2012年考研英语一阅读 Text 4 原文翻译及答案解析

If the trade unionist Jimmy Hoffa were alive today, he would probably represent civil servants. When Hoffa's Teamsters were in their prime in 1960, only one in ten American government workers belonged to a union; now 36% do. In 2009 the number of unionists in America's public sector passed that of their fellow members in the private sector. In Britain, more than half of public-sector workers but only about 15% of private-sector ones are unionized.

如果工会主义者吉米·霍法今天还活着，他很可能会代表公务员。1960年，霍法的卡车司机工会处于鼎盛时期时，只有十分之一的美国政府工作人员属于工会；现在有36%。2009年，美国公共部门的工会会员数量超过了私营部门的同行。在英国，超过一半的公共部门工人加入了工会，而私营部门只有约15%。

There are three reasons for the public-sector unions' thriving. First, they can shut things down without suffering much in the way of consequences. Second, they are mostly bright and well-educated. A quarter of America's public-sector workers have a university degree. Third, they now dominate left-of-centre politics. Some of their ties go back a long way. Britain's Labor Party, as its name implies, has long been associated with trade unionism. Its current leader, Ed Miliband, owes his position to votes from public-sector unions.

公共部门工会的繁荣有三个原因。首先，他们可以关闭业务而不会遭受太多后果。其次，他们大多聪明且受过良好教育。四分之一的美国公共部门工人拥有大学学位。第三，他们现在主导了左倾政治。他们的一些联系可以追溯到很久以前。英国的工党，正如其名所示，长期以来一直与工会主义相关联。其现任领袖埃德·米利班德的职位得益于公共部门工会的投票。

At the state level their influence can be even more fearsome. Mark Baldassare of the Public Policy Institute of California points out that much of the state's budget is patrolled by unions. The teachers' unions keep an eye on schools, the CCPOA on prisons and a variety of labor groups on health care.

在州一级，他们的影响可能更加可怕。加利福尼亚公共政策研究所的马克·巴尔达萨雷指出，该州的大部分预算都受到工会的监督。教师工会关注学校，CCPOA关注监狱，各种劳工团体关注医疗保健。

In many rich countries average wages in the state sector are higher than in the private one. But the real gains come in benefits and work practices. Politicians have repeatedly "backloaded" public-sector pay deals, keeping the pay increases modest but adding to holidays and especially pensions that are already generous.

在许多富裕国家，国有部门的平均工资高于私营部门。但真正的收益体现在福利和工作惯例上。政客们反复“延迟兑现”公共部门的薪酬协议，保持工资增长适度，但增加了假期，尤其是已经很丰厚的养老金。

Reform has been vigorously opposed, perhaps most notoriously in education, where charter schools, academies and merit pay all faced drawn-out battles. Even though there is plenty of evidence that the quality of the teachers is the most important variable, teachers' unions have fought against getting rid of bad ones and promoting good ones.

改革遭到强烈反对，或许最臭名昭著的是在教育领域，特许学校、学院和绩效工资都面临持久战。尽管有大量证据表明教师质量是最重要的变量，但教师工会一直反对解雇不好的教师和提拔好的教师。

As the cost to everyone else has become clearer, politicians have begun to clamp down. In Wisconsin the unions have rallied thousands of supporters against Scott Walker, the hardline Republican governor. But many within the public sector suffer under the current system, too.

随着对其他所有人的成本变得更加清晰，政客们开始采取强硬措施。在威斯康星州，工会聚集了数千名支持者反对强硬派共和党州长斯科特·沃克。但公共部门内部的许多人也遭受现行制度的痛苦。

John Donahue at Harvard's Kennedy School points out that the norms of culture in Western civil services suit those who want to stay put but is bad for high achievers. The only American public-sector workers who earn well above $250,000 a year are university sports coaches and the president of the United States. Bankers' fat pay packets have attracted much criticism, but a public-sector system that does not reward high achievers may be a much bigger problem for America.

哈佛大学肯尼迪学院的约翰·多纳休指出，西方文官制度的文化规范适合那些想原地不动的人，但对高成就者不利。唯一年收入远高于25万美元的美国公共部门工人是大学体育教练和美国总统。银行家丰厚的薪酬包吸引了大量批评，但一个不奖励高成就者的公共部门制度可能对美国来说是一个更大的问题。

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