VOA慢速英语2011--In Class With Peace Corps Volunteers in

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
This week marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Peace Corps¹. President John Kennedy began the program in nineteen sixty-one. The Peace Corps sends American volunteers to provide technical assistance in education and other areas in developing countries.
本周是和平队成立五十周年。约翰·肯尼迪总统1961年发起了这个活动。和平队向发展中国家派遣志愿者，提供教育和其他领域的技术援助。
Amanda Pease is one of almost forty volunteers serving in rural schools in Sierra Leone.
阿曼达·皮斯（Amanda Pease）是在塞拉利昂乡村学校服务的近40名志愿者之一。
Ms. Peace teaches science at Saint² Joseph's, a high school in eastern Sierra Leone. She studied chemical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. She decided³ to serve for two years in the Peace Corps after she finished her degree.
皮斯女士在塞拉利昂东部的圣·约瑟高中教理科。她曾就读于加州大学洛杉矶分校的化学工程专业。在拿到学位后，她决定到和平队服务2年。
AMANDA PEASE: "I was trying to decide between going the academic route and doing a postdoctoral degree and go into industry, and then I had been doing some volunteer work and the idea was kind of always of floating around."
皮斯：“我曾试图选择走学术路线，读博士后学位并进入化学行业工作。而那时我已经在做一些志愿者工作，这个想法总是浮现在我脑海。”
Peace Corps volunteers left Sierra Leone in nineteen ninety-four because of civil war. But now they are back.
和平队志愿者1994年由于内战离开了塞拉利昂。但现在他们回来了。
Science teachers are in especially short supply. Efforts in Sierra Leone to get more children through primary school have led to crowded high schools.
塞拉利昂理科老师特别短缺。塞拉利昂让更多孩子读完小学的措施导致了高中的爆满。
Amanda Pease is the only chemistry and physics teacher at her school. She says she has to work hard to get students more interested in learning, as she thought they would be.
皮斯是学校唯一的化学和物理教师。她表示要努力工作让学生们爱上学习，而且她认为学生们一定会这样的。
AMANDA PEASE: "I kind of had sort of a romantic idea coming to a developing country where everyone is super motivated but just does not have opportunities, and that is not exactly how it is. Not that I am saying the opportunities are so great, because of course there [are] limited opportunities if you compare it to America, but I think one of the biggest things is literally⁴ just motivation."
皮斯：“我多多少少揣着一些浪漫的想法来到发展中国家，认为这里的每个人都特别积极，只是一直没有机会。而事实并非如此。我并不是说这里有很多机会，和美国相比这里当然机会有限。但我认为最重要的是十足的积极性。”
What she loves best about her experience, she says, is the magical moment when students understand a chemical process or ask her for more exercises.
她说，她最喜欢的经历就是当学生们理解一个化学过程或要求她做更多实验的时刻。
More than eight thousand Peace Corps volunteers are currently⁵ serving around the world. Volunteers become part of the community where they work and live. Travis Bluemling from Pennsylvania teaches English in a rural Indonesian community.
目前有8千多名和平队志愿者在世界各地服务。志愿者成为了他们生活和工作的社区的一部分。来自宾夕法尼亚州的Travis Bluemling在印度尼西亚一个农村社区教英语。
TRAVIS BLUEMLING: "Even if some of these kids can't get to college, learning English and at least having some knowledge of the language can separate themselves from the people next to them when they are looking for a job or meeting people."
Travis Bluemling：“即使这些孩子中有些人不能上了大学，学习英语并具备一定的语言知识，可以让他们在求职或与人接触时，从身边的人中脱颖而出。”
Mr. Bluemling's family expressed concern for his safety in a country where Islamic militants⁶ have sometimes attacked Westerners. But what concerned him, he says, was the thought that leaders in his village might not welcome him.
Bluemling的家人对他身处一个伊斯兰武装分子不时袭击西方人的国家表示担忧。但他表示，他担心的是他所在的村庄的头领可能会不欢迎他。
TRAVIS BLUEMLING: "However, I could not have been more wrong. They have allowed me to enter their house. I joined them in their Muslim meetings. I joined them with fasting and I have even entered the mosque⁷."
Travis Bluemling：“然而我大错特错了。他们允许我进入他们的房子。我参加了他们的穆斯林会议，和他们一起斋戒，甚至还进到了清真寺。”
In addition to Indonesia, Peace Corps volunteers in East Asia serve in China, Thailand, Cambodia, Mongolia and the Philippines.
除了印度尼西亚，东亚和平队志愿者还在中国、泰国、柬埔寨、蒙古和菲律宾提供服务。

1 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。