VOA慢速英语2019 亚马逊向员工提供创业费用

 

The U.S.-based business Amazon is often called a technology company. But many people know the company best for all the products it sells on the internet.

总部位于美国的亚马逊公司通常被称为科技公司，但是很多人知道这家公司是因为它在互联网上销售的产品。

Amazon’s website offers everything from jewelry¹ and electronics to health and beauty care products.

亚马逊公司的网站提供了从珠宝、电子产品到健康和美容护理等各类产品。

Now, Amazon is looking for ways to ship its products faster to buyers across the United States. It is trying to speed up product delivery times. To do that, the company announced a plan Monday: to pay its employees to give up their job and help them start a business delivering Amazon packages.

现在，亚马逊公司正在想办法将其产品更快地送到美国各地的买家手中，该公司试图加快产品的交付时间。为此，该公司于周一宣布了一项计划，出资让员工辞职并帮助他们创办派送亚马逊包裹的公司。

The offer comes as the company tries to decrease its shipping² times for Amazon Prime members. The goal is to deliver goods to Prime members in one day.

亚马逊发出该提议之时，正值该公司试图降低亚马逊Prime会员的运送时间，其目标是在一天内向Prime会员交付商品。

Amazon says it will pay up to $10,000 in costs for employees who are accepted into the new delivery program.

亚马逊公司表示将向被纳入新派送计划的员工支付高达1万美元的费用。

Once accepted, Amazon says it will pay the former employees what amounts to three months of their former wages.

亚马逊公司表示，一旦被纳入该计划，公司就会向这些前员工支付相当于他们之前三个月工资的费用。

The offer is open to most part-time and full-time³ Amazon employees, including those working in warehouses⁴ and other places where products are stored.

该提议对大多数兼职和全职的亚马逊员工开放，包括那些在仓库以及其它产品存放地点工作的员工。

The company, based in Seattle, Washington, did not say how many employees it expects to take them up on the offer.

这家总部位于华盛顿州西雅图的公司并没有透露预计会有多少员工接受这项提议。

The new announcement is part of a program Amazon started a year ago. That program lets anyone offer to launch an independent Amazon delivery business.

这份新公告是亚马逊公司一年前启动的计划的一部分。该计划允许任何人启动提供独立的亚马逊派送业务。

John Felton is Amazon’s vice⁵ president of global delivery services. He said that more than 200 Amazon delivery businesses have been created since the company launched the program in June of 2018.

约翰·费尔顿（John Felton）是亚马逊公司全球派送服务的副总裁。他说，自公司2018年6月启动该计划以来，已经创建了200多家亚马逊派送公司。

Milton Collier heads one of the delivery services. He started the business in Atlanta, Georgia about eight months ago. Since then, it has grown to include 50 vehicles and about 120 employees.

米尔顿·科利尔（Milton Collier）负责其中一家派送公司。大约8个月前，他在佐治亚州亚特兰大市开办了这这家公司。自此之后，它已经发展到拥有50辆车和120名员工。

Collier says his business is already preparing for the one-day shipping goal by looking for more workers.

科利尔说，他的公司已经准备好通过招聘更多工人来实现当日送达目标。

“We’re ready,” said Collier.

科利尔表示：“我们已经准备好了。”

I'm John Russell.

Words in This Story

delivery -n. the act of taking something to a person or place

global – adj. of or related to the whole world; worldwide

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

3 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。

4 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。