Unit 8

T1

Are you the right person for the job?

1 In the old days it was easy. They were going to be the best three years of your life, and you knew it. You spent your time chatting late into the night with new-found friends in coffee bars and pubs, playing your heart out in the squash courts and on the cricket field, or strutting across the stage as a leading light of the university dramatic society. Whatever your interest, university life catered for it. And, let's not forget, you would usually manage to keep up with the work too, by doing the required reading and dashing off the week's essay at the last minute. The only thing you didn't find time for was thinking about what came afterwards, at the end of those three exciting years. But you didn't need to, because whatever your chosen career, the companies were all lining up to offer you a job.

2 That was what it was like in the old days as a student in the UK. But things have changed. A recent study of Britain's major multinational companies reveals that even with a good degree graduates can no longer walk into the top jobs. Today there are twice as many universities as there were just 30 years ago, and 40 per cent of young people now go on to higher education. So with no shortage of graduates, a good degree has become vital in the search for a job. Competition is tough, and today's students are spending more time than ever preparing for those dreaded final exams, or doing low-paid part-time jobs to pay off debts.

3 But that's just the problem. In the opinion of managers from more than 200 British companies, students are spending too much time studying, or worrying about making ends meet, instead of joining clubs and acquiring basic skills such as teamwork and making presentations. The managers also said that they were prepared to leave jobs unfilled rather than appoint graduates who didn't have the necessary skills to get ahead in the global market.

4 But what can be done about the problem? The solution, the managers believe, is to include social skills in degree courses; and some universities are taking the advice. At the University of Southampton, for example, history students have to do a 12-week project – frequently related to the local context – working in teams of six. This includes making a presentation, writing a group thesis, and carrying out a public service, which might involve teaching schoolchildren or making a radio programme about the topic.

5 There can be no doubt that this sort of cooperative approach can help many students develop personal skills which will help improve their prospects in their search for a job. One of the most well-known personality tests used by employers when interviewing candidates, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), puts the extrovert / introvert dichotomy at the top of the list of personality traits it tries to analyze. There are no "right answers" in such tests, but extroverts, it is assumed, are going to be more suited to jobs in which they have to work in teams or deal with other people.

6 Equally interesting in the Southampton project is the conviction that students should be aware of the wider community, and find ways to make contributions to it. In today's shrinking world, students are increasingly aware that a university is not an ivory tower of learning, cut off from the real problems of the world, but on the contrary, can itself be an agent for change for a better world. There are numerous ways in which students can be volunteers – before, during, or after their degree courses. With courses making heavy demands on students' time, as we have seen, a popular option is to take a gap year before or after university.

7 Typically, volunteering might mean helping the sick or elderly, entertaining underprivileged children on holiday camps, teaching in? a Third World country or perhaps working on agricultural or environmental projects.

8 For students who choose to offer their talents in this way, one side effect is to gain a wealth of experience to be added to the CV, which will not go unnoticed by future employers. But a word of warning is in order : You should remember what your priorities are. As Shane Irwin, who worked for two years in Papua New Guinea, puts it: "Volunteering teaches you valuable career skills, but I don't think you should be looking to bolster your CV through volunteering – the main reason you should get involved is because you want to help."

你適合做這個(gè)工作嗎？

1 過(guò)去，大學(xué)生活很輕松。那將是你一生中最美好的三年，你知道這一點(diǎn)的。你是這樣消磨時(shí)光的：在咖啡館和酒吧里與新結(jié)交的朋友聊到深夜，在壁球場(chǎng)和板球場(chǎng)上盡情地?fù)]舞球拍，或是作為大學(xué)戲劇社的大腕在舞臺(tái)上昂首闊步。不管你有什么愛(ài)好，大學(xué)生活都能為你創(chuàng)造條件。而且，別忘了，你的學(xué)習(xí)還總能跟得上，能完成指定的閱讀，并在最后一分鐘匆忙寫(xiě)完那一周的文章。你唯一沒(méi)有時(shí)間考慮的是過(guò)完這激動(dòng)人心的三年后要做什么。不過(guò)這個(gè)問(wèn)題并不需要考慮，因?yàn)闊o(wú)論選擇什么職業(yè)，都有一大堆公司排著隊(duì)來(lái)聘用你。

