VOA慢速英语2015 一杯咖啡改变生活

AS IT IS 2015-06-11 Changing Lives One Cup of Coffee at a Time 一杯咖啡改变生活

Denver, Colorado is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. It also has one of the biggest populations of homeless young people. A Denver coffee shop is seeking to resolve the problem. The Purple Door Coffee Shop employs and trains homeless young people, giving them a second chance to make a new start.

Kevin: "Welcome! What can I get for you guys?"

For many years of his life, Kevin Persons lived on the street. Today, he is working behind the counter of an espresso bar, serving coffee. He is also working to move off the streets and into a home.

"It is a struggle to get a job even when you have a house nowadays; but when you don't have a house trying to get a job it is so much harder."

What makes it a little easier is the mission of the Purple Door Coffee shop. It does not just serve a cup of coffee; it turns lives around.

The owners of the two-year-old nonprofit hire three to four young adults per year. Shelters such as Urban Peak, where Kevin was staying, recommend young people who are ready to commit to working.

Kim Easton, who runs Urban Peak, says the partnership¹ between the shelter and the coffee shop is important.

"When someone has lived in chronic² stress and trauma³ for as long as these young people have, every day fighting for survival⁴, they haven't had the opportunity nor the example of how to learn conflict management, how to manage money, how to cook a meal, how to pay their rent on time, or why that is even important."

Those skills are exactly what employment at Purple Door offer.

Madison Chandler is a co-founder of Purple Door. She and her partner meet with their workers individually each week. They talk about topics ranging from mental health, finance⁵, hygiene⁶ and customer service. They also provide a life coach to make sure the workers have the support and skills that will set them up for success.

Madison Chandler says at the end of Purple Door's first year, their four graduates were ready to start a new part of their lives. The experience at the coffee shop helped them get jobs.

"Our very first guy that ever graduated from the program, he has been working at a auto⁷ parts warehouse⁸ since he left, which has been over a year now."

Kevin recognizes that he is learning what he needs to leave the struggles of homelessness and learn the skills to live a full life.

"They seem to have the philosophy that they, they, don't want to change us, they want to help us change ourselves."

Kevin says he is used to being kicked out of stores and treated with disrespect. Now, for the first time in his life, he is being trusted with money, handling food and enjoying conversations with customers. In the short time Kevin has been in the program, he says it's already giving him the support, love and opportunity he and many others without homes need but are denied.

"It has been so helpful just to have structure and to have, like, a purpose and a goal that is, like, tangible⁹."

For Madison Chandler, providing these young adults with employment and education and helping¹⁰ them become confident and independent is the most rewarding part of her job.

"The most rewarding thing is watching somebody start to believe in themselves and to believe that they can achieve a life for themselves that they have dreamed of or to believe they are worth it even."

As for Kevin, who turns 25 this month, living in a home and having a job to come to will be the best gift he can give himself.

Words in This Story

hygiene – n. the things you do to keep yourself and your surroundings clean

deny (ied) – v. refused to give something to someone

tangible – adj. able to be touched or felt

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

3 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

4 survival   

n.留住生命，生存，残存，幸存者

参考例句：

• The doctor told my wife I had a fifty-fifty chance of survival.医生告诉我的妻子，说我活下去的可能性只有50%。
• The old man was a survival of a past age.这位老人是上一代的遗老。

5 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

6 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

7 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

8 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

9 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。