美国国家公共电台 NPR Opinion: Please Take Away My Kids' Cellphones At School

 

JENNIFER LUDDEN, HOST:

It's been a depressing week of back-to-school stories - parents buying bulletproof backpacks, schools installing panic buttons and classroom trauma¹ kits². Some teachers in Waco kicked off the year with an active-shooter drill that had fake blood and blanks fired from a real AR-15. It still feels surreal that it's come to this. But after more school shootings than I care to count, a recent poll finds a third of parents fear for their child's physical safety at school. That's three times higher than a few years ago.

My two teenage sons start school Monday. They've been walking through metal detectors³ to get to class since sixth grade. I don't mind that at all anymore. This year, their public high school will start another kind of program. Students will have their smartphones locked up in pouches⁴. The idea provoked an outcry from parents. My generation is used to 24/7 access to our kids. I confess I've texted mine at school. It was for a doctor's appointment. But some asked, what if there's an emergency? We've all heard about students crouching⁵ in a classroom, hiding from a gunman, posting updates and texting to let friends and family know they're safe. A school fact sheet has answers to all these questions. If students are evacuated⁶, they'll have their phones unlocked once outside. And it cites evidence that those inside are actually safer in an emergency without their cellphones. They can distract students from following safety directions. And a ring or vibration⁷ or those student posts - they can tip off assailants.

I do get some parents' concerns, but insert my applause emoji. I am thrilled my high-schoolers will not be able to use their phones at school. In a note to parents, the principal says this will help stop a string of problems - students cheating on math tests, distracting themselves and friends even taking calls during class. The school also says a large portion of students rush to lunch to get on their phones, isolating⁸ themselves while playing games. It hopes this new policy will help kids develop crucial face-to-face social skills and use their new free time to join the extracurricular clubs that also meet during lunch period. Maybe they'll also tell more silly jokes, flirt⁹ with someone, actually finish their lunch. And I can think of another benefit. My sons will have six hours a day free from the nonstop barrage¹⁰ of bad news alerts - the latest shooting, terror attack, disaster or potty-mouth tweet storm. Invaluable¹¹ time to disconnect in our relentlessly¹² connected world - I'm grateful to see some schools invest in that.

(SOUNDBITE OF HYAKKEI'S "KAGEROU RAILWAY")

1 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

2 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

3 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

4 pouches   

n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋

参考例句：

• Pouches are a peculiarity of marsupials. 腹袋是有袋动物的特色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under my eyes the pouches were heavy. 我眼睛下的眼袋很深。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 crouching   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• a hulking figure crouching in the darkness 黑暗中蹲伏着的一个庞大身影
• A young man was crouching by the table, busily searching for something. 一个年轻人正蹲在桌边翻看什么。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译

6 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

7 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

8 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

9 flirt   

v.调情，挑逗，调戏；n.调情者，卖俏者

参考例句：

• He used to flirt with every girl he met.过去他总是看到一个姑娘便跟她调情。
• He watched the stranger flirt with his girlfriend and got fighting mad.看着那个陌生人和他女朋友调情，他都要抓狂了。

10 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。

11 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

12 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。