2 那是過(guò)去英國(guó)大學(xué)生校園生活的情形，現(xiàn)在情況已經(jīng)改變了。最近一項(xiàng)對(duì)英國(guó)各大跨國(guó)公司的研究表明，即使擁有一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的學(xué)位，大學(xué)畢業(yè)生也不再可能輕而易舉就得到最好的工作了。今天的大學(xué)數(shù)量比30年前翻了一番，40%的年輕人接受高等教育。由于并不缺少大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，擁有一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的學(xué)位對(duì)找工作就變得尤其重要了。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)很激烈，結(jié)果是如今的大學(xué)生花了比任何時(shí)候都要多的時(shí)間來(lái)復(fù)習(xí)功課，為那些可怕的期末考試做準(zhǔn)備，做報(bào)酬低的兼職以?xún)斶€債務(wù)。

3 然而，這恰恰是問(wèn)題之所在。英國(guó)兩百多家公司的經(jīng)理認(rèn)為，學(xué)生花在學(xué)習(xí)或掙錢(qián)維持生計(jì)上的時(shí)間太多了。他們本應(yīng)該去參加各種俱樂(lè)部，學(xué)習(xí)一些基本的技能，如團(tuán)隊(duì)合作和現(xiàn)場(chǎng)演示。這些經(jīng)理還說(shuō)，他們寧可讓職位空缺，也不愿意聘請(qǐng)那些缺乏必要技能、無(wú)法在國(guó)際市場(chǎng)上占領(lǐng)商機(jī)的畢業(yè)生。

4 該怎么做才能解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題呢？經(jīng)理們相信，解決的辦法就是在學(xué)位課程里增加社交能力的訓(xùn)練。有的大學(xué)已經(jīng)開(kāi)始這樣做了，例如南安普敦大學(xué)歷史系學(xué)生必須做一個(gè)為期十二周、六人一組協(xié)同工作的項(xiàng)目——通常與當(dāng)?shù)氐纳钣嘘P(guān)。項(xiàng)目?jī)?nèi)容包括：做一次演示、寫(xiě)一篇集體論文、做一項(xiàng)公眾服務(wù)——可以是給中、小學(xué)生講課，或做一期有關(guān)中、小學(xué)教學(xué)的廣播節(jié)目。

5 毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，這種合作學(xué)習(xí)法能幫助許多學(xué)生培養(yǎng)有助于改善就業(yè)前景的個(gè)人技能。公司在面試應(yīng)聘者時(shí)使用的最有名的人格測(cè)試之一是“邁爾斯—布里格斯性格分類(lèi)法”（簡(jiǎn)稱(chēng) MBTI），這種分類(lèi)法把外向/內(nèi)向性格兩分法置于它所分析的人格特征列表之首。測(cè)試中沒(méi)有“正確答案”，但是一般認(rèn)為：性格外向者更適合做團(tuán)隊(duì)工作或與他人打交道的工作。

6 南安普敦大學(xué)項(xiàng)目中同樣有趣的一個(gè)理念是：學(xué)生應(yīng)該關(guān)注比校園更廣闊的社區(qū)，并設(shè)法為之做出自己的貢獻(xiàn)。在當(dāng)今越來(lái)越小的世界里，學(xué)生們?cè)絹?lái)越清楚地意識(shí)到大學(xué)并不是與社會(huì)現(xiàn)實(shí)問(wèn)題完全脫鉤的學(xué)術(shù)象牙塔。正相反，大學(xué)本身可以促使世界變得更加美好。在學(xué)學(xué)位課程之前、期間、之后，學(xué)生們都可以通過(guò)多種渠道成為志愿者。正如我們所知的那樣，大學(xué)課程需要學(xué)生花費(fèi)大量的時(shí)間，一般人會(huì)選擇騰出上大學(xué)前或大學(xué)畢業(yè)后的一年時(shí)間作為實(shí)踐年。

