“热火朝天地展开之际”怎样翻译？

Internships Are Not a Privilege
为什么说实习机会的不平等，令社会付出代价

TALENT is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. And while many Americans believe fervently and faithfully in expanding opportunity, America’s internship-industrial complex does just the opposite.

人才分布得很均匀，但机遇并非如此。许多美国人满怀热忱、实心实意地相信，要让机会变得越来越多；但美国“实习-工业综合体”的表现却与这种观点背道而驰。

As the summer internship season gets into full swing, consider, for instance, how a plum internship may alter a young person’s career trajectory. While some students take a summer job in food service to pay the bills, others can afford to accept unpaid jobs at high-profile organizations, setting them on a more lucrative path.

在暑期实习季热火朝天地展开之际，不妨思考一下，一个良好的实习机会将如何改变一名年轻人的职业轨迹。当一些学生为了支付账单而在餐饮业打暑期工的时候，另外一些学生却可以接受高知名度的机构提供的无薪工作，为自己铺就一条回报更为可观的职业道路。

I remember my own paid internships with fondness and gratitude, especially my formative experience working for the Texas Legislature. As a low-income kid from a small town who entered college without an extended network, my internships equipped me with the skills, confidence and relationships to channel my potential into a rewarding career.

忆及自己的几次带薪实习，尤其是具有深远影响的为得克萨斯州议会工作的经历，我满怀热爱与感激之情。作为一个来自小地方低收入家庭的孩子，我进入大学时人脉圈很窄，而通过实习，我拥有了技能、信心和让我得以在回报丰厚的事业中发挥潜能的人脉关系。

And whether it’s an internship, college admission or any of the many other factors that determine a successful life, leaders who say they want to address inequality actually — and often unconsciously — reinforce the dynamics that create inequality in their own lives.

不论是实习、被高校录取，还是其他许多拥有成功人生的决定性因素中的任何一个，那些声称想要应对不平等问题的领导者，实际上常常不自觉地强化着在他们的生活中制造不平等的那种机制。

Even when financial considerations are no object, networking — the role of parents and others in helping young people score internships — disadvantages students from places that are underrepresented in positions of leadership.

即便财务上的考量不是问题，人脉因素——父母等人在帮助年轻人获得实习机会的过程中所扮演的角色——也会让所处成长环境中位高权重者偏少的那些学生处于劣势。

We often hear that success is “all about the people you know” — as if it’s just a matter of equal-opportunity relationship building. We rarely talk about how one knows them, or about the privilege that has become a prerequisite to knowing the right people. I sometimes get calls and emails from friends seeking help in landing internships for their children. I understand what they’re doing; this is part of being a parent. Still, it’s a reminder that America’s current internship system, in which contacts and money matter more than talent, contributes to an economy in which access and opportunity go to the people who already have the most of both.

我们经常听人说起，成功“完全取决于你认识什么人”——仿佛人人都有平等的机会去建立人脉关系。我们很少谈论如何去结识对的人，也鲜会提及特权逐渐成为了结识对的人的先决条件。朋友有时会打来电话或发来邮件，想让我帮忙为他们的孩子锁定实习机会。我理解他们的做法；这是家长的职责所在。不过这也提醒我们，美国现有的实习制度把关系和金钱看得比才干重要，是让门路和机会涌向本已拥有最多门路和机会之人的经济制度的组成部分。

The stakes of America’s broken internship system are high. As report after report reminds us, this generation of students faces significantly worse job prospects than its predecessors. Without the short-term opportunities to help them learn, grow, connect with mentors and begin climbing the earnings curve, many promising young people with limited means are denied the chance to rise as high as their talent will take them.

美国失灵的实习制度牵涉的利害关系颇为重大。一篇篇报道提醒我们，这代学生的工作前景，比上一代人糟糕得多。由于得不到有助于他们学习、成长、结识良师益友并开始朝着更高收入阶梯进发的短期机会，许多大有可为却资源有限的年轻人在职场上难以达到与其才干相匹配的高度。

The result is not limited to the labor market. The broader implication is privilege multiplied by privilege, a compounding effect prejudiced against students who come from working-class or lower-income circumstances. By shutting out these students from entry-level experiences in certain fields, entire sectors engineer long-term deficits of much-needed talent and perspective. In other words, we’re all paying the price for unpaid internships.

