VOA慢速英语--玩游戏学习经济学

AS IT IS 2016-03-26 Playing Games and Learning About Economics¹ 玩游戏学习经济学

“Today, what we have planned for you guys is money markets, and then playing a game called Mr. Big Shots. So, we’ll start off today’s class….”

Just outside Washington, D.C., children with an interest in economics now have a place to learn about it.

They can join a club called Edunomics. The group meets once a week at Farmwell Station Middle School in Ashburn, Virginia.

Edunomics was the idea of two high school students who once studied at the middle school.

Sahith Malyala and Sahil Yedulla visit Farmwell Station once a week to teach economics to interested students. The high school seniors began studying economics in high school.

The two say they work with the children not for credit, but to give back to the local community.

Sahil Yedulla says they decided² to give children a chance to explore a subject they enjoy.

“I got a message from Sahith, he was like, 'Hey you want to start an economics club?' I was like, 'You know what, why not?'”

Sahith Malyala says there were many reasons for launching the club last year. He says middle schoolers have plenty of chances to learn about science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Educators use the name STEM³ when talking about the four subjects.

“They have a lot of STEM-related opportunities, but we wanted to do economics because we’re both interested in that. And there wasn’t that many economic-related organizations or clubs out there."

Neighbors and childhood friends took their idea for Edunomics to David Stephenson, who teaches at the Farmwell Station Middle School.

“I’m deeply touched. I usually get visitors to come back and see me and say ‘hi.’ I have never had students come back and say this is what I want to do. I thought it was a fantastic idea.”

Stephenson helped  the high schoolers find a space to hold the weekly classes. Yedulla says he also showed them how to be good teachers.

“Mr. Stephenson’s help cannot be put in words. He helped us so much with this club. I remember like, after the first lesson, he was like, 'maybe just try to slow down a little bit, just like ease into it.'”

Malyala says simplifying economics, financing⁴ and business, and making it fun is the secret to getting younger students interested.

“Each week, we would have like a 5- to 10-minute lecture on a new topic. Then after that, we would really hit hard on making sure they understood it through an interactive⁵ game.”

These games help demonstrate the real world uses of the economic theories.

Club member Anika Kumar finds studying economics fun and useful.

“If you want to start your business, then you need to know all about economics and money .”

David Stephenson says Edunomics has been profitable⁶ for everyone involved. Older students learn to become leaders and bring change to others’ lives. Middle schoolers are more open when high schoolers teach them.

Next year, the high schoolers will be attending college. But David Stephenson says the club will continue, giving other students a chance to teach and learn.

Words in This Story

senior – n. a student in the final year or high school or college

fantastic – adj. extremely good or great

lesson – n. a single class

lecture – n. a talk or speech to a group of people

interactive – adj. requiring people to talk with each other or do things together

1 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

4 financing   

n.筹措资金

参考例句：

• The main source of our outside financing is bank loan. 我们向外筹措资金的主要渠道是银行贷款。
• They live in a symbiosis with governments that they are financing. 他们与他们服务的政府互利共存。

5 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

6 profitable   

adj.有益的，能带来利益的，有利可图的

参考例句：

• That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
• The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。