研究生高级英语教程-191句参考译文.doc

Unit 1 从“美国梦”中醒来 没有出路的工作和昂贵的大学学费可能阻断社会地位的提升。Dead-end jobs and the high cost of college could be choking off upward mobility.但多年来，即便在经济迅速发展的20世纪90年代，企业文化盛行的美国社会早已普遍在控制劳动力成本方面引入了沃尔玛式的策略。But for years, even during the 1990s boom, much of Corporate America had already embraced Wal-Mart-like stratagems to control labor costs尽管这些策略在降低消费品价格方面成效显著，在其他方面却造成严重损失。While these tactics have the admirable outcome of holding down consumer prices, they’re costly in other ways. 超过劳动力人口总数1/4的约3400万名工人因工资低、工作没有前途而陷入困境。More than a quarter of the labor force, about 34 million workers, is trapped in low-wage, often dead-end jobs20世纪70年代，二战后生产的繁荣消退之际，社会地位提高的劳动者人数开始减少。he number of workers progressing upward began to slip in the 1970s, when the post-World WarⅡproductivity boom ran out of steam. 80年代，随着全球化和科技的发展，蓝领阶层的工资大幅度下滑，向上升迁的减弱趋势更甚于以往。Upward mobility diminished even more in the 1980s as globalization and technology slammed blue-collar wages.在生产力回升、经济蓬勃发展的20世纪90年代，许多专家曾指望上述趋势可以逆转。Many experts expected the trend to reverse as productivity rebounded during the heated economy of the 1990s.大学入学率和房屋拥有量快速飙升，“美国梦”惠及更多的家庭。College enrollment boomed, too, and home ownership shot up, extending the American dream to more families.令人惊讶的是，30年中最好的经济态势都没能重振美国人一向自吹自捧的“向上升迁”的传统。urprisingly, the best economy in 30 years did little to get America’s vaunted upward mobility back on track. 近些年的一大发现就是过去美国社会有很强的上下流动性，而现在不是了。The big finding in recent years is that the notion of America being a highly mobile society isn’t as true as it used to be.如今很难找到可以逐步得到提升的工作，而有个文学学士学位就多些竞争力。It’s hard to find a job with a career ladder these days, and a B. A. would be an edge.如今能否晋升越来越取决于大学学历，而取得大学学历的大多数人的父母已具备经济实力或受过文化教育。Today, upward mobility is determined increasingly by a college degree that’s attainable mostly by those whose parents already have money or education. 问题是，大多数低收入家庭的学生只能对至关重要的学历文凭望洋兴叹。Problem is, that all-important sheepskin is out of reach for most students from low-income families. 虽然高收入家庭的子女进入大学的人数剧增，但越来越多