VOA慢速英语2018 前纽约市长捐赠18亿美元给约翰霍普金斯大学

 Former New York Mayor Gives $1.8 Billion to Johns Hopkins University

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he is donating $1.8 billion to his former school, Johns Hopkins University on Sunday.

纽约前市长布隆伯格周日宣布将向自己的母校约翰霍普金斯大学捐赠18亿美元。

Bloomberg said he is doing so to increase financial aid for low- and middle-income students at the university in Baltimore, Maryland.

布隆伯格表示，他这样做是为了提高马里兰州巴尔的摩市这所大学里的中低收入学生的助学金。

The Chronicle of Higher Education says it is the largest financial gift ever to any education institution in the world.

《高等教育纪事报》表示， 这是全球教育机构有史以来获得的最大一笔捐款。

The largest donation to higher education had been a gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In 1999, the private organization launched the Gates Millennium¹ Scholars program with a $1 billion commitment over 20 years.

此前对高等教育的最大一笔捐款来自于比尔&梅琳达盖茨基金会。1999年，这家私营组织启动了盖茨千禧年学者计划，承诺在20年里投入10亿美元。

The next largest donation listed went to Vedanta University in Konark, India. The Anil Agarwal Foundation spent about $1 billion to help establish the school in 2006.

排名第二的捐款去往了印度科纳克的韦丹塔大学。 阿尼阿塔瓦基金会在2006年花费了大约10亿美元帮助建立了这所学校。

What will Hopkins do with the gift?

约翰霍普金斯大学会如何花这笔捐款？

Johns Hopkins representatives said the gift will make it possible for the school to remove student loans as part of its financial aid offerings starting next fall. Instead, the university will offer students scholarships that do not have to be repaid.

约翰霍普金斯大学的代表称，这笔捐款让学校得以从明年秋季开始取消助学金项目中的学生贷款。相反，学校将会向学生们提供无需偿还的奖学金。

University President Ronald Daniels called the gift “unprecedented² and transformative.” He said Bloomberg’s donation will let the school permanently³ follow “need-blind admissions” policy. Being need blind means Johns Hopkins will admit the best students, regardless of their ability to pay for their education.

该校校长罗纳德·丹尼尔斯称这笔捐款是“前所未有的和具有变革性的。”他说，布隆伯格的捐款将会让学校永久遵守“不问家境的录取政策”。不问家境意味着约翰霍普金斯大学将会录取最优秀的学生，而不考虑他们是否有能力支付学费。

Daniels noted⁴ that the school was established in 1876 by a $7 million gift from Baltimore businessman Johns Hopkins. At the time, that gift was the largest of its kind.

丹尼尔斯指出，这所学校在1876年建校时就是依靠巴尔的摩商人约翰·霍普金斯捐出的7百万美元，这也是当时同类捐款中的最大一笔。

Bloomberg said he expects the money will permit Hopkins to offer larger scholarships and reduce debt for students.

布隆伯格表示，他希望这笔钱能够让约翰霍普金斯大学提高奖学金并减轻学生们的债务。

He said in a statement, “America is at its best when we reward people based on the quality of their work, not the size of their pocketbook. Denying students entry to a college based on their ability to pay undermines equal opportunity.”

他在声明中表示：“当我们根据能力而不是钱包大小来奖励人们时，这才是最好的美国。基于学生的支付能力而拒绝其入校破坏了平等的机会。”

Bloomberg completed his study at Hopkins in 1964. He paid for his study with a student loan and a job at the school.

布隆伯格于1964年在约翰霍普金斯大学完成学业，他通过学生贷款和一份学校兼差来支付学费。

At the age of 76, Bloomberg is one of the world’s wealthiest people. He created the international finance service and media company, Bloomberg. He also served as New York mayor from 2002 to 2013 and has considered running for president for years. This includes in 2020.

76岁的布隆伯格是全球最富有者之一。他创建了国际金融服务及媒体公司彭博公司。他还在2002年至2013年期间担任纽约市的市长，并且多年来也一直考虑竞选总统，包括在2020年竞选。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

income – n. money that is earned from work, investments, business

scholarship(s) – n. an amount of money that is given by a school or an organization to a student to help pay for the student's education

unprecedented – adj. not done or experienced before

transformative – adj. causing or able to cause a change

reward – v. to give money or another kind of payment to someone or something for something good that has been done

pocketbook – n. the amount of money that someone has available to spend :someone's ability to pay for things

undermine(s) – v. to make someone or something weaker or less effective usually in a secret or gradual way

opportunity – n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。