2007年VOA标准英语-Nonprofit Groups Provide Job Training, Placemen

By Jeffrey Young
Washington
12 June 2007
 

To most Americans, the governments in their towns and regional areas, called counties, are the governments they interact with the most.  And alongside these local governments are groups of citizens who work on their own to make life better.

In this segment of a multi-part series, VOA's Jeffrey Young looks at how private organizations in Montgomery County, Maryland, provide job training to get people into productive careers.

Citizens are generous with donations of clothing and household items

What is junk in one house are jewels in another.  And donating what is not wanted creates jobs for disadvantaged people.

Montgomery County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., has plenty of job openings.  But there are some people who are not in the workforce¹ because of insufficient² skills, disabilities, and other reasons.  They need training and other help to get and keep a steady job.

That is where organizations such as Goodwill³ step in.  Goodwill and similar nonprofit groups put people with employment problems into job training programs.  The goal is to help give them careers they can build a future with.

One employee testimonial  "I have a job here, and it's a good job."

People donate their unwanted clothes, furniture, and household items at a Goodwill collection center. They come in cars, in trucks, even pulling horse trailers.  A donor⁴ commented, "Bringing stuff [household items] to Goodwill is a type of recycling for society.  It's a shame to throw anything away.  We have so much. And what is not useful to you is gold to somebody else. 

Goodwill's Morris Garrett says you would not believe what comes in day after day. "Everything you could possibly imagine, from [stuffed and mounted] cow's heads to toys, boats, clothes, computers, laptops, radios - - everything is donated.  Anything you could possibly want, you can probably find it here."

The crew taking in donations is constantly moving. Unloading cars, unloading trucks, sorting everything into racks and bins⁵ -- it never stops. Then the items are moved inside, where other workers put clothes on hangers⁶ and get other things ready for sale. Then, everything is put out in the store for people to buy.

The cash taken in goes to Goodwill's training programs to teach people skills so they can join the workforce.

Frederick Miriga came from Kenya. He was trained in Goodwill's hotel program and now works at the Hyatt Regency where he keeps the building's machinery⁷ running. Frederick says his training will be put to good use back in Kenya.

"The knowledge I will get from this place will really help me quite a lot to help the people, let's say the community, who are in need, lets say desperate need, of water systems."

There are other organizations in the community besides Goodwill that helps people get good jobs. One is Jobs Unlimited⁸, in the Montgomery County city of Rockville. Brian Fields is the Operations Manager at Jobs Unlimited.

"Before I started working at Jobs Unlimited, I was a shut-in [recluse] for over three years.  I've gotten off disability and am working full time. I'm renting a room and paying my rent.  And, my life is moving forward."

In counties and cities across the United States, Goodwill and other organizations are addressing community needs by helping⁹ those who have largely been left behind.  And the job training that these groups provide enables those receiving it to have the dignity that comes from being a productive member of society.

1 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

2 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

3 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

4 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

5 bins   

n.大储藏箱( bin的名词复数 )；宽口箱（如面包箱，垃圾箱等）v.扔掉，丢弃( bin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Garbage from all sources was deposited in bins on trolleys. 来自各方的垃圾是装在手推车上的垃圾箱里的。 来自辞典例句
• Would you be pleased at the prospect of its being on sale in dump bins? 对于它将被陈列在倾销箱中抛售这件事，你能欣然接受吗？ 来自辞典例句

6 hangers   

n.衣架( hanger的名词复数 )；挂耳

参考例句：

• The singer was surrounded by the usual crowd of lackeys and hangers on. 那个歌手让那帮总是溜须拍马、前呼後拥的人给围住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I want to put some of my good hangers in Grandpa's closet. 我想在爷爷的衣橱放几个好的衣架。 来自辞典例句

7 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

8 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

9 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。