社会热点英语话题 06

　　150 million rural pupils go to school for free
Beginning this school year,studuents in rural areas will no longer has to pay for their education.The new policy starts from the fall semester, and will benefit primary and middle school children in the countryside. The new policy targets 150 million pupils in rural China. September 1st marks the beginning of the school year and students who dropped-out due to financial duress¹ can return to education free of charge. The move was designed as a step forward in china's overall policy to ensure that all school-age children can enjoy nine years of compulsory² education for free. Eight provinces and municipalities have also extended urban students from paying education fees. And Zhuhai city in southern China has extended free education to twelve years. The Chinese government has long recognized that education is a long-term strategy for reducing poverty. Corporations and enterprises also concur³ that investment in education enhances people's lives, creats a better skilled workforce⁴, and produces educated consumers. In China's more remote and poverty-stricken areas, however, access to basic education is hindered by many factors, including poverty, long distances for children to travel to school, costs and poor living conditions at boarding schools, need for child labor⁵, and lack of support for children with disabilities or special needs. In addition, irrelevant⁶ curriculum, poor quality of teaching, and lack of bilingual aids to support minority children who do not speak Putonghua often lead to absenteeism and drop outs. The majority of primary teachers in remote areas have inadequate⁷ pre-service training and in-service supports. Teacher turnover⁸ is high because of low salaries and poor living conditions. Local governments are seeking support to address all of these problem. For many years, the All-China Women's Federation⁹, the China Youth Development Foundation, the Soong Ching Ling Foundation, and internation nongovernment organization(INGOs) such a Save the Children have been working to develop solutions to address these issues, and they have encouraged corporations to be involved in this work. The response of the corporate¹⁰ sector¹¹ has been positive. Multinational¹² companies habe made and are making a tremendous impact on education in China. The depth and breadth of the examples in this book, particularly in the Education section, illustrate¹³ many of the ways AmCham-China member companies are helping¹⁴. They are building schools, training teachers,providing child friendly materials and supplementary¹⁵ curriculum, and supporting students to continue their education. Some companies are reaching out to children with disbilities, migrant children, and orphans¹⁶. Others are helping to develop students' interests in science and technology. IBM is even "reinventing education," promoting innovative¹⁷ teaching and learning strategies through teacher professional development. Possibilities for the future could include companies directing their corporate social responsibility(CSR) activities toward helping to meet the large demand for skills building for older children. Developing vocational education in middle schools can provide alternative educational opportunities that will help build a more skilled workforce. Corporations can provide technical training support through their employees or provide apprenticeship¹⁸ schemes for graduates. CSR programs can provide financial support and the facilitation of research and training to make education a viable¹⁹ option for every child and community in China.

1 duress   

n.胁迫

参考例句：

• He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.他说他是被迫在认罪书上签字的。
• These unequal treaties were made under duress.这些不平等条约是在强迫下签订的。

2 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

3 concur   

v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生

参考例句：

• Wealth and happiness do not always concur.财富与幸福并非总是并存的。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done.我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。

4 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

7 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

8 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

9 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

12 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

13 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

14 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

15 supplementary   

adj.补充的，附加的

参考例句：

• There is a supplementary water supply in case the rain supply fails.万一主水源断了，我们另外有供水的地方。
• A supplementary volume has been published containing the index.附有索引的增补卷已经出版。

16 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

17 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

18 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

19 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。