VOA慢速英语2012 Education Report - When a Textbook Is Online, Not on Paper

Education Report - When a Textbook Is Online, Not on Paper

教育报道 - 美国一些公立学校启用电子教科书
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
Electronic books have changed the way many people read for pleasure. Now online textbooks are changing the way some students learn and some teachers teach.
电子书已经改变了许多人消遣性阅读的方式。现在网上教科书正改变一些学生的学习方式和一些老师的教课方式。
More than one hundred seventy-five thousand students attend the public schools in Fairfax County¹, Virginia, outside Washington. Last year, the school system used digital books in fifteen schools. This school year, middle schools and high schools changed from printed to electronic textbooks in their social studies classes.
超过17.5万名学生就读于费尔法克斯县的公立学校，该县位于华盛顿郊外的弗吉尼亚州。去年，该学区在15所学校启用了数字图书。这个学年，初中和高中社科类课程已经从印刷课本改为电子书。
Luke Rosa is a history teacher at Falls Church High School. His students work on school laptop computers. He explains the idea to them this way.
Luke Rosa是福尔斯彻奇市高中（Falls Church High School）的一名历史老师。他的学生在学校的笔记本电脑上学习。他这样对他们解释。
注：Falls Church又译为瀑布教堂市。注意美国行政单位中市小于县。
LUKE ROSA: "I mean, it's just like a regular textbook, except it's got it all online."
Rosa：“我的意思是，它就像一本普通的教科书，只是它们都是网络版。”
Peter Noonan, an assistant superintendent² of schools, says with electronic textbooks, publishers can quickly update the content with the latest information.
Peter Noonan是学区助理总监，他说，通过电子教科书，出版商可以快速更新最新的内容。”
PETER NOONAN: "The world's changing consistently³. And the online textbooks can change right along with the events that are happening."
Noonan：“世界不停在变，电子书可以与时事同步更新。”
Digital books also cost less than printed textbooks, he says.
他表示电子书也比印刷课本便宜。
PETER NOONAN: "Usually it's in the neighborhood of between fifty and seventy dollars to buy a textbook for each student, which adds up to roughly⁴ eight million dollars for all of our students in Fairfax County. We actually have purchased all of the online textbooks for our students for just under six million dollars."
Noonan：“通常为每个学生购买一本课本大约需要50到70美元，费尔法克斯县全部学生加起来大体上要800万美元。我们为学生们实际购买的所有电子书还略低于600万美元。”
So what do students think?
学生们怎么想呢？
MELANIE REUTER: "I don't have to carry a textbook around, so that's nice."
Reuter：“我不需要携带课本，这很好。”
MARIA STEPHANY: "I don't like it because the Internet sometimes, its like, doesn't work."
Stephany：“我不喜欢它，因为网络有时候不好使。”
BRIAN TRAN: "You can highlight⁵ your work. You can leave notes on your work and it'll all be saved onto your account. It's a lot better than a regular textbook."
Tran：“你可以重点标记你的作业，你可以在作业上做笔记，而且所有这一切都保存在你的用户名下。它比普通教科书好得多。”
Social studies teacher Michael Bambara says the e-book he uses in his government class is better than a printed textbook. He likes the way it has materials for students with different levels of reading skills.
社科类教师Michael Bambara表示，他在政治学课程中使用的电子书比印刷课本更好。电子书能够为不同阅读水平的学生提供素材，他很喜欢这点。
MICHAEL BAMBARA: "Particularly this book, that I use in government has differentiated⁶ reading levels. So a person can individualize their learning⁷ and I can individualize their instruction."
Bambara：“特别是这本我在政治学课程中使用的电子书划分了不同阅读水平。这样每个人都可以个性化学习，我也可以对他们进行个性化教育。”
But the students also need access to the Internet when they are not at school. About ten percent of students in Fairfax County do not have a computer or online access at home. Stephen Castillo is one of them.
当学生们不在学校时还需要访问互联网。费尔法克斯县大约10%的学生家里没有电脑或网络。Stephen Castillo就是其中之一。
STEPHEN CASTILLO: "Pretty much I go to, like, the library, I guess, or go to a friend's house."
Castillo：“我基本上都去图书馆或朋友家（上网学习）。”
Public libraries in the county have free Internet. There are also after-school computer labs as well as computer clubhouses supported by the county. Middle school student Slieman Hakim is happy about that. He says his family has to share a single computer at home.
该县公共图书馆可以免费上网。另外还有该县支持提供的课后电脑机房以及电脑会所。中学生Slieman Hakim对此非常高兴。他说在家里他的家人必须共享一台电脑。
SLIEMAN HAKIM: "All of my family works⁸ on a computer, my sister and me both do our homework on it. So I come here to do my homework. It's good."
Hakim：“我所有家人都要用同一台电脑。我和我姐都要在电脑上做作业。所以我来这里做作业，这很好。”
Other school systems in the area are also considering online textbooks. In Prince George's County, Maryland, a survey showed that sixty percent of students have computer access at home. Curriculum⁹ Director Gladys Whitehead says an e-book test project is being planned.
该地区其它学区也在考虑使用电子书。马里兰州乔治王子县的一项调查显示，60%的学生家里有电脑。课程主任Gladys Whitehead表示，一个电子书测试项目正在计划中。
GLADYS WHITEHEAD: "Next year we'll just have a pilot with probably one classroom and one subject area, so that we can see, you know, what issues will come up with complete online access."
Whitehead：“明年我们将进行一次试点，可能只是一间教室或一个学科。这样我们可以看看采用完全在线访问会出现哪些问题。”
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. We have a related¹⁰ video at voanews.cn. I'm Christopher Cruise¹¹.
___
Contributing: June Soh

1 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

2 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

3 consistently   

ad.一贯地，一直

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。
• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law. 部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。

4 roughly   

adv.概略地，粗糙地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• If you treat your coat so roughly,it will be worn out soon.你如果这么糟蹋你的外套，它很快就不能穿了。
• The island is roughly circular in shape.这个岛屿大致是圆形的。

5 highlight   

n.加亮区；v.加亮，强调；[计算机]醒目

参考例句：

• Her performance was the highlight of the show.她的表演是那场演出中最精彩的部分。
• The highlight of this term is the school trip to Austria.这学期最重要的活动就是去奥地利的校外旅行。

6 differentiated   

区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征

参考例句：

• The development of mouse kidney tubules requires two kinds of differentiated cells. 小鼠肾小管的发育需要有两种分化的细胞。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

9 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

10 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

11 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。