VOA慢速英语2020 2020年:欧洲青年成为“迷惘的一代”？

Unemployment among young workers has been a problem in Europe following the 2008-2009 international financial crisis.Yet early signs show it is getting worse today with the coronavirus pandemic.

2008年至2009年国际金融危机后，年轻工人的失业情况一直是欧洲的一大问题。然而随着新冠肺炎流行，有迹象表明如今这一情况更加严重。

Dunia Skaunicova is one example of how the crisis has hurt young people.After Skaunicova completed her studies at Pragues Metropolitan¹ University, she quickly found a job at a company in the Czech capital.The 24-year-old speaks Czech, English and French.

杜尼亚·斯考妮可娃是受这场危机影响的年轻人之一。斯考妮可娃完成布拉格大都会大学的学业后，她很快在捷克首都的一家公司找到了工作。斯考妮可娃今年24岁，会说捷克语、英语和法语。

Months later, she lost her job when the pandemic hit.This time, she is having problems finding one."I have been to five or six interviews in person during the last two months…there are so many people." said Skaunicova.

几个月后，疫情袭来她丢了工作。这一次她很难找到工作。“过去两个月我已经参加了5、6场面试…找工作的人太多了。” 斯考妮可娃说道。

Dennis Tamesberger follows youth unemployment for the Chamber² of Labor³ in Linz, Austria.He believes the youth unemployment rate in the Czech Republic could go as high as 16 percent in 2020.Before the pandemic, the rate was at 5 percent.

丹尼斯·泰姆斯伯格正在为奥地利林茨的劳动力协会跟踪调查青年失业率。他认为2020年捷克共和国的青年失业率可能高达16%。在疫情之前，失业率是5%。

In May, the total European Union, or EU unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.But the unemployment rate among the under-25 age group was about 15.7 percent.

五月份，整个欧盟的失业率是6.7%。但是25岁以下人群的失业率大约是15.7%。 

Youth unemployment across Europe took years to recover from the financial crisis.In countries such as Spain and Greece, the rate of unemployment remains⁴ at 30 percent.And experts believe that number could increase to 45 percent.

欧盟各地的青年失业率花费数年才从金融危机中恢复过来。在西班牙和希腊这样的国家，失业率还维持在30%。专家认为这一数值可能增至45%。

Tamesberger says when people are young, even short periods of time without a job can hurt a persons long-term earnings⁵.He points to a study from the London-based Centre for Economic Policy Research.It shows that one month of unemployment at ages 18 to 20 causes income loss of 2 percent over a lifetime.The effect of youth unemployment, he warns, could last for a generation.

泰姆斯伯格说当人们年轻的时候，就算是短时间的失业也会影响这个人的长期收入。他提到了在伦敦的经济政策研究中心的一项研究。研究表明，18至20岁青年失业一个月会造成终生收入减少2%。他警告说，青年失业的影响可能会持续一代人。

Kathleen Henehan is with the Resolution Foundation.She told Reuters, "The ‘corona class of 2020’ could face years of reduced pay and limited job prospects,long after the current economic storm has passed, unless additional support is provided fast."

凯瑟琳·汉娜是智库决心基金会的员工。她告诉路透社记者说：“‘2020年受疫情影响的阶层’可能面临多年的薪资下降和有限的职业发展前景，即使当前经济风暴过去很久之后，除非迅速得到额外的支持。”

Part of the problem is that young workers in Europe are often the first to lose their jobs.In addition, parts of the economy that have been hurt by the pandemic are mostly in retail⁶ and hospitality.Those are places where young people often get their first jobs.

部分问题在于欧洲的年轻员工通常是最早失业的一批人。而且，受疫情影响的经济行业主要是零售业和酒店服务行业。年轻人通常在这些地方找到第一份工作。

The EU is urging governments to create jobs and training programs for young workers.In Britain, the finance minister recently announced a $2.5 billion program to create six-month work placement jobs for unemployed⁷ people between 16 and 24 years old.It also supports more government job training programs.

欧盟正在督促各国为年轻员工创造就业机会、提供培训项目。在英国，财政部长最近发布了一项25亿美元的计划，旨在为16到24岁的失业群体提供6个月的工作机会。这一计划还支持政府开设更多工作培训项目。

Those looking for jobs find that the competition is fierce.Some companies ignore job searchers.Others tell young workers not to expect much in wages or benefits.

求职者发现竞争非常激烈。一些公司会无视求职者。其他公司会告诉年轻员工不要期待太高的工资或者福利。

Blake Wittman helps people find jobs through Goodcall.He said one company in Prague told him that as many as 50-100 people applied⁸ for a job opening.Before the pandemic, there were just 5 to 10.

布莱克·惠特曼帮助人们通过Goodcall（求职软件）找工作。他说布拉格一家公司告诉他大约有50至100人申请一个空缺岗位。而在疫情之前，只有5到10人。

"Any job that opens is gold," he said.

“任何招聘岗位都是香饽饽，” 他说。 

Im John Russell.

约翰·罗塞尔为您报道。 

1 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 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。

4 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。

5 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

6 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

7 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。

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。