【一起听英语】贫穷与教育

 人们会有一种错误的印象，是不是贫穷的孩子接受教育的能力更慢一些呢？然而并不是这样...

Dan: Hello, I'm Dan.

Alice: And I'm Alice.

Dan: And this is 6 Minute English! Today we're talking about a new report that

examines how poverty can affect education.

Alice: The report, from the Organisation¹ for Economic Co-operation and

Development – or OECD – studies whether there is an inevitable² link between

wealth and academic performance.

Dan: You'd think that children from poorer backgrounds perform less well at school

than children from richer backgrounds, right Alice?

Alice: Well, that makes sense – if you're from a disadvantaged background then 'the

odds³ are stacked⁴ against you' – you're less likely to succeed because the

situation is unfavourable.

Dan: But the OECD report says that in certain countries children from poorer

backgrounds are more likely to achieve good grades and do well academically

despite having the odds stacked against them. 

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Alice: So it's easier for poorer school students – or pupils – to achieve high grades in

some countries rather than others then, Dan?

Dan: Exactly. They achieve against the odds. For example, poorer children in

Canada and Japan are more likely to achieve good grades than poor children in

the UK. There's a more level playing field in those countries than in Britain.

Alice: That's a good phrase – a level playing field – it comes from sport; if you're

playing on a level playing field, it's a fair situation for everybody. So where are

poorer pupils most likely to do well then, Dan?

Dan: Ah, well that's this week's question actually, Alice. Which country do you think

came top in the OECD list for pupils doing well, even when the odds are

stacked against them? Was it:

a) Finland

b) Canada

c) South Korea

Alice: And I'll guess…Finland? 

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Dan: Well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. Now let's hear from

Professor Yvonne Kelly from the University of Essex. She specialises in how

economic factors can influence childhood development. Here she is talking

about her research in the UK. What factors does she say could be affected⁵ by

different levels of family income?

Professor Yvonne Kelly, University of Essex

We compared levels of family income with the likelihood⁶ of children having social and

emotional⁷ difficulties, and also their cognitive⁸ ability skills.

Dan: So the research compared levels of family income – that's how much money a

family earns – with the likelihood of children having social and emotional

difficulties.

Alice: Social here refers to how people live and work together; and emotional refers

to how the children react to their feelings. So the income of a family could

affect whether the children have social and emotional difficulties.

Dan: And the research also looked at children’s cognitive ability skills – that's the

way children learn. Cognitive is a scientific term that refers to how we process

information.

Alice: And what were the findings⁹ of this research then, Dan?

Dan: Well Professor Kelly says that children from low-income families were more

likely to show symptoms of social and emotional difficulties. She says they 

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can be more fidgety, restless¹⁰ and clingy. Could you explain some of these

terms for us, Alice?

Alice: Sure. Well, to fidget means to make small, quick movements in a nervous way,

so fidgety means moving nervously¹¹. Being restless means you're unable to

relax, and clingy, well here it means that the child doesn't want to be separated

from their parents.

Dan: OK, let's listen to Professor Kelly again. How many times more likely were

children from poorer backgrounds to suffer from social and emotional

difficulties?

Professor Yvonne Kelly, University of Essex

Children from the poorest households were between seven and eight times more likely to

have social and emotional difficulties – things like being excessively¹² fidgety, restless,

clingy – compared to their better-off counterparts¹⁴.

Dan: So children from poorer backgrounds were seven or eight times more likely to

be fidgety, restless and clingy than their better-off counterparts.

Alice: Better-off here means richer; and a counterpart¹³ is a person who's at the same

level, or who does the same job. So the better-off counterparts here are

children of the same age who are from richer backgrounds.

But Dan, did you say that some countries have less of a divide between the

grades of richer pupils and poorer pupils than other countries? 

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Dan: That's right, although there's a strong link between family income and how

well pupils perform at school, the report says that the education systems in

some countries are more likely to help students from poorer backgrounds

develop self-confidence and motivation to succeed.

Alice: OK, so don't keep me waiting, Dan – which countries are they?

Dan: Well, I can tell you that South Korea, Finland, Japan, Turkey and Canada are

the most successful countries in terms of poorer pupils achieving high results.

But today's question was which country came top in the OECD list for poorer

students getting higher grades? Was it:

a) Finland

b) Canada

c) South Korea

Alice: And I said Finland.

Dan: Well, in fact it was South Korea. In fact, the top five places by regional and

national school systems are all in Asia: South Korea leads the countries, and

Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macao and Singapore are also in the top five. France,

Australia and the US are around average for pupils succeeding against the odds,

and the UK is - unfortunately - well below average. Well Alice, before we go,

let's hear some of the words and phrases we've used in today's programme:

Alice: OK. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2011

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the odds are stacked against you

pupils

a level playing field

income

social and emotional

cognitive

fidgety

restless

clingy

better-off

counterpart

Dan: Thanks, Alice. I hope you've enjoyed today's programme and you'll join us

again for more 6 Minute English next time.

Both: Bye. 

1 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

4 stacked   

v.堆积( stack的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• a table stacked with glasses 摆满了玻璃杯的桌子
• I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers. 我把衬衫和内衣塞进两个抽屉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 likelihood   

n.可能，可能性

参考例句：

• We must try our best to reduce the likelihood of war.我们必须尽最大努力减少战争的可能性。
• I don't think there is any likelihood of his agreeing to it.我认为不会有他同意那件事情的可能。

7 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。

8 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

9 findings   

n.发现物( finding的名词复数 )；调查（或研究）的结果；（陪审团的）裁决

参考例句：

• It behoves us to study these findings carefully. 我们理应认真研究这些发现。
• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。

10 restless   

adj.焦躁不安的；静不下来的，运动不止的

参考例句：

• He looks like a restless man.他看上去坐立不安。
• He has been very restless all day and he awoke nearly all last night.他一整天都心神不定，昨夜几乎一整夜没有合眼。

11 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

12 excessively   

ad.过多地，过分地

参考例句：

• The doctor advised him not to drink excessively. 医生劝他不要饮酒过度。
• He became excessively annoyed at〔with〕 newspaper reports. 他对报纸上的报道极为恼火。

13 counterpart   

n.与对方地位相当的人，与另一方作用相当物

参考例句：

• Canada's Prime Minister is the counterpart of the U.S. President.加拿大总理相当于美国总统。
• Night is the counterpart of day.黑夜与白天相辅相成。

14 counterparts   

与对方地位相当的人，与另一方作用相当的物( counterpart的名词复数 )； 同仁

参考例句：

• Deep-sea valleys are the counterparts of the mountain chains. 深海里的峡谷相当于陆地上的山脉。
• Many states have enacted their own counterparts to RCRA and CERCLA. 许多州都已经针对《资源保护和恢复法》和《综合性环境反应、赔偿与责任法案》制定了他们各自的实施细则。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法