新奇事件簿 近六百名自愿者充当临时爸爸

A junior high school in Texas, USA was pleasantly surprised after being swamped by volunteers to stand in for absent fathers. Billy Earl Dade Middle School, in the city of Dallas, posted on Facebook asking for 50 male volunteers to substitute for absent fathers in an event called "Breakfast with Dads". Event organizers were inundated¹ with replies. They said they were astounded² after nearly 600 men responded to the request and turned up at the event. The school's inaugural³ "Breakfast with Dads" event was to enhance community spirit. Around 90 per cent of the children come from low-income families. Many of the students did not have a father who was able to participate in the event.

美国德克萨斯州的一所初中惊喜地发现很多自愿者都来到学校扮演临时父亲的角色。达拉斯市的Billy Earl Dade中学在Facebook上发帖召集50名男性志愿者扮演临时父亲并参加“和爸爸一起吃早餐”的活动。活动的举办者很快便收到了回复。他们表示自己的非常震惊，因为有将近600位男士响应请求并出席了活动。学校举办“和爸爸一起吃早餐”的活动是为了增进团体精神。学校90%的孩子都来自于低收入家庭。其中多数学生的父亲都无法出席活动。

The school said the "Breakfast with Dads" event was part of an overall plan to improve its academic position. Community leaders, mentors⁴ and local organizations have combined to implement⁵ various projects to increase test scores. There has been some academic improvement at the school as a result of their efforts. A local pastor⁶, the Reverend Donald Parish Jr, said: "When a young person sees someone other than their teacher take interest in them, it inspires them." A school liaison⁷ officer, Ellyn Favors, commented on the success of the event. She said: "The look of awe⁸, even disbelief, in students' eyes as they made their way through the crowd of "Dads" was astonishing."

学校表示“和爸爸一起吃早餐”的活动是提高学术地位全面计划的一部分。团体领导、指导老师以及当地组织联合执行各种项目活动以提高考试分数。学术成绩的提高是学生们努力的结果。当地的一名牧师Reverend Donald Parish Jr表示：“当少年们看到除老师之外还有别人对他们感兴趣时，会激励他们。”一名学校联络官，Ellyn Favors就此次活动的成功举办作出评价。她说道：“当学生们经过“临时父亲们”时，他们眼中的敬畏、甚至怀疑真的非常震惊。”

1 inundated   

v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付

参考例句：

• We have been inundated with offers of help. 主动援助多得使我们应接不暇。
• We have been inundated with every bit of information imaginable. 凡是想得到的各种各样的信息潮水般地向我们涌来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 astounded   

v.使震惊(astound的过去式和过去分词)；愕然；愕；惊讶

参考例句：

• His arrogance astounded her. 他的傲慢使她震惊。
• How can you say that? I'm absolutely astounded. 你怎么能说出那种话？我感到大为震惊。

3 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

4 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

5 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

6 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

7 liaison   

n.联系，（未婚男女间的）暖昧关系，私通

参考例句：

• She acts as a liaison between patients and staff.她在病人与医护人员间充当沟通的桥梁。
• She is responsible for liaison with researchers at other universities.她负责与其他大学的研究人员联系。

8 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。