VOA标准英语2011--Polish Immigrants Rise Above Economic Troubles in Britain

Polish Immigrants Rise Above Economic Troubles in Britain

Nearly 7 million immigrants live in Britain, and one particular group has grown drastically¹ since 2004 when their countries were admitted to the EU. Today 600,000 Eastern Europeans reside² in Britain, of which 66 percent are Poles. The Polish community keeps growing and is faring better than the rest during tough economic times in the UK.

Cooking up a little taste of home. That’s the goal each night at London’s oldest and arguably most well-known Polish restaurant - Gessler at Daquise.

But it’s more than food for many at this restaurant - which sits in an old Polish community turned posh London neighborhood.

For Polish immigrant and waiter Jarek Hunek, it's not only a job, but a place where he can connect with other Poles in London. He relied on friends in this tight-knit and growing community - concentrated in West London - when he moved to the Britain earlier this year.

“They helped me to find a job and an accommodation, a room in their home. They explain everything I should know about England and London,” said Hunek.

Czhanuek also had one other advantage in his job search.

“And it was easy for me - because as you can hear I speak English, so it was much easier," he said.

Analysts³ say fluency⁴ in English is a big advantage for immigrants looking for work. But a willingness to take any job also helps and is a key part of why 84 percent of Poles in Britain are employed. That number is higher than that of the native population.

Oxford⁵ University’s Carlos Vargas Silva said Poles are faring better than other immigrants during this recession⁶ because they normally come for work - not family reasons.

“They are willing to accept jobs in the labor⁷ market that are different from the ones that the local population is willing to accept. So they are willing to accept jobs that are very low given their skills.”

Many are highly skilled and educated like Hunek, who has a nursing degree but has chosen to work in the food industry.

Economist⁸ Jonathan Portes said despite the fact many Poles and other Eastern Europeans are overqualified for low paying work in Britain, many are young and likely will move up in the job market.

“My view would be that in the short term that is actually not too much of a problem because they are mostly young. They will move on,” said Portes.

But for older immigrants, like 57-year-old Edward Brzychcy, being fluent in English is not enough. He has been looking for a job in Britain for a year. And he said the job search is made harder by all the young, educated applicants⁹.

“But there are people, as you see here, from all over the world. And everyone is trying to find a job. And that's what I am trying to find, too. I hope I will be able to find it finally because I don’t intend to go back to Poland,” said Brzychcy.

And neither does Hunek. He not only has a job, but one he enjoys and that allows him to straddle the best of his two worlds: From the sidewalks of fashionable London he takes a few steps through a glass door to the sights and smells of childhood back in Poland.

1 drastically   

ad.极端地，严厉地

参考例句：

• Within a year the party had drastically overhauled its structure. 一年内这个政党已大刀阔斧地整顿了结构。
• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。

2 reside   

vi.居住，定居（in），（性质等）存在，在于

参考例句：

• They reside abroad.他们居住在国外。
• The true face of Lushan is lost to my sight,for it is right in this mountain that I reside.不识庐山真面目，只缘身在此山中。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

5 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

6 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。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

9 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。