評論
打印
Recording Three
錄音 3
We often hear people say that America is a land of opportunity, a country built on hope to aspire the greatness on the American dream.
我們經常聽到人們說，美國是一片充滿機遇的土地，一個希望實現偉大美國夢的國家。
But is the dream as we once knew it dying?
但是，我們曾經知道的這個夢想會消亡嗎？
Today's demographics show that the middle-class is disappearing and now the richest 1% of the population has mastered more wealth than the bottom 90%.
今天的人口統計數據顯示，中產階級正在消失，現在最富有的1%人口掌握的財富超過了底層90%的人口。
Once upon a time, Americans thought that if they worked hard enough, even in the phase of adversity, they would be rewarded with success.
從前，美國人認為只要他們足夠努力，即使在逆境中，他們也會獲得成功。
These days, though, the divide between rich and poor is greater than it has ever been. The question is, what is it going to take to change things?
然而，如今，貧富之間的差距比以往任何時候都要大。問題是，怎樣才能改變現狀？
Maybe one day soon real change will actually be made in our nation and the gap will be eradicated. But what happens in the meantime?
也許有一天，我們的國家真的會發生真正的變化，差距將被消除。但在此期間會發生什么呢？
Is there something that we can do to help close the gap? Is there something that we can do to prove that a little compassion goes a long way?
我們能做些什么來縮小差距嗎？我們能做些什么來證明一點同情心能幫助我們走得更遠？
If we want to fix the problem of the income gap, first, we have to understand it.
如果我們想解決收入差距的問題，首先，我們必須了解它。
It is a grim reality that you can have one person who only makes around $13,000 a year, or across town, another is making millions.
這是一個殘酷的現實，可能會有一個人年收入只有1.3萬美元左右，或者在城市的另一頭，另一個人年收入數百萬美元。
For me, it is kind of astonishing. And if you ask low-income people what's the one thing that will change their life, they'll say "a full-time job."
對我來說，這有點令人驚訝。如果你問低收入人群，什么會改變他們的生活，他們會說“一份全職工作”。
That's all they aspire to. So why is it so difficult for so many people to find employment?
這就是他們所渴望的。那么為什么這么多人找工作這么難呢？
It partly comes down to profit-driven business models that are built around low-wage work and part-time jobs that don't provide benefits.
這在一定程度上要歸因于利潤驅動的商業模式，這種模式建立在低工資工作和不提供福利的兼職工作的基礎上。
Businesses, in order to boost profits, hire employees as part-time workers only.
企業為了提高利潤，只雇傭兼職工人。
This means they are paid the lowest legal wage and receive no health care or other benefits provided to full-time employees.
這意味著他們的工資是法定最低的，沒有醫療保健或其他福利提供給全職員工。
Simultaneously, technological advancement and a global economy has reduced the demand for well-paying blue-collar jobs here in the United States.
與此同時，技術進步和全球經濟的發展降低了美國對高薪藍領工作的需求。
The cumulative effect of these two factors is that many Americans are forced to take two or more part-time jobs, just to make ends meet.
這兩個因素的累積效應是，許多美國人被迫做兩份或兩份以上的兼職工作，只是為了收支相抵。
What has become obvious to me when it comes to the income gap is that there needs to be an opportunity for the people at the bottom to push them back up and push them into the middle-class to give them hope in their lives.
在談到收入差距時，我已經清楚地認識到，底層的人們需要一個機會，把他們推回到中產階級，讓他們的生活充滿希望。
Questions 22 to 25 are based on the recording you have just heard.
根據你剛剛聽到的錄音，回答問題第22至25題。
22. What do the surveys show about America according to the speaker?
22. 根據講者所說，這些調查顯示了關于美國的什么情況？
23. What did Americans use to believe?
23. 美國人過去相信什么？
24. What do low-income people aspire to?
24. 低收入人群渴望什么？
25. What do businesses do to increase their revenues?
25. 企業如何增加收入？
