为泄愤美国举办失业者奥运会
在纽约,失业者举办了一次“失业者奥运会”。Jobless people just held Unemployment Olympics in New York.
据悉,共有60多人参加了这个史无前例的“失业者奥运会”,该活动在曼哈顿区的一个公园举办。
About 60 people took part in the first-ever games in a park in downtown Manhattan.
这个“奥运会”中的项目包括“扔办公室电话”、“责任在老板”等。
The games included events like the Corporate Phone Toss and Pin the Blame on the Boss.
参加失业者奥运会的人,必须出示证明证实自己是失业者。例如:纽约发放的失业卡,解雇通知等等。
Unemployment Olympians must show proof of their unemployment in the form of a New York State unemployment card, a termination letter or other evidence of job loss.
他们需要在一个厚纸板上写着“失业者办公室”的地方登记。纸板看起来就像是露西演的电影《医生在里面》的另一个版本。
They register for events at the "Unemployment Office," a lopsided cardboard stand that looks like a recession-weary version of Lucy's "Doctor is in" leomonade stand from Peanuts.
据悉,参加这个“奥运会”的大部分人都拥有本科或研究生学历,之前是曼哈顿的白领,他们从来没想过会被解雇。
Most of the Olympians have college or graduate degrees and worked in white-collar Manhattanite jobs from which they did not expect to be booted.
这些人年龄从23岁到61岁不等,其中23岁的运动员刚刚找到第一份工作就被辞了,61岁的老太太将自己服装厂倒闭的责任推给中国人。
They range in age from the 23-year-old fired from his very first job to the 61-year-old garment industry worker who blames the Chinese for putting her fabric company out of business.
运动员们的平均失业时间是4个月,大部分都孤身一人参加运动会。
They have been unemployed for an average of four months and most of them showed up alone.
艾瑞卡-加西亚,一个失业的签约律师说:“我能带谁一起来呢? “我的朋友们都有自己的工作。”
"Who am I going to bring?" asks Erika Garcia, an out-of-work contract lawyer. "My friends still have jobs."
尽管这个事件的灵感来源让人觉得抑郁,但 “失业者奥运会”的场面却很是热闹。
But despite the event's bleak inspiration, things at the Unemployment Olympics are generally cheerful.
运动员们呼喊,鼓掌,互相撺掇。当进行到“发薪日的欢呼”项目时,没人觉得尴尬。
Contestants yell and clap and egg each other on, and no one seems upset when the Payday pinata breaks on the very first try — revealing Payday candybars.
随着纽约逐渐进入春天,在蓝天下的户外活动就和把钉子钉进一个肥胖,秃顶的漫画老板的身上一样让人觉得过瘾。
With New York easing its way into spring, being outdoors under a blue sky is almost as refreshing as the chance to stab a thumbtack into a fat, balding, caricature of a boss.
一个失业的报告分析师,在原地转了几圈后,不太准确的把钉子钉在了“联邦政府”的“尾巴”上。
A blindfolded research analyst spins around in circles and inaccurately pins the tail on "The Feds," — one of the eight economic culprits scrawled on an oversized poster board alongside the boss caricature.
优胜者的奖项是当地一些饭馆和酒吧的消费券——戈达德宣传了一个月试图说服保险公司为获胜者提供免费的医疗保险。但最后发现,想要落实,实在很难。
Prizes are awarded, mostly in the form of gift certificates to local restaurants and bars — Goddard had advertised a month of free medical insurance, but found it difficult to follow through.
这些失业的参赛者们在笑,但他们并不真正的开心。
The Unemployment Olympians are laughing, but they are not okay.
他们和朋友一起住,换了小公寓,甚至向他们的父母寻求帮助。
They have moved in with friends, downsized apartments, and asked their parents for assistance.
有三个人表示,他们大量削减食量,体重也因此开始下降。
Three people say that they've cut back on groceries so significantly that they've actually lost weight.
有些人甚至想一起离开这个城市。
Some are thinking about leaving the city altogether.
他们很疲倦,很沮丧也无所事事。但是,在这个3月的最后一个下午,他们并不再那样重视他们的困境了。
They're tired and frustrated and bored, but on this last afternoon in March they are making light of their situation.
劳伦戴尔蒙德,一个因广告代理公司裁员而下岗的员工,在排队等待游戏的时候耸耸肩,“我真的很难过,”她说。“但是我至少不是雷曼兄弟的一员。”
Lauren Diamond, a victim of advertising agency layoffs shrugs as she waits in line for the games, "I'm seriously sad," she says. "But at least I'm not from Lehman Brothers."
26岁的尼克戈达德是这个“失业者奥运会”的筹办者。
26-year-old Nick Goddard is the organiser of the Unemployment Olympics.
“失业者奥运会就是想让每个人脸上多些笑容,我想今天这个目的达到了。”
"Unemployment Olympics is just about putting a smile on everyone's face, and I think it worked out really well today."
希拉米勒最近刚刚从一家营销公司下岗。
Shira Miller was recently laid off from a marketing firm.
“参加这个活动看上去很有意思,我知道,很多有工作的人并不能意识到,但是最大的问题是,你根本就没事可做。所以,这个与众不同的创意很不错。”
"It seems like a fun event, something to do. I know that most people who have jobs don't realize, but the biggest problem is, you don't have anything to do. So this is a nice departure from the usual.
有数据显示,美国的失业率现在已经高于8%,是自1983年以来最高的一次。
The unemployment rate in the United States is currently at more than 8 percent, the highest since late 1983.
很多经济学家预计到年底,失业率将会高达10%。
Many economists expect unemployment to tick up to about 10 percent by the end of the year.
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