VOA标准英语2013--Berlin Program Helps Minorities Enter Workforce

 

Berlin Program Helps Minorities Enter Workforce¹

Ayse is a Turkish-German Berliner employed by the city. She found her job through Berlin Needs You

At the program's recent annual meeting, counselors² said they'd hit a milestone³ - 25 percent of new hires at city agencies now come from immigrant backgrounds.  

Some of the program's newest participants - like Hussein El Ali and Cihad Yildiz - talked about their experiences. Both just finished internships at the city's water company, and want to transition to full-time⁴ apprenticeships soon.

"There was a lot of variety. We didn't get bored. Our team leaders were nice. They were really patient with our questions. We could ask all the questions we needed to," said Yildiz.

"I agree. Our boss had his hands full but he always made time to help us," said El Ali.

One person looking to hire students from migrant backgrounds was Charlotte Kruhoffer, who represents Germany's largest hospital system.

"Apart from myself being of a migration⁵ background - I'm from Denmark - the whole hospital subscribes⁶ to the idea that Berlin is a very diverse city. We have people from all over the world. And the people we have working in the hospitals have to mirror that," said Kruhoffer.

Ayla Kadi is a consultant⁷ to the program. She said Berlin Needs You plays a vital role in helping⁸ kids from uneducated families recognize their potential.

"Their parents are not educated, their friends are not educated, they're at school with many other children who are also from families which are not educated. For them, working in industry is completely foreign. It's for them like another country," said Kadi.

The city's police force is also taking part in the program. About one-fifth of this year's list of recruits includes officers from Turkish, Vietnamese and African backgrounds.

Fatih G?re is a Turkish-German policeman from Berlin, and a mentor⁹.

"Migrant youths want to take part. Of course there are people who are skeptical¹⁰ of the police. But many want to join the force, take part in society, and have a stable job," said G?re.

Though Berlin has met its quota¹¹, diversity in the public sector¹² doesn't seem to be replicating¹³ itself nationally. New data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that Germany still has the lowest percentage of minority public servants in the 34-member group. 

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 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 subscribes   

v.捐助( subscribe的第三人称单数 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意

参考例句：

• The library subscribes to 40 magazines. 这个图书馆订购四十种杂志。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He subscribes to a number of journals concerning his subject. 他订阅了许多与他的学科有关的杂志。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 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。

9 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

10 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

11 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

12 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。

13 replicating   

复制( replicate的现在分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Applications create these partitions for storing and replicating data. 应用程序创建这些分区用来储存和复制数据。
• The closest real things to these creatures were bits of self-replicating RNA. 最贴近这些造物的实物是能做一点微不足道的自复制的核糖核酸。