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VOA慢速英语-THIS IS AMERICA - Schools Feel Effects of Weak Econo

时间:2008-10-16 06:22:07

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:
 
One problem for schools is higher costs for bus transportation

And I'm Barbara Klein. A new school year is beginning in the United States. On our program today, we discuss some of the issues facing American education this year.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The first Monday in September is Labor1 Day in the United States. It marks the unofficial end of summer and a traditional signal that school is about to start.

But now public schools often begin sometime during August. They have different reasons for starting early.

The Tucson Unified2 School District in Arizona began classes on August eleventh. Communications Director Chyrl Hill Lander says the earlier start time makes it possible for students to take semester exams before winter vacation in December. She says the school district also wants to follow a calendar similar to that of the nearby University of Arizona.

VOICE TWO:

Many schools in Virginia still open the day after Labor Day. But the public schools in Montgomery County, in the southwestern part of Virginia, began classes on August twentieth. Human Resources Director Mark Pashier says his county has been opening schools in August for at least the past eight years.

The main reason, he says, is the Standards of Learning tests that schoolchildren in Virginia take every spring. School officials want the students to have the most time to prepare for them -- which means starting the year before Labor Day.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The federal government plays an important part in American education. For example, the government provides money for research, early childhood programs and going to college. In fact, the credit crisis over the past year has increased the importance of federal student loans and other financial aid. Some private companies have left the student loan business.

VOICE TWO:

The government also enforces federal laws against discrimination in schools. An example is a nineteen seventy-two law called Title Nine. Under that law, no one can be excluded on the basis of sex from any education program or activity receiving federal aid. One major effect was to expand sports programs for girls.

VOICE ONE:
 
President Bush discusses the No Child Left Behind law during a visit to Horace Greeley Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois, in January

More recently, the Bush administration expanded student testing requirements as part of efforts to force public schools to improve.

Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act of Two Thousand One, President George Bush's education policy. He leaves office in January, but the law has no end date and does not require re-approval by Congress.

VOICE TWO:

Federal involvement in education policy has grown but still remains3 limited. There is no national education system, no requirements for what to teach. Education has always been considered mainly a local issue.

Each state and local government has its own rules and guidelines. This explains why school calendars are different across the fifty states.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

The weak economy and rising prices for goods and services will be producing some noticeable changes this year.

Most states require public schools to provide transportation to and from school for students who need it. But high fuel prices have been cutting into school budgets. Some students will have to walk farther to get the bus because of service reductions. Others will have to walk or ride their bike to school or make other transportation plans.

To save money on bus fuel, some districts are lengthening4 the school day and having students go only four days a week instead of five. The Maccray school district in Minnesota is trying a four-day week beginning this school year. The superintendent5 says the move should save the district at least sixty-five thousand dollars in transportation costs.

VOICE TWO:

The American Association of School Administrators6 asked school chiefs across the country what their districts were doing about these high costs. The group released the survey results in July. Fourteen districts reported moving to a four-day school week. Eighty-two others said they were seriously considering it.

Also, more than two hundred districts reported reducing their use of heat and air conditioning in schools to save money. Ninety-five others said they were considering it.

VOICE ONE:

The cost of food service is another issue for schools. The problem is not just higher food prices but also higher prices for plastic goods made from oil. The School Nutrition Association says many administrators decided7 at the end of the last school year in June to increase the price of school lunches.

A survey in May and June of this year found that about one hundred fifty districts are raising meal prices by an average of sixteen percent. About sixty districts had already increased lunch prices during the two thousand seven-two thousand eight school year.

VOICE TWO:
 
Charles Lane-Bey said a weak economy led him to a Salvation8 Army thrift9 store in Chicago for back-to-school clothes for sons Kimani, left, and Edward

High oil prices, the weak economy and the housing market collapse10 are also having other effects. Stores launched back-to-school specials earlier this year, giving parents a chance to search longer for lower prices. More families than last year planned to buy online -- a way to compare prices and save fuel.

In July the National Retail11 Federation12, a business group, released findings from its yearly survey of back-to-school spending. The survey found that spending levels for clothing, shoes and school supplies would remain about the same as last year.

