VOA慢速英语20060713a

EDUCATION REPORT - Reaction Is Split as More Women, Fewer Men, Go to CollegeBy Brianna Blake

Broadcast: Wed¹, 12 Jul 2006 16:00:00 UTC

This is Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Recently we had two reports about concerns over the progress of boys in the American education system. Some people say there is a crisis for boys. Others say there are problems for some boys. But they say the situation is not so much that boys are falling behind as that girls are catching² up with boys.

Today we examine changes that have taken place at the college level. Here there are similar issues. Some people are worried about the situation for men while others praise areas of progress for women.

In nineteen seventy, women represented forty-two percent of college students in the United States. Now they are about fifty-six percent.

A recent report called The Truth About Boys and Girls included this information -- but not as evidence of a crisis. Sara Mead³, a policy analyst⁴ at the research group Education Sector⁵, wrote the report. She sees the situation this way:


Potential students and their parents visit Duke University in Durham, North Carolina

Yes, men are earning fewer four-year college degrees than women. But men are still earning more degrees than they have in the past, only at a slower growth rate than women.

And, yes, more women than men are also earning master's degrees. But men still earn more doctorates⁶. These are the degrees needed to become a doctor or a lawyer or a professor. In addition, men hold more positions of power and earn more money on average than women do.

There are many theories why males and females perform differently in their schooling⁷. Some are based on recent brain research, but others center on environment. Some people say boys now face a hostile environment in American education.

Christina Hoff Sommers, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote the book The War Against Boys. She says the lower percentage of men in college points to a serious problem in the education of American boys.

So how many Americans go to college? The Census⁸ Bureau reports that in nineteen seventy-five, eighteen percent of men in the United States had a four-year degree. That compared to eleven percent of women. By two thousand, the numbers were twenty-eight percent of men and twenty-four percent of women.

The Census Bureau says that each year since nineteen eighty-two, more women than men have earned a four-year degree.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Brianna Blake. You can find our earlier reports on this subject at www.unsv.com. This is Shep O'Neal.

1 wed   

v.娶，嫁，与…结婚

参考例句：

• The couple eventually wed after three year engagement.这对夫妇在订婚三年后终于结婚了。
• The prince was very determined to wed one of the king's daughters.王子下定决心要娶国王的其中一位女儿。

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 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。

6 doctorates   

n.博士学位( doctorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nearly 1,000 specialized personnel with doctorates have settled in Shenzhen. 现已引进博士学位的专门人才近千名。 来自互联网
• John played the field academically, obtaining doctorates from several universities. 约翰的学术广博，他从几所大学拿到了博士学位。 来自互联网

7 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

8 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。