VOA慢速英语2010年-Education Report - For Young Offenders

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

In the American state of Massachusetts, some teenagers who break the law are sentenced -- to Shakespeare.

ACTOR: "A kingdom for a stage ... "

Twelve young actors rehearse the opening of "Henry the Fifth." They started meeting three and a half weeks ago. They have less than two weeks to go before they must perform the play for the Shakespeare in the Courts program.

Fifteen-year-old Tim was not a fan of William Shakespeare. He is here for a violent crime -- assault¹ and battery.

TIM: "You know, the judge sentenced me here, so my first thoughts were kinda, you know, uh, this is kinda, Shakespeare's not my thing. You know, plays, kinda, you know, I'd rather not. But it's a lot easier than picking up trash, you know, and doing that, so, you know, I gave it a try."

And he discovered there is a lot to like about the English writer who died in sixteen sixteen.

KEVIN COLEMAN: "So everyone has a sword?"

TIM: "Assault and battery and you hand me a sword in Shakespeare? I didn't think that was going to happen, not at all. I'm glad they trust us, though."

Tim, 15, an offender² in the Shakespeare in the Courts program, has found some aspects he likes, including the swordplay

The young actors return the trust and respect that director Kevin Coleman shows them. They clearly enjoy working with him -- and with Shakespeare.

KEVIN COLEMAN: "If you present it to them in a way that engages their imagination, that engages their playfulness, that engages their willingness, they come alive."

Kevin Coleman is education director for Shakespeare and Company, a theater group in Lenox, Massachusetts. Many years ago, the principal³ of the local high school came to him to develop a theater program for the school.

That principal, Paul Perachi, later became a juvenile⁴ court judge for Berkshire County⁵. He wanted to copy the program, to help the teens in court develop self-esteem and communication skills and better control their anger.

More than two hundred kids have been sentenced to Shakespeare. The program is ten years old. And it has received a lot of recognition⁶, including an award in two thousand six from the White House.

Paul Perachi left the court last year at seventy, the age when judges in Massachusetts must retire. But Shakespeare in the Courts is still going strong under the direction of Kevin Coleman.

KEVIN COLEMAN: "We're not there to fix them. So will they get into trouble after they've done this program? Sure, because they're adolescents. Will they get into as much trouble? No."

Fifteen-year-old Tim already sees a change in himself. He says he has more patience to get through long scenes.

Paul Perachi says all the hard work is clear in the final performance.

PAUL PERACHI: "You got family members, parents, siblings⁷, grandparents, friends. A lot of these kids invite their teachers, of all people, to come in. And their lawyers. And the relatives and the teachers and all are proud of these kids. So everybody's got big smiles and flowers for the kids and little gifts."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can watch a video of this report by Susan Logue at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 assault   

v.猛烈地攻击，袭击；n.突然而猛烈的攻击

参考例句：

• She appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and assault.她因受到拐骗和侵犯人身的指控而出庭。
• The trainees were put through an assault course.受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

2 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

3 principal   

adj.主要的；n.负责人，校长，资本

参考例句：

• When he saw the principal,he raised his hand in salutation.他看到校长时举手敬礼。
• Their school gave a reception to their new principal.他们学校为新校长举办了一个招待会。

4 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

5 county   

n.县，郡

参考例句：

• When the good news reached there,the whole county rejoiced.喜讯传到那里时，全县的人都欢欣鼓舞起来。
• In that year county after county fell to the enemy.那一年一个又一个的县城沦入敌人手中。

6 recognition   

n.承认，认可，认出，认识

参考例句：

• The place has changed beyond recognition.这地方变得认不出来了。
• A sudden smile of recognition flashed across his face.他脸上掠过一丝笑意，表示认识对方。

7 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分