2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-Governors Discuss Business,Education at S

From NPR news, this is all things considered. I'm Janifer Ladon.
42 governors gathered in Washington this weekend for a conference on high school education. There is widespread concern that a high school diploma doesn't mean much these days. And too many students don't even bother to get one. Universities and employers say many who do finish high school don't have the skills they need. We begin our coverage¹ of this weekend's conference with a report from NPR's Racial Johns.
Jinpher Grandhome of Michigan says the governors have no choice. Throughout the last century, people came to her state because they could get a great job in the automobile³ factories without a degree. Democrat⁴ Grandhome says those days are gone.
"The latest auto² factory that was built in Michigan is not hiring a single soul that does not have a college degree, because you've got robotics on the line, you need people who can engineer the robots and maintain them, you need people who've got sophistication with respect to math and to science skills."
In Michigan only 70 out of 100 high school students graduate on time. Of that 70, 41 immediately enter college and only 29 are still enrolled⁵ a year later. Nationwide nearly two thirds of college freshmen⁶ need remedial tutoring in reading, math and science. And it's not just a problem at poor schools with fewer sources. Kerry Kilinger is Chairman and CEO of Washington Mutual⁷ insurance company in Seattle. He told the governors that even students in wealthier areas like nearby Belfry Washington are falling behind in the global economy.
"Despite the advantages that they enjoy by the eighth grade, the Belfry students have already fallen behind such countries as Korea, Japan, Singapore, Belgium, Hongkong and the Czech Republic in math and science."
Kilinger and other corporate⁸ CEOs teened with the nation's governors because they say the lack of trained well-educated workers is making their companies less competitive. Countries like India and China are producing many more students with advanced degrees. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told the governors that's happening in part because the American high school is obsolete⁹.
"Training the workforce¹⁰ of tomorrow with these high schools is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe. It's the wrong tool for the times."
The Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation has spent nearly a billion dollars building new high schools and scaling down existing ones. But some governors feel this redesign movement will strain their tight budgets even more. They are also trying to figure out how their plans for high schools will fit in with President Bush's efforts. The President has proposed extending his "No Child Left Behind" law to high school. That would mean more testing for students and penalties for schools that don't measure up. Still, Arkansas governor Mike Harkerby, a Republican, believes his statehouse colleagues shouldn't look to Washington for answers.
"I never believe it. That was the role of "No Child Left Behind", was to find out that we've been wasting a lot of our money, spending it poorly, spending it inefficiently¹¹ and somehow believing that that's the federal government's responsibility to fix what we messed up. It's our responsibility, but they helped to put the light on it. That was what was helpful."
Governors spent this weekend focusing on tangible¹² strategies for high schools, like beeting up curricular, teacher training and coming up with the uniform way to determine dropout¹³ and graduation rate. 13 states have formed a coalition¹⁴ to lead the way in redesigning schools and curricular. They'll be helped by a 52-million-dollar grant from 6 major foundations announced today at the summit.

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

4 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

5 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

7 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

10 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

11 inefficiently   

adv.无效率地

参考例句：

• The small family farm is steeped in inefficiently and struggles just to survive. 小农场主陷于无效率的境况中，只为生存下去而苦苦挣扎。 来自辞典例句
• You can't afford to run businesses inefficiently in this day and age. 在现今，经营商店无能是不行的。 来自互联网

12 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

13 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

14 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。