美国人利用假期体验新职业

Workers Use Vacation Time to Explore New Careers

美国人利用假期体验新职业

 

Doing the same thing day after day can make even successful professionals unhappy, prompting dreams of doing something totally different. Those who are ready to try another career can see what's like, thanks to Vocation¹ Vacations. Instead of sitting on a beach or going to Disney World, some Americans are using their vacation time to 'test-drive' their dream job.

 

Such as Linda Nardin, she worked for a major computer company for 2 decades… until she was laid off last year. She realized she didn't want to continue her career in the technology arena².

 

Linda Nardin: I decided³ that I very much wanted to reinvent my life, but I wasn't quite sure how to go about it.

 

While she considered her options, Ms. Nardin contacted Vocation Vacations, for some hands-on experience in different fields.

 

Brian Kurth: We have a complete portfolio⁴ of well over 100 vocation vacations, and that number is growing.

 

Company founder⁵ Brian Kurth says he offers his clients a chance to spend a few days trying out a wide variety of jobs and careers.

 

Brian Kurth: The range that we’re from aides from advertising⁶ to brew⁷ master to cheese maker⁸ to an event producer to makeup⁹ artist to wedding planner, TV producer and everything in between.

 

Mr. Kurth established Vocation Vacations last year. But the idea actually came to him several years earlier when he was stuck in rush hour traffic.

 

Brian Kurth: I just decided 'Gosh, what would I really rather be doing with my life?' And I started daydreaming¹⁰ about how I'd like to be a dog trainer and work from home, or work in the vineyards as a wine maker. I've never really hated my job, quite honestly, but I was really growing a little bit tired of the corporate¹¹ climb and the commuting¹² and the whole life style.

 

Mr. Kurth says career changers and curiosity seekers between 35 and 55 are his usual customers. Linda Nardin, who lives on the East Coast, in Connecticut, signed up for a Vocation Vacation package of 3 jobs on the West Coast, in Oregon. The first one was at a bakery.

 

Linda Nardin: They make everything in the very classic French way. Each morning I went in at 3:00 and worked with the pastry¹³ chef and learned how to make all the fine little tasty things that people love. I spoke¹⁴ also with the president who told me all about the business side, how the bakery was put together... something that the average person would never have access to.

 

Then, she drove 80 kilometers south to spend a few days as a winemaker at a vineyard.

 

Linda Nardin: I got to learn about blending wines, how the grape vines are planted. I worked in the lab where they check the acidic level of wines. How they design and create the bottles, the labels, corks¹⁶, even the barrels. I didn't know anything about winemaking, but it was another very interesting experience.

 

The 3rd job Ms. Nardin tried during her 9-day vacation was a floral designer.

 

Linda Nardin: I worked with a really phenomenal woman who owns a company. She's 77 years old, and has a large number of designers that work for her, and a fleet of drivers. I learned how to create a floral arrangement and how to pick good flowers when you go to the flower markets early in the morning.

 

The experience changed her perspective on work.

 

Linda Nardin: Because I worked for a very large business, I had a mindset that large business is the only way to go with your life, that so much can be accomplished¹⁷ and you have a great deal of influence, a great deal of opportunity, a great deal with creativity, which is all true. But with a small business, you can do exactly the same thing, just on a much smaller scale. The dedication¹⁸ that I saw of the people that I worked with in each of these business was just as deep and strong as it was in a big business.

 

While Linda Nardin enjoyed all 3 jobs, she doesn't plan to pursue any of them as a new career. She says she did just it for fun. But career change was Dan Chaffee's goal when he began his Vocation Vacation. The wireless¹⁹ industry consultant²⁰ worked with a professional photographer, shooting a fashion show in Kansas City.

 

Dan Chaffee: We started like 6:30 in the morning and went until 6:00 at night, non-stop. He said, 'hey, any question you have, ask because you can't learn unless you ask questions.' I took my camera along and shot right next to him. I watched what his assistant did, how they set up the lighting²¹, set up the shoot, the reflectors and whole thing. I came in the next day and spent a few hours with him going through the photos he took and preparing it for the client.

 

Mr. Chaffee found his working vacation an encouraging and useful experience. Now, he says, he knows how a photographer runs a business… and with some more training, hopes he'll soon be ready to make this big career move and become a professional photographer.

 

Vocation Vacations are now available in 19 states, as well as parts of Canada and Britain. Brian Kurth says this kind of get-away is not only for people who are unhappy with their current careers. Stepping outside your profession for a few days and trying a different one, he says, can renew your enthusiasm for what you do, and bring excitement back into your work life.

 

I’m Faith Lapidus.

 

注释：

arena [E5ri:nE] n. 竞技场，舞台

reinvent [7ri:in5vent] vt. 彻底改变

go about 着手做

client [5klaiEnt] n. 顾客，客户

rush hour 交通高峰时间，交通拥挤时间

vineyard [5vinjB:d] n. 葡萄园

curiosity [7kjuEri5Csiti] n. 好奇心

sign up 签约参加工作

bakery [5beikEri] n. 面包店

pastry [5peistri] n. 面粉糕饼，馅饼皮

chef [Fef] n. 厨师

vine [vain] n. 藤，蔓

acidic [E5sidik] adj. 酸的，酸性的

cork¹⁵ [kC:k] n. 软木塞

floral [5flC:rEl] adj. 花的，植物的

perspective [pE5spektiv] n. 观点，看法

profession [prE5feFEn] n. 职业

enthusiasm [in5Wju:ziAzEm] n. 热心，积极性

1 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 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。

4 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

5 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 brew   

v.酿造，调制

参考例句：

• Let's brew up some more tea.咱们沏些茶吧。
• The policeman dispelled the crowd lest they should brew trouble.警察驱散人群，因恐他们酿祸。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

10 daydreaming   

v.想入非非，空想( daydream的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Stop daydreaming and be realistic. 别空想了，还是从实际出发吧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Bill was sitting and daydreaming so his mother told him to come down to earth and to do his homework. 比尔坐着空想， 他母亲要他面对现实，去做课外作业。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。

13 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

16 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

17 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

18 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

19 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

20 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

21 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。