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VOA慢速英语 2007 0205b

时间:2007-07-07 03:17:01

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Last month we began a series of reports on living with a disability in America. We started with education. Today, in Part Two, we look at employment.

(SOUND)

VOICE ONE:

To go to work, you need a way to get there. Around the nation's capital, many people take subway trains to their jobs.

Federal law says public transportation systems in the United States must be accessible. What does that mean? It means that trains, buses and planes must be designed for use by people with physical disabilities.

In Washington's Metrorail system, for example, lights go on and off as a signal to those who cannot hear a train arriving. Raised bumps1 on the ground serve as a warning to those who cannot see they are close to the edge of the platform.

And there are elevators in the station, so people in wheelchairs have a way to get from one level to another.

But in transit2 systems, like anyplace else, life is not always easy. Things like broken elevators, or no elevator at all, only create more barriers for the disabled.

(SOUND)

VOICE TWO:

Accessible public transportation is just one of the requirements of a nineteen ninety law called the Americans with Disabilities Act. This major law, known as the A.D.A., also affects the design of public buildings. And it affects employment.

Under the law, employers have to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities.

The United States has three hundred million people. Estimates differ about the number of them living with disabilities. One commonly repeated estimate is that forty-nine million people are disabled.

VOICE ONE:

A physical or mental disability can be measured in terms of how much it affects a person's quality of life. Yet even people with severe disabilities can lead successful lives in many different kinds of jobs.


David Paterson is sworn into office as lieutenant3 governor of New York on January 1

In the November elections, New York and Maryland both had legally blind candidates for lieutenant governor, their second highest office.

David Paterson, a state senator4 in New York until now, was successful in his campaign. Kristen Cox was not. She became Maryland's first secretary of disabilities when that cabinet-level position was created in two thousand four.

Marco Midon is an engineer with NASA, the National Aeronautics5 and Space Administration. He has been blind since birth, but has always loved sounds. He now uses his understanding of radios in his work at the space agency.

Max Cleland was severely6 wounded as a soldier in the war in Vietnam. He lost both legs and his right arm. He later served as head of the government agency responsible for services to military veterans. In recent years he served a term as a United States senator from Georgia.

VOICE TWO:

Many people with disabilities have jobs. But as many as sixty percent do not. Many of them have to receive public assistance or depend on their families to support them.

Marian Vessels7 directs an office in Rockville, Maryland, that provides information to employers and to people with disabilities. She works hard to help these people get the assistance they need to find and keep a job. She points out that the Americans With Disabilities Act has its limits.

MARIAN VESSELS: What it's designed to do is level the playing field, it's designed to guarantee basic civil rights for people so that it allows you to compete with everyone else for the job.

VOICE ONE:

Marian Vessels says that some employers still do not understand that people with disabilities can often do many different tasks. She talks to employers about changes or other measures that could make it possible for a person with a disability to do a job. She explains to employers that many accommodations do not cost a lot, but they give a person a chance to work.

Marian Vessels herself requires an accommodation. She needs enough room in her office to move around easily in her wheelchair.

In another job, she taught health classes to firefighters. Her employer let her teach the class at the back of a fire truck. The back of the truck was a perfect table for her while she sat in her wheelchair. Her employer did not have to buy anything or change anything. He just had to understand that she needed to use a different space to teach her classes.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

People with disabilities can go to court if they think an employer is denying them fair treatment.

A group of deaf employees at United Parcel Service wanted the right to take a truck driving test that the company would not let them take. A federal appeals court ruled in October that U.P.S. was violating8 the Americans With Disabilities Act. The court said the company could not refuse to let a group of people take the test just because they are deaf.

The ruling said U.P.S. must consider each candidate's personal ability to drive a truck. U.P.S., however, says there could be safety problems with drivers who are deaf. The company is continuing to appeal the case.

VOICE ONE:

But to people with disabilities, even courts may seem unfair sometimes.

Several university professors recently did a study. They said it was the first study to compare protections under the A.D.A. law for people with either mental or physical disabilities.

The researchers found that thirty-seven percent of people with mental disabilities won their court cases. The same was true of forty-nine percent of people with physical disabilities. The researchers said people with mental disabilities believed they were treated less fairly by the courts than people with physical conditions.


