ChinesePod

1 lit. there is heaven above, and there is 蘇杭|苏杭[Sū Háng] below (idiom)
2 fig. the beauty and affluence of Suzhou and Hangzhou is comparable with heaven

上有政策，下有对策

shàng yǒu zhèng cè , xià yǒu duì cè

1 The higher ups have policies while the lower downs have their own ways of getting around them. (idiom)

上有老下有小

shàng yǒu lǎo xià yǒu xiǎo

1 lit. above are the elderly, below are the young (idiom)
2 fig. to have to take care of both one's aging parents and one's children
3 sandwich generation

Sample Sentences

听说在美国航空公司的空乘人员都是工会的会员，航空公司不能因为他们年老色衰了就让人家下岗。而且，飞国际航线的，都是有资历有年头儿的空乘，所以年纪都比较大。

tīngshuō zài Měiguó hángkōnggōngsī de kōngchéng rényuán dōu shì gōnghuì de huìyuán ，hángkōnggōngsī bùnéng yīnwèi tāmen niánlǎosèshuāi le jiù ràng rénjiā xiàgǎng 。érqiě ，fēi guójì hángxiàn de ，dōu shì yǒu zīlì yǒu niántóur de kōngchéng ，suǒyǐ niánjì dōu bǐjiào dà 。

I hear that all in-flight service staff on US airlines are union members, so they can't be fired just because they've gotten older. Moreover, flying international routes are all controlled by more experienced staff, so they are all older.

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改革了以后呢，企业就不需要那么多的员工了，所以很多的工人就下岗了。

gǎigé le yǐhòu ne ，qǐyè jiù bù xūyào nàme duō de yuángōng le ，suǒyǐ hěn duō de gōngrén jiù xiàgǎng le 。

After the reform, the company didn't need so many employees, so many workers were laid off.

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下岗

xiàgǎng

to be laid off due to restructuring

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别提了，金融风暴，都下岗了还发什么财！

bié tí le ，jīnróng fēngbào ，dōu xiàgǎng le hái fā shénme cái ！

I don't even want to talk about it. It's an financial meltdown-- I got laid off! Getting rich is out of the question!

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这也无可厚非。他们花的是自己赚来的钱。这些年机会好，政策好，谁赶上谁发财。我有个亲戚，下岗那会儿别提多沮丧了。后来自己开了个小饭店谋生。没想到生意特火爆，就这样一步步做到连锁餐饮。现在资产都过千万了。

zhè yě wúkěhòufēi 。tā men huā de shì zìjǐ zhuàn lái de qián 。zhèxiē nián jīhuì hǎo ，zhèngcè hǎo ，shéi gǎnshàng shéi fācái 。wǒ yǒu ge qīnqi ，xiàgǎng nà huìr biétí duō jǔsàng le 。hòulái zìjǐ kāi le ge xiǎo fàndiàn móushēng 。méixiǎngdào shēngyi tè huǒbào ，jiù zhèyàng yībùbù zuò dào liánsuǒ cānyǐn 。xiànzài zīchǎn dōu guò qiānwàn le 。

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我相信这点国家也有考虑到。虽然我们打破了“铁饭碗”，可是国家并没有对失业人员置之不理。国家不仅加强了失业保障的力度，还大力提倡“竞争上岗”和“下岗再就业”。相信不久以后，高失业率的问题就会得到改善。

wǒ xiāngxìn zhèdiǎn guójiā yě yǒu kǎolǜ dào 。suīrán wǒmen dǎpò le “tiěfànwǎn ”，kěshì guójiā bìng méiyǒu duì shīyè rényuán zhìzhībùlǐ 。guójiā bùjǐn jiāqiáng le shīyè bǎozhàng de lìdù ，hái dàlì tíchàng “jìngzhēng shànggǎng ”hé “xiàgǎng zài jiùyè ”。xiāngxìn bùjiǔ yǐhòu ，gāo shīyèlǜ de wèntí jiù huì dédào gǎishàn 。

I believe the government has also given this some thought. Although we've ``broken the iron rice bowl," the government definitely hasn't turned its back on the unemployed. The government has not only strengthened unemployment protection, it also vigorously promotes ``competing for jobs," and ``starting a new career after you lose your job." I'm sure that before long, the problem of high unemployment rates will see some improvement.

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我还是对私有化信心不足。看到那么多下岗工人，失业率居高不下，我就感到忧虑。

wǒ háishì duì sīyǒuhuà xìnxīn bùzú 。kàndào nàme duō xiàgǎng gōngrén ，shīyèlǜ jūgāobùxià ，wǒ jiù gǎndào yōulǜ 。

I still feel a little uneasy about privatization. Seeing so many unemployed workers, with the unemployment rate high stuck up high, I feel really apprehensive.

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