VOA慢速英语2021 拜登政府将拨款帮助学校复课（在线收听）

The administration of President Joe Biden is moving forward with its plans to help schools reopen this spring.

拜登总统的政府正在推进帮助学校在今年春季重新开放的计划。

The administration is making money available to expand coronavirus testing for teachers, students and other school workers. It is also planning an event for educators to share "best practices," or good methods, for returning students to the classroom.

政府正在为扩大针对教师、学生和其他学校工作人员的冠状病毒检测提供资金。政府还计划举办一次活动，鼓励教育工作者分享让学生重返课堂的“最佳实践”或好的方法。

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Wednesday: "The time is now, and schools must act immediately to get students safely back into school buildings."

教育部长米格尔·卡多纳周三表示:“现在是时候了，学校必须立即采取行动，让学生安全返回校园。”

Biden promised to have most elementary and middle schools open by the end of his first 100 days in office. The administration has been pointing to legislation passed by Congress that provides $1.9 trillion for COVID-19 assistance as a way to reach that goal.

拜登承诺，在他执政的第一个100天结束时，将让大部分小学和中学复课。拜登政府一直指出，为了实现这一目标，国会通过了1.9万亿美元的新冠肺炎援助法案。

The Education Department said American states will share $122 billion for K-12 schools to reopen. The money can be used to reduce the number of students in each class, change classrooms to improve social distancing, put in air cleaning systems and buy personal protective equipment. The money also can be used to pay for more health workers, counselors and cleaners, as well as for summer school.

教育部表示，美国各州将分享1220亿美元用于中小学校重新开学。这笔资金可以用来减少每个班级的学生人数，调整教室以保持社交距离，安装空气净化系统和购买个人防护设备。这笔拨款也可以用来支付更多的卫生工作者，辅导员和保洁员，以及暑期学校。

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also recently announced $10 billion for states to support school COVID-19 testing programs.

美国卫生与公众服务部(HHS)最近还宣布向各州提供100亿美元，支持学校新冠肺炎检测项目。

Randi Weingarten is president of the American Federation of Teachers. She said most public schools in the country have not been able to pay for a lot of testing. Some experts consider testing an important step toward reopening.

兰迪·温加藤（Randi Weingarten）是美国教师联合会主席。她指出，该国大多数公立学校没有能力支付大量检测费用。一些专家认为病毒检测是重新开放的重要一步。

Speaking of the $10 billion, Weingarten said in a statement: "With this investment, help truly is on the way to aid school systems in implementing a testing system that will help keep students, educators and staff safe inside school buildings."

在谈到这100亿美元时，温加滕在一份声明中表示：“有了这笔资金，我们将帮助学校系统施行一套检测系统，这将有助于保障学生、教育工作者和工作人员在学校建筑内的安全。”

Cardona said a meeting planned for later this week will give education leaders, teachers and students a chance to share their experiences related to reopening schools. The Education Department said first lady Jill Biden will give opening comments at the event. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also will speak.

卡多纳表示，计划于本周晚些时候举行的会议将给教育领导人、教师和学生一个机会，分享他们与重新开放学校有关的经验。教育部表示，第一夫人吉尔·拜登将在活动上发表开幕致辞。届时，美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)主任罗谢尔·华伦斯基(Rochelle Walensky)博士也将发言。

Cardona told reporters that he expects schools will fully open in the autumn if vaccinations continue and health officials provide guidance.

卡多纳告诉记者，如果疫苗接种进程继续推行，卫生官员提供指导，他预计学校将在秋季全面复课。

School leaders say the flow of money will be a big step toward the goal of reopening public schools and keeping them open. The Education Department is expected to begin making the money available this month.

学校领导表示，这笔资金的流入将是重新开放公立学校并使其继续开课的重要一步。教育部预计本月开始提供资金。

Schools need money to pay for unexpected costs that include computers and internet services for distance-learning students.

学校需要资金来支付额外的费用，包括计算机和为远程学习的学生提供互联网服务。

Money also is needed to help students learn what they missed while away from classrooms. That could mean paying teachers or other workers to keep school open through the summer or continuing distance learning in addition to learning at school.

此外，还需要资金帮助学生补习离开教室后错过的课程。这可能意味着支付教师或其他工人的工资，让学校在夏季继续开放、或者那些除了在学校学习外仍然继续远程学习的学生。

Cardona recently told reporters that the education department would receive reports from states on how they are using the money.

卡多纳最近告诉记者，教育部将收到各州关于如何使用这笔资金的报告。

"It's critically important that we use the funds to support our students," he said, "especially those students who have had gaps exacerbated as a result of this pandemic."

“至关重要的是，我们要利用这些资金来支持我们的学生，”他说，“尤其是那些因这次疫情导致差距加剧的学生。”

Words in This Story

elementary –adj. describing schools in the U.S. that are for young children

K-12 –n. schools from Kindergarten to 12th grade

implement –v. to begin to do or use; to make active or effective

staff –n. a group of people who work for an organization or business

funds –n. (pl.) money for a specific purpose

gap –n. a difference between two people, groups or things

exacerbated –adj. to make something, such as a situation or problem, worse