英语角-圆桌会议 RoundTable0203 - 精华版奇葩班

 Topic1 Public Schools Open International ClassWith more high school students eager to enter foreign colleges, many middle schools began to open international classes. Some say it could effectively ease the competition to enter domestic universities, while some say it will deepen education inequity.

Guangdong might be the best example. In the province, 10 out of 12 experimental middle schools opened or plan to open international classes.

Why have these classes become so popular?

Topic2 Fraudulent Training ClassAround 30 pupils aged¹ from seven to 17 were enrolled² for the Shanghai summer course which claims that after 10 days of classes, students would learn to finish a book in 20 seconds and identify poker³ cards by touch.

However, after paying 100 thousand yuan tuition fee, parents found that all their children had learnt is how to cheat. For example, students are supposed to tell poker cards by touch with eyes blind-folded, but in fact, the training teaches students to peek⁴ from gaps between blindfold⁵ and face.

Some summer programs claim they can train children to use the right-hand side of their brain. A tutor told an undercover reporter from the Oriental Morning Post that pupils learned to detect "certain waves" that emanated⁶ from everything, including words. Those waves were "recorded in their brains as pictures" so that they could read without even looking.

Why do parents believe this?

Topic3 SH high school expands all-boy class experimentThe operator of Shanghai's first all-boy classes plans to expand enrollment⁷ for the new semester as one of its founders⁸ hailed the once-controversial program a success. After eight months of operation, Shanghai No. 8 High School gained approval from parents for the two boys-only classes and plans to double enrollment to 120 students for the semester starting in September. The classes are a pilot program of the Huangpu district education bureau and East China Normal University, as they attempt to address the tendency of boys being outperformed and overshadowed by girls in school.

Has the boys’ class been successful?

Topic4 College course on entrepreneurshipUniversities have been ordered to start teaching basic courses on entrepreneurship to undergraduates to encourage students to start businesses and become self-employed after graduation. According to the draft teaching plan Entrepreneurship Foundations released by the Ministry⁹ of Education, the course requires no less than two credit units and 32 hours. The regulation also emphasizes pragmatic exercises and encourages schools to create practical opportunities for students, such as internships.

Is it necessary to open such courses?

Topic5 “Fair Lady” ClassStarting from this year, True Light High School in Guangzhou hopes to train noble ladies by opening two classes of fair maidens¹⁰. The students in these 2 classes will learn household work and social etiquettes in order to become the real ladies.

The classes have sparked controversy¹¹ among the public.

Why do they come up with such an idea? What do they teach?

Topic6 Marriage and love class in universityRecently an optional course named marriage and love in Hua Dong Normal University is particularly popular among students, and nearly 500 students chose this course though the course’s capacity is only 84.

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

4 peek   

vi.偷看，窥视；n.偷偷的一看，一瞥

参考例句：

• Larry takes a peek out of the window.赖瑞往窗外偷看了一下。
• Cover your eyes and don't peek.捂上眼睛，别偷看。

5 blindfold   

vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物

参考例句：

• They put a blindfold on a horse.他们给马蒙上遮眼布。
• I can do it blindfold.我闭着眼睛都能做。

6 emanated   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Do you know where these rumours emanated from? 你知道谣言出自何处吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rumor emanated from Chicago. 谣言来自芝加哥。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 enrollment   

n.注册或登记的人数；登记

参考例句：

• You will be given a reading list at enrollment.注册时你会收到一份阅读书目。
• I just got the enrollment notice from Fudan University.我刚刚接到复旦大学的入学通知书。

8 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

9 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

10 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。