VOA慢速英语2011--Dallas Creates a Public School for Boys

Education Report - Dallas Creates a Public School for Boys

教育报道 - 达拉斯市开设专门的男子学校
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
Girls and boys usually attend classes together in American public schools. But there are some single-sex programs, like a girls public school in Dallas, Texas. It opened in two thousand four. The students have done well enough that the school system is now opening a school for boys.
美国公立学校一般都是男女同校。但也有若干单一性别的学校，例如德州达拉斯市的女子公立学校。该校创建于2004年，学生们表现非常好，所以学区如今正开设一所男子学校。
The Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy¹ is part of the Dallas Independent School District. The school year begins Monday. Academy Principal² Nakia Douglas has been giving tours to incoming students and their parents.
奥巴马男子领导力中等学校是达拉斯独立学区的一部分，周一是学年的开始。学校校长纳基亚·道格拉斯（Nakia Douglas）正带领新生及家长四处参观。
NAKIA DOUGLAS: "This wing here will be our electives -- specifically³ all of our foreign languages: Latin⁴, Mandarin⁵, Spanish. Our debate will be housed here.”
道格拉斯：“我们的选修课程将在这一侧进行--尤其是所有的外语选修课：拉丁语、汉语和西班牙语。辩论也将在这里进行。
Mr. Douglas says he was the kind of student that the school is seeking.
道格拉斯先生说，他就是学校寻找的那种学生。
NAKIA DOUGLAS: "I was born and raised in south Dallas by a single parent. I was a neighborhood child. I was that child that -- I would work if I knew the teacher believed in me. But, at the same time, I had a hunger and desire for more. A lot of our young men have that hunger, desire and ability now.”
道格拉斯：“我出生于达拉斯南部，在一个单亲家庭长大。我是达拉斯本地小孩。我是那种孩子---如果我知道老师信任我，我会努力学习。但同时我具有追求更好的渴求和愿望。现在很多年轻人都有这种渴求、愿望和才能。
Educational researchers say boys learn in different ways and mature more slowly than girls, and are more likely to leave school. Being in class with the opposite sex can also take attention away from learning⁶.
教育研究人员表示，男孩学习方法各异，比女孩成熟更晚，并且更可能辍学。与异性同班还会转移学生学习的注意力。
Kendall Keeter thinks the boys school will be good for his son the way the girls school was for his daughter.
肯德尔·基特（Kendall Keeter）认为男子学校对他的儿子有好处，就像女子学校对他的女儿有好处一样。
KENDALL KEETER: “Our thought was to also give our son an opportunity that would best prepare him for college in the same manner she was prepared, and I can’t imagine any other option that would have prepared her better.”
基特：“我们的想法是，给儿子提供一个机会，让他能够做好进大学的最好准备，就像当年我女儿一样。我无法想象还有什么方式能让我女儿当年准备得更好。”
Another parent, Madeline Hayes, also likes the idea of a publicly funded school for boys.
另一名家长，马德琳·海斯（Madeline Hayes）也支持男子公立学校的想法。
MADELINE HAYES: "This is something, as cheesy as it sounds, that I’ve always dreamed about, that there will be a boys school that doesn’t charge twenty-five thousand dollars a year, but would give the same academics, the same level of interaction⁷ and leadership.”
海斯：“我一直梦想着这样一件听起来非常俗套的事情，那就是能够有一所男子学校，不用掏两万五千美元一年的学费，但却能够提供同等的师资，同等水平的交流互动和领导力。
The school is for grades six through nine. It will offer college preparatory classes and leadership courses even on weekends.
该校提供六到九年级课程。它甚至将在周末提供大学预备课程和领导力课程。
Principal Douglas says the boys will be urged to support one another.
道格拉斯校长表示，学校将督促男孩子们相互支持。
NAKIA DOUGLAS: "Our young men grow together. But all of our young men we call 'brother.' So it may be Brother Malyk Davis or Brother Samuel Keeter. The young men understand they are their brother’s keeper. And so the young men are really learning to be responsible not only for themselves, but also for their brothers here at the campus⁸.”
道格拉斯。“这些年轻人一起成长，但所有年轻人都称为兄弟。所以可能被称为马里克·戴维斯兄弟，或者塞缪尔·基特兄弟。这些年轻人都懂得他们是其兄弟的守护者。因此这些年轻男孩将真正学习到不仅对自己负责，还要对其校园里的兄弟负责。”
Madeline Hayes’ son Kelvin is twelve. He will be entering the seventh grade.
海斯的儿子开尔文现年12岁，他将进入七年级。
KELVIN HAYES: "I’ve always wanted a higher academic purpose, always want somebody to challenge me when I make my mistakes. I can learn from them. And then they have classes like science, computer and robotics, and I enjoy especially robotics and building new technology, because when I grow up I want to be an engineer."
开尔文·海斯：“我一直追求一种更高的学术目的，总是希望当我犯错时有人挑战我。我可以从他们中学到东西。而这所学校有科学、计算机和机器人一类的课程，我尤其喜欢机器人和制造新技术，因为长大后我想当一名工程师。”
Fourteen year-old Malyk Davis will study cooking, or "culinary arts," at the Obama Academy in Dallas. He has already learned⁹ from a professional chef. However, he was not so sure he wanted to attend a school only for boys, and he heard bad things about the area.
14岁的马里克·戴维斯（Malyk Davis）将在达拉斯市的奥巴马中等学校学习厨艺，或所谓“烹饪技术”。他曾师从一名专业厨师。然而，他不确定是否真的想要进入一所男子学校学习，而且他听到了一些这方面不好的东西。
MALYK DAVIS: “But once I began to looking into more about the options that they were having, I think I’m really going to enjoy this. It’s going to be a long and tough road, but as long as I’m graduating in twenty fifteen, that’s all that matters to me.”
戴维斯：“但我一开始深入了解该校提供的课程，我认为我会喜欢这些。路漫漫其修远兮，但直到我25岁毕业，这就是我的一切。”
Most students who want to be accepted into the Obama Academy will need to have good grades and pass a number of tests. But ten to fifteen percent will not have to meet all of the entrance requirements. Principal Nakia Douglas says they will have to show they have a strong character and a desire to learn.
希望被奥巴马中等学校录取的大多数学生都需要具有良好的成绩并通过一系列考试。但有10%到15%的学生无需满足这一切入学要求，道格拉斯校长表示，但他们必须证明他们具备坚韧的性格和学习的愿望。
And that’s the VOA Special English Education Report. What do you think of same-sex education? Tell us at voaspecialenglish.com. I’m Christopher Cruise¹⁰.

1 academy   

n.(高等)专科院校；学术社团，协会，研究院

参考例句：

• This is an academy of music.这是一所音乐专科学院。
• I visited Chinese Academy of Sciences yesterday.我昨天去访问了中国科学院。

2 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。

3 specifically   

adv.明确地，具体地；特别地，特意

参考例句：

• The book was written specifically for children.这本书是特地为儿童编写的。
• I told you specifically not to do that.我明确地告诉你不要那样做。

4 Latin   

adj.拉丁的，拉丁语的，拉丁人的；n.拉丁语

参考例句：

• She learned Latin without a master.她无师自通学会了拉丁语。
• Please use only Latin characters.请仅使用拉丁文字符。

5 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 interaction   

n.交流；相互作用，相互影响，合作

参考例句：

• The interaction of the two groups produced many good ideas.两个组的相互交流产生了许多好主意。
• Price is determined through the interaction of demand and supply.价格在供需的相互作用中形成。

8 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

9 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

10 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。