VOA常速英语:Rent-A-Grandma Focuses on Hiring Older Workers

短语讲解：

1. As the United States struggles with a high unemployment rate, many older Americans looking for work say it is especially difficult for them to find employment because of their age.

struggle with与…打架, 与…斗争
例句：We still have to struggle with all kinds of difficulties.
我们仍得和各种各样的困难作斗争。
look for寻找，寻求
例句：He began to look for a new job immediately after he was fired.
他被解雇后立即开始寻找一份新工作。
because of因为, 由于
例句：I came back because of the rain.
因为下雨, 所以我回来了。

2. She rented a grandmother to care for her three girls when she is not home.

care for照料, 服侍
例句：The mother cared for the sick child day and night.
母亲日夜照料着生病的孩子。

3. “She was part of the family; she was helping out cooking, cleaning; helping with homework; playing with the kids,” explained Caldwell.

help out帮助, 帮助…出来
例句：She's always willing to help out.
她总是乐于帮助人。
help with帮助(某人)做…
例句：He's helping with odd jobs.
他在帮着干杂活。

4. “When you work with children, you have a responsibility and an obligation to make a difference in their lives," she said.

make a difference 有关系；有影响；有意义
例句：What you have told me may make a difference to my own position. 
你告诉我的一切，可能影响我自己的看法。

5. Caldwell says it is that experience that sets this rented grandmother apart from a teenage babysitter.

apart from除去，撇开…来说(表示除…以外尚有)，此外，加之
例句：Apart from some spelling mistakes, the composition is fairly good.
除了一些拼写错误, 这篇文章写得很不错。

6. “And I would hear these horror stories all the time like the sitter that almost burned down the house when she forgot there was dinner on the stove or the nanny that fell asleep and locked the kids outside the house,” Pliss recalled.

burn down烧毁
例句：The building was burnt down.
房子烧毁了。
fall asleep入睡，睡着
例句：Don't cry, the sick have fallen asleep.
别叫喊，病人已经入睡了。

7. Each grandmother goes through a background check and interview process. 

go through经历
例句：The country has gone through too many wars.
这个国家经历了太多的战争。

8. The price is from $14 to more than $20 an hour.  Pliss says he has been flooded with telephone calls from women who want to work.

flood with挤满; 充满
例句：His admirers flood him with letters.
他的崇拜者接连不断地给他写信。

9. Many of them had been laid off after being employed by a company for decades.

lay off暂时解雇,裁员
例句：The factory has laid off workers because of the drop in sales.
那个工厂由于销量下降而暂时解雇了工人。