VOA标准英语2011--Young Navajos Leave Reservation for Jobs

Young Navajos Leave Reservation for Jobs

The hallways at Ganado High School are bustling¹ in between classes. But they're not nearly as crowded as they were just three years ago.
"I'm looking at a high school that, in the mid² 2000s, ran about 850 students," says principal Tom Rowland. "Now we're down to about 575, 580."
Rowland says he's losing about 100 students per year. "Families can't find jobs here."
The 2010 U.S. census³ shows a steady growth in America's minority populations, including Native Americans across the southwest. But the country's largest Indian reservation, the Navajo Nation where Ganado High School is located, actually saw its population shrink by three percent.
"They go to the urban areas to look for employment," says Evelyn Begay, who's worked for the school district for 28 years. "And that's where they move their families."
All five of Begay's children graduated from Ganado before going on to Arizona State University. And all five stayed in the Phoenix⁴ area after graduation.
"Even though you hear politicians say, 'We're going to build jobs,' we've heard that for 50 years, and we haven't seen any significant impact on employment for our young people," she says. "And as long as that's continuing, we're going to continue to lose our families, our children, to move away."
Strong winds are whipping tumbleweeds across the lone⁵ highway that runs through Ganado. There's almost nothing here in the way of local industry. The community's two largest employers are the hospital and the school district. That's why teachers and staff like Nathan Brady, who's the facility coordinator⁶ at Ganado High School, all tell students to leave the reservation behind when they graduate.
"Every one of them is going to encourage them, 'Go, go, get an education, get a job,'" says Brady. "They look back and there's nothing here. There's nothing for them to build on. There's no employment so they stay out there."
That's what Brady did. After graduating from high school 20 years ago, he enlisted⁷ in the Navy. But he recently returned to the reservation, turning down a duty station in Hawaii and full retirement⁸ benefits.
"I'd rather be out here to see the stars at night, rather be out here to hear the birds chirping⁹. I knew I wanted to come back."
A lot of young Navajos feel that way. The reservation is isolated¹⁰, it's desolate¹¹, the economy is stagnant¹² - but it's home.
"I think a lot of kids do want to come back, it's just that if they come back, then they're going to be stuck at home not working," says Marden Kinlichee, who just graduated from Ganado High School. In August, she'll leave for the University of New Mexico to study nursing.
But, unlike many of her classmates, she plans to return. It's part of the reason she's choosing a career in nursing. She knows she can find a job close to home where she can help her people.
"That's how I was raised, to come back and help my grandparents," says Kinlichee. "And we need a lot of help out here."
The population on the Navajo Nation is getting older. Two thirds of those now living on the reservation are over 18, up seven percent from a decade ago.
But people in Ganado aren't that worried about what many call the "brain drain." They're confident that the land, the culture, and the language will bring young people back when they're ready.

1 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

2 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

3 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

4 phoenix   

n.凤凰，长生(不死)鸟；引申为重生

参考例句：

• The airline rose like a phoenix from the ashes.这家航空公司又起死回生了。
• The phoenix worship of China is fetish worship not totem adoration.中国凤崇拜是灵物崇拜而非图腾崇拜。

5 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

6 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

7 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

9 chirping   

鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫，把我们吵醒了。
• The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。

10 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

11 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

12 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。