7 通常，志愿工作指幫助病人或老年人、在假日營(yíng)里招待貧困兒童、在第三世界國(guó)家教書(shū)，或者做農(nóng)業(yè)或環(huán)境研究項(xiàng)目。

8 對(duì)那些選擇在這些方面施展才能的學(xué)生而言，還有個(gè)意外的收獲：可以把他們獲取的豐富經(jīng)歷寫(xiě)進(jìn)個(gè)人履歷里，而未來(lái)的雇主是不會(huì)不注意到這些經(jīng)驗(yàn)的。不過(guò)提醒一句：你應(yīng)該記住自己的首要目的是什么。曾經(jīng)在巴布亞新幾內(nèi)亞工作了兩年的謝恩?歐文指出：“志愿者的工作能教給你寶貴的職業(yè)技能，但我認(rèn)為你不應(yīng)該只想著通過(guò)志愿者工作來(lái)給自己的履歷表增添光彩——你做志愿工作的主要原因是你想幫助別人。

T2

Volunteer for peace

There are as many different volunteer experiences as there are places to go. Different jobs, locations and cultures all affect what the volunteer gains, and gives, during their program. Another important factor in volunteering is your length of stay. We decided to interview recent volunteers to get the straight story about their time volunteering, so that you can decide for yourself if it's for you.

Lisa Ginsburg volunteered often during her time at University of Southern California, which inspired her to spend two weeks working for Volunteers for Peace (vfp@vfp.org) in Bangladesh.

What did you do as a volunteer, and where?

1 I went to Bangladesh with Volunteers for Peace. We met in Dhaka, and then took an eight-hour bus ride to the village of Dinajpur. VFP worked side by side with another local agency in Dinajpur. We set up their annual cataract eye camp, with free cataract surgery for the local elderly or anyone that needed an eye check. We helped set up the school, cleaned it out, and turned the classroom into the surgery room. It was called the "operation theater". The first two days were dedicated to the eye surgery, and the rest of the week to the eye camp. On the last day of the clinic we helped remove the bandages and each of the patients was given prescription glasses. Everyone got the same glasses, though. The other part of the program was the installation of toilets. We traveled to different villages by bicycle or motorcycle, and just dug holes to put in latrines and cement rings.

How is volunteering different from traveling or working abroad?

2 I had to acknowledge that it was going to be kind of hard. Traveling before, I stayed in hostels that weren't so bad because things were pretty clean. While volunteering there were times I had to clean toilets. At times I was saying, "What am I doing here? I'd rather be doing something else." I had to acknowledge that living conditions can be pretty different sometimes. The bed was a piece of wood and I don't think there was even a mattress. We didn't have the flexibility of traveling. When you are traveling alone or with someone else you can do whatever you want; when you're tired, you rest. But this is work. We got up early and we worked, but it was fun.

What were your images or expectations of volunteering before you left, and how have your perceptions changed?

3 I think it satisfied my expectations. When I was a little girl I thought I was going to be a doctor, so that's why I chose the health position in the volunteer program. Other programs do research, have archaeological digs, but I wanted to work alongside health providers and doctors, and that's what I did.

The volunteer program you went on had participant fees. How did you feel about having to pay so that you could work for free?

4 I never thought about having to pay, really. This is not like a hobby that I do every week, but I knew there were some costs to what I was going to do. This is something I saved up for because I really wanted to go. I was passionate about it. Though it's expensive traveling to that part of the world, I never thought it was a burden. I just planned ahead and saved.

There is a lot of debate about the effectiveness of volunteer organizations. Do you think that you made a difference, and in what way?

5 I don't know if I made a difference. I knew before going that in only two weeks, I wouldn't change the world. I know they were very happy knowing that people in the States and around the world were willing to help them. We took the time to do things for them, and that made them glad. On the very last day when they had to leave the hospital and school grounds, some of them cried. We bonded in the short days that we were together.

What were the worst and best experiences while volunteering?

