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VOA慢速英语--关于美国学校重开的争论变得情绪化

时间:2020-07-13 23:52:39

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Debates on US School Reopening Turn Emotional

As coronavirus infection rates rise sharply in the U.S., the White House is pressuring schools across the country to reopen for the autumn term.

At a recent White House talk on school plans for the fall, President Donald Trump1 argued that some officials are keeping schools closed for political reasons, not because of health concerns.

And, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told governors during a recent conference call that she opposes plans by some school districts to limit in-person classes to only a few days per week.

Such pressure from the federal government adds to an already complex situation, as schools across America make difficult decisions about how to restart classes.

The "new normal" will include school buses taking fewer children, online learning, outdoor classrooms and quarantine rules for infected children.

Plans for the coming school year are taking shape each day. They are different from district to district and from state to state.

Debates about such plans have been highly emotional, with anger growing among parents and administrators2. They have been made more troubling by record numbers of COVID-19 cases reported each day.

In Florida, some school districts want students back in the classroom in early August. But cases there have been rising. On average, Florida has been reporting more than 7,000 new cases a day. That is more than seven times what the state was reporting one month ago.

The state of New Mexico has been able to avoid major outbreaks. The state is planning a model that includes online and in-person learning.

Parents in New York State have demanded that schools reopen in the fall. In Maine, outdoor learning is planned.

Districts nationally are putting together rules for wearing face masks. Some districts want all students to wear them. Others plan to limit the requirement to older children.

Each of these decisions tries to balance health concerns with regaining3 as much normalcy as possible. Parents are tired and desperate for help after months of balancing full-time4 work and full-time home schooling5. Children, separated from their friends, have a strong desire to socialize. Teachers remain concerned because so much is still unclear about the virus.

Districts are worried about being able to pay for added supplies — including masks and more buses. And school officials said the rise in virus cases could ruin reopening plans before they are even put in place.

"If we see large outbreaks happening across communities, it's going to be very hard to keep schools open," Dr. Ashish Jha told Fox News Sunday, a television program. He is director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.

Schools across the U.S. shut down suddenly this year as coronavirus cases first began rising. That led to a mix of distance learning, poorly planned homeschooling and, for some families, no schooling at all.

Districts are now turning their attention to how to create more structured environments. But the debates have been filled with uneasiness.

Near Rochester, New York, parents strongly supported fully6 opening schools. A group of them recently gathered outside a school administration building. They held signs that said, "No normal school? No school taxes!"

Christina Higley is a parent in the small city of Webster, outside of Rochester. She said she had started a Facebook group to demand answers from school officials and be part of the decision-making process related to changes at local schools. The discussions there launched a movement for reopening schools.

"There's a lot of parents that are saying ‘Open our schools. Let us have the decision if we feel comfortable sending the children into them,'" Higley said.

The decisions are even more complex in districts where case counts are rising. In Manatee7 County, Florida, the working plan is for all younger students to return to school full time on August 10. Older students would depend on online learning while they are brought back into school buildings slowly over time.

But that proposal is not finalized8 because of a sharp rise in infections. The area recorded its highest number of new cases in a single day in late June.

If a student is confirmed to have the virus during the new school year, classrooms or whole buildings would need to be carefully cleaned, said Mike Barber, a district representative. Students and workers with confirmed infections would not be able to return until they had tested negative two times.

Medical experts have expressed concerns for children's development and mental health. The American Academy of Pediatrics is a professional organization of children's doctors. The group said it strongly supports the goal of students being physically9 present at schools.

In Cape10 Elizabeth, Maine, Shael Norris said she is especially concerned about children who could face abuse at home and parents who risk losing their jobs to care for their children. Norris has two children who will attend high school in the fall and runs a nonprofit organization that fights sexual violence.

Maine has not had a major coronavirus outbreak. It is now reporting only a small number of new cases each day. Still, the state's largest school district of Portland has left all choices on the table: a full reopening, a partial reopening or fully online learning.

The district sent a letter to parents that said it plans to use outdoor space when possible. But that solution can only work in Maine for a few months of the year because it can get extremely cold there.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeated that he has the power to decide when schools in his state will reopen.

Cuomo said, "We want kids back in school for a number of reasons, but we're not going to say children should go back to school until we know it's safe."

I'm Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

school district - n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of

quarantine - n. the situation of being kept away from others to prevent a disease from spreading

outbreak - n. a sudden start or increase of disease

mask - n. a covering used to protect your face or cover your mouth

desperate - adj. very sad and upset because of having little or no hope

distance learning - n. a method of study where teachers and students do not meet in a classroom but use the Internet to have classes

comfortable - adj. not causing any physically unpleasant feelings

negative - adj. not showing the presence of a particular germ, condition, or substance

on the table - expression. When something is on the table, it's an option, especially one that could be negotiated.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。
2 administrators d04952b3df94d47c04fc2dc28396a62d     
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句:
  • He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员,但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
  • Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
3 regaining 458e5f36daee4821aec7d05bf0dd4829     
复得( regain的现在分词 ); 赢回; 重回; 复至某地
参考例句:
  • She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉,但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
  • She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道,又马上重新振作起精神来。
4 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
5 schooling AjAzM6     
n.教育;正规学校教育
参考例句:
  • A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
  • Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。
6 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
7 manatee Donzde     
n.海牛
参考例句:
  • We watched dolphin,manatee,sea lion and whale shows.我们看了海豚、海牛、海狮和鲸的表演。
  • One of the most extraordinary river creatures is Amazonian manatee.其中河里最特别的生物之一要数亚马孙海牛。
8 finalized 73d0ccbca69b94ee4cd7fc367a8ac9fc     
vt.完成(finalize的过去式与过去分词形式)
参考例句:
  • The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
9 physically iNix5     
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律
参考例句:
  • He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服,心绪也很乱。
  • Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。
10 cape ITEy6     
n.海角,岬;披肩,短披风
参考例句:
  • I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
  • She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

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