VOA慢速英语2021--美国人如何看待国际学生？

How Do Americans View International Students?

Jack¹ Li received his doctorate² in science from a major university in the southeastern United States in 2020. The Chinese student said research opportunities remain strong in the U.S. but he planned to continue his work in Germany.

Li told VOA earlier in 2021 that part of his decision was because of the "political environment in the U.S." Li had good reason to feel that way.

A recent survey by an education policy group showed Americans are somewhat³ concerned about too many Chinese students coming to study. The American Council⁴ on Education (ACE⁵) talked to 1,000 Americans in the first part of 2021. It found that 43 percent of the people in the survey said they think international students take away places from American students.

In addition, about 40 percent also said they think "some international students are sent by their country to try and steal valuable U.S. intellectual⁶ property." When China was used as an example, nearly 50 percent said it is a "widespread problem."

Karin Fischer writes about international students for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Fischer said the number of international students coming to the U.S. grew by large numbers in recent years. So international students, especially those from China, became "a lot more visible⁷" for people who live near colleges.

"They'd become kind of caught up in the politics of immigration, of the politics of sort of Chinese-American geopolitical conflict, they got caught up in the politics of COVID and school re-opening a year ago."

The Institute of International Education's Open Doors report says the number of international students in the U.S. has increased from 764,000 in 2011 to more than 1 million in 2020. In the same period, the number of Chinese students in the U.S. has nearly doubled from 194,000 to 372,000.

Sarah Spreitzer is director of government relations for ACE. She helped write the report that came from the survey. She said it was important for ACE to learn how Americans feel about international students.

ACE, she said, wanted to know if Americans supported the actions and words of former president Donald Trump⁸ and his administration⁹ related¹⁰ to international students. If they did, ACE wanted to make suggestions for how the administration of President Joe Biden could make life easier for international students.

New messages from Biden administration

In July, both Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona talked to a group of international students at the EducationUSA Forum¹¹. Using video conferencing, Blinken said, "It's strongly in our national interest for the United States to remain the world's top study destination for international students." And Cardona added that international education helped people around the world understand and effectively connect with each other.

While neither announced a new policy, Spreitzer said the messages should make a difference to international students currently¹² in the U.S. and those considering coming. Spreitzer added that one of the best things the Biden administration can do to help international students is to send "clear" messages.

She pointed¹³ to a program called Optional¹⁴ Practical Training. The program permits international students working on degrees in science, technology, engineering¹⁵ and math to stay in the U.S. for up to three years to continue their training after graduation.

"Under the Trump administrations¹⁶, there had been rumblings that they were going to withdraw¹⁷ the program, which would've been really problematic."

Spreitzer explained students make long-term decisions about their education and might not come to the U.S. if programs such as Optional Practical Training get taken away. And for students who already were in the middle of their studies, it is difficult to deal with fast policy change.

While the Biden administration is more welcoming with international students, Fischer, the higher education writer, said some issues remain.

In August, the U.S. welcomed international students, including those from countries under COVID-19 restrictions¹⁸, back to the U.S. Around the same time, the U.S. government dropped its case against five Chinese scientists accused of lying on their visa application. They were accused of hiding their ties to the Chinese military.

While the cases may not seem directly related to international students, "it can affect their behavior," Fischer added.

Spreitzer said she is looking forward to the next Open Doors report. She hopes the numbers will show that international students are interested in coming back to the U.S.

"We're very hopeful," Spreitzer said, "that students are receiving that message that we are welcoming, we are open for business, and that the U.S., in general, we support our international students."

Words in This Story

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

survey – n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

visible– adj. able to be seen

geopolitical– adj. a way of referring to politics and the relationship between nations around the world

destination – n. a place to which a person is going

optional – adj. available as a choice but not required

practical– n. appropriate or suited for actual use

rumblings– n. written or spoken comments showing that people are considering something

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

3 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

4 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

5 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

6 intellectual   

n.知识分子；adj.智力的，理智的，有理解力的

参考例句：

• Thinking is an intellectual process.思维是一个智力活动过程。
• Chess is a highly intellectual game.象棋是需用高度智力的运动项目。

7 visible   

adj.看得见的，明显的，显然的；n.可见物

参考例句：

• It is a visible star in the sky.这是一颗在天空中可见的星星。
• The warning lights were clearly visible.警示信号灯清晰可见。

8 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。

9 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

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 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

12 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。

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 optional   

adj.可任意选择的，非强制的，随意的

参考例句：

• The goods are optional, but only one.这些物品是可以任选的，但只能选一个。
• It is optional with you.那是你的自由。

15 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

16 administrations   

n.管理( administration的名词复数 )；实行；（政府）行政机关；（法律、处罚等的）施行

参考例句：

• Socialist administrations by 1912 governed Milwaukee, Schenectady, and Berkeley, California. 到1912年，社会党的政府统治着加利福尼亚的伯克利、密尔沃基和斯克内克塔迪。 来自辞典例句
• For generations successive administrations had synchronized their moves with London. 几十年，美国历届政府与伦敦的行动步调都是一致的。 来自辞典例句

17 withdraw   

vt.收回，撤消，撤退；vi.缩回，退出，撤退

参考例句：

• I want to withdraw a statement I made earlier.我想收回我早些时候发表的一项声明。
• The general decided to withdraw his soldiers.那位将军决定撤军。

18 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制