Horse trainer Dan Hendricks in his office at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California

VOICE TWO:

But most people do not want to have to go to court at all -- they just want a job.

There are many organizations in the United States that try to help people with disabilities find and keep jobs. A program called Emerging9 Leaders provides summer jobs to college students with disabilities. These students receive training to become leaders in many kinds of work.

The United States Chamber10 of Commerce has a program for employers to help people with mental disabilities. Employers are told that many of them are very hard workers who want to do a good job.

Since nineteen seventy-nine, Purdue University in the state of Indiana has had a program called Breaking New Ground. The goal is to help people who have been disabled by injuries to return to work in agricultural production. Even people with severe disabilities, it says, can return to work with training, assistive technology and family support.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

There are also special programs to help young people with disabilities to find jobs as scientists, engineers and mathematicians11.

A chemist named John Gavin became deaf as an adult. He worked for several drug manufacturers. Later, Mister Gavin looked for ways to help people with disabilities get more chances to work in science. Too often, he said, there is a mistaken belief that people with disabilities are not intelligent even if their disability affects them only physically12.

In the nineteen seventies, the American Association for the Advancement13 of Science had a special program just for women and minorities. The purpose was to encourage more of them to become scientists and engineers. Mister Gavin urged the association to include people with disabilities.

The association now has such a program for young people, called Entry Point. The association also keeps a list of public speakers who are available to discuss their experiences as scientists and engineers with disabilities.

VOICE TWO:

The federal government has programs to help Americans with disabilities find jobs. In October, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission14 announced a plan to urge the government to hire more people with severe disabilities.

People with disabilities will also be able to borrow money from the government to buy equipment that will help them work from home. This type of equipment is often called assistive technology.

VOICE ONE:

Sometimes a person with a disability may be successful with the aid of technology. But Marian Vessels, the employment specialist in Maryland, says there is no substitute for hard work.

MARIAN VESSELS: And, there were times I'd go home and think, 'I can't do this. I can't possibly do this.' And then I'd think no, I have to do this. How can I do it?

VOICE TWO:

And believing you can do a job is not enough either, she says. You also have to make an employer believe it.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Our program was written by Karen Leggett and produced by Caty Weaver15. Next month, in Part Three of our series on living with a disability in America, the subject will be assistive technology. Our first report, on education, can be found at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. We hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bumps 5e09a3f1f431029a81ad5bc8ff575818     
碰撞( bump的名词复数 ); 肿块; 轻微撞车事故; 隆起物
参考例句:
  • I had goose bumps when we watched the fireworks. 我们看烟火的时候,我起鸡皮疙瘩。
  • E was kind of zig-zagging across the pavement, and I bumps into 'im accidental-like. 他有点歪歪斜斜地在人行道上走,我一不小心撞到了他的怀里。 来自英汉文学
2 transit MglzVT     
n.经过,运输;vt.穿越,旋转;vi.越过
参考例句:
  • His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
  • The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。
3 lieutenant X3GyG     
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。
4 senator UzJwm     
n.参议员,评议员
参考例句:
  • The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
  • The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。
5 aeronautics BKVyg     
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。
6 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
7 vessels fc9307c2593b522954eadb3ee6c57480     
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人
参考例句:
  • The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
8 violating f21f0743189bca7a9c9bcb89353e0ff3     
亵渎( violate的现在分词 ); 违反; 侵犯; 强奸
参考例句:
  • Ignorance of a law does not excuse a man for violating it. 一个人不懂法律不构成犯法的理由。
  • It was sued by the U.S. federal government for violating antitrust law. 它被美国联邦政府指控违反了反托拉斯法。
9 emerging f87adcaf5e9d29c230a0a2a00de343c6     
adj.正在不断出现的
参考例句:
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
  • I saw the woman emerging out of a shop. 我看见那个妇女从商店里走出来。
10 chamber wnky9     
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。
11 mathematicians bca28c194cb123ba0303d3afafc32cb4     
数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗? 来自英汉文学
  • Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分
12 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
13 advancement tzgziL     
n.前进,促进,提升
参考例句:
  • His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
  • The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。
14 commission 1bkyS     
n.委托,授权,委员会,拥金,回扣,委任状
参考例句:
  • The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
  • The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成,其中包括两名妇女。
15 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

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