美国国家公共电台 NPR Federal Employees Return To Work, But Fears Of Another Shutdown Loom

Federal Employees Return To Work, But Fears Of Another Shutdown Loom¹

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Today is the first day back at work for hundreds of thousands of federal workers across the country. President Trump² signed a bill to reopen the government late Friday, bringing an end to the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Now, federal workers are worried. They could be out of work again in a few weeks if the president and Congress can't come up with a deal. NPR's Brakkton Booker reports.

BRAKKTON BOOKER, BYLINE³: Just a few blocks away from the White House, a food bank is set up for furloughed federal employees.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK WORKER: Hey, how are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK RECIPIENT⁴ #1: Good. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK WORKER: Welcome. Welcome.

BOOKER: All that's required to come in is a federal work badge⁵. Yesterday's offerings included chicken torta and winter vegetable panzanella.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK WORKER: Check your IDs inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK RECIPIENT #2: That sounds good.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK WORKER: Enjoy lunch.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK RECIPIENT #2: Thank you so much for doing this.

UNIDENTIFIED FOOD BANK WORKER: Hello. You check IDs inside.

BOOKER: Here at World Central Kitchen, I meet Terri, a federal worker. She asked that we not use her last name because she's afraid her boss won't be happy with her when she shows back up at work.

Can you tell me what you got in the bag?

TERRI: I've got some fruit and some vegetables, and I've got my lunch (laughter).

BOOKER: Terri works as a janitor⁶ at the Smithsonian here in Washington. Like many other federal employees, she's missed two paychecks as a result of the 35-day shutdown. She says two things got her through.

TERRI: For me, it has been prayer and my family. If I had not been able to depend on my family, I probably would not have gotten through the past couple of weeks.

BOOKER: She says the shutdown has been painful. Terri's not sure politicians though have any empathy for her or anyone else in the federal workforce⁷.

TERRI: My thing is I don't - I don't like being used. And that's what we feel like. We're being the ones pulled apart and plucked⁸ apart and left out to dry when these people that are making these decisions don't have the financial worries that we have.

BOOKER: Terri wasn't getting paid, but she also didn't have to go into work. Duane Wilson did have to show up. He's a federal police officer at the Department of Homeland Security. He expects back pay soon. And another thing he expects - the government to be shut down again in a few weeks.

DUANE WILSON: I personally feel like we're gonna be there. I think you have to - at this point, you have to assume the worst.

BOOKER: The deal reached by Congress and the White House only keeps the government open for three weeks. It included none of the $5.7 billion for President Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall. And when Trump announced the agreement from the Rose Garden, he showcased his willingness to shutter⁹ the government once again.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: If we don't get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on February 15 again.

BOOKER: Or, the president says, he will declare a national emergency to get his border wall - a move that will almost certainly be challenged in the courts.

(SOUNDBITE OF PHONE RINGING)

ERIC INGRAM: Hello.

BOOKER: Hi. It's Brakkton from NPR.

INGRAM: All right, great. I'll send my wife to come let you in real quick.

BOOKER: OK, great.

Eric Ingram and his wife Andrea Jensen live in Alexandria, Va. Both are federal workers. Ingram works for the Federal Aviation¹⁰ Administration and took the shutdown saga¹¹ in stride¹².

INGRAM: I guess it's cool to be a part of history. That's nice.

BOOKER: If it sounds like he's laid back, it's because his wife, who works for the Department of Energy, has been on the job and has been getting paid. Jensen says the shutdown made her realize something important. Maybe it's not wise for both of them to work for the federal government.

ANDREA JENSEN: It seems like there's more job security in not working for the same agency or having one person in private industry and one person in the government.

BOOKER: Her husband says that is something he's considering. But today he's heading back to work where he's got a ton of projects to get up and running before the next possible shutdown. Brakkton Booker, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SOUND SCIENTISTS' "MAY 6")

1 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 badge   

n.徽章，证章，标记，标识，象征

参考例句：

• Every student should carry a school badge.每个学生都应该佩带校徽。
• The olive leaf is a badge of peace.橄榄叶是和平的象征。

6 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。

7 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。

8 plucked   

采( pluck的过去式和过去分词 )； 拔掉； 解救； 弹

参考例句：

• The actress was only 17 when she was plucked from obscurity and made a star. 这个演员受到提携从无名少女一跃成为明星时年仅17岁。
• She plucked out a grey hair. 她拔掉了一根灰白头发。

9 shutter   

n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置

参考例句：

• The camera has a shutter speed of one-sixtieth of a second.这架照像机的快门速度达六十分之一秒。
• The shutter rattled in the wind.百叶窗在风中发出嘎嘎声。

10 aviation   

n.航空，航空学，飞机制造业

参考例句：

• Ten years ago,they began to develop the aviation. 十年前，他们开始发展航空工业。
• Pilots of large aircraft are masters of aviation.大型飞行器的驾驶员是航空学方面的专家。

11 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

12 stride   

vi.大踏步走，阔步行进；n.大步，步态

参考例句：

• In a big stride he came out of the room.他一个箭步出了房间。
• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。