无固定期限合同 Open-ended (labor) contracts

《新劳动合同法》颁布实施已经接近一年了，职工的合法权益也得到了更有效的保护。但是全球金融危机暴发后，我国实体经济也不可避免地受到影响，利润下滑的公司开始裁员、减薪，这又使劳资纠纷数量大幅增加。

The labor law is considered the most significant change in the country's labor rules in more than a decade. It makes mandatory the use of written contracts and encourages open-ended contracts to protect the rights of workers.

《新劳动合同法》被认为是近十年中国劳动制度领域的最重要变革。根据该法规定，为保护劳动者的合法权益，企业必须与劳动者签订书面合同，并鼓励签订无固定期限合同。

Open-ended (labor) contracts用在这里指我们平时所说的"无固定期限劳动合同"，也就是用人单位与劳动者约定无确定终止时间的劳动合同。很多人对"无固定期限"存在误解，事实上"无固定期限"既不是劳动者的"护身符"，也不是用人单位的"终身包袱"。只要没有出现法律规定的条件或者双方约定的条件，双方当事人就要继续履行劳动合同规定的义务。一旦出现了法律规定的情形，无固定期限劳动合同也同样能够解除。与之相对的，"固定期限合同"则是labor contract with fixed-term。

Open-ended经常用于表示"开放的、开口的、无限制的"。来看下面这段话了解一下open-ended和contract的用法吧。

Sylvia喜欢参加open-ended discussion（开放式讨论），问一些open-ended question（开放式问题）。她上学期刚刚获得学校的an open-ended and generous scholarship that lets recipients write their own ticket.（让受领者自行决定的无限额且大笔的奖学金）并签订了合同，She is under contract to teach there for one year.（她按照聘约要在那里教一年书）。她想拿奖学金来买基金，但现在市场上有很多open-ended fund（开放式基金），她不知道买哪个好。她想委托别人帮她买，刚刚draw up a contract（草拟了一份合同），但朋友提醒她，bare contract（没有担保的契约）通常是无效的。

Mary is a workers' representative on the Board.
玛丽是理事会的工人代表。

representative:n. 代表，典型，
例句 Is a questionnaire answeredby 500 people truly representative of national opinion?
一份调查问卷有500人作答, 是否能真正代表全国人民的意见?

Cormorants recover in a Saudi pool after the first gulf war. Iraqis retreating from Kuwait damaged nearly 800 oil wells, poisoning 300 miles (483 kilometers) of coast and 600 square miles (966 square kilometers) of the Persian Gulf, including the breeding grounds of sea-faring cormorants and grebes. Six months after the destruction, coastlines were still black and desolate, proving that recovery would be slow for the fragile ecosystem.

Now We Run
　　A priest is walking down the street one day when he notices a very small boy trying to press a doorbell on a house across the street. However, the boy is very small and the doorbell is too high for him to reach. After watching the boy's efforts for some time, the priest moves closer to the boy's position. He steps smartly across the street, walks up behind the little fellow, places his hand kindly on the child's shoulder and gives the doorbell a sold ring. Crouching down to the child's level, the priest smiles and asks, "And now what, my little man?" The boy replies, "Now we run!"

现在我们跑吧

一个牧师正沿着街走路，这时他看到街对面有个小男孩正试图按一所房子的门铃。但这个小孩太小了，门铃又高，他够不着。看到那个小男孩费了很多劲，牧师走近了他。牧师优雅地穿过马路，走到小家伙的背后，轻轻地把手放在小男孩肩头，按响了门铃。他弯下身子，微笑着问道："接下来怎么办，孩子？"小男孩回答说："接下来我们跑。"

A Note

Crouching down to the child's level：伴随状语，表示牧师在smiles and asks 时的一个动作。