学术英语(社科)Unit3三单元原文及翻译.doc

UNIT 3 Unemployment1. Losing a job can be the most distressing economic event in a persons life. Most people rely on their labor earnings to maintain their standard of living, and many people get from their work not only income but also a sense of personal accomplishment.A job loss means a lower living standard in the present, anxiety about the future, and reduced self-esteem. It is not surprising, therefore, that politicians campaigning for office often speak about how their proposed policies will help create jobs.失去一份工作可能是最痛苦的经济事件在一个人的生活。大多数人们依靠自己的劳动收入来维持他们的生活标准,许多人会从他们的工作得到的不仅是收入，还有自己的成就感。一个失去工作意味着现在要定一个更低的生活标准,焦虑未来,并丧失自尊心。这并不奇怪,因此,政治家竞选办公室经常谈论他们所提出的政策将帮助创造就业机会。4.In judging how serious the problem of unemployment is, one question to consider is whether unemployment is typically a short-term or long-term condition. If unemployment is short-term, one might conclude that it is not a big problem. Workers may require a few weeks between jobs to find the openings that best suit their tastes and skills. Yet if unemployment is long-term, one might conclude that it is a serious problem. Workers unemployed for many months are more likely to suffer economic and psychological hardship.判断失业问题有多么严重时，其中一个问题就是要考虑是否失业通常是一个短期或长期的条件。如果失业是短期的，人们可能会得出结论，它不是一个大问题。工人可能需要几个星期的工作之间找到最适合他们的口味和技能的开口。然而，如果失业是长期的，人们可能会得出结论，这是一个严重的问题。许多个月的失业工人更容易遭受经济和心理上的困难。5. One reason why economies always experience some unemployment is job search. Job search is the process of matching workers with appropriate jobs. If all workers and all jobs were the same, so that all workers were equally well suited for all jobs, job search would not be a problem. Laid-off workers would quickly find new jobs that were well suited for them. But, in fact, workers differ in their tastes and skills, jobs differ in their attributes, and information about job candidates and job vacancies is disseminated slowly among the many firms and households in the economy.摩擦性失业往往是在不同企业之间的劳动力需求变化的结果。当消费者决定，他们更喜欢富士通而不是宏碁，富士通增加就业岗位，宏碁就解雇工人。前宏碁的工人必须寻找新的就业机会，而富士通必须决定雇用新工人开辟了各种作业。这种转变的结果是一段时间的失业。6.Frictional unemployment is often the result of changes in the demand for labor among different firms. When consumers decide that they prefer Compaq over Dell computers, Compaq increases employment, and Dell lays off workers. The former Dell workers must now search for new jobs, and Compaq must decide which new workers to hire for the various jobs that have opened up. The result of this transition is a period of unemployment.同样，由于不同地区的国家生产不同的商品，在一个地区就业增长，在另一个减少。考虑会发生什么事，例如，当世界石油价格下降。在得克萨斯州的石油生产企业应对较低的价格削减生产和就业岗位。与此同时，汽油便宜刺激汽车销售，所以在密歇根州的汽车生产企业提高生产和就业。在行业或地区之间的需求组成的变化被称为部门转移。因为它需要工人花费时间在新的行业搜索工作，部门转移导致暂时失业。7.Similarly, because different regions of the country produce different goods, employment can rise in one region while it falls in another. Consider, for instance, what happens when the world price of oil falls. Oil-producing firms in Texas respond to the lower price by cutting back on production and employment. At the same time, cheaper gasoline stimulates car sales, so auto-producing firms in Michigan raise production and employment. Changes in the composition of demand among industries or regions are called sectoral shifts. Because it takes time for workers to search for jobs in the new sectors, sectoral shifts temporarily cause unemployment.摩擦性失业是不可避免的，只是因为经济总是在不断变化。一个世纪前，在美国的四个行业最大的就业棉织品，毛织品，男装，和木材。今天，最大的四个行业是汽车，飞机，通信，电器元件。由于这种转变发生，工作中创造一些企业，摧毁一部分企业。这一过程的最终结果一直是更高的生产力和更高的生活水平。但是，一路走来，衰退产业的工人发现自己失去工作和寻找新的就业机会。8. Frictional unemployment is inevitable simply because the economy is always changing. As this transition took place, jobs were created in some firms, and jobs were destroyed in others. The end result of this process has been higher productivity and higher living standards. But, along the way, workers in declining industries found themselves out of work and searching for new jobs. This churning of the labor force is normal in a well-functioning and dynamic market economy, but the result is some amount of frictional unemployment.即使一些摩擦性失业是不可避免的，精确的空余量是没有的。更快的信息传播工作空缺和职工的可用性,可以更迅速的经济工作者和企业相匹配。例如，互联网，可能有助于促进求职和减少摩擦性失业。此外，公共政策可能会起到一定的作用。如果政策可以减少所花费的时间失业工人找到新工作，它可以减少经济的自然失业率。9. Even if some frictional unemployment is inevitable, the precise amount is not. The faster information spreads about job openings and worker availability, the more rapidly the economy can match workers and firms. The Internet, for instance, may help facilitate job search and reduce frictional unemployment. In addition, public policy may play a role. If policy can reduce the time it takes unemployed workers to find new jobs, it can reduce the economys natural rate of unemployment.政府计划尝试以各种方式，以方便求职。一种方法是通过政府开办的职业介绍机构，这给有关职位空缺的信息。另一种方式是通过公共培训课程，其目的是减轻工人的过渡，从下降到增长的行业，并帮助弱势群体摆脱贫困。这些方案的支持者认为，他们使经济更有效地运作，保持劳动力的充分就业，他们减少在不断变化的市场经济中所固有的不平等现象10.Government programs try to facilitate job search in various ways. One way is through government-run employment agencies, which give out information about job vacancies. Another way is through public training programs, which aim to ease the transition of workers from declining to growing industries and to help disadvantaged groups escape poverty. Advocates of these programs believe that they make the economy operate more efficiently by keeping the labor force more fully employed, and that they reduce the inequities inherent in a constantly changing market economy.这些计划的批评者质疑政府是否应该参与求职的过程中。他们认为，这是更好地让私人市场匹配的工人和工作。事实上，我们大多数的求职发生在没有政府干预的经济。报纸广告，求职讯息，学院安置办公室，猎头公司，和所有帮助的口碑传播信息有关的职位空缺和求职应聘。同样,很多职工教育是独自完成,通过学校或通过在职培训。这些批评者认为,政府是没有可以节省开支能对工人传播最有可正确的信息和决定什么类型的工人培训将是最有价值的。他们声称,这些决定是最好的工人和雇主的私下协商。11. Critics of these programs question whether the government should get involved with the process of job search. They argue that it is better to let the private market match workers and jobs. In fact, most job search in our economy takes place without intervention by the government. Newspaper ads, job newsletters, college placement offices, headhunters, and word of mouth all help spread information about job openings and job candidates. Similarly, much worke