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In recent years, city leaders in Grand Island, Nebraska, observed that many workers and students were walking or riding long distances to their jobs or schools. So when city administrator, Laura McAloon, learned of a chance to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she took it.
近年来，内布拉斯加州大岛市的市领导们观察到许多工人和学生步行或骑行长距离去上班或上学。因此，当市长助理劳拉·麦克卢恩得知有机会研究发展一套满足这些交通需求的公交系统时，她毫不犹豫地投身其中。
The study received support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with the International City/County Management Association.
这项研究得到了比尔及梅林达·盖茨基金会以及国际城市/县市管理协会的支持。
It sent McAloon to Washington, D.C. along with other local leaders to learn about policies to lift people in their community out of poverty.
它派遣麦克卢恩与其他当地领导一同前往华盛顿特区，学习有关帮助社区居民摆脱贫困的政策。
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced last week that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on reducing poverty in the U.S. The commitment is part of the $460 million the foundation said in 2022 it would donate over four years to this area of need. The foundation says it is looking to quicken the speed at which its gifts have an impact.
比尔及梅林达·盖茨基金会上周宣布将捐赠1亿美元，用于扩大其在减少美国贫困方面的工作。这一承诺是该基金会在2022年宣布将在四年内向这一领域捐赠4.6
Ryan Rippel is a founding director for economic strategy at the Gates Foundation. He said the large donations represent an important change in its strategy and give grantees more power in directing their own work.
瑞安·里普尔是盖茨基金会经济战略的创始总监。他表示，大额捐款代表了基金会战略上的重要变化，并赋予了受助者在指导自己的工作方面更多的权力。
Goal to help 50 million Americans
目标是帮助5000万美国人
The investment is a small part of the foundation’s overall budget, which was $7 billion last year. But it has quickly grown. The expansion of their work, Rippel said, depends on whether they meet their goal of improving economic mobility for 50 million people in the U.S. who are just above the poverty level with a yearly income of $29,160.
这项投资是基金会总预算的一小部分，去年为70亿美元。但增长很快。里普尔表示，他们的工作扩展取决于是否实现其目标，即提高美国5000万收入略高于贫困水平的人的经济流动性，年收入为29,160美元。
The foundation will give money to organizations working to expand support for local government using evidence-based policies that improve economic mobility. That includes policies that connect people with skills without college degrees to jobs, helping people receive government benefits and pushing businesses to change working conditions to improve work-life balance.
该基金会将向致力于通过基于证据的政策扩大对地方政府支持的组织提供资金，以提高经济流动性。这包括将具有技能但没有大学学位的人与工作联系起来的政策，帮助人们获得政府福利，并推动企业改善工作条件以提高工作与生活的平衡。
The grantees include Opportunity@Work, Families and Workers Fund, Prosperity Now, Pacific Community Ventures, Results for America and the Urban Institute.
受助者包括Opportunity@Work、家庭和工人基金、繁荣现在、太平洋社区创业、美国成果和城市研究所。
At a meeting in Washington, D.C., in May, the Urban Institute introduced the tools and research they have developed to help cities and counties understand barriers to economic mobility. There, McAloon from Grand Island realized that her city of 53,000 needed to collect more information.
在五月份的华盛顿特区会议上，城市研究所介绍了他们开发的工具和研究，帮助城市和县了解经济流动的障碍。在那里，来自大岛市的麦克卢恩意识到她的城市需要收集更多信息。
By the end of the meeting, they had changed their objectives and launched a data collective and analysis project. That included surveying local citizens and working with the human resources departments of major local employers.
会议结束时，他们改变了目标，并启动了一个数据收集和分析项目。这包括对当地居民进行调查，与主要当地雇主的人力资源部门合作。
What the city learned is that transportation had been a problem for workers. But when the meatpacking plant and other manufacturers raised wages after the pandemic, many households were able to pay for cars. Now the problem, the employers said, was housing.
城市了解到的是，交通一直是工人们面临的问题。但是，当肉类加工厂和其他制造商在大流行后提高工资时，许多家庭能够支付购车费用。现在，雇主们表示问题在于住房。
At the close of Grand Island's research study this fall, McAloon said they found it would not be possible to set up a bus system under federal rules. Instead, they are exploring a transportation pool that is partially paid for by employers and the state.
在大岛市的研究项目于今年秋季结束时，麦克卢恩表示，根据联邦规定，设立公交系统是不可能的。相反，他们正在研究一个由雇主和州部分支付的交通资金池。
The study led to new communication and cooperation across agencies, schools and local organizations. And McAloon’s office learned that a lack of plumbers and electricians was holding up new housing developments. So, she reached out to the community college, which is now setting up a technical training program in high schools.
这项研究促使各机构、学校和地方组织之间展开新的沟通与合作。麦克卢恩的办公室了解到，缺乏管道工和电工正在拖慢新住房的开发。因此，她联系了社区大学，该大学现在正在高中设立技术培训项目。
“It was a matter of a couple of emails,” she said. “And they’re already working on … making an impact on that issue that’s keeping us from building more houses.”
“只是几封电子邮件的事情，”她说。“他们已经在努力解决…这个问题正在阻止我们建更多的房屋。”
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Words in This Story
impact — n. a powerful or major influence or effect
grant — n. an amount of money that is given to someone by a government, a company, etc., to be used for a particular purpose
mobility — n. the ability or tendency to move from one position or situation to another usually better one
income — n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.
benefit — n. a good or helpful result or effect
survey — n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something
pool — n. a group of people who do the same job or activity together
