the newsroom before moving to Utah to take a job in the summer. Instead, he is now quarantined in his apartment near UCLA and taking his final classes online. The expected summer job offer never came.

"It's a very uncertain time, considering just a couple of months ago, it seemed there was a surplus¹² of jobs available," he said.

Lopez is a first-generation college student. He joined his mother growing up as she cleaned houses in Los Angeles. He had dreams of hugging his mom at graduation and telling her: "Yeah, it was all worth it."

UCLA announced its June graduation ceremony would be held online, then reconsidered after criticism¹³. The university has promised to hold an in-person celebration later.

"Even though we're going to have it in the next year, I feel it won't be the same," Lopez said.

Victoria Arévalo is back in her family's small two-bedroom apartment in west Los Angeles. She had hoped to stay in her apartment at nearby Loyola Marymount University, where she is studying communications. But she knew her family needed the money that would be returned to her if she came back home. That is because her stepfather's job at a storage business was suspended¹⁴.

Very quickly, Arévalo lost her emotional¹⁵ "safe space," her paid, TV news position and her final months with college friends. At first, she voiced her anger on social media. But after a few weeks back home, she accepted the situation and the road ahead.

"I know it's going to be a lot harder than it would have been. I'm just trying mentally to prepare myself," said Arévalo. She is a 22-year-old immigrant¹⁶ who came to the United States from El Salvador as a child.

For health sciences student Anali Reyes Vazquez, the crisis has caused problems. Her parents are out of work. But, there also is a possibility of something good.

The 21-year-old senior at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey¹⁷, planned to find a job and continue her education in June. Those plans are on hold. However, one of her final classes is on medical translating. This could help her find a position serving Spanish-speaking patients.

"There are people in need," she noted.

Words in This Story

apartment –n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

aunt – n. the sister of your father or mother or the wife of your uncle

graduate –v. to earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

bachelor's degree(s) –n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

certainly –adv. definitely¹⁸

quarantined –adj. kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

hug(ging) –v. to put your arms around someone especially as a way of showing love or friendship

translating – v. changing words from one language into another language

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

3 payments   

n.支付，付款，缴纳，报酬( payment的名词复数 )；付出的[要付出的]款项；报答，报偿

参考例句：

• Welfare payments cease as soon as an individual starts a job. 一旦就业，即停发福利救济。
• The law can compel fathers to make regular payments for their children. 这项法律可强制父亲定期支付子女的费用。

4 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

5 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 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。

8 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

9 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。

10 denial   

n.否认；拒绝，拒绝给予

参考例句：

• The newspaper printed a denial of the untrue story.报社刊登了否认不实消息的声明。
• Her denial of my advice hurts me.她拒绝我的忠告伤害了我。

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 surplus   

adj.过剩的，多余的；n.过剩，剩余额

参考例句：

• The manufacturers in some countries dumped their surplus commodities abroad.一些国家的制造商向国外倾销过剩产品。
• The surplus steam was blown off through the pipes.多余的蒸气通过管道放掉了。

13 criticism   

n.批评，批判，指责；评论，评论文章

参考例句：

• Some youth today do not allow any criticism at all.现在有些年轻人根本指责不得。
• It is wrong to turn a deaf ear to other's criticism.对别人的批评充耳不闻是错误的。

14 suspended   

a.被暂时搁置的

参考例句：

• A lamp was suspended from the ceiling. 一盏吊灯悬在天花板上。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area. 英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

15 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

16 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

17 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

18 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。