2007年VOA标准英语-Hughes Promotes US-Indian Educational Exchange

By Lisa Vohra
Washington
27 March 2007
 
watch India Education Exchange

Thousands of international students travel to the United States each year to attend college. But since the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001, security concerns have made student visa applications more cumbersome¹. In an effort to attract more foreign students to the U.S., Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes has undertaken a series of trips to promote higher education and student exchange programs. This week she is in India discussing educational opportunities in both countries. VOA's Lisa Vohra recently traveled to one American university where Indian students are learning about more than just academics.

Here at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, students from India are an important part of the campus. Almost all of the Indian students here are in graduate school, and all have easily made the transition from India to America.

 
Nikhil Despande and Sibin Mohan stroll the campus of North Carolina State University
Nikhil Deshpande, from Pune, and Sibin Mohan, from Bangalore, say N.C. State, as it is known, was very welcoming to them both. Deshpande adds that the school made his dreams of research a reality. "It is the best place to come to study. We know all the top-ranked research, all the top-ranked technologies are developed in the U.S."

Besides fitting in as a student, Mohan says adapting to life in America was no big deal. "The Indian student community here is very strong. So we don't miss home or Indian food or any such thing. Along the way we got to learn American football, I go to all the games now and [I'm a] devoted² fan."

 
James Oblinger
The Chancellor³ of North Carolina State University, James Oblinger, will be accompanying the State Department's Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy⁴ and Public Affairs, Karen Hughes, and presidents from five other American universities.

The group will meet with their Indian counterparts to discuss cooperation on international education between the United States and India.

Chancellor Oblinger says international education, particularly with Indian students, is a very important component⁵ of the academic structure of North Carolina State University. "They enrich the community in a lot of different ways. The mixing of cultures, religions, traditions and those types of things, we think that is very important for our students to be exposed to that."

He notes that Indian students have made a very positive impact on North Carolina State University and that American education is expanding beyond its borders.

"They maintain their traditions, they celebrate the holidays, and the festivals. And that's very good for the Indian population, it's just as good for the American students to appreciate and participate in that form of culture too. We think that is very positive, essential as we live in a knowledge-based global economy," Oblinger told us.

 
Karen Hughes, Under Secretary, Department of State
Speaking in Washington, Under Secretary Karen Hughes said she is looking forward to the trip and making U.S.-Indian educational ties even stronger.

"We have a very broad dialogue with India, a very broad global, strategic partnership⁶,” she said. “And when you think about the areas in which we are cooperating: Whether it be energy, or agriculture, or high-tech⁷ issues, education is foundational to all of them. And so we think we really have an opportunity on this trip to expand that partnership."

She added that not only will she discuss Indian students coming to the United States, but American students traveling to India. "America and India have many – as the world's two great democracies – have many, many interests in common and many values in common, and many interests around the world in common. And so I think it really helps broaden the mind and the life experience and the education of a student just to visit another country."

The U.S. wants more international students to attend school here and Hughes' trip to India will only reinforce the message for Indians that the doors to American schools, like North Carolina State University, are wide open.

1 cumbersome   

adj.笨重的，不便携带的

参考例句：

• Although the machine looks cumbersome,it is actually easy to use.尽管这台机器看上去很笨重，操作起来却很容易。
• The furniture is too cumbersome to move.家具太笨，搬起来很不方便。

2 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

3 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

4 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

5 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。