对很多在校生来说，夏天是用来放松和休息的时间。但也有人选择在暑期找一份工作，这样不仅能挣点零花钱，从长远的角度来讲，还可以学习、积攒职业上的技能。本集讨论暑期工作的好处。
Vocabulary: jobs 词汇: 工作
Have you ever had a summer job? For many young people, summer is a heady period where education stops and fun begins. That said, holidays, festivals and time spent with friends cost money. And the very group who have the time to capitalise on the fun summer has to offer may not have the funds to do so. The solution? A summer job.
你做过暑期工作吗？对很多年轻人来说，夏天是令人兴奋的。因为暑假来临了，欢乐开始了。话又说回来了，节假日期间以及与朋友相聚都是要花钱的。而正是那些有时间利用夏天玩乐的人却没有钱去这样做。想要解决方案？那就找一份暑期工作吧。
The concept of cash-strapped students and younger members of society being gainfully employed over the summer period is not a new one. And there are opportunities out there for those who want to earn. For me it was tending bar at a bowling alley. Vacancies can range from roles as mundane as fry cook, to seasonal work at a theme park, or a cushy job with comfortable conditions. In many cases, the jobs only pay minimum wage, which may only tide you over. But the money is not the only thing that's gained.
手头拮据的学生和社会青年在暑假期间打工挣钱并不是什么新鲜事了。对于那些想赚钱的人来说，机会是有的。对我来说，那就是在保龄球馆当酒吧服务员。可选的职位有普通的煎炸厨师，有主题公园的季节性工作，也有舒适条件下的轻松工作。在很多情况下，只能按最低标准拿工资，这些钱也许只能帮助你度过眼前。但是钱并不是唯一的收获。
"Summer and Saturday jobs prepare young people for successful careers in later life, teaching vital 'soft skills'," says UK Work and Pensions secretary Ester McVey in the Daily Mail. Indeed, when talking about their experiences of summer jobs, people asked for a BBC News article said they got "invaluable training" and learnt skills such as punctuality, tolerance, and the importance of hard graft. These opportunities are thought to be so important that the UK government has placed 20,000 summer job vacancies on a dedicated portal on its Find a Job website.
英国就业与养老金大臣伊斯特·麦克维在《每日邮报》上说：“暑期和周六的工作为年轻人日后成功的职业生涯做了准备，教授他们重要的‘软技能’。”的确，人们在谈论暑期打工的经历时，会要求BBC新闻记者帮忙写稿，宣称他们得到了“宝贵的培训”，学会了守时、宽容以及勤奋工作的重要性等技能。人们都认为这些很重要，以至于英国政府在其求职网站的一个专门门户网站上发布了2万个暑期职位空缺。
This move comes at a time of apparent need. The percentage of young people working while studying has more than halved since 1997, falling from 42% to 18% in 2014. Those are the findings of a UK government report on the death of the Saturday job. Ester McVey believes this is because young people are choosing to focus more on education rather than earning extra money. But that isn't the only problem. It isn't always easy to get a job, as 20-year-old Liberty O'Hagan, a student from Worthing, found. She told the BBC employers see summer workers as a waste of training resources since they inevitably return to university. Not to mention, by working all summer, you may feel you have missed out on the experiences and opportunities your friends have had – travelling and having fun.
这一举措来得正是时候。自1997年以来，半工半读的年轻人占比减少了一半以上，从42%降至2014年的18%。那些都是英国政府一份关于兼职工作死亡报告的调查结果。埃斯特·麦克维认为，这是因为年轻人选择更多地关注教育，而不是赚取额外的钱。但这并不是唯一的问题。沃辛大学20岁的学生利伯蒂·奥哈根发现，找工作并不总是那么容易。她告诉BBC，雇主们认为暑期工是对培训资源的浪费，因为暑期工最终还是要回到校园的。更别说因为整个夏天都在工作而错过了朋友们的经历和体验——旅行和玩乐的经历和体验。
While a summer job may not be a dream job, it can teach you things for "a successful future," says Ester McVey in a piece for the Telegraph. What students may consider a means to an end, can, in fact, become a worthwhile career-making endeavour.
埃斯特·麦克维在给《每日电讯报》的一篇文章中写道，虽然暑期工作可能不是理想的工作，但它可以教会你“成功的未来”。事实上，学生们所认为的达到目的的方法，可以成为一种有价值的事业方向。
词汇表
capitalise on 从…获利funds 资金cash-strapped 缺钱的gainfully employed 被高薪聘用tend bar 做酒吧招待vacancy 职位空缺mundane 单调的，千篇一律的seasonal work 季节性工作cushy 轻松的、安逸的minimum wage 法定最低工资tide you over 帮助你渡过难关soft skills 软技能，指沟通、社交技能punctuality 守时tolerance 宽容、容忍hard graft 苦工、繁重的工作training 训练worthwhile 有价值的endeavour 努力
测验与练习
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. True or false? The concept of summer jobs is a new one .
2. According to Ester McVey, what are the benefits of summer and Saturday jobs?
3. What has the UK government done to promote summer jobs?
4. What has happened to the number of young people working while studying?
5. Which expression in the text means 'something you do only because it helps you achieve something else'?
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. I like being a builder, but it's not exactly a ______ job. You're often exhausted!
mundane, cushy, gainful, worthwhile
2. Young people these days don't work like we used to. In my day work was nothing but ______.
tending bar, seasonal work, soft skills, hard graft
3. The most important thing is: never be late. ______ is very important at work.
punctuality, training, funds ,tolerance
4. I have a second job at the weekends ______. I often make cocktails!
working bar ,employing bar, serving bar ,tending bar
5. I've been a ______ for years. I work summers in parks and winters on the slopes.
temporary worker ,seasonal worker, part-time worker, unreal worker
答案
1. 阅读课文并回答问题。
1. True or False: The concept of summer jobs is a new one. False. The concept of cash-strapped students and younger members of society being gainfully employed over the summer period, is not a new one.
2. According to Ester McVey, what are the benefits of summer and Saturday jobs? 'Summer and Saturday jobs prepare young people for successful careers in later life, teaching vital 'soft skills'."
3. What has the UK government done to promote summer jobs? The UK government has placed 20,000 summer job vacancies on a dedicated portal on its Find a Job website.
4. What has happened to the number of young people working while studying? The percentage of young people working while studying has more than halved since 1997, falling from 42% to 18%.
5. Which expression in the text means 'something you do only because it helps you achieve something else'? A means to an end.
2. 请在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。
1. I like being a builder, but it's not exactly a cushy job. You're often exhausted!
2. Young people these days don't work like we used to. In my day work was nothing but hard graft.
3. The most important thing is: never be late. Punctuality is very important at work.
4. I have a second job at the weekends tending bar. I often make cocktails!
5. I've been a seasonal worker for years. I work summers in parks and winters on the slopes.