英語專業(yè)生就業(yè)——路在何方？

Brian： Getting a job is impossible these days！

Millie： I know what you mean！ I heard some 1）figures the other day that the employment rate for college grads in Beijing is down to 33.6%.

Brian： And it used to be like 90%， right？

Millie： Yeah， about ten years ago.

Brian： I thought it would be smooth sailing for a successful English major， such as myself， to find a steady job with decent pay， but it’s been hard finding any job whatsoever. Why do you think that is？

Millie： ①If I had to wager a guess， I’d say it has something to do with the growing number of English majors in China every year. I mean， English majors used to be the most highly 2）coveted and 3）sought-after among all students， but things have certainly changed in recent years.

Brian： That makes sense. I thought it might be because， as you know， we English majors spend all our time studying English， so companies might want employees with a more well-rounded skill set， or even a double major. That way， you’d have more knowledge in the fields of maths and sciences for example.

Millie： I’m sure that’s another factor as well. Plus， English majors or not， everyone needs a good career plan when heading into an interview， or else whoever’s in charge of hiring won’t give you a second look. Brian： True， true. But 4）hindsight’s always 20-20， isn’t it？

Millie： Have you ever thought of going into the tourism industry？

Brian： Briefly. ②But the salaries for fresh grads aren’t all that competitive， and I’m not really in the mood to be shuttling around on a moment’s notice. I’ll leave those agency jobs to all the travel lovers out there. But maybe human resources could be a 5）viable option…

Millie： I actually heard that’s a hard industry to break into for English majors.

Brian： Really？ I’d have thought that our superior communication skills would be a huge plus.

M i l l i e ： Yo u’r e r i g h t . ③B u t ， unfortunately， we don’t have the type of analytical business skills to join the fold.

Brian： How about foreign trade？

Millie： I remember looking into the import/export market last year. ④But even though China’s the second largest economy in the world， the global economic downturn in past years has really put a damper on the international trade market.

Brian： So you’re saying there’s pretty much nothing out there for us， is that it？

Millie： I know. It’s certainly a bleak albeit accurate employment outlook these days. I guess a little prayer and positive thinking couldn’t hurt.

Brian： Alright. Thanks for the advice Mother Theresa…

布萊恩：現(xiàn)在找一份工作真的很難！

米莉：我懂你的意思！前幾天我聽說北京的大學(xué)畢業(yè)生就業(yè)率降到了33.6%。

布萊恩：而過去的就業(yè)率都在90%，對嗎？

米莉：嗯，大約10年前是這樣的。

布萊恩：我過去認(rèn)為像我這樣的一名優(yōu)秀的英語專業(yè)生，（畢業(yè)后）的道路應(yīng)該是一帆風(fēng)順的，能找到一份既體面又穩(wěn)定的工作，但是（我）卻一直找不到工作。你說這是為什么呢？

米莉：如果讓我猜的話，我認(rèn)為這和中國每年增加的英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)生人數(shù)有關(guān)。我的意思是，英語專業(yè)的學(xué)生曾經(jīng)是所有畢業(yè)生中最炙手可熱的人群，但是近年來情況發(fā)生了轉(zhuǎn)變。

布萊恩：這是能理解的。我過去認(rèn)為這也許是因?yàn)椋愣?，我們英語專業(yè)的學(xué)生把所有的時間都花在學(xué)習(xí)英語上，而公司也許需要一個有更全面的才能，或者有雙學(xué)位的人才。比方說，你會懂得更多的數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)領(lǐng)域里的知識。

米莉：我確定這也是一個因素。再加上，不管是不是英語專業(yè)的學(xué)生，在參加面試時，每一個人都需要有一個好的職業(yè)規(guī)劃，否則不管是誰負(fù)責(zé)面試，都不會對你特別留意。

布萊恩：沒錯，沒錯。但這是事后聰明的看法，不是嗎？

米莉：你有想過進(jìn)入旅游業(yè)嗎？

布萊恩：有簡單地想過。但是這一行給剛畢業(yè)的大學(xué)生的薪酬并沒有多少競爭力，而且我也不太喜歡要隨時準(zhǔn)備往返于各地。我會把這些旅行社的工作留給熱愛旅游的人。但是也許人力資源是一個合適的選擇。

米莉：事實(shí)上我聽說過英語專業(yè)生很難入這一行。

布萊恩：真的嗎？我還想著我們出色的溝通技能會為我們加分不少。

米莉：你說得對，但是，不幸的是，我們沒有入這行的業(yè)務(wù)分析能力。

布萊恩：那么外貿(mào)呢？

米莉：我記得去年關(guān)注了進(jìn)出口市場。盡管中國是世界上第二大經(jīng)濟(jì)體，但是過去幾年全球經(jīng)濟(jì)的衰退真的抑制了國際貿(mào)易市場的發(fā)展。

布萊恩：所以你的意思是基本沒什么工作是適合我們的，對嗎？

米莉：我明白?，F(xiàn)在就業(yè)前景既殘酷又現(xiàn)實(shí)。我想保留一點(diǎn)期待和積極的想法是沒有壞處的。

布萊恩：好吧。謝謝你的建議，觀世音菩薩……

Smart Sentences

① If I had to wager a guess， I’d say it has something to do with the growing number of English majors in China every year. 如果讓我猜的話，我認(rèn)為這和中國每年增加的英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)生人數(shù)有關(guān)。

wager a guess： put forward an estimate about sth.（猜測某事的結(jié)果）。例如：

The campaign is barely underway； it is too early to wager a guess about the outcome.

競選才剛剛開始，現(xiàn)在對結(jié)果進(jìn)行猜測為時過早。

② But the salaries for fresh grads aren’t all that competitive， and I’m not really in the mood to be shuttling around on a moment’s notice. 但是這一行給剛畢業(yè)的大學(xué)生的薪酬并沒有多少競爭力，而且我也不太喜歡要隨時準(zhǔn)備往返于各地。

in the mood （for sth.）： want to do sth.（想做某事）。例如：

I’m not in the mood to go shopping—I just got a rejection from the AW company.

我現(xiàn)在沒有心情去逛街，我剛剛遭到AW公司的拒絕。

③ But， unfortunately， we don’t have the type of analytical business skills to join the fold.但是，不幸的是，我們沒有入這行的業(yè)務(wù)分析能力。

join the fold： become a member of a certain group（成為某個圈子里的一員）。例如：

—Have you ever thought of becoming a civil servant？

你想過去當(dāng)公務(wù)員嗎？

—Nope！ I certainly don’t want to join the fold because it sounds like a dull job to me.

沒有！那聽起來是一份很沉悶的工作，我當(dāng)然不想成為其中的一員。

④ But even though China’s the second largest economy in the world， the global economic downturn in past years has really put a damper on the international trade market. 但盡管中國是世界上第二大經(jīng)濟(jì)體，但是過去幾年全球經(jīng)濟(jì)的衰退真的抑制了國際貿(mào)易市場的發(fā)展。

put a damper on sth.： make sth. less enjoyable or less successful than it should be（使掃興，抑制）。例如：

The recent appreciation of RMB will put a damper on China’s export growth.

近來人民幣的升值會抑制中國的出口增長。