VOA慢速英语2015 两个国家:黑人美国和白人美国

AS IT IS 2015-04-07 Two Nations: Black America and White America 两个国家:黑人美国和白人美国

A new report says black and white Americans continue to be divided in areas of economic opportunity, education, health and social justice.

The National Urban League recently released its yearly report, called “The State of Black America.” The league works to help black Americans. Its report tells a familiar story of racial disparities in American life.

It says blacks are much more likely to be unemployed¹ than whites. It notes that as many as 20 percent of blacks in seven of the country’s largest cities do not have a job. 

The study links education and joblessness.

Mark Morial is the president of the National Urban League. He notes there is a large difference in the proficiency² of blacks and whites in mathematics and reading. He says that means the inequality between blacks and whites will continue.

“The United States must close the gaps, must close the achievement gap, must close the jobs gap. It is essential to America’s economic competitiveness in the 21st century.”

Mr. Morial says the group’s report showed that even when blacks and whites have the same educational level, black unemployment is higher.

“People ask me why and I think it is the presence of still exclusion³ and discrimination in the workforce⁴ to some extent.”

 Rudy Crew is president of Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York. About 90 percent of the students there are black. He says the school is taking steps to make sure they are ready for the workplace.  

“More and more we’re having everything from career days to a real focus on the networking, if you will, that it takes to basically not just to enter your chosen career but to really get the job that you want.”

Shemroy Primo is in his final year at the college. He says he was disappointed but not surprised by the report.

“But I mean as a black man, you know it’s really hard out there in the job market. And I went to high school in Brooklyn, East New York, so I have a lot of friends that are really looking up to me and they’re really proud of me because you know I’ve taken a different route. I went to college. I'm a senior.  I'm a rising senior. This is my last semester and I plan to go to Law school”

Mr. Primo believes he must work twice as hard as a young white man to get a job.

Words in This Story

state – n. the things that affect the way something is or happens; the characteristics of a situation

familiar – adj. frequently seen, heard or experienced

disparity – n. a noticeable and often unfair difference between people or things

proficiency – n. a high degree of competence⁵, skill or expertise⁶

gap – n. a difference between two people, groups or things

achievement – n. something that has been done or achieved through effort; a result of hard work

essential – adj. extremely important and necessary

exclude – v. to prevent someone from doing something or being a part of a group; exclusion - n

discrimination – n. the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people

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 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

3 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

4 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。

5 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

6 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。