VOA慢速英语2019 在英国的菲律宾护士觉得雅思考试太难了（在线收听）

Filipino Nurses in Britain Find English Tests Too Difficult

British hospitals are in serious need of more nurses like Filipino Jobie Escalona. But she has twice failed a required English language test. In the test, she was asked to write about the value of immigration and computer education in school.

英国医院急需更多像菲律宾人朱比·埃斯卡洛纳(Jobie Escalona)这样的护士，但是她两次都未能通过所需的英语语言考试。在考试中，她被要求写下移民的价值以及学校计算机教育的价值。

The 23-year-old Escalona paid nearly $600 to take the tests.

23岁的埃斯卡洛纳支付了近600美元参加考试。

She was ready to leave Britain and find work in Canada, one of several other countries short of nurses. But her father persuaded her to take the test a third time.

她已经准备离开英国去加拿大求职，加拿大也是其它几个缺少护士的国家之一。但是她的父亲说服她第三次参加考试。

Finally, in January of last year, she passed the International English Language Test System, or IELTS. She felt at ease writing about the subject given in the test: comparing team and individual sports.

最终，在去年1月份，她通过了雅思考试。她对考试中给出的写作题目感觉很从容，这次的写作题目是：比较团队运动和个人运动。

Escalona told Reuters, “I was able to relate to it because I am a swimmer.”

埃斯卡洛纳对路透社表示：“我能够对此深有体会，是因为我是一名游泳运动员。”

A British government report says Filipinos make up the largest number of foreign nationals employed in Britain at 10,719.

英国政府的一份报告称，菲律宾人占据了外国人在英国就业人数的最大比例，达到了10719人。

As of June last year, foreigners held 16 percent of nursing jobs in hospitals and community health services there. Nearly 25 percent of those foreigners were Filipinos.

截至去年6月，外国人占据了医院和社区卫生服务中心16%的护士职位。其中近25%的外国人是菲律宾人。

Britain is already facing a shortage of 40,000 nurses. Experts predict that number could increase to 50,000 if Britain leaves the EU.

英国已经面临了4万人的护士短缺问题。专家预测，如果英国脱欧，这一数字可能会上升到5万人。

The lack of nurses is increasing Britain’s dependence on low-pay workers from countries like India and the Philippines. English is widely spoken in those countries, but the language test has proved to be a major difficulty.

护士短缺开始提高英国对来自印度和菲律宾等国的低薪工人的依赖。这些国家广泛使用英语，但是语言测试已被证明是一大重要难题。

Philippine recruitment business Louis International Manpower Services has received 1,000 job orders for nurses since 2015.

菲律宾招聘企业Louis International Manpower Services自2015年以来已经收到了1000个护士职位需求。

It has only filled about 250 of them.

该公司只完成了其中大约250个。

Lilibeth Villas is a documentation officer at the business. She said the English test is the problem. She said, the company has job seekers “who were interviewed in 2015, but they have not passed the test yet.”

Lilibeth Villas是该公司的文员。她说，英语考试是个难题。该公司有求职者在2015年进行了面试，但是她们尚未通过雅思考试。

The IELTS is a product of the organizations The British Council and Cambridge Assessment, along with the international company IDP Education. The IELTS measures test takers’ abilities to speak, listen, read and write in English. Employers around the world use the test to help them make hiring decisions.

雅思考试是英国文化协会、剑桥大学考试委员会以及澳大利亚教育国际开发署联合开发的产品。雅思考试测试考生的英语口语、听力、阅读以及写作能力。世界各地的雇主使用该考试帮助他们做出招聘决定。

The writing part of the IELTS requires test-takers to write short pieces on different subjects. One such subject might be the benefits and weaknesses of nuclear technology or of laws about car ownership.

雅思考试的写作部分要求考生就不同主题写下短文，这类主题可能是核技术的利与弊，或者关于汽车产权的法律。

Late last year, the requirements for passing the writing section were decreased. But Andrea Sutcliffe says there are no immediate plans to make further changes to the test. Sutcliffe is head of Britain’s Nursing and Midwifery Council.

去年年底降低了对写作分数的要求。但是Andrea Sutcliffe表示，目前暂时没有对该考试进行进一步改动的计划。Sutcliffe是英国护理及助产协会的负责人。

She said, “This change is part of a wider review of our overseas registration processes aimed at making it more straightforward and user-friendly for people with the right skills and knowledge to join our register in a timely way.”

她说：“这一变化是我们的海外注册程序进行更广泛审查的一部分，旨在使具有适当技能和知识的人员能够更加直接和方便地及时地注册。”

Foreign nurses can take an Occupational English Test (OET). If they pass that test, they would still have to take the IELTS, but the marks needed to pass would be lowered. The OET is more costly, however.

外籍护士可以参加职业英语考试。如果通过这项考试，他们可能仍然需要参加雅思考试，但是分数要求会降低。然而，职业英语考试费用很高。

Reydeluz Conferido is a recent former diplomat with the Philippines Embassy in London.

Reydeluz Conferido是菲律宾驻伦敦大使馆的前外交官。

While there, Conferido called on British officials to review the requirements placed on overseas nurses to see whether they were serving the correct purpose.

Conferido在任时呼吁英国官员重新审查对海外护士的要求，检查它们是否服务于正确的目的。

He said, “If you really want these nurses, you would do something about your standard.”

他说：“如果你确实需要这些护士，应该对招聘标准做一些修改。”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

interview – v. to question or talk with someone in order to get information or learn about that person

persuade – v. to cause someone to do something by asking, arguing, or giving reasons

recruitment – n. the act of finding suitable people and getting them to join a company, an organization, the armed forces, etc.