VOA常速英语2013--保守派人士视美国政府关闭为早期教育计划改革的良机

 

Some Conservatives See US Shutdown of Early Education Programs as Opportunity 保守派人士视美国政府关闭为早期教育计划改革的良机

WASHINGTON — At the heart of the U.S. government shutdown there is a philosophical¹ debate over whether government programs for the poor help pull people out of poverty or make people more dependent on government handouts². Some conservatives see the curtailing³ of a pre-school program for low income families, though, not as a crisis, but as an opportunity.

The federally-funded Head Start program provides meals, medical screenings and preschool training for more than one million children from low-income families.

这项由联邦政府提供资助的启智计划为超过一百万名来自低收入家庭的孩子提供食物、医疗检查及学前培训。

Because of the government shutdown, though, some of those programs have have been cut or closed.

而由于政府关闭,其中一些项目已经被削减或关闭。

Child care advocate Helen Blank, with the National Women's Law Center, said the shutdown is hurting a program that strives to help those most in need.

国家妇女法律中心儿童保健倡导人海伦·布兰克表示政府关闭危及努力帮助那些最需要人的计划。

“We know that research is clear that these experiences make a tremendous difference in low-income children's ability to do well in school and to succeed in life.

“我们明白那项研究很清楚这些经历为低收入家庭出身的孩子在学校表现优异及之后生活走向成功的能力提供极大帮助。

So it absolutely makes no sense to take our poorest four-year-olds and put them on the curb,” said Blank.

所以绝对没有道理对我们贫穷的儿童置之不理。”布兰克说道。

But conservative education analyst⁴ Lindsey Burke, with The Heritage Foundation, said Head Start's benefits are overstated,

但遗产基金会的保守教育分析家林塞·伯克表示启智计划的好处被过于夸大,

and that the shutdown presents an opportunity to reform what she called a bloated and bureaucratic⁵ program that costs taxpayers⁶ about $8,000 per child, per year.

而且政府关闭恰恰为改革她所称的这项每年每个孩子要花费纳税人8000美元的臃肿官僚计划提供绝佳机会。

“I think after 48 years of Head Start really being a failed federal intervention⁷ in early childhood education, that we have a lot of evidence that says, 'You know, what?

“我认为经过了48年后的这项计划真的是在儿童早期教育中联邦干预的一次失败,我们有大量的证据表明你知道么?

Maybe instead of funding these Head Start centers, we should fund the child instead,'” said Burke.

也许我们不应该资助启智中心,反而应该为孩子们提供帮助。”伯克说道。

Burke pointed⁸ to how private donors⁹ John and Laura Arnold recently contributed $10 million to Head Start, and how some state governments moved to fill in funding gaps to illustrate¹⁰ that there are better and maybe more affordable¹¹ ways to fund these programs.

伯克指出私人捐助者约翰和劳拉·阿诺最近如何出资1000万美元及一些州政府如何东挪西凑填补资金缺口以表明有更好及更负担得起的方法资助这一计划。

“Why not allow states to make their Head Start dollars portable.

“为什么不让各州的启智计划资金变得更为便携,

basically following a low-income child to any preschool provider of choice whether that is public or private.

基本上遵循低收入孩子学前教育的提供者是否公共或私人的任何选择,

basically giving parents control over the Head Start dollars that we spend,

基本上让父母控制我们对于该计划的开销，

but not necessarily relegating¹² these children to government Head Start centers.”

但不一定把这些孩子转移到政府的启智中心。”

But Head Start proponents¹³ say a government shutdown is not the way to reform the system.

但启智计划的支持者们表示政府关闭不是改革这一系统的方式。

“There are lots of ways to debate how to strengthen Head Start.

“有很多方式来讨论如何加强启智计划。

There are lots of ways to debate how to strengthen schools.

有很多方法来讨论如何加强学校。

We don't shut our schools down and say 'put our children on the street, that's really good for children,'” said Blank.

我们不会关闭学校,不负责任的让我们的孩子在大街上,说那对孩子们很好。”布兰克说道。

If the shutdown continues into November, more Head Start programs serving thousands of children will lose federal money.

如果政府关闭持续到11月,受益于启智计划成千上万的孩子将失去联邦政府的资助。

1 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

2 handouts   

救济品( handout的名词复数 )； 施舍物； 印刷品； 讲义

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts. 士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Even after losing his job, he was too proud to accept handouts. 甚至在失去工作后，他仍然很骄傲，不愿接受施舍。

3 curtailing   

v.截断，缩短( curtail的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• They will be curtailing the discussions at two thirty. 他们将把讨论缩短至两点半。 来自互联网
• Individually, banks are acting rationally by retaining their capital and curtailing lending. 此外，银行们正在合理地保留其资本和减少贷款。 来自互联网

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

6 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

8 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。

9 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 relegating   

v.使降级( relegate的现在分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

13 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句