​​✸✸THE first time that Ronald Reaganappeared ona newspaper front page was as a teenage lifeguard, hailed for saving a drowning man from a fast-flowing river. The future president was not yet “Ronnie”, America’s reassuring, twinkling, optimist-in chief. He was still “Dutch”, to use his childhood nickname: a slim,bespectacledyouth, serious to the point of priggishness. A biographer, Garry Wills, unearthed a high school year book in which Reagan scolded swimmers he pulled from the cool,treacherousRock River, near his boyhood home of Dixon, Illinois. “A big hippopotamus with a sandwich in each hand, and some firewater tanked away,” Reagan wrote of one. Each summer from 1927 to 1932 the teenager would rise early to collect a 300lb block of ice and hamburger supplies before driving in his employer’s van to the river, working12 hours a day, seven days a week. The post offered responsibility, money for college and stability in a childhoodblightedby frequent moves, brushes with financial ruin and his father’s drinking. There was glory, too: in all he saved 77 lives. A picture of the Rock River hung in Reagan’s Oval Office.

1） appear on 英 [əˈpiə ɔn]   美 [əˈpɪr ɑn]  在…出现;表演

The leading player is ill. Let his understudy to appear on the scene.

主角演员病了，让他的替角出场。

2） bespectacled 英 [bɪˈspektəkld]   美 [bɪˈspɛktəkəld]  adj.戴眼镜的

Mr Merrick was a slim, quiet, bespectacled man.

梅里克先生瘦瘦的，不怎么说话，戴着副眼镜。

3） treacherous 英 [ˈtretʃərəs]   美 [ˈtrɛtʃərəs]  adj.奸诈的;骗人的;不忠的;不可信的 adv.背信弃义地

n.背信弃义，背叛

He publicly left the party and denounced its treacherous leaders

他公开脱离该党，并谴责该党领袖背信弃义。

4) blighted 英 [b'laɪtɪd]   美 [b'laɪtɪd]  adj.毁灭的 v.使凋萎( blight的过去式);使颓丧;损害;妨害

An embarrassing blunder nearly blighted his career before it got off the ground.

一个令人难堪的疏忽几乎毁掉了他还没有起步的事业。​

​✸✸Strikinglyoften, self-made Americans have stories to share about teenage jobs, involving alarm clocks clanging before dawn, aching muscles, stern bosses and soul-fortifying hours of boredom. In 1978, a record year in the annals of the Bureau of Labour Statistics, 72% of all teenagers were employed in July, the peak month for youthful ice-cream scooping, shelf-stacking and burger-flipping. But for two decades the traditional summer job has been in decline, with 43% of teens working in July 2016.

1) strikingly 英 ['straɪkɪŋlɪ]   美 ['straɪkɪŋlɪ]  adv.醒目地，引人侧目地;斐然可观

And this is strikingly true this time around.

这次是真的了。​

​✸✸Lexington decided tohead toDixon to ask why. This being an anxious andlitigiousage, Reagan’s river beach is closed now. But the YMCA that trained him in lifesaving (and where he paraded as a drum major) still hires lifeguards. This summer finds one of them, Lexi Nelson, 18, between high school and community college, where she will study dental hygiene. Perhaps a quarter of her friends are working this season. The rest have mixed views of her job, which can start at five in the morning. “When I get up early theybash onit,” Miss Nelson reports, “but most of the time they’re jealous of the money.” Lifeguarding in an indoor pool is not the most exciting job, sheconcedes, but that teaches patience.

1) head to 英 [hed tu:]   美 [hɛd tu]  引至，通到;<非正>引出结果

He was dressed in white from head to toe.

他从头到脚穿了一身白色。

2) litigious 英 [lɪˈtɪdʒəs]   美 [lɪˈtɪdʒəs]  dj.好打官司的;好争论的

Brazil is not a litigious society.

巴西并非一个好打官司的社会。

3) bash on 英 [bæʃ ɔn]   美 [bæʃ ɑn]  不屈不挠地继续

4) concedes v.承认( concede的第三人称单数 );出让，容许;承认(比赛、选举等失败

But, he also concedes, it comes with a price.

但是，他也承认，为此他付出了一些代价。​

​✸✸The story of the vanishing job is not a simple one. Ask teenagers, their employers and the mayor ofDixon—a business-owner who hires teenagers each summer ata pair ofsandwich shops and a frozen yogurt store—and they point to two main causes: well-meaning adults and a changing economy.

1) a pair of 英 [ə pɛə ɔv]   美 [e pɛr ʌv]  一双

He put on a pair of short pants and an undershirt.

他穿上了一条短裤和一件汗衫。​

​✸✸Reagan’sstirringexample is still taught in Dixon, a trim, conservative town, with an equestrian statue of the president on its river front and loudspeakers on lamp-posts that play the Carpenters and other easy-listening classics. But many parents discourage teens from working, it is widely agreed. Parents instead tell their children to study, take summer courses, volunteer or practise for sports that might help them compete for college places.

1) stirring 英 [ˈstɜ:rɪŋ]   美 [ˈstə:rɪŋ]  adj.激动人心的;鼓舞人心的;令人激情澎湃的 v.激起（stir的ing形式） n.萌动;出现;酝酿 ;开始

The Prime Minister made a stirring speech

首相发表了一篇鼓舞人心的演讲。

​✸✸Local keepers of the Reagan flame see a town stillfilled withopportunities for self-advancement. Patrick Gorman, director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, a museum that preserves a house rented by the president’s family in Dixon, is confident that anyone who wants a job can find one, even if it might be “detasseling” corn—picking pollen tassels from growing corn cobs, anarduoussummer task traditionally reserved for the young, involving cold mornings, baking middays and scratches from corn leaves. MrGorman easily found six teenagers to volunteer as museum guides: “Good kids migrate to good kids,” he beams.

