【英语口语练习册】蒙古的学校制度

托德和海地在讨论蒙古的学校制度

 

Todd: So Heidi, you are from Mongolia. Could you talk a little bit about what high school is like in Mongolia?

Heidi: Oh sure. In Mongolia, we don’t have elementary school, secondary¹ school, or high school divided into three parts, but we have from 1st grade until 12th grade in one school so we don’t really call them like high school or secondary school or elementary school. And for the high school, like, from the 8th grade until 12th grade, well, they study what other students study in different countries but nowadays they are focusing² on more, like, English studies or different language studies.

 

Todd: How long is a typical class? Do you have, let’s say, six classes a day, each class is one hour?

 

Heidi: We start school at 8:00 in the morning until 1:00 in the [after] noon and we have about six classes a day. Each class has like 45 minutes. So we finish at 1:00.

 

Todd: And then, what do you do in the afternoon?

 

Heidi: We go back.

 

Todd: You go home?

 

Heidi: Yes, ‘cause in Mongolia we have two parts. In the morning, the high school students go to the school and from 1:30 the elementary school students go to the school so we share one class [between] two classes.

 

Todd: Oh, so you split³ the school?

 

Heidi: Yes.

 

Todd: So do teachers sometimes have to teach both levels?

 

Heidi: Yes.

 

Todd: Wow! That’s tough.

 

Heidi: Yeah.

 

Todd: So when you go home, do you usually...do have family there waiting or do usually both parents work?

 

Heidi: In Mongolia, the mother and father they usually work and when I finish my school I just go back and make my own food, because in Mongolia mothers’ work is not to, like, stay at home or do housework. Kids are taught to clean up the home and cook their food and wash their clothes and that’s your work and usually the mothers don’t do that kind of thing.

 

Todd: Oh, so the children have to do all that work?

 

Heidi: Yes.

 

Todd: Actually it’s quite similar I think in the US pretty much. So what about your study load? Do you have a really heavy study load? Like, do you have two hours of homework a night or...?

 

Heidi: It really depends on the school but for me, like, I was studying in an international school so I had to study quite hard to get the level still. So for me, I studied after school...I’d rather study at night, so I studied like 3 or 4 hours at night. So that’s my study habit.

 

Todd: That’s a lot.

 

Heidi: Not really compared to other students.

 

Vocabulary

 

typical

 

How long is a typical class?

 

Typical means⁴ “normal” or “average”. If something is surprising or unusual then it would not be typical. Notice the following examples:

 

Children typically start to walk when they are about 1 years old.

In math class, it is typical to have 30 minutes of homework.

let’s say

 

Do you have, let’s say, six classes a day?

 

Let’s say is an informal⁵ way to say “for example” or “let’s imagine”. Sometimes people also shorten⁶ “let’s say” to just “say”. Here are some sample sentences:

 

Let’s say you would like to make a fire. You are going to need wood and matches.

I have 2 pizzas and, say, 10 children come to the party. Will we have enough pizzas? 

split

 

So you split the school?

 

When you spilt⁷ something you “divide” it into two parts. Look at the following examples:

 

The group was too large so we split them into two groups.

We split the pizza between four people.

study load

 

You have a heavy study load.

 

A study load is the amount of classes or courses a student has to study. If a student has many difficult classes, then they have a heavy study load. If they have an easy schedule at school, then they have a light study load. Notice the following:

 

I have a light study load this term, so I plan to work part-time.

If you have a heavy study load, you need good study habits.

study habit

 

That's my study habit.

 

A habit is something one does again and again often without thinking. Therefore, a study habit is one's habit about studying. A student with good study habits probably studies the same about of time every day. A student with poor study habits probably only studies at the last minute before tests or assignments⁸. Notice the following:

 

If you have good study habits, you will go far in life.

In high school, I had poor study habits.

 

 

1 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。

2 focusing   

v.调焦；（使）集中， （使）聚集( focus的现在分词 )；调整（镜头，眼睛）焦点[焦距]以便看清；（光、声等的）焦点；集中（光束于）

参考例句：

• Many firms are focusing on increasing their markets overseas. 许多商行都专注于扩大国外市场。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• More expensive cameras have adjustable focusing. 比较贵的照相机有可调焦距。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 informal   

adj.非正式的，不拘礼的，通俗的

参考例句：

• I got an informal reception.我受到了非正式接待。
• The leaders met over informal lunches.领袖们在非正式午餐时进行会晤。

6 shorten   

vt.弄短，缩小，减少

参考例句：

• Minor accidents can shorten the life of a car.小事故会缩短汽车寿命。
• My dress is too long I must shorten it.我的连衣裙太长了，我得把它截短些。

7 spilt   

v.溢出( spill的过去式和过去分词 )；泼出；涌出；蜂拥而出

参考例句：

• I spilt your coffee. Sorry—that was clumsy of me. 我弄洒了你的咖啡。对不起，我真是笨手笨脚的。
• Whoops! Careful, you almost spilt coffee everywhere. 哎哟！小心点，你差点把咖啡洒得到处都是。

8 assignments   

n.分配( assignment的名词复数 )；工作；任命；归属

参考例句：

• You will need to complete three written assignments per semester. 你每学期要完成三个书面作业。
• Headquarters was swamped by an avalanche of applications for battle assignments. 请战书像雪片似地飞向指挥部。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》