在线英语听力室

VOA慢速英语2013 AS IT IS 2013-05-18 A Non-Profit Group Gives Millions of Needy Children 'Room to Read'

时间:2013-06-05 08:58:13

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号:tingroom,领取免费英语资料大礼包。

(单词翻译)

 

AS IT IS 2013-05-18 A Non-Profit Group Gives Millions of Needy1 Children 'Room to Read'

This is As It Is.

Welcome back. I’m Caty Weaver2.

On today’s show, we talk about two educational programs for children, thousands of miles apart. We also remember an important event in American history that changed the way children are educated in the United States.

Room to Read

Almost 800 million people in the world are illiterate3, meaning they cannot read and write. Most are in developing countries and more that 65 percent of them are female.

A former official with the Microsoft company is helping4 to lower those numbers. John Wood has opened 1,650 schools and 15,000 libraries in some of the world's poorest communities. Avi Arditti has more on the man and his “Room to Read” campaign.

“The thing I learned at Microsoft was that bold goals attract bold people. From the very beginning, I said Room to Read’s goal was to reach ten million children around the world in the poorest countries.”

That is former Microsoft executive John Wood. In 1998, while he was still with Microsoft, Mr. Wood went on a three week walking trip in Nepal. While there, the businessman met a man who led a school in a mountain village. The man asked him to visit the school.

John Wood said the experience changed his life.

“This headmaster has 450 students at the school, but he didn’t have any books. He had a library that was completely empty.”

Mr. Wood promised to fill the library.

One year later, he returned to the village with a team of yaks5 carrying bags filled with books -- 3,000 of them. But that was just the start. John Wood retired6 from Microsoft, and used some of his wealth to start Room to Read. The not-for-profit organization is based on the belief that world change begins with educated children. Today the group operates in ten countries across Africa and Asia.

“It’s amazing what we’ve accomplished7. We’ve built a world-class organization that’s really a thought-leader on solutions for education in the developing world.”

That is Erin Ganju, co-founder and chief executive of Room to Read. She says that world literacy is the group’s first goal. But she says equality of the sexes is just as important. Ms. Ganju says Room to Read pays for a long term girls’ education program to help girls empower themselves.

“It really focuses on not only keeping girls in school longer -- through the end of secondary school – but helps support them holistically8. We bring female mentors9 into the communities that act as role models for the girls and we provide them with life skills workshops after school, where they learn critical skills such as goal-setting, leadership skills, problem-solving and they really become different.”

John Wood says local involvement is needed for the program to be successful. Room to Read donates money and provides books. But communities donate land, parents help build the schools and ministries10 of education agree to pay teachers and librarians.

Room to Read also has set up local printing plants that produce children’s books. Local writers write the books. Local artists draw the pictures for them.

John Wood says Room to Read will have published 1,000 books in over 20 languages by the end of this year.

“”I often joke that Room to Read is the biggest children’s publisher you’ve never heard of because your children probably are not reading in the languages that we’re publishing in. But, those children in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, South Africa, they deserve to have books in their mother tongue just as kids here in America do.”

Agnes is a Room to Read teacher in Zambia who also runs a library.

“I’m very proud because I have seen that the literacy level of reading at this school -- even in my class -- it has really improved. I’m happy for that and that is why I can’t let it go. I have to work hard and make sure that every pupil can benefit from the library.”

John Wood says that Room to Read faces huge demand.

“So what drives me is really the idea of our strong local teams at Room to Read should not be in the business of saying ‘no’ or ‘not yet.’ They should be in the business of saying ‘yes.’ Yes to your community having literacy programs. Yes to your girls being empowered by education. Yes to every child having a place in a school that is well run and has really good teachers, and I am not going to give up on the goal.”

Room to Read is expected to reach ten million children by 2015. That is five years earlier than John Wood promised.

I'm Avi Arditti.

A Sale for Children, By Children

Some young children are learning what it is like to operate their own business at a museum in Pasadena, California. The children sell their unwanted toys, clothing and other used goods at the Kidspace flea11 market. Some of the young business owners even sell things they made.

As Christopher Cruise tells us, the children gain valuable experience and even earn some money.

