VOA常速英语2016--美国大学生热衷学俄语

美国大学生热衷学俄语

ere Americans only speak Russian and they only respond to Russian names.

这里的美国人只说俄语，也只会对俄语名字作出回应。

Such language immersion¹ helps American students make progress in studying the Russian language in just a few weeks. And for American Russian teachers, this is a chance to meet their colleagues and improve language skills.

这样的语言浸透模式帮助这群美国学生在短短几周的时间里，在学习俄语方面取得了巨大进步。而对美籍俄罗斯教师来说，这也是与同事们会面并提升语言技能的机会。

This is one of many foreign language courses within STARTALK, a program launched during George W. Bush's presidency² as part of a U.S. national security strategy. Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Persian, and Russian were named "critical-need" foreign languages.

这是STARTALK众多外语学习课程中的一个，是在布什担任美国总统期间创立的栏目，作为美国国家安全策略的一部分。在美国，阿拉伯语、汉语、北印度语、波斯语、俄语都被视为“重要”外语。

Charles Byrd, professor of Russian at the University of Georgia and a STARTALK program participant, says that American students are interested in Russian but many find it very hard to learn and master. For Byrd himself, Russian was once “forbidden fruit.”

查尔斯是乔治亚大学的教授和STARTALK项目参与者。他表示，美国学生对俄语很感兴趣，但觉得很难学习掌握。对于查尔斯教授本人来说，俄语曾是“禁果”。

"My parents were American diplomats³, and they always wanted to go to Russia, but they were not allowed to," he said. "Because they could not travel to Russia, I always wanted to go there. I remember during my childhood I often heard about the Evil Empire. I had always the impression that Russia is a mysterious riddle⁴."

查尔斯说，“我父母都曾是美国外交家，他们一直很想去俄罗斯，但一直不被允许。因为他们想去而不能去，所以俄罗斯也是我很想去的地方。我记得小时候对俄罗斯的听闻是，那里是邪恶帝国。所以，在我的印象中，俄罗斯一直像谜一样神秘”

19-year-old Joseph Doran has been to Russia, he says he ate borscht seven times a week and took walks along the Volga, a symbolic⁵ river in Russian culture. At STARTALK, Doran is an assistant teacher, students call him the Russian name, Joseph Timofeyevich.

19岁的约瑟夫曾去过俄罗斯，他说在俄期间，他一周喝7次罗宋汤，也总沿着伏尔加河散步，那是一条象征俄罗斯文化之河。约瑟夫在STARTALK担任老师，学生们叫他的俄罗斯名字Timofeyevich。

"I love Russian culture, language. I love reading Russian classical literature," said Doran. "It is a very interesting language. Russian people are very nice. I love the opportunities that open to me because I know Russian.”

约瑟夫说，“我爱俄罗斯文化和语言。我爱读俄罗斯古典文学。俄语是一门很有意思的语言。俄罗斯人民都很友好。我了解俄罗斯，我爱它对我敞开的机会之门”。

Betsy Sandstrom, a program director of Discovery Russia at STARTALK, says that, for many students, learning a foreign language is an important first step into their future careers.

贝琪是STARTALK发现俄罗斯的项目负责人，他认为，对很多学生来说，学习外语对将来的职业生涯是重要的第一步。

"They have different interests — one person wants to become a Russian language teacher, another wants to be a politician," she said. "Knowledge of any foreign language is needed. And Russia is the largest country in the world."

他们有不同的兴趣——有的想成为俄语老师，有的想当政治家。了解任何一门外语都有必要。况且俄罗斯是世界上最大的国家。

 

According to Forbes magazine, Russian is among the top 10 most popular languages for American college students.

《福布斯》杂志的数据显示，俄语在美国大学生之中位列最受欢迎的10门语言之首。

1 immersion   

n.沉浸；专心

参考例句：

• The dirt on the bottom of the bath didn't encourage total immersion.浴缸底有污垢，不宜全身浸泡于其中。
• The wood had become swollen from prolonged immersion.因长时间浸泡，木头发胀了。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

5 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。