美国国家公共电台 NPR--In Rochester, Minn., police officers are volunteering as driver ed instructors

In Rochester, Minn., police officers are volunteering as driver ed instructors¹

Transcript²

It's part of a school program to get more teen drivers on the road legally and safely. (Story aired on All Things Considered on Dec. 21, 2022.)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Learning to drive can be a liberating³ experience for young people and their parents. But some families don't have the time or money for driver's education. In Minnesota, Rochester public schools have found a solution. Police officers are volunteering their time to give driving lessons. Minnesota Public Radio's Catharine Richert reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF ICE BEING SCRAPED)

CATHARINE RICHERT, BYLINE⁴: It's a couple of days after Rochester's first big snow, and it's Joyous⁵ Bellephant's first winter drive.

JOYOUS BELLEPHANT: Do you have any information about driving on snow and slush?

CHANTEL POWELL: Yeah. You should drive slower (laughter).

RICHERT: That's Rochester Police Department investigator⁶ Chantel Powell, one of 20 cops volunteering to help students learn to drive. On this day, she's working with 17-year-old Bellephant, who needs 50 hours of practice to get her license⁷.

POWELL: Take turns and everything slower than what you, you know, normally would.

RICHERT: Yeah, that's a cop in the passenger seat, part of a program to get more teens on the road legally and safely. A recent school district survey of driver's ed students found almost a third had driven without a license. Erin Vasquez, an administrator⁸ at one of the participating high schools, says that can be for a lot of reasons - their parents can't drive them. They need to get a job. They want to see friends.

ERIN VASQUEZ: You know, if a student gets a ticket and if they're unable to pay that ticket, then it kind of snowballs. And then sometimes they get buried in fines. Sometimes they don't have access to employment because they don't have the ability to drive.

RICHERT: So last spring, with more than $117,000 in grants and cars donated by the county, the first driver's ed class began. Students pay what they can afford instead of the regular $400 class fee. That's a game changer for 15-year-old Ajulu Othow, who moved here recently from Kenya. There, many people didn't drive because they couldn't afford cars. So Othow sees a license as a way to get a job to help support her family financially.

AJULU OTHOW: Because my dad is the only one working right now - my mom just had a baby, and she can't work. So this is a really big thing for us.

CHRIS JONES: Welcome. All right. Did everybody get a booklet?

RICHERT: At Century High School, teacher Chris Jones says the driver's ed class is intense - three hours a day for 10 days.

JONES: The big barrier is getting the driving hours in. They have to have 50 hours in before they can take their license exam.

RICHERT: And that's where the Rochester Police Department steps in. When kids don't have a car for practice or an adult who can drive them, a police officer teaches them the ropes. Chief Jim Franklin says the new partnership⁹ helps get in front of a host of problems that can lead to crime and poverty, like not being able to drive to a job or an after-school activity. And he says it's helping¹⁰ cops and young people get to know each other at a time when tensions can be high between law enforcement and people in the neighborhoods they police.

JIM FRANKLIN: There certainly is a community connectedness aspect to it, which does lead to building trust and legitimacy¹¹. But there's also a traffic safety nexus¹², having cops teach kids to be better drivers, which is extremely important for this community.

RICHERT: Back at her lesson, the rapport¹³ between Bellephant and Powell is clear. Bellephant calls Powell her cop lady. And Powell knows all about a tragedy in Bellephant's past. Her older brother was driving when he died in a car accident in 2017.

BELLEPHANT: He didn't have his license yet. I wouldn't say boys and stupid decisions. I would just say young kids and making decisions that they think will turn out good, and sometimes they just don't.

RICHERT: Bellephant keeps driving. Powell reminds her to use her turn signal and then tells her she's doing great. For NPR News, I'm Catharine Richert in Rochester, Minn.

1 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 joyous   

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。

6 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

7 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

8 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 helping   

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。

11 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

12 nexus   

n.联系；关系

参考例句：

• Shared ambition is the vital nexus between them.共同的志向是把他们联结在一起的重要纽带。
• Either way,the nexus between the consumer and consumer prices is important.无论那个方面，消费者与消费价格之间的关系是至关重要的。

13 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。