But many parents planned to spend some of their tax rebate13 check on electronics like computers and cell phones. Tax rebates14 went out to millions of Americans as a way to pump money into the economy.

VOICE ONE:

The survey found that the average family with school-aged children would spend about six hundred dollars on school-related purchases this year. The estimate was thirty dollars higher than last year.

But back-to-college spending was expected to drop by seven percent, after five years of strong sales. The survey also found that fifty-four percent of college students were saving money by living with their parents this year. Just below fifty percent lived at home last year.

The National Retail Federation predicted a combined fifty-one billion dollars in back-to-college and back-to-school spending this year.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Across the United States the legal age to drink alcohol is twenty-one. But some college and university presidents have recently signed a statement. The statement says: "It's time to rethink the drinking age. Twenty-one is not working." At least one hundred twenty-eight presidents have signed it so far.

The statement calls on elected officials to support a public debate over the twenty-one year old drinking age. It also calls on officials to "invite new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol."

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen eighty-four Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. The law threatened states with a ten percent cut in federal highway money if they set their drinking age lower than twenty-one.

The college presidents say a culture of dangerous and secretive "binge drinking" has developed and often takes place off campus. They say adults under twenty-one have the right to vote, serve on juries and join the military "but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer."

The statement does not say what the legal drinking age should be. But many of the presidents who signed it said they think people should be permitted to drink at eighteen.

VOICE TWO:

Groups opposed to lowering the drinking age quickly criticized the statement signed by the college and university presidents.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the current drinking age has reduced traffic deaths involving drivers eighteen to twenty-one by thirteen percent. Its latest study says alcohol-related traffic deaths last year among all age groups were down almost four percent from the year before.

The group Mothers Against Drunk Driving says the twenty-one year old drinking age has saved twenty-five thousand lives since nineteen eighty-four.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police also expressed strong opposition15 to the idea of lowering the drinking age. It says drivers between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one are involved in fifteen percent of all alcohol-related traffic deaths. It says lowering the drinking age would only raise that number.

VOICE ONE:

Some colleges are promising16 stronger enforcement of alcohol policies this year in an effort to reduce drinking-related problems.

One reason students may drink a lot is because they think everyone does it. Yet researchers find that students in general drink less than their friends think. Some schools, including the University of Virginia, have found that one way to reduce drinking is to present students with the facts.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Nancy Steinbach and produced by Caty Weaver17. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. Transcripts18, MP3s and podcasts of our programs can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
2 unified 40b03ccf3c2da88cc503272d1de3441c     
(unify 的过去式和过去分词); 统一的; 统一标准的; 一元化的
参考例句:
  • The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
  • The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。
3 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
4 lengthening c18724c879afa98537e13552d14a5b53     
(时间或空间)延长,伸长( lengthen的现在分词 ); 加长
参考例句:
  • The evening shadows were lengthening. 残阳下的影子越拉越长。
  • The shadows are lengthening for me. 我的影子越来越长了。 来自演讲部分
5 superintendent vsTwV     
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
参考例句:
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
6 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
7 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。
8 salvation nC2zC     
n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困
参考例句:
  • Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
  • Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。
9 thrift kI6zT     
adj.节约,节俭;n.节俭,节约
参考例句:
  • He has the virtues of thrift and hard work.他具备节俭和勤奋的美德。
  • His thrift and industry speak well for his future.他的节俭和勤勉预示着他美好的未来。
10 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
11 retail VWoxC     
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格
参考例句:
  • In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
  • These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。
12 federation htCzMS     
n.同盟,联邦,联合,联盟,联合会
参考例句:
  • It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
  • Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。
13 rebate GTIxY     
v./n.折扣,回扣,退款;vt.给...回扣,给...打折扣
参考例句:
  • You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
  • Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。
14 rebates 5862cab7436152bb9726585397fb1db9     
n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 );回扣;返还(退还的部份货价);折扣
参考例句:
  • The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点,如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
  • In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句
15 opposition eIUxU     
n.反对,敌对
参考例句:
  • The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
  • The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。
16 promising BkQzsk     
adj.有希望的,有前途的
参考例句:
  • The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
  • We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
17 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。
18 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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