6 The worst part of my program was the waiting. We did a lot of unnecessary waiting because the head of the program wasn't sure about something or other and hadn't planned ahead. They were a bit unorganized, which could have been improved with better communication between the local agencies and VFP. The best part was bonding with the volunteers, and the agencies did a good job in varying our tasks. We played hard and we worked hard. We visited a lot of homes, families, and schools. We got to know the locals. Every time I think about riding through the rice fields, being invited in for tea, it makes me smile.

和平志愿者

世界上有多少地方就有多少種志愿者工作的經(jīng)歷。不同的工作、地點(diǎn)和文化都會(huì)使志愿者在其志愿活動(dòng)中的收獲和付出有所不同。另一個(gè)影響志愿活動(dòng)的重要因素是你做志愿工作時(shí)間的長(zhǎng)短。我們決定采訪近期的志愿者，了解他們做志愿工作的真實(shí)故事，希望能幫你判斷志愿工作是否適合你。

莉薩?金斯堡在南加州大學(xué)讀書(shū)期間經(jīng)常參加志愿活動(dòng)，這使她產(chǎn)生了去孟加拉國(guó)當(dāng)兩周和平志愿者的想法。

作為志愿者你做了些什么工作？在哪里工作？

1 我與和平志愿者一同前往孟加拉國(guó)，我們?cè)谶_(dá)卡集合，然后坐八小時(shí)的長(zhǎng)途車(chē)到迪納杰布爾。和平志愿者與迪納杰布爾村當(dāng)?shù)氐囊患覚C(jī)構(gòu)并肩工作，我們幫他們搭建每年一度的白內(nèi)障治療營(yíng)地，為當(dāng)?shù)乩夏臧變?nèi)障患者免費(fèi)做手術(shù)，或?yàn)橛行枨蟮娜藱z查眼疾。我們幫他們?cè)趯W(xué)校里安裝設(shè)備，打掃環(huán)境，將教室變成外科手術(shù)室，稱(chēng)為“手術(shù)教室”。頭兩天幫忙做眼科手術(shù)，其余幾天在白內(nèi)障營(yíng)地幫忙。在診所的最后一天，我們幫著給患者解除繃帶，每位患者都得到一副特配眼鏡，不過(guò)他們得到的眼鏡都是一模一樣的。其他的工作還包括修建廁所。我們騎自行車(chē)或摩托車(chē)去了不同的村莊，在地上挖個(gè)坑把蹲式馬桶和水泥環(huán)放進(jìn)去。

志愿工作與在國(guó)外旅游或工作有何不同？

2 我不得不承認(rèn)這項(xiàng)工作比較辛苦。過(guò)去我出去旅游都住在青年旅社，條件還不錯(cuò)，因?yàn)榄h(huán)境相當(dāng)整潔干凈。做志愿工作時(shí)，我有時(shí)要打掃廁所。有時(shí)候我會(huì)問(wèn)自己：“我到底到這兒來(lái)干什么？我寧可干別的事兒?！蔽也坏貌怀姓J(rèn)有時(shí)生活條件也有很大的不同：床只是一塊木板，連床墊都沒(méi)有。我們也無(wú)法享受旅游的靈活性。當(dāng)你單獨(dú)或和別人一起旅游時(shí)，你喜歡做什么就做什么，累了就休息。但這是工作，我們得早早起床干活，但很有樂(lè)趣。

你出發(fā)前覺(jué)得志愿工作是什么樣的？對(duì)它有什么期待？你的看法有改變嗎?

3 我覺(jué)得志愿工作符合我的期望。我從小就想當(dāng)醫(yī)生，這也是我選擇醫(yī)療作為志愿項(xiàng)目的原因。其他項(xiàng)目有做研究的，也有做考古挖掘的，但是我想和醫(yī)療工作者和醫(yī)生一起工作，而這正是我所做的工作。

