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VOA慢速英语2019--免费书籍激起华盛顿小孩对阅读的热爱

时间:2019-06-18 23:47:11

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(单词翻译)

Free Books Teach a Love of Reading

Joshua Clark is happy as he sits down to read a book to his son, Mason. But Clark remembers not always being happy about reading.

"I remember my mom almost forcing me to read books doing those summer reports right before you got back to school, and it was tough."

Reading became like work to him. He decided1 that when he had his own child, he would make sure reading was an enjoyable experience.

"When you can present things in a joyous2 way and not that it be a task, you're more willing to do it, and I wanted to provide that for my son."

Today, Clark and his son live in Washington, D.C. The young father has been able to ready many great stories to 3-year-old Mason, thanks to a local program called Books from Birth.

A book in every home

Through Books from Birth, Clark and others who take part receive one high-quality book each month in the mail. The program is open to D.C. residents with a child under the age of five.

Books from Birth began three years ago. Clark joined the program before Mason was even born. Clark knew the program would help him feel closer to his son as well as help his son learn.

"I knew I could use this tool to not only bond with my son, but also give him skills that he would need in everyday daily life."

Learning new words

The program sends each child age-appropriate books. So, early ones may teach simple shapes and sounds. The books become more complex as the child grows.

Clark says monthly books are helping3 Mason learn many new words.

Clark says, "He will repeat a word and understand it and later on repeat it and use it in a way that was used with him."

And that is the goal of the program, said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser. She recently spoke4 at a news conference celebrating the program’s third anniversary.

"We know from all of the research that children who are read to, sung to as well, at home, have a vocabulary that is vastly larger than children unfortunately who come to school without that type of preparation.”

Bowser added that having a larger vocabulary means children may read sooner and learn more once they begin school.

Improving reading rates

D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen introduced the law that established the project.

He said, "When I first got elected to the Council, I had a 2-year-old daughter -- she's 6 now -- but I saw that in her bedroom she had dozens and dozens if not a hundred books. That's not the reality for every home in D.C. And I wanted to do something quickly about early childhood education and early literacy5.”

More than just reading skills

Mason's mother, Margaret Parker, says she likes how Books from Birth can help her teach her son another language, too.

"Teaching him another language is something I've always had an interest in. And getting those English-Spanish books have been a great follow-up to songs that we sing, or words that I teach him, or things that he picks up at school."

Parker says the books are carefully chosen to teach other important skills, as well. For example, one of the books Mason received was all about bugs6, or insects.

"We were outside, kind of exploring, and one of his friends, I guess, wanted to step on one of the bugs and he said, ' Oh no, don't squish bugs' -- a part of one of the books that we read with him -- so I thought that was pretty cool to see him make that connection between the two."

When the library comes to you

The D.C. Books from Birth program is a local partner of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. The singer-songwriter started the program in 1995 in her home state of Tennessee in honor of her father, who could not read or write.

The organization mails a book to a child’s home once a month, from birth until the child turns 5. The organization has sent out more than 115 million books to children in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Britain and the United States.

The goal in America’s capital is to have 100 percent participation7 – especially among poorer families, says D.C. Public Library chief Richard Reyes-Gavilan.

He said it is difficult for busy, working families to visit a library every week or month. But, with Books from Birth, “the library comes to them.”

I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

task – n. a job for someone to do

bond – v. to form a close relationship with someone — often + with

exposure – n. the fact or condition of being affected8 by something or experiencing something

squish v. to press (something) into a flatter9 shape

vast – adj. very great in size, amount, or extent

unfortunately – adv. used to say that something bad or unlucky has happened


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 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。
2 joyous d3sxB     
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的
参考例句:
  • The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
  • They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。
3 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。
4 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
5 literacy L3tyN     
n.识字,有文化,读写能力
参考例句:
  • I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
  • The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。
6 bugs e3255bae220613022d67e26d2e4fa689     
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误
参考例句:
  • All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞,都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
7 participation KS9zu     
n.参与,参加,分享
参考例句:
  • Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
  • The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。
8 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
9 flatter HsMzwG     
v.向...谄媚,奉承,使高兴,使感到荣幸
参考例句:
  • We flatter ourselves that we provide the best service in town.我们相信我们提供的服务在本市最好。
  • It turns my stomach to hear him flatter.听到他拍马屁,我实在感到讨厌。

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