VOA慢速英语2009年-Education Report - In New Jersey, a Summer

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

The United States has lost almost seven million jobs since the recession began in December of two thousand seven. The good news: the central bank says economic activity appears to be "leveling out."

The bad news: no one knows when the job market will recover.

These days, if a job is available, young people often have to compete with more experienced workers. The situation is worst for those with the least education.

About thirty percent of workers age sixteen to twenty-four with less than a high school diploma were unemployed¹ last month. That was more than three times the national unemployment rate. The Labor² Department says even among high school graduates, twenty-one percent of those with no college were jobless.
　
Salvatore Mastroeni is the director of the One-Stop Career Center in Hackensack, New Jersey³

The federal stimulus⁴ spending includes money to pay for jobs for needy⁵ young people. One such program in the state of New Jersey is giving some young people their first experience with the world of work.

Counselors⁶ at the One-Stop Career Center in Hackensack have found jobs for a few hundred young people this summer.

The jobs are twenty hours a week through this month. The pay is seven dollars and twenty-five cents an hour -- the federal minimum wage.

Those chosen must come from poor families and must also face at least one barrier to getting a job. For example, they must have left school or been in trouble with the law.

Sixteen-year-old Nahdir Gonzalez left school last year.

NAHDIR GONZALEZ: "I want a job because I don't want to get in any trouble, I want to stay away from the streets, keep my head on my shoulders, stay on the right path so I can be successful in life."

The director of the program is Salvatore Mastroeni, a former principal of a high school.

SALVATORE MASTROENI: "There's going to be next steps for you after you leave this program. Hopefully, in September or October we might be able to begin either a GED program for you, connecting you then with a college, with a transition program for career pathways."

Many colleges and employers will accept what is known as a GED as the equivalent of a high school diploma.

Salvatore Mastroeni often drives from Hackensack to nearby Englewood. There, he has placed young workers in the recreation department and other local government jobs.

SALVATORE MASTROENI: "Mayor's office, schools, any public entity⁷ where youngsters can gain workforce⁸ readiness skills."

Twenty-year-old Desirae Somerville is working in a school office and also helping⁹ out at the recreation center.

DESIRAE SOMERVILLE: "They have me down at Liberty School, working with other children. We're fixing up the classrooms, painting and doing inventory¹⁰."

REPORTER: "What would you be doing this summer now if it weren't for this job?

DESIRAE SOMERVILLE: "I'd probably be home now sleeping, or looking for another job."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. I'm Steve Ember.
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Includes reporting by VOA's Carolyn Weaver

1 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

2 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。

3 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。

4 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

5 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

6 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

7 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

8 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。