夏说英语新闻晨读 第503期:一家雇佣自闭症患者的公司

 本期内容：

Auticon, previously¹ known as Mindspark, is one of only a handful of companies that cater² exclusively for employees who are on the autistic spectrum³. It was founded by Gray Benoist who, as the father of two autistic sons, saw few options in the workplace that could cater for their needs. "I felt that the gap had to be filled and there was no other way to fill it than by taking action myself,” he said. Autism affects more than one in 100 people according to the UK's National Autistic Society, but fewer than a quarter of these will go on to full-time⁴ employment.

a handful of: 少数的；为数不多的
autistic: adj.自闭的
Autistic Spectrum Disorder⁵: 自闭症谱系障碍
cater for…:满足（需求）；迎合（品味）
exclusively: adv. 唯一地；专有地；仅仅
There was no other way/option than…: 除了……别无选择
go on to do sth./ to sth.: 继而做某事

1 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

2 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

3 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。