这种情况带来的后果不只波及劳动力市场。更广泛的影响是，特权如滚雪球般壮大，给出身于蓝领阶层或低收入家庭的学生遭受的歧视带来复合效应。这类学生在某些领域获得入门级经验的通道被关闭了，结果是，相关的整个部门都不得不应对长期缺乏必要的才干和眼光这一问题。换句话说，我们每个人都在为无薪实习付出代价。

Fortunately, there is another option. Many organizations are beginning to pay interns. This is important because employers should not only compensate students for their time and contributions, but also eliminate barriers that prevent low-income and underrepresented students from pursuing these opportunities.

幸运的是，还有另外一个选择。许多机构已经着手提供带薪实习机会。这一点十分重要，因为雇主不仅应该对付出了时间、做出了贡献的学生进行补偿，还要拆掉阻止出身于低收入家庭、人脉关系有限的学生寻求这些机会的藩篱。

While some nonprofits may be unable to pay their interns — even though they depend on their contributions of energy and know-how — the government can help turn unpaid positions into paid opportunities for those at risk of getting left behind.

一些非营利组织或许无法为实习生提供报酬——尽管要仰仗他们贡献的精力和技能——但为了支持有可能被落在后边的那些人，政府可以帮助把无薪职位变成有薪职位。

A few years ago, researchers at the Economic Policy Institute and Demos proposed using existing student aid programs — including Federal Work-Study and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid — to facilitate internship grants for low-income students. Their proposed Student Opportunity Program would provide funding equal to $3,500 for three-month grants and $7,000 for six-month grants to students who couldn’t afford to work without compensation.

数年前，经济政策研究所(Economic Policy Institute)和德莫斯(Demos)的研究人员提出，利用现有的学生补助项目——包括“联邦工读”(Federal Work-Study)和“联邦学生补助自由申请”(Free Application for Federal Student Aid)——为来自低收入家庭的学生发放实习补助。他们提议推出的“给学生以机会计划”(Student Opportunity Program)，将为没有条件接受无薪实习机会的学生提供三个月3500美元或者六个月7000美元的资金支持。

At the same time, while compensating interns is necessary, it is not sufficient.

与此同时，尽管对实习生进行补偿是必要的，但这还不够。

At the Ford Foundation, we take seriously the responsibility to ensure our paid internships help dismantle privilege. In addition to screening for strong academic performance and an interest in social justice issues, our managers require that interns be recipients of needs-based financial aid. In this way, we offer sought-after positions to young people who otherwise might not have the chance to pursue them.

在福特基金会(Ford Foundation)，我们认真承担起确保我们提供的带薪实习机会有助于消除特权的责任。除了把学习成绩优异和关心社会正义问题作为筛选条件，我们的管理者还要求实习生是按需给予的财务补助的接受者。这样一来，我们就能把抢手的职位提供给原本可能没有机会追寻它们的年轻人。

The right internship can put a young person onto a trajectory for success. This is precisely why those of us who oversee internship programs ought to make sure they provide a hand up to all people of promise, not merely a handout that, best intentions aside, accelerates a cycle of privilege and reward.

合适的实习机会可以把年轻人送上通往成功的轨道。正因为如此，我们这些实习项目的管理者，应该确保向每一个有前途的人提供上升的机会，而非把机会当成礼物送出去，虽说是好意，但却会进一步强化特权和回报之间的循环。

For countless Americans, me among them, internships have provided a foothold on the path to the American dream. Simply by making them more accessible to all, we can narrow the inequality gap while widening the circle of opportunity, long after the summer ends.

对包括我在内的不计其数的美国人而言，实习是在追寻美国梦的道路上迈出的第一步。只要确保更多的人能获得实习机会，我们就可以在缩小不平等差距的同时，拓展机会的循环链条，而其成果将会影响到暑期结束很久之后。