VOA常速英语2013--美国大学的国际学生人数上升（在线收听）

Number of International Students At US Colleges Rising 美国大学的国际学生人数上升

WASHINGTON — The number of international students studying in the United States is rising.  Figures released by the Open Doors Report on International Educational  Exchange shows the number of foreign students attending U.S. colleges and universities increased seven percent during the 2012 - 2013 academic year.  That represents a  record high of almost 820,000, and educators expect the upward trend to continue.

In the pursuit of higher learning, the United States is still the top destination.  

美国仍是追求高学历者的最佳之选。

At the International Student House in Washington, a temporary residence for students from over 40 countries, communications student Neena Dominic from India says the  United States was her number one choice.

华盛顿的国际学生宿舍是来自40多个多家学生的暂时住处，在这里，来自印度的交流学生Neena Dominic说美国是她的首选。

“It’s a known fact that United States is powerful in terms of its education and its skill level.  And I wanted to get a taste of it," she said.

“大家都知道美国在教育和技术水平方面很发达，我想来体验下。”

Neena is part of the growing number of students who come to the United States to study.

Neena是越来越多来美国学习的学生中的一员。

The majority come from China with over 235-thousand students attending U.S. colleges -- followed by India, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.  

来自中国的学生最多，美国校园中有超过23.5万的中国学生，其次是印度、韩国和沙特。

Zheng Zhu says the U.S. educational system has surpassed his expectations. But he says the biggest surprise has been Americans.

朱正说美国的教育体系超出他的想象，但他说最大的惊喜是美国人。

“I would say U.S. people probably are much nice than what I thought.  Really? Yeah," he said.

“我想说的是，美国人可能比我想象的还要好，真的！”

Besides making new friends, Zheng says his experience has expanded his understanding of the U.S.

朱正说除了交新朋友，他的经历还帮他更加了解美国。

But Alan Goodman, President of the Institute for International Education, says cultural exchange is a two-way street.

但国际教育学院院长艾伦·古德曼说文化交流是相互的。

“International should be part of everybody’s education.  We should encourage that.  We should require every freshman entering American higher education to enter with  a passport, and then to make plans with their faculty member over the course of the four years to use that passport," he said.

“国际化应该成为每个人教育的一部分，我们应该鼓励这个。我们要求每个进入美国高等教育的大一学生要持有通行证，要与教员一起为四年的课程制定来制定计划使用这个通行证。”

Although the number of Americans studying abroad rose three percent to nearly 300 thousand last year -- fewer than 10 percent of American college students have studied  overseas -- most for only one semester.

尽管去年出国留学的美国学生人数增长了3%，达到近30万人，只有不到10%的美国大学生曾经留过学，大多数只上了一学期。

That's unfortunate says Neena Dominic.

Neena Dominic说这样不好。

“I came here and I realized one thing. While we know a lot about America, Americans don’t know much about our countries," she said.

“我来这里明白一件事，虽然我们对美国很了解，但美国人对我们国家并不了解。”

Another criticism is that immigration laws severely limit the number of students able to live and work in the U.S. after receiving their degrees.  

另一个批评的声音说，移民法严重限制了获得学位后在美国生活和工作的学生人数。

Lawmakers are considering more options to keep the best and the brightest.  But Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, says  current laws reflect American policy.

立法者正考虑提供更多选择来挽留最好最优秀的人，但教育和文化事务助理国务卿Evan Ryan说目前的法律反映了美国的政策。

“Our mission really is to bring people here to study but then to have them return home because our belief is that’s the only way to increase mutual understanding,"  she said.

“我们的任务是让人们来这里学习，然后让他们回国，因为我们因为这是增进相互了解的唯一办法。”

Zheng Zhu agrees an overseas education promotes a larger world view, which he says, could help reduce global conflicts.

朱正也认为留学能促进更加国际化的视野，他说这样可以减少全球冲突。

"If you have more cultural communications - people from China go to America, and let American students go to China; build mutual understanding,  I think it would solve  this problem," he said.

“如果有更多的文化交流，中国人去美国，美国学生去中国，我认为这就能解决促进相互了解这个问题。”

International students contribute $24 billion to the U.S. economy, with the majority paying full tuition. Their top destinations - California, New York and Texas. 

国际学生为美国经济创造了240亿美元的价值，大多数都是付全额学费，他们的首选地是加州、纽约和德州。