你參加的志愿活動(dòng)要求志愿者付費(fèi)參加，對(duì)于免費(fèi)為別人工作還要自己掏錢(qián)，你是怎么想的？

4 我其實(shí)從來(lái)沒(méi)有想過(guò)必須自己掏錢(qián)這件事。這不像我每周都參加的業(yè)余愛(ài)好，我當(dāng)然知道我要做的事情會(huì)有一些花費(fèi)，我攢錢(qián)的目的就是為了這個(gè)，因?yàn)槲艺娴暮芟肴ィ覍?duì)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目充滿(mǎn)熱情。雖然到世界的那個(gè)角落旅費(fèi)很貴，但我從來(lái)就沒(méi)覺(jué)得那是個(gè)負(fù)擔(dān)，我只是提前計(jì)劃并為此攢錢(qián)。

對(duì)于志愿者組織的有效性有很多爭(zhēng)議，你認(rèn)為你的加入帶來(lái)什么變化了嗎？在哪些方面？

5 我不知道我是否帶來(lái)了什么變化，可我在出發(fā)之前就知道：在兩周的時(shí)間內(nèi)我不可能改變世界。我知道，他們非常高興看到美國(guó)和其他國(guó)家的人愿意幫助他們，我們花時(shí)間來(lái)為他們做些事情，這讓他們很高興。最后一天，當(dāng)他們離開(kāi)醫(yī)院和學(xué)校操場(chǎng)時(shí)，有的人哭了。我們?cè)诙潭痰膸滋靸?nèi)建立了感情。

你在志愿工作中經(jīng)歷的最糟糕和最好的事是什么？

6 我這個(gè)項(xiàng)目里最糟糕的事情是等待。因?yàn)轫?xiàng)目主管對(duì)某些事情沒(méi)把握，沒(méi)有事先計(jì)劃好，讓我們做了很多不必要的等待。他們做事不太有條理，如果地方機(jī)構(gòu)與和平志愿者組織之間能夠更好地相互溝通的話，事情就會(huì)順利一些。最好的經(jīng)歷是與其他志愿者建立友情，地方機(jī)構(gòu)盡量給我們分配不同工種的活。我們玩得痛快，干得賣(mài)力。我們走訪了許多民居、家庭和學(xué)校，并結(jié)識(shí)了很多當(dāng)?shù)厝?。每?dāng)想起騎車(chē)穿過(guò)稻田應(yīng)邀去當(dāng)?shù)厝思依锖炔钑r(shí)的情景，我就會(huì)發(fā)自?xún)?nèi)心地微笑。

T3

Red Cross, Red Crescent?

1 In the summer of 1859 a Swiss businessman, Henri Durant, was travelling in Italy. At the time, a war was in progress between the French and the Austrians, and by chance Durant arrived at the scene of its bloodiest battle, near the small town of Solferino. He found 40,000 dead or dying soldiers on the battlefield, and no one to care for the wounded. Durant was overwhelmed and horrified by the sight, but he managed to persuade local people to help him, and organized an emergency service for the wounded from both armies, without discriminating between them.

2 When he returned to Switzerland he wrote a book, calling for an international treaty to guarantee the protection and safety of wounded soldiers and people trying to assist them, and the creation of a voluntary organization which could provide emergency relief in wartime. This led to the signing of the Geneva Convention, which gives rights to prisoners in international conflicts, and the setting up of the first branch of the Red Cross: A red cross on a white background was chosen as a symbol of the organization because it reversed the colours of the Swiss national flag.

3 Today the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (IRCRC) is the largest humanitarian aid organization in the world. It has branches in almost every country in the world. It has 30,000 paid permanent staff and around 90 million volunteers. In China alone, the Red Cross Society of China numbers around 70,000 groups across the country and 20 million members.

4 Since the 19th century, the mission of the IRCRC has widened. Its aim is to protect human life and health everywhere, in peacetime and in war. Whenever and wherever disaster strikes, including natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and floods, IRCRC relief teams are there. The biggest ever relief operation was launched in response to the tsunami which hit Asia and the east coast of Africa in 2004.

