為何英國全民開發(fā)出了收菜技能？

為何英國全民開發(fā)出了收菜技能？

疫情以來，英國的人才市場出現(xiàn)了一個意想不到的缺口——蔬果農(nóng)場的采摘工人。在政府的號召下，許多從未從事過農(nóng)活的人也在田間摘起了草莓。原來，往年英國的采摘工作大都仰賴于東歐地區(qū)的季節(jié)工，而今年疫情打破了這個傳統(tǒng)，帶來了巨大的勞工短缺。這到底是怎么一回事？一起來看今天的課程講解。

British Workers Try Their Hand at an Unfamiliar Job: Berry Picking

英國工人嘗試新活計：采摘漿果

This is an excerpt of the original article. Read the full article at the bottom of the page.

By Claire Moses and Geneva Abdul

In this pandemic year, Britons can be found in fields across the country, doing something they probably would not have imagined a few months ago: working as farm laborers, picking berries.

今年這個疫情年，英國各地的田間都可以看到英國人的身影，他們在做著幾個月前可能想不到的事：做農(nóng)工，采漿果。

Fruit picking in Britain is traditionally done by seasonal workers from Eastern Europe. Overall, 70,000 to 90,000 seasonal workers are needed to pick all the fruit and vegetables that grow in the country.

英國的水果采摘工作一向由東歐的季節(jié)工完成?？偟膩碚f，采摘該國種植的所有蔬果，需要七到九萬名季節(jié)工。

Because of travel restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, many of those workers haven’t been able to make the trip, have been delayed or have chosen not to come. By the time the pandemic hit Europe, most of the crops had been planted. As a result of the looming labor shortage, the government started a “Pick for Britain” campaign in April to attract British workers. Prince Charles released a video in which he said the country needed “pickers who are stickers.”

為遏制新冠病毒傳播，旅行受到了限制。因此，這些工人中的許多人要么無法出行，要么行程推遲，再或者決定不來了。疫情沖擊歐洲時，大部分農(nóng)作物已經(jīng)播種。由于勞動力短缺迫在眉睫，英國政府于4月份發(fā)起了“為英國采摘”活動，以此吸引英國工人。查爾斯王子發(fā)了一條視頻，在視頻里他說，英國需要“能堅持的采摘者”。

Farmers say they have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest in these jobs. They were afraid Britons would stay away from jobs usually performed by overseas workers.

農(nóng)民表示，看到這么多人對采摘工作感興趣，他們很驚喜。他們本來擔心英國人不愿意干通常由海外工人從事的工作。

But the placement of workers has its challenges. Desk work this is not: There is reaching, twisting and bending, and the need for good eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills (to avoid tearing the plant when picking a delicate strawberry).

但是工人的崗位安排并不簡單。這可不是案頭工作，它考驗身體伸展、轉(zhuǎn)動和彎腰的能力，需要良好的手眼協(xié)調(diào)能力和精細運動能力（避免在采摘嬌弱的草莓時扯到植株）。

1. try one’s hand at sth if you try your hand at sth, you try to do sth for the first time to see if you like it or if you are good at it

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at writing a novel.

我一直想嘗試著寫一本小說。

He decided to try his hand at painting and discovered he was quite good at it.

他決定試著畫畫，然后發(fā)現(xiàn)自己挺擅長。

2. start a campaign if you start a campaign, you organize a series of activities to try to achieve sth with one aim. It can advert on TV or posters in the street

The school has started a campaign to stop litter.

這所學(xué)校開展了一項停止隨手丟垃圾的活動。

The government has started a campaign to make people do more exercise.

政府開展了一項讓人們多鍛煉的活動。

3. looming UK /?lu?m??/ US /?lu?m??/ adj. if sth is looming, if situation or an event is looming it will happen soon and people are worried about it, because it’s bad. So, we only use this for bad things, sth bad that happen soon

an economic crisis is looming

= the looming economic crisis

迫在眉睫的經(jīng)濟危機

Her exams are looming, and she is not prepared.

她的考試快到了，但她沒有準備好。

4. stick UK /st?k/ US /st?k/ vi. if you stick at sth you continue trying hard to do sth difficult. If sb tells you to stick at it, they are telling you to keep trying, don’t give up

I know the task is difficult. But you must stick at it if you want to succeed.

我知道這項任務(wù)艱巨，但如果你想成功，就必須堅持。

When you learn a foreign language, you will find it hard at first. But stick at it, (and) it will become easier.

在學(xué)習(xí)一門外語時，剛開始你會覺得很難，但只要堅持，之后就會變輕松。

5. pleasantly surprised if you are pleasantly surprised about sth, you are happy about an unexpected event, sth surprising happened and it made you happy

I was pleasantly surprised when she arrived at the party. I didn’t think she would come.

我原本以為她不會來，但當她出現(xiàn)在聚會上的時候，我喜出望外。

I was pleasantly surprised to get a B in the history exam. I didn’t expect to pass it!

我歷史考試得了B，我非常驚喜，因為我原本以為我過不了！

- How was the trip?

- You know, I thought it would be boring, but I was pleasantly surprised.

- 旅行如何？

- 不瞞你說，我以為會很無聊，但我驚喜地覺得還不錯。

6. stay away from if you stay away from sth, you avoid that thing, you don’t do it because you think that it will have a bad effect on you. We often use it with food, if you avoid certain types of food

I’m on a diet so I’m staying away from chocolate and cakes.

我最近在控制飲食，因此我要遠離巧克力和蛋糕。

The doctor told me to stay away from spicy food for a few days.

醫(yī)生告訴我說這幾天不能吃辛辣食物。

7. placement UK /?ple?sm?nt/ US /?ple?sm?nt/ n. in this sentence, placement means finding people and putting those people in the right job

work placement 工作實習(xí)（means a temporary job for students to get some work experience while they are still studying on a course）

In the third year, students will have a chance to do a four-week work placement in a big company.

在大三，學(xué)生們有機會在大公司實習(xí)四周。

He had a one-month work placement in a car company.

他之前在一家車廠實習(xí)了一個月。

8. desk work this is not this is a poetic style. It sounds like old English, we don’t use it very often in modern English. It is used to show contrast

A sunny day it was not.

一個不晴朗的日子。

A happy girl she was not.

一個不開心的女孩。