1) fill with 英 [fil wið]   美 [fɪl wɪð]  （使）充[挤]满;使满怀（某种情感等）

The Dutch developed a custom by which children put out shoes which Saint Nicholas would fill with gifts when he came visiting.

荷兰人有一套自己的风俗，孩子们会将鞋子放在外面，圣诞老人到来时便会在里面装满礼品。

2) arduous 英 [ˈɑ:djuəs]   美 [ˈɑ:rdʒuəs]   adj.艰巨的;努力的;难克服的;陡峭的

The task was more arduous than he had calculated.

这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多​

​✸✸Not all teenagers have the same needs. The three lifeguards interviewed at the YMCA are either college-bound or plan to be, and part-time work suits them. Bosses at the “Y” note that youngsters with only a high-school education typically have a different goal: landing a full-time job with health insurance and benefits.​

​✸✸Liandro Arellano Jr., Dixon’s mayor, argues that teenage job prospects have been complicated by well-intentioned politicians raising the state-wide minimum wage to $8.25 an hour. For that pay it is both tempting and possible to hire college students or older workers with a proven job record, references and the ability to turn up on time, says Mr Arellano, a Republican. The youngest workers, below 18, earn $7.75 but need more training, and those aged 15 need work permits and cannot touch slicers or big bread knives. Larger economic forces have buffeted Dixon, too. After thecredit crunchof 2008, a flood oflaid-offfactory workers and experienced adults wanted to work for Mr Arellano. With unemployment rates now below 5% in Dixon, applicants for entry-level jobs are getting younger again. Teenagers can be fine summer helpers, he says—“They’re very excited about their first job”—though keeping them off smartphones is “a constant battle”.

1) credit crunch 英 [ˈkredit krʌntʃ]   美 [ˈkrɛdɪt krʌntʃ]  信用恐慌

The industry suffered particularly badly in the credit crunch.

清洁能源工业在信用紧缩中受害尤甚。

2) laid-off  ['leɪdɒf]   美 ['leɪdɒf]  adj.被解雇的

This in turn relieves the problem of laid-off workers in the city.

这又缓解了北京的下岗工人问题。​

​✸✸Buy that teenager an alarm clock​

​✸✸Nationwide, affluent white teenagers have historically been much more likely to take summer jobs than lower-income, nonwhite youths. Family connections help, and it is easier to find work at a golf course or tennis club than amid inner-city blight. Though big cities like Chicago, 100 miles from Dixon, have government-run schemes thatprodemployers to offer summer work, demand exceeds supply: last year 77,000 Chicago youths applied for 31,000 summer jobs or internships. For all that, some of Mr Arellano’s worst staff have been youngsters who do not need the money or want a job reference: they are the ones who quit without warning to go on a family holiday.Well-offparents are not always “super-supportive”, he sighs.

1) prod 英 [prɒd]   美 [prɑ:d]  n.刺针，刺棒;刺激，激励 vt. 刺激;捅;促使…行动;（用手指或尖物）戳

He prodded Murray with the shotgun

他用猎枪捅了捅默里。

2) well-off 英 ['wel'ɔ:f]   美 [ˈwɛlˈɔf]  adj.顺利的，有利的;走运的，幸运的;手头宽裕的，富有的;丰富的，繁荣昌盛的

I am well-off for winter clothing.

我的冬衣很充裕。

短语：well-off society 英 [ˈwelˈɔ:f səˈsaiəti]   美 [ˈwɛlˈɔf səˈsaɪɪti]  小康社会

Building the well-off society will put forward the new demand to human capacity building in an all-round way.

全面建设小康社会对人力资源能力建设提出了新要求。​

​✸✸Some parents may question the value of manual work in an age of high-tech change. But an elite educationcounts forlittle without self-discipline and resilience. Drudgery can teach humility: when hauling boxes, a brain full of algebra matters less than a teen’s muscles. At best, it canbreachthe social barriers that harm democracy. Summer jobs are called all-American for a reason.

1） count for 英 [kaunt fɔ:]   美 [kaʊnt fɔr]  有价值，有重要性

When I first came to college I realised that brainpower didn't count for much

当我初上大学的时候，我认识到智力并不太重要。

短语：count for much 英 [kaunt fɔ: mʌtʃ]   美 [kaʊnt fɔr mʌtʃ]  v.关系重大

When I first came to college I realised that brainpower didn't count for much

当我初上大学的时候，我认识到智力并不太重要。

2） breach 英 [bri:tʃ]   美 [britʃ]  n.违背;破坏;缺口;破裂 vt. 攻破;破坏，违反

The newspaper breached the code of conduct on privacy

该报违反了保护隐私的行为准则。

短语：breach of contract  [bri:tʃ ɔv kənˈtrækt]   美 [britʃ ʌv ˈkɑnˌtrækt]  违约，违反合同

It's clearly a breach of contract.

这显然是违反了合同。

breach of faith 英 [bri:tʃ ɔv feiθ]   美 [britʃ ʌv feθ]  违约，违背诺言（尤指不履行婚约）

For instance, would it be a breach of faith?

譬如，这样是不是算不忠实呢？

breach of statutory duty 英 [bri:tʃ ɔv ˈstætjutəri ˈdju:ti]  美 [britʃ ʌv ˈstætʃəˌtɔri ˈduti]  [法] 违反法定职责

The defendant is in breach of his statutory duty.

被告未履行他的法定义务。​

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