VOA常速英语2014--Empowering Employees with Disabilities 激励人心的残疾人员工

Empowering Employees with Disabilities 激励人心的残疾人员工

CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA — Lifelong intellectual disabilities often can hinder 1 a person's ability to acquire skills or get a job. The people who run the Wildflour catering 2 company near Washington, D.C. know that, so they have made a special effort to hire people with disabilities. The company gives its employees marketable skills, and sends them home with more than just a paycheck.

尚特利，弗吉尼亚报道——智力障碍或许终生阻碍一些人学习一项技能或者得到一份工作。华盛顿特区附近沃德弗拉餐厅公司的经营人员很清楚这一点，因此他们做出了特殊的努力而雇佣了很多残疾人。该公司为他们的员工提供了适合市场需求的技能，而不是回家时让他们仅仅带着薪水。

Philippe Keefe is proud of himself for being able to do many things. He says, “I cut red potatoes, I do some cilantro, I peel carrots, I grate carrots, I cut peppers,-- "

菲利弗·基弗对于他能做很多事情而感到骄傲，他说，我可以削马铃薯，可以摘香菜叶，可以给萝卜打皮，可以切胡椒等……

And the list goes on! Kerry O’Brien loves to cook. She says, “It is like a dream job. I love to be a chef one day, to be a proud daughter of my parents, of course.”

他能做的事情的名单正在继续增加。凯瑞·奥·博林很喜欢烹饪。她说，这是一份梦想中的工作，我喜欢一天都在做厨师，当然也可以成为我父母的骄傲。

O'Brien and Keefe work at Wildflour, a café and catering business in Chantilly, Virginia, where more than half of the 70 employees have intellectual disabilities. The non-profit corporation trains them to work in kitchens and restaurants.

奥·博林和基弗在尚特利，弗吉尼亚的沃德弗拉餐饮业工作，该餐厅至少有70为员工患有智力缺陷。该非营利组织训练残疾人在厨房或者饭店工作。

Alberto Sangiorgio, Wildflour's general manager, says, “They work around the tables two to three months for each procedure, they do dishwashing, they do cutting things, they do many, many things. At the end of the process, it takes four to five years to do that, they are capable to work at any restaurants, any place like everybody else.”

沃德弗拉餐厅的总经理阿尔贝托·圣乔治表示，“他们在桌前工作2-3个月为一个流程，他们可以刷洗盘子，可以切食材，可以做很多事情。所有流程的完成，可能需要4-5年，之后他们可以像其他人一样，胜任饭店及其类似地方的工作。”

The employees, who range in age from 22-60, make minimum wage - $7.50 an hour, and Wildflour offers them time off for illness and vacation.

该店内雇佣的员工年龄在22-60岁不等，最低的工资是7.5美元/小时，而且沃德弗拉餐厅提供给他们病假和旅行的时间。

Paul Miller 3, who has been a chef here for six years, says “They love coming to work. They love all their co-workers and they take to tasks like you won’t believe. It takes a while but after a while they go right to it. It is very rewarding for me.”

已经在此做大厨工作约6年的保罗·米尔表示，“他们喜欢来这工作，喜欢一起合作，甚至喜欢工作到了让人难以置信的地步。可能最初需要一段时间教他们，但之后他们就会做的很好，对我来说，很是值得。”

Fernanda Rodriguez, who trains them to pack biscuits, agrees. She says, “I think that they teach me more than I teach them. They are very positive, they are very affectionate. They are happy all the time.”

弗兰达·罗德里格兹，负责训练他们包装饼干，也很同意上述观点。她称，“我认为他们教会我的远比我教给他们的要多。他们很积极，充满热情，在这里他们一直都很快乐。”

Veronique Keefe sees positive changes in her son, Philippe. She says, “He is much calmer, he is happy, he is energetic. He is happy with other people working there. So socially it is good for him to be here."

薇罗尼卡·基弗看到了他儿子菲利弗的积极改变，她说：“他更加平静了，很开心，精力充沛，他很喜欢和更多人一起在这工作，所以对他来说，在这的社会群体是善良的。”

Richard Harrison is a regular at Wildflour café. He says the food is wonderful, but that's not the only reason he comes here.

理查德·克里逊是沃德弗拉餐厅的常客，他称食物很可口，但这不是他来这的唯一理由。

“I appreciate the approach that the restaurant has taken and hiring those people," he said. "My experience with them is a great experience."

“我很敬佩这所饭店接纳和雇佣这些人的方式，我与他们的接触是一个美好的经历。”

Chopping and packing skills aside, the job gives the employees something perhaps more valuable - a sense of self-esteem. John Stephens, who has Down syndrome 4, has worked at Wildflour since 2008.

除去切削和包装的技巧外，这份工作给员工的价值或许更多一些，比如自尊。约翰·斯蒂芬患有唐氏综合症，自2008年就在这所餐厅工作。

He says, “This job is the key to unlocking 5 all kinds of dreams not just to be in culinary but to be anything they want to be. This place has given me everything they can to make sure I have a steady life.”

他说：“这份工作像一把钥匙，开启了多色的梦想，这不仅仅是让他们从事烹饪，而且可以去成为自己想要成为的人。这个地方也倾其所能给予了我一个安稳的生活。”

Stephens says he wants to be an actor. And once an opportunity arises, he is confident he can act as a chef, as well.

斯蒂芬称他想成为一名演员，一旦机会来了，他有信心可以很好地饰演一名厨师。