VOA慢速英语--教师接触新冠患者仍可留在学校

President Donald Trump¹'s administration declared this week that teachers in the United States are "critical infrastructure² workers."

The declaration means that school officials could send teachers back to the classroom even if they were in contact with people infected with COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said for the first time that teachers should be on its list of critical infrastructure workers. The list also includes healthcare workers, police officers and people working in meat processing centers.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that such workers are not required to quarantine for 14 days following COVID-19 exposure. It said they can keep working if they show no sign of the disease and take safety measures.

Among the first areas to name teachers as critical infrastructure workers was Greene County in the state of Tennessee. Greene County School System officials approved the move on July 13.

"It essentially³ means if we are exposed and we know we might potentially be positive, we still have to come to school and we might at that point be carriers and spreaders," said Hillary Buckner. She teaches Spanish at the high-school in Afton, Tennessee.

Only kindergarten and prekindergarten students currently attend class face-to-face in Greene County. But school officials could expand in-person classes to every one of the area's 7,500 students, Buckner said.

In the state of Georgia, Forsyth County Schools also recognized teachers as critical infrastructure workers. Spokesperson Jennifer Caracciolo said that means they could be told to return to classrooms. She noted⁴ that the 50,000-student school district has yet to rule on the issue and plans to decide on a case-by-case basis.

A spokesperson for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said his administration is studying the new Homeland Security directive. But if it is accepted, the directive could influence other school districts to follow Forsyth County's example.

Craig Harper is director of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. He said the directive "starkly⁵ contradicts the newest Georgia Department of Public Health guidance intended to protect student and educator health and curb⁶ spread of the virus."

Lily Eskelsen Garcia heads the National Education Association. She said the directive was an attempt "to give President Trump and those governors who are disregarding the advice and guidance from public health experts an excuse to force educators into unsafe schools."

American Federation⁷ of Teachers President Randi Weingarten added "the Trump administration will always try to change the rules to threaten, bully⁸ and coerce⁹."

"If the president really saw us as essential, he'd act like it," Weingarten said. "Teachers are and always have been essential workers — but not essential enough, it seems, for the Trump administration to commit the resources necessary to keep them safe in the classroom."

The Associated Press reports that the coronavirus is spreading in Georgia, as a percentage of population, faster than any other state. Tennessee has the seventh-fastest spread.

A few schools that reopened for in-person classes in both states have already closed after infections were reported among teachers and students. It is unclear whether the virus was spread at the schools, however.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

infrastructure - n. the basic things that are needed for a country, area to function

quarantine - v. to keep a person away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

exposure - n. the condition of being affected¹⁰ by something

positive - adj. showing the presence of a particular germ

kindergarten - n. a school or class for very young children

contradict - v. to not agree with something

excuse - n. a reason that you give to explain a mistake or bad behavior

bully - v. to threaten or insult (smaller or weaker person)

essential - adj. extremely important and necessary

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

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。

5 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

6 curb   

n.场外证券市场，场外交易；vt.制止，抑制

参考例句：

• I could not curb my anger.我按捺不住我的愤怒。
• You must curb your daughter when you are in church.你在教堂时必须管住你的女儿。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

9 coerce   

v.强迫，压制

参考例句：

• You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
• Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗？

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。