VOA标准英语2018--Advancing Education in Malawi

 

As part of its efforts to combat HIV, the United States intends to provide up to $90 million to build secondary schools across Malawi and additional funding to provide youth friendly health services.

The U.S. signed a Memorandum¹ of Understanding, or MOU, with Malawi in July to expand existing secondary schools and install new secondary schools throughout Malawi.

In the MOU, the government of Malawi committed to fund training and salaries for teachers to staff the new schools, and maintenance of the new structures; to support the provision of youth friendly health services near secondary schools; to incorporate comprehensive sex education in the national curriculum to keep young people HIV-free; and to enact² a phased-in reduction of secondary school tuition fees.

Malawi's Minister of Education, Science and Technology Bright Msaka said, “I am very excited to sign this Memorandum of Understanding on the expansion of secondary education. We are confident that this increased access to education will reduce the transmission of HIV to Malawi's youth and help us break the back of the HIV epidemic³.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Affairs Emmanuel Fabiano concurred⁴, saying: “This will contribute to the sustainable socio-economic development of Malawi.”

“Through this commitment, the United States and Malawi will ensure more adolescent girls attend secondary school, which will better keep them HIV free,” said U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer.

“Studies have shown that for every year a girl attends secondary school her risk of contracting HIV throughout her lifetime decreases. The first tender is out to increase the number of classrooms in urban secondary schools across Malawi. Malawi's program will demonstrate the critical link between girls' education and public health for the rest of Africa and the world, and provide important benefits for Malawi's development.”

1 memorandum   

n.备忘录，便笺

参考例句：

• The memorandum was dated 23 August,2008.备忘录上注明的日期是2008年8月23日。
• The Secretary notes down the date of the meeting in her memorandum book.秘书把会议日期都写在记事本上。

2 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 concurred   

同意（concur的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。
• So many things concurred to give rise to the problem. 许多事情同时发生而导致了这一问题。