VOA标准英语2011--Weak Job Market Hits African Americans H

Weak Job Market Hits African Americans Hard

President Barack Obama is proposing several measures his administration says will create millions of jobs and stimulate¹ the sluggish² economy. The nation's high unemployment rate has hit minority groups in the United States especially hard. Nearly three-million African Americans are having a hard time finding work after several years of massive job losses.
Long lines at corporate³ job hiring fairs illustrate⁴ just how many Americans are looking for work. The situation is especially dire⁵ for African Americans. David Baker⁶ is looking for work in the banking⁷ industry in Los Angeles. "I have applied⁸ for, I would have to say, pretty close to over 300 jobs in the last year," he said.
The U.S. Labor⁹ Department says the nation's unemployment rate remains¹⁰ unchanged at 9. 1 percent. But the jobless figure for African Americans is nearly double, at 16.7 percent, the highest its been since 1984.
Economist¹¹ Heidi Shierholz is with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington "So what we are seeing now with the black unemployment rate is actually what we would expect given the overall state of weakness in the labor market. What we are experiencing here is just a profound lack of jobs across the board and that hits racial and ethnic¹² minorities harder," Shierholz said.
Some African Americans job-seekers say even in sectors¹³ that are hiring, like healthcare, the competition is fierce.
"While I was in school I thought it would have been easier. I said to myself as soon as I get out I will get a job because there is such a shortage of nurses all over. But it has been difficult, since December I have been looking for work," said one job seeker.
President Barack Obama says high unemployment is holding down economic growth. He is asking lawmakers to approve a series of measures his administration believes will create jobs. "Our economy has to grow faster. We have to create more jobs and we have to do it faster," Obama said.
Analysts¹⁴ say there is also political pressure on Obama from African Americans supporters to fight for those hit hardest by the economic downturn. Marc Morial is president of the National Urban League. "If he [President Obama] recommends a bold and imaginative jobs plan there will be those on the far right [Conservative Republicans] who howl in disagreement. But there will be those in Americas urban communities in Americas rural communities the weak, the disadvantaged, that will cheer we need a jobs plan," Morial stated.
One program the Obama Administration wants to invest in targets assistance for the long-term unemployed¹⁵.
Jacklyn Willis has been out of work for six months. Now she is in a program that gives unemployed workers eight weeks of training at selected companies at no cost to the employer. "It is a win, win scenario¹⁶. I decided¹⁷ that if I could go somewhere and volunteer for a while to see if it is a fit for me, and they [the company] get to see if it is a fit for them, then there is nothing to lose," Willis noted¹⁸.
The plan has already shown results in states like Georgia where nearly a quarter of workers in the program were hired by the company at which they trained. Sixty percent of those in the program found work elsewhere.
Shierholz says direct government hiring programs are needed in African-American and other minority communities. "The key thing in a program like that is that the decisions about where that money would be best employed would be up to local leaders. And there would be some strings¹⁹ attached along the lines of a certain percentage of this stimulus²⁰ money has to be spent on wages and those projects would be labor intensive," she said.
Economists²¹ say high unemployment especially for African Americans could remain high for several years. Community leaders are hopeful that some type of government plan can provide faster relief for millions looking for work now.

1 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

2 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

5 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

6 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

7 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

11 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

12 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 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。

16 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

20 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

21 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》