【话匣子英语】加拿大的教育

在加拿大接受教育是怎样的体验，小学，中学和高中的学制是多久呢

Maura:            Now, today’s episode¹ is a Chatterbox episode, and that is where we chat about all different kinds of topics. And sometimes, like today, topics suggested by our listeners.

 

Harp²:              Yeah. Thanks again, Carlos, for the very interesting topic of education in North America.

 

Maura:            That’s right. Today we’re gonna be talking about education. First, we’re going to talk about primary and secondary³ education.

 

Harp:              And then we’re gonna talk about post-secondary education.

 

Maura:            And the last thing we’re going to do is tell you a little bit about our own experiences going to school and becoming educated people.

 

Harp:              That’s what we’re going to do, so let’s get started.

 

Maura:            OK, let’s start at the beginning, with school. When you are about four, or five, or six years old, depending where you live in Canada, you begin school.

 

Harp:              Yes. You start school in kindergarten.

 

Maura:            That’s right. And, you know, I love the word kindergarten. It’s actually a German word and English kind of stole it. But it’s the word that we use for your very first year of school.

 

Harp:              It’s the best year of school, I think.

 

Maura:            Probably the most fun and most exciting.

 

Harp:              So after you finish kindergarten, you move to grade 1.

 

Maura:            And then you just start counting up from there: grade 2, grade 3, grade 4…

 

Harp:              Yeah. And it depends on where you went to school, but elementary school can go from kindergarten to grade 5 or 6, or even 7 or 8. It really depends where you are in Canada.

 

Maura:            That’s right. Then you go to a junior high school, which could be grade 6, grade 7, grade 8, grade 9. Again, it’s really hard to say because depending where you are, the elementary school and junior schools are a little bit different.

 

Harp:              Yeah. You always start elementary school with kindergarten and then you move up the grades.

 

Maura:            That’s right. Now, after elementary school, or grade school, and if you go to junior high school, then you have high school, which, again, is different everywhere, but usually starts around grade 9 or 10 and goes up to grade 12.

 

Harp:              Yes. Some people go directly from elementary school to high school. And then they would start at grade 9, maybe even grade 8.

 

Maura:            Yeah. And this is a little bit different, because in high school, you have to get particular credits⁴ in particular subjects to qualify⁵ for a high school diploma. In elementary school, you just complete your grade every year. So high school is a little bit different because you have specific classes that you have to pass.

 

Harp:              Yeah. And usually when you’re in elementary school, and most of the time in junior high school, you stay with one class and you do all your subjects together. Your science, your math, English; it’s all together with the same people, with the same students. But in high school, usually you’re switching to different classes every subject.

 

Maura:            Right. And different teachers. So, when you’re in elementary school, for example, in grade 3, you probably have one teacher. You might have a special teacher for music, and you definitely⁶ have a special teacher for learning⁷ another language, but you basically⁸ have one teacher. In high school, every subject is taught by a different teacher.

 

Harp:              And things are a little bit different in Quebec, but that’ll get even more confusing, so we’ll explain that in the Learning Materials.

 

Maura:            Right. Quebec, which is the province that we’re in right now, has a little bit of a different school system. So become a member if you’re curious, and we will talk about how Quebec is different. Now something else that is maybe interesting and special about Canada is that… Well, first of all, we’re a bilingual country. So we have English and French schools all across the country. Even in parts of Canada where English is the majority language, there are French schools. And in the parts of Canada where French is mostly spoken, we have English schools.

1 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

2 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

3 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。

4 credits   

n.节目前后字幕；信任，信用，声望，荣誉， [财务]贷方，银行存款；信任( credit的名词复数 )；存款；学分；（借钱偿还的）信誉link-v.相信，信任，把…归给

参考例句：

• He credits me with having better sense than that. 他认为我的见识要比那强得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Does this item go among the credits or the debits? 这笔账应记入贷方还是借方？ 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。

6 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。