VOA标准英语2010年-Indiana Schools Help Young Burmese Imm

Since the U.S. government ordered lead removed from paint and gasoline 30 years ago, the incidence of childhood lead poisoning has dropped to about one percent in most communities across the country. Exposure to the toxic¹ element can cause brain damage, IQ loss, speech and learning deficits² and in rare cases death.

So, early last year, when officials in Fort Wayne, Indiana, discovered high lead levels in young immigrants from Burma, they took action, setting up a pilot program for pre-school children to help them catch up to their peers through speech, cognitive³ and nutrition therapy.

Burmese parents place high value on education

Erika Celeste
Families send their children to school in their best clothes, which doesn't stop them from playing

On a bitterly cold winter day, teacher Leslie Lawson helps the tiny students in the program off the school bus. Instead of play clothes, these youngsters who range in age from 3-5 are wearing party dresses, make-up, suits and ties. Their parents believe school is very important; this is the first time anyone in their families has had a chance to go to school.

Lawson says when the kids first arrived in her classroom, the combination of their cultural upbringing and the effects of the lead put them significantly behind the developmental level of other kids their age. "The first three weeks I had them, they stood there," she recalls. "They just stood on the carpet and looked at the stuff to play with. Now what I see, because I've taught them how to play and they do have some language, is they are sitting and playing."

Poison sources are common traditional medicines

 

 
Indiana State Health Dept.
Several Asian markets in Fort Wayne sold "daw kyin"; officials asked them to remove it from their shelves

In the U.S., most kids who get lead poisoning have been exposed to dust from old lead paint. But most of these kids were poisoned when they were given daw tway and daw kyin, two traditional Burmese medicines with high lead levels, used to ease small children's upset stomachs.

Loaine Hagerty, with the local county health department, notes that lead exposure through food and medicine is not uncommon⁴ outside the United States, pointing out, "It's the same way with the Mexican candies that have been identified with lead in them. Here there are precautions in place to protect children, but overseas those same precautions aren't in place, so the children are exposed that way."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that many indigenous⁵ medicines from East Indian, Middle Eastern, Western Asian and Hispanic cultures also contain high levels of lead, and children adopted from China, Guatemala, Romania, Russia and South Korea often enter the country with extremely high blood lead levels.

Learning the basics

 

 
Erika Celeste
Classroom posters help young refugees learn English

Back in Leslie Lawson's classroom, the first lesson of the day is starting. Both morning and afternoon classes begin with a review of hygiene⁶ rules. Many of these children were born in refugee camps, and running water is still a new and delightful⁷ amenity⁸. Lawson uses a lot of visual materials like flash cards and posters on the wall to get the kids talking, and there is an interpreter in the classroom to help out with more challenging concepts.

Amy Hesting, a registered environmental health specialist with the health department, explains that speech is one of the easiest ways to determine to what degree lead poisoning has affected⁹ a child's development. "The problem with the Burmese population is [that] it's very difficult to assess if they have a speech problem because we don't speak Burmese." Studies have shown that kids with learning disabilities learn more quickly from their peers than from their teachers. So, each class includes a few native English-speaking pre-schoolers as well.

Dealing¹⁰ with nutritional¹¹ deficiencies

Two years ago, Ma Wee came to Ft. Wayne, which is home to one of the largest Burmese communities outside Southeast Asia. She says her 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter loves her new school. "She's happy and she wakes up very early every morning so she can go to school." Her daughter says her favorite thing at school is food.

 

 
Erika Celeste
Girls play dinner-time with a doll

Eating is actually a very important part of the day for these children. One of the effects of lead poisoning is a loss of appetite. Lawson says several of her 5-year-old students weigh less than 10 kilograms and, "because of that, they have a short attention span. That affects their [cognitive] processing. They don't process and then they don't comprehend, so there are many things across the board that they have problems with."

So Lawson prepares nutritionally rich shakes for the kids during snack time and tries to make eating fun by using games. She also sends information about good nutrition home to parents, to help neutralize¹² some of the effects of the lead.

There is no known cure for lead poisoning. In severe cases, children may undergo chelation therapy to clean their blood, but once they have been exposed to lead, they will always have it in their bodies. Some may have life-long learning disabilities; others may not be affected in any significant way.

Ma Wee says, whatever the outcome, she's just happy her daughter has such a wonderful opportunity. "All I want is for my child to be safe and learn a lot, especially English."
 

1 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

2 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

3 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

4 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

5 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

6 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

7 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

8 amenity   

n.pl.生活福利设施，文娱康乐场所；（不可数）愉快，适意

参考例句：

• The amenity of his manners won him many friends.他和悦的态度替他赢得很多朋友。
• Teachers' good amenity and culture have important educational value.教师良好的礼仪修养具有重要的教育价值。

9 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。

10 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

11 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

12 neutralize   

v.使失效、抵消，使中和

参考例句：

• Nothing could neutralize its good effects.没有什么能抵消它所产生的好影响。
• Acids neutralize alkalis and vice versa.酸能使碱中和碱，亦能使酸中和。