VOA常速英语2014--Foreign Students Adapt to Rigors of US Naval Academy 美国海军学院的外国留学生（在线收听）

Foreign Students Adapt to Rigors of US Naval Academy 美国海军学院的外国留学生

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND — Throughout its long history, the U.S. Naval Academy has produced prominent leaders, like former President Jimmy Carter and Senator John McCain.  The academy prepares young men and women to become officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. But not all of its undergraduate students - known as midshipmen - are American. Dozens are foreign exchange students who return home to serve their countries after graduating.

马里兰州安纳波利斯 — 美国海军学院历史上培养了无数杰出领袖人物,包括前美国总统卡特和现任参议员麦凯恩。这座海军官校把年轻的男女学生塑造成为美国海军和海军陆战队军官。不过，并不是所有的本科军校生都是美国人。好几十名外国交换学生在毕业之后回国服役。

David Ochy of Panama is one of about 60 foreign exchange students currently studying at the U.S. Naval Academy in historic Annapolis, Maryland.

美国海军学院坐落在历史名城马里兰州的安纳波利斯。来自巴拿马的戴维·奥奇是校内大约60名外国交换学生之一。

“Leaving the comfort zone of your country, to come here to a culture and language completely different from your own and adapt, has been a challenge,” said Ochy.

他说：“离开本国熟悉的环境，来到这里，适应完全不同的文化和语言，这一直是个挑战。”

“It opens a cultural horizon so that one understands American culture better, and is more involved in the culture,” said Santiago Gonzalez-Ayer, an exchange student from Spain.

圣地亚哥·冈萨雷斯-艾尔是来自西班牙的交换生。他说：“这打开了一个文化新天地，让人更好地了解文化，而且更多地投入到这种文化当中。”

The Naval Academy was founded in 1845 on the grounds of an old fort.

美国海军学院始建于1845年，原址是一处旧炮台。

Academy's mission

The academy says its mission is to prepare students to serve as officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps. It strives to develop competence, character and compassion in its midshipmen.  

学院申明的使命是把学生们培养为美国海军和海军陆战队的军官，塑造学员的能力、品德和爱心。

International program director Tim Disher said the U.S. Navy also benefits by opening up the program to foreign students, especially in a world increasingly connected through technology and social media.

国际项目主任蒂姆·比谢尔说，技术和社交媒体把当今的世界联系得越来越紧密，接收外国学生也让美国海军获益匪浅。

“It used to be, when I graduated in 1981 from the Naval Academy, only the senior officers were the ones that had relationships with their foreign navies or our counterparts," said Disher. "That’s not the case anymore. We’re a smaller navy and our students, even as midshipmen, have the ability to make an impact with our foreign partners. We are creating young ambassadors ...right off the bat, right after they get commissioned."

他说：“过去那会儿，---我在1981年从海军学院毕业的时候，只有高级军官跟外国海军或者对口官员打交道。现在不同啦。我们的海军规模小了，我们的学生，即使还是学员身份，就对我们的外国伙伴有影响力了。在他们还没有获得军官身份之前，我们从一开始就在塑造年轻的大使。”

Broadened horizons

He said the exchange also strengthens the education of U.S. midshipmen, by enhancing their international exposure and understanding.

他说，交换项目加深了美国学员的国际接触和知识，从而也强化了他们所受的教育。

“The world is becoming smaller and smaller. One day our students will be operating in the theaters or environments that they’ve explored in the context of their interpersonal relationships here at the Naval Academy with the foreign cadets, and vice versa. It’s important that our allies know exactly how we function or operate as a military,” said Navy Lieutenant Paul Angelo, who graduated from the academy in 2006.

2006年毕业生、海军上尉保尔·安杰洛说：“世界变得越来越小。总有一天，我们的学生将会在某种战区或者环境下展开行动，用上他们在海军学院跟外国学员交往时探索过的东西。反之亦然。我们的盟国也必须确切地知道我们美国的军队是如何运转或作战的。”

After finishing the exchange program, Gonzalez Ayer plans to return to Spain and become a naval officer.

完成交换项目之后，冈萨雷斯-艾尔计划返回西班牙，成为海军军官。

David Ochy wants to work as an ocean engineer back home.

戴维·奥奇希望回到巴拿马做一名远洋轮机师。

“I see my future in Panama,” he said.

他说：“我看到我在巴拿马的前途。”

The hope is they return home richer for the cultural experience they lived and shared with their fellow midshipmen at the academy.

他们希望,通过在美国海军学院与同学们的共同生活和历练,他们将带着更丰富的文化经历回到自己的祖国。