VOA慢速英语2014 澳大利亚改变原住民援助政策

 

Australia Links Aboriginal¹ Aid to School Attendance 澳大利亚改变原住民援助政策

Parents in South Australia’s Aboriginal lands may lose some of their financial aid if they do not send their children to school. New rules link school attendance with payments for parents living in poverty.

Warren Mundine is Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s top advisor² on issues concerning Aboriginals³, native Australians. He disagrees with connecting school attendance and aid.  Instead, he urges the government to find ways to improve attendance without punishing parents.

“Now, I know governments find that punitive⁴ measures need to happen but I think they’re really a last resort.”

Mr. Mundine says the situation can change if tribal⁵ leaders support education.

“We need to work with parents and we need to work with communities because we are making a massive cultural change here.”

But other officials say they believe the threat of stopping aid will force families to take education more seriously.

In South Australia state, only fifty percent of children stay in school after the age of fifteen. In some areas, as much as ninety percent of Aboriginal children struggle to read and write.                       

The state government says it has special programs for Aboriginal children. It says students work with their parents and teachers to develop a personal learning plan. The plan is re-examined each year. Local officials also say the public schools provide special workers -- called mentors⁶ -- who work individually with Aboriginal students who need extra help. 

At year seven, Aboriginal students can join a program called Enter for Success. It helps students deal with the change to high school. The program is designed to improve student attendance at school. The students can choose which high school to attend. School officials say students receive support in reaching the goals on their individual learning plans.

The state of Western Australia also has special programs for Aboriginal and other ethnic⁷ groups. The state operates a program called Focus Schools. The program centers on basic skills like reading, writing and numbers skills. Sixty-seven of these public Focus Schools serve students in 79 very rural areas. Most are primary schools. Some students on the secondary level study with Internet teaching programs. The state’s minister for education and child development said the Focus Schools program also includes 118 coaches working with students in 134 schools.

About 670,000 indigenous⁸ peoples live in Australia.                   

1 aboriginal   

adj.（指动植物）土生的，原产地的，土著的

参考例句：

• They managed to wipe out the entire aboriginal population.他们终于把那些土著人全部消灭了。
• The lndians are the aboriginal Americans.印第安人是美国的土著人。

2 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

3 aboriginals   

（某国的）公民( aboriginal的名词复数 )； 土著人特征； 土生动物（或植物）

参考例句：

• He remained fascinated by the Aboriginals' tales. 他一直对澳大利亚土著居民的传说极感兴趣。
• They drove the aboriginals out of their lands at sword point. 他们以武力将土著人赶出他们的家园。

4 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

5 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

6 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

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。