Text 4
Many people talked of the 288,000 new jobs the Labor Department reported for June, along with the drop in the unemployment rate to 6.1 percent, as good news. And they were right. For now it appears the economy is creating jobs at a decent pace. We still have a long way to go to get back to full employment, but at least we are now finally moving forward at a faster pace.
许多人认为劳工部报告的6月份新增28.8万个工作岗位，以及失业率下降到6.1% 是个好消息。 他们是对的。 就目前而言，经济似乎正在以一个不错的速度创造就业。 要恢复充分就业，我们还有很长的路要走，但至少我们现在终于以更快的速度向前迈进。
However, there is another important part of the jobs picture that was largely overlooked. There was a big jump in the number of people who report voluntarily working part-time. This figure is now 830,000(4.4 percent) above its year ago level.
然而，就业前景中还有一个重要的部分基本上被忽视了。 自愿从事兼职工作的人数大幅增加。 这一数字比去年同期增加了83万(4.4%)。
Before explaining the connection to the Obamacare, it is worth making an important distinction. Many people who work part-time jobs actually want full-time jobs. They take part-time work because this is all they can get. An increase in involuntary part-time work is evidence of weakness in the labor market and it means that many people will be having a very hard time making ends meet.
在解释与奥巴马医改的联系之前，有必要做一个重要的区分。 许多做兼职工作的人实际上想要全职工作。 他们做兼职工作，因为这是他们所能得到的一切。 非自愿兼职工作的增加是劳动力市场疲软的证据，这意味着许多人将很难维持收支平衡。
There was an increase in involuntary part-time in June, but the general direction has been down. Involuntary part-time employment is still far higher than before the recession, but it is down by 640,000(7.9percent) from its year ago level.
六月份，非自愿兼职有所增加，但总体趋势有所下降。 非自愿兼职仍然远高于经济衰退前的水平，但与去年同期相比下降了64万人(7.9%)。
We know the difference between voluntary and involuntary part-time employment because people tell us. The survey used by the Labor Department asks people if they worked less than 35 hours in the reference week. If the answer is “yes”, they are classified as working part-time. The survey then asks whether they worked less than 35 hours in that week because they wanted to work less than full time or because they had no choice. They are only classified as voluntary part-time workers if they tell the survey taker they chose to work less than 35 hours a week.
我们知道自愿和非自愿兼职的区别，因为人们告诉我们。 美国劳工部采用的这项调查询问人们，他们在参考周的工作时间是否少于35小时。 如果答案是肯定的，他们就被归类为兼职工作。 然后，调查询问他们一周工作时间少于35小时是因为他们希望工作时间少于全职还是因为他们别无选择。 只有当他们告诉调查对象他们选择每周工作少于35小时时，他们才被归类为自愿兼职工作者。
The issue of voluntary part-time relates to Obamacare because one of the main purposes was to allow people to get insurance outside of employment. For many people, especially those with serious health conditions or family members with serious health conditions, before Obamacare the only way to get insurance was through a job that provided health insurance.
自愿兼职问题与奥巴马医改有关，因为其主要目的之一是允许人们在就业之外获得保险。 对于许多人来说，尤其是那些有严重健康问题的人或者有严重健康问题的家庭成员，在奥巴马医改之前，获得保险的唯一途径是通过提供健康保险的工作。
However, Obamacare has allowed more than 12 million people to either get insurance through Medicaid or the exchanges. These are people who may previously have felt the need to get a full-time job that provided insurance in order to cover themselves and their families. With Obamacare there is no longer a link between employment and insurance.
然而，奥巴马医改已经允许超过1200万人通过医疗补助或交易所获得保险。 这些人以前可能认为需要找一份全职工作，提供保险，以便为自己和家人提供保险。 有了奥巴马医改，就业和保险之间不再有联系。
\36. Which part of the jobs picture was neglected?
- 哪一部分工作被忽视了？
[A] The prospect of a thriving job market.
[ a ]繁荣的就业市场前景。
[B] The increase of voluntary part-time jobs.
B. 自愿兼职工作的增加。
[C] The possibility of full employment.
C. 充分就业的可能性。
[D] The acceleration of job creation.
D. 加速创造就业机会。
\37. Many people work parttime because they ________.
许多人兼职工作是因为他们。
[A] prefer parttime jobs to full-time jobs
[ a ]喜欢兼职工作，不喜欢全职工作
[B] feel that is enough to make ends meet
[ b ]认为这足以使收支平衡
[C] cannot get their hands on full-time jobs
C. 他们不能从事全职工作
[D] haven't seen the weakness of the market
D. 没有看到市场的疲软
\38. Involuntary parttime employment in the US ________.
- 美国的非自愿兼职雇佣。
[A] is harder to acquire than one year ago
[ a ]比一年前更难收购
[B] shows a general tendency of decline
- 表现出总体下降的趋势
[C] satisfies the real need of the jobless
C. 满足失业者的实际需要
[D] is lower than before the recession
[ d ]比经济衰退前低
\39. It can be learned that with Obamacare, ________.
- 我们可以了解到，有了奥巴马医改,。
[A] it is no longer easy for part-timers to get insurance
[B] employment is no longer a precondition to get insurance
[C] it is still challenging to get insurance for family members
[D] fulltime employment is still essential for insurance
\40. The text mainly discusses ________.
[A] employment in the US
[B] part-timer classification
[C] insurance through Medicaid
[D] Obamacare's trouble
网友评论