5 The IRCRC is a truly cross-cultural organization, sensitive to cultural differences as well as to basic human needs everywhere. This is why it has more than one symbol. The original symbol of the cross, associated with the Christian religion, was seen by Turkey and Egypt, two predominantly Islamic states, as inappropriate. So in 1929 a second symbol, the Red Crescent, was recognized, and has since been adopted in many Islamic countries. More recently, in 2006, the IRCRC adopted a third symbol, which has no obvious religious or cultural associations: the red crystal. The symbols are all clear and simple. They have to be, because beyond any symbolic or cultural significance, they must be clearly and instantly recognizable – and the people or vehicles displaying them protected – everywhere in the world.

紅十字，紅新月

1 1859 年夏，一位名叫亨利?杜蘭特的瑞士商人正在意大利旅行，那時(shí)法國(guó)和奧地利正在交戰(zhàn)，杜蘭特碰巧來(lái)到了最血腥的戰(zhàn)斗現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，那是索爾伏里諾小鎮(zhèn)附近的一個(gè)地方。他在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上發(fā)現(xiàn)了四萬(wàn)名已經(jīng)陣亡或生命垂危的士兵，沒(méi)有人照料傷員。杜蘭特被眼前的景象驚呆了，他成功地說(shuō)服了當(dāng)?shù)厝藥退麨榻粦?zhàn)雙方的傷員組織緊急救護(hù)，對(duì)雙方士兵一視同仁。

2 回到瑞士之后他寫(xiě)了一本書(shū)，呼吁訂立國(guó)際條約，保護(hù)傷兵及救護(hù)人員并保證他們的安全，并成立一個(gè)志愿組織，在戰(zhàn)時(shí)為傷員提供緊急救助。這直接導(dǎo)致了賦予國(guó)際沖突中被俘者權(quán)利的《日內(nèi)瓦公約》的簽署以及國(guó)際紅十字會(huì)第一個(gè)分會(huì)的成立，該組織根據(jù)瑞士國(guó)旗的顏色，把白色背景上的紅色十字選擇為該組織的標(biāo)志。

3 今天，國(guó)際紅十字與紅新月運(yùn)動(dòng)（IRCRC）是世界上最大的人道主義救援組織，它在幾乎所有的國(guó)家都設(shè)有分部，擁有三萬(wàn)名在職員工及約九千萬(wàn)名志愿者。僅僅中國(guó)的紅十字會(huì)在全國(guó)就有七萬(wàn)個(gè)分會(huì)，兩千萬(wàn)個(gè)會(huì)員。

4 從19世紀(jì)開(kāi)始，國(guó)際紅十字與紅新月運(yùn)動(dòng)的使命不斷擴(kuò)大，它的目標(biāo)是：不論是在和平時(shí)期還是戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)時(shí)期，在世界上的任何一個(gè)地方保護(hù)人類(lèi)的生命安全和健康。在任何時(shí)間、任何地點(diǎn)，只要有災(zāi)難——包括像地震和洪災(zāi)這樣的自然災(zāi)害——國(guó)際紅十字與紅新月運(yùn)動(dòng)的救援隊(duì)就會(huì)出現(xiàn)。史上最大的一次救援行動(dòng)是針對(duì)2004年襲擊亞洲及非洲東海岸的海嘯而開(kāi)展的。

5 國(guó)際紅十字與紅新月運(yùn)動(dòng)是名副其實(shí)的跨文化組織，能敏銳地察覺(jué)世界各地人們的基本需求及文化差異。這就是它擁有不止一個(gè)標(biāo)志的原因：最初的十字標(biāo)志與基督教有關(guān)，被兩個(gè)伊斯蘭國(guó)家土耳其和埃及認(rèn)為是不合適的，因此第二個(gè)標(biāo)志“紅新月”在1929年得到了承認(rèn)，從此被許多伊斯蘭國(guó)家采用。最近，也就是在2006年，國(guó)際紅十字與紅新月運(yùn)動(dòng)采用了第三個(gè)標(biāo)志，即不含宗教或文化聯(lián)想的紅水晶。這些標(biāo)志都簡(jiǎn)單明了。它們必須如此，因?yàn)樵谌コ讼笳骰蛭幕x之后，它們必須能讓人立即、清晰地辨認(rèn)出來(lái)，讓世界各地帶有該標(biāo)志的人員或車(chē)輛都受到保護(hù)。