Nine-year-old Tyler Ruste is working hard.

“Hello. Welcome to Tyler’s Treasures.”

“How much is this?”

“For that one? Two dollars.”

“Give him two.”

“Thanks you, and you can get whatever you want at Tyler’s Treasures.”

Tyler is hoping to earn money at the flea market.Two times a year, young people set up tables and lay out old toys, clothing, sports equipment and other things to sell. The sale is held on the grounds of the Kidspace Children’s Museum in Pasadena.

The museum launched the flea market seven years ago. Museum official Julianne Sando says the idea was to provide young children with realistic business experience.

“It’s teaching about money and handling money…just basically how to be independent in the world that we live in.”

But there are other things to learn. Tyler’s older sister, Alyssa, sells sweets that took days to make.

“Well, patience is one of the things you should learn from experience, because sometimes buyers don’t always buy all your things and yeah.”

The young businesspeople say they get to decide what to sell and at what price. They also get to keep all the money they receive from their sales. Seller Savannah Chavez is thinking about what to do with her profits.

“Maybe I’ll just buy my dream hotel or maybe I’ll just buy a new electronic game.”

Tyler Ruste has a different plan.

“Actually me and my sister, we are going to split the money and put it in into our bank accounts.”

Many parents say they are happy if their children earn a little money. But they also hope the boys and girls will learn mathematics skills and become more sure of themselves as they operate businesses.

A Historic Ruling

Now, a look back in time. On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme12 Court made a decision that changed American education forever. The court decided13 that racial separation in public schools is unconstitutional.

The case was called “Brown versus14 the Topeka, Kansas Board of Education.” The court ruled against what was, at the time, the accepted policy of having “separate but equal” school systems – one for whites and one for blacks. It found that the policy violated the constitutional guarantee of equal treatment under the law.

The ruling banned the use of racially segregated15 public school systems across the nation. In other words, it required racially mixed schools.

And that’s As It Is, for today. I’m Caty Weaver.


分享到:


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 needy wG7xh     
adj.贫穷的,贫困的,生活艰苦的
参考例句:
  • Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷,但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
  • They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。
2 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
3 illiterate Bc6z5     
adj.文盲的;无知的;n.文盲
参考例句:
  • There are still many illiterate people in our country.在我国还有许多文盲。
  • I was an illiterate in the old society,but now I can read.我这个旧社会的文盲,今天也认字了。
4 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
5 yaks f402015cb824b04cbf5f51b75faff880     
牦牛( yak的名词复数 ); 笑话
参考例句:
  • The jokes get yaks. 那笑话引人发笑。
  • Social species including birds, fish and yaks must have companionship. 习惯群居的生物,包括鸟类、鱼类和(牛毛)牛必须有伙伴。
6 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
7 accomplished UzwztZ     
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的
参考例句:
  • Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
  • Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
8 holistically 31dd6c76cb429811417919b2d65a52ec     
adv.holistic(整体的,全盘的)的副词形式
参考例句:
  • Menu items and dialogs, when they are translated, to be considered holistically. 在翻译菜单项和对话框时,需要全盘考虑,确保翻译的界面保持整体的一致性很重要。 来自互联网
  • If we examine this entity holistically, we can discover how incredible it really is. 如果我们整体检查这实体,我们可以发现它真的是多么让人难以置信。 来自互联网
9 mentors 5f11aa0dab3d5db90b5a4f26c992ec2a     
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
10 ministries 80c65392682fb821af91521513be1259     
(政府的)部( ministry的名词复数 ); 神职; 牧师职位; 神职任期
参考例句:
  • Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
  • The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。
11 flea dgSz3     
n.跳蚤
参考例句:
  • I'll put a flea in his ear if he bothers me once more.如果他再来打扰的话,我就要对他不客气了。
  • Hunter has an interest in prowling around a flea market.亨特对逛跳蚤市场很感兴趣。
12 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
13 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
14 versus wi7wU     
prep.以…为对手,对;与…相比之下
参考例句:
  • The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
  • The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。
15 segregated 457728413c6a2574f2f2e154d5b8d101     
分开的; 被隔离的
参考例句:
  • a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
  • The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎 点击提交 分享给大家。