2006年VOA标准英语-US Military Veterans Battle for Jobs at Home

By Amanda Cassandra
New York
19 November 2006 

		James Johnson, a 22-year Army veteran, talks with Pat Cooke, left, a recruiter for the Clearwater, Fla. police department, at a veterans job fair in New York

The U.S. Bureau of Labor¹ Statistics says that nearly 15 percent of veterans aged² 20-24 were jobless in July 2005 - three times the national average. The unemployment rate of non-veterans in the same age category was just under eight percent.

----

Twenty-four year old Lee French is a veteran without a job. French received a baccalaureate degree in history from Carnegie Mellon University and spent a year in Kuwait, serving as a shipping³ supervisor⁴.

French said when he returned to the United States, he struggled to locate career opportunities that put his military experience to use. "I interviewed with a shipping company and they saw my resume online and they e-mailed me and they asked me to come in and once I showed up, I guess the guy was surprised that I was so young. He told me he would call me back, but I haven't heard from him," he said.

For many U.S. military veterans, pursuing a job is a critical first step to returning to civilian⁵ life and for some, it is not an easy one.

These veterans are not without help.

The New York Times Company is sponsoring annual job fairs called "Salute⁶ Our Heroes" to help veterans make the transition from military to civilian jobs.

Hundreds of military veterans attended the career fair, which provides access to leading companies, to resume writing services and seminars.

At a recent job fair in New York, Astronaut Dan Burbank, of the National Aeronautics⁷ and Space Administration, said veterans have a multitude of skills to offer employers.

"The thing that these veterans are bringing to the work force right now, whether it be NASA or whether it be in the private sector⁸, (is) the ability to work with technology and work with and work with it well. NASA, historically to this day and always has dealt with technology that is right up at the edge of what engineering can do and again these people have dealt with that and worked with it on a regular basis. But I think a more broad application for them is just the sense of team work, the discipline, the competence⁹, the professional competence that these individuals have because of the experiences that they've had," he said.

New York Times chief legal officer Solomon Watson said veterans deserve more than a pat on the back and a thank you for their service. Solomon, himself a former U.S. military veteran, says veterans need to know they have support. "The first thing I'd like them to take away from the job fair is not at all job related, it's citizen related in that all of the folks here, the New York Times, the veterans organizations, the employers celebrate and honor our veterans for their service. Secondly¹⁰, we want them to take away that there's a commitment here from all of these organizations, individuals and agencies to help them get back into the work force and become contributing members of society," he said.

Michael John Ortiz is a veteran job seeker who served as a lieutenant¹¹ and army transporter in Iraq for 10 months. He says he returned to the United States to find his job situation different from when he left. "I go back to work in January 2006, one, to find out that I was given a job but I wasn't the same status. And two, to find out that the job was ending because it was a granted funded program and that grant was unfortunately defunded and I'm good there until 5pm November 30th. That's it. Our program is totally gone so coming to this job fair is not just me wanting to do it, it's a necessity at this point," he said.

Ortiz is confident in his skills and those of his fellow veterans. "I think anyone who can lead soldiers while under fire and get those soldiers back home, I think that's someone worth talking to as far as employment goes so that's how I'm trying to market myself. I went from working in an office to overseas working in a combat zone back to an office. And I don't mind the academic world, the administrative¹² portion of it, but I know now I can handle a great deal more than just that. If these employers here are looking for veterans specifically, I'm going to take advantage of that," he said.

The New York job fair is only one example of many efforts to find jobs for veterans. There are over 3,500 government run employment offices in the United States that give priority to veterans for job training and placement.

Veterans can also utilize¹³ the resources available by law through the so-called G.I. Bill, which guarantees up to 36 months of education benefits to eligible¹⁴ veterans for college or vocational education as well as one year of unemployment compensation.

1 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。

2 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

3 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

4 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

5 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

6 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。

7 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

8 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

9 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

10 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

11 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

12 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

13 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

14 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。