2006年VOA标准英语-Foreign Scholars Visit New York Public Sch

By Barbara Schoetzau
New York
02 May 2006

Foreign graduate students at U.S. universities recently visited New York's public schools to experience the diversity and range of the city's so-called¹ "melting pot."

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The visits are part of a program called "Global Classroom," designed to introduce foreign teachers and scholars to New York's multi-ethnic schools and broaden² the worldview of the city's students.

Iraqi chemical engineer Sinan Abood understands the importance of diversity. He is the son of a Shi'ite father and Kurdish Sunni mother. But Sinan, who is studying water management in the Midwestern state of Michigan, was unprepared for the degree of diversity he found in New York schools. "I was shocked. I mean, 160 ethnicities in one small area. How can they live? I think we have the same situation back in Iraq. Too many ethnicities, religions, trends, and these things," he said.

Peace Uwineza of Rwanda, reacted differently as she looked around a small classroom of mostly Hispanic and African American students. "To me it looked like home. They all look like my own people so it was another surprise for me because in America I thought I would see many white children, but there are not too many there," he said.

Peace is studying conflict resolution at George Mason University in Virginia. She and Sinan met with students at the Vanguard School, which is made up of 350 secondary³ school students, mostly from poor, inner⁴ city families.

Louis Delgado, the school's principal⁵ and founder⁶, says many of the students take five years to complete what is usually a four year course of study. The goal is to prepare them for college. "It is a pretty needy⁷ population in terms of academics, and sometimes health issues, and the structure at home. So we find ourselves motivating kids from the very beginning, probably throughout the four years, about all of the great possibilities there are by getting a high school diploma and then taking it into college and cashing in at least two to four or six years of higher education," he said.

At Manhattan International School most of the students have lived in the United States for less than four years and speak English as a second language.

Muhammad Imran, a student in Public Health at Harvard University in Massachusetts, is a doctor from Pakistan. He says the international background of the students helped him feel at home. "I was in that one classroom, and there were like 15 students and they were from like, 10 different countries! And it was really wonderful talking to them," he said.

Olga Litvishko from Russia is doing graduate work in political science at the University of Pittsburgh. She says visiting the schools is a great chance to experience real life. "We all stay at the universities. This is another level. If you want to teach, if you want to develop your methodology skills, you need to see the real schools in America, how the classes are conducted, how the students respond to your questions. It is a different technique actually from Russia. I think it is very useful for me because I want to be a teacher in the future," she said.

Most of the scholars were surprised by the degree of interaction⁸ they experienced⁹ with the American students. Cambodian Romny Theam is doing a Masters in Business Administration¹⁰ at the University of Akron, in Ohio. She liked learning¹¹ from the students. "I can ask them questions, and they can ask me questions. So at the same time I feel like it was very useful because I can learn from them. When I entered the room, I felt like, 'I'm in the world,' with many people from different countries," she said.

The 76 foreign students who participated in the recent visits are all Fulbright scholars, sponsored¹² by the State Department.

1 so-called   

adj.所谓的，号称的

参考例句：

• These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
• Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。

2 broaden   

v.放宽，变宽，扩大

参考例句：

• We broaden in experiences by traveling.旅行增长我们的经验。
• Let's broaden out the discussion to talk about education as a whole.我们来扩大一下讨论范围，全面谈谈教育问题。

3 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。

4 inner   

adj.内部的，里面的；内在的，内心的；精神的

参考例句：

• The label is on the inner side of the box.标签贴在盒子内侧。
• Other people seek the mountains for renewal of their inner lives.另一些人到深山中去，寻求新的精神生活。

5 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。

6 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

7 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

8 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。

9 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

10 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

11 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。

12 sponsored   

v.赞助( sponsor的过去式和过去分词)；资助（某人的培训或教育）；为慈善活动捐资；发起，倡议adj.赞助的；发起的

参考例句：

• The exhibition was sponsored by the Society of Culture. 这个展览会是由文化学会主办的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The company sponsored several TV programs. 这家公司赞助了几个电视节目。 来自《简明英汉词典》