VOA标准英语10月-Zimbabwean Economic Crisis Testing Education Syst

Education used to be a top priority for Zimbabwe's government. But as Tendai Maphosa reports from Harare, the country's economic and political crisis is taking a heavy toll¹ on the education system.

Under normal circumstances, junior school children should have started writing their final year examinations this week. But this year is different, the exams will take place at the end of the month.

The Herald² daily newspaper, a government mouthpiece, blames the delay on the Zimbabwe Schools Examination Council - also known as ZIMSEC, the body tasked with the organization of examinations. The newspaper describes it as the latest in a series of gaffes³ by the council.

Ladistous Zunde of the Progressive Teacher's Union of Zimbabwe sees it as just another symptom of a dysfunctional education system. He says the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the government.

"ZIMSEC is not operating from a vacuum, they cannot operate without funding, they cannot operate without technical assistance and ever since they have been in existence, they have not been able to get enough resources."

Zunde adds that while government seems not to have problems looking after its army and the police, the same cannot be said for teachers. The poor pay they get has led to many strikes.
　

COLLAPSE¹⁰: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="15%" align="right" border="0">

Zimbabwean opposition4 MDC leader and Prime Minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai at a Harare press conference, 9 Oct. 2008

During the violent election campaign earlier this year, he says, teachers were targeted for allegedly supporting the opposition. As a result of that and the poor remuneration, many teachers have left the country, sought alternative employment or simply stayed at home because they cannot afford the commute⁵ to work.

Zunde tells VOA even those teachers still working are not sure how much they earn.

"If you look at last month-end - two weeks ago - a primary school was given 12,000, and two days ago was given another 60- to- 90,000 dollars, which really is shameful," he said.

A loaf of bread costs at least 10,000 Zimbabwean dollars. The latest official inflation figure is 231 million percent.

VOA spoke⁶ to UNICEF Communication Officer Tsitsi Singizi who says her group has surveyed the Zimbabwe education system and the results are disturbing.

"Trends are indicating that only 40 percent of the teachers are attending lessons, a third of the pupils are not going to school for various reasons - one of them being that teachers are not there - and the exam system is total disarray," she said. "It seems as if the sector⁷ is tottering⁸ on the brink⁹ of collapse and as UNICEF we are really worried."
　

President Robert Mugabe at the United Nations, 25 Sept. 2008

But Singizi says despite the harsh economic climate and the resultant increase in the dropout¹¹ rate, Zimbabwean parents will do anything to keep their children in school. She says if the economic decline is arrested, the infrastructure¹² rehabilitated¹³ and teachers get fair remuneration the sector could bounce back.

When he came to power in 1980, president Robert Mugabe embarked¹⁴ on a massive exercise to educate Zimbabweans. Schools were built all over the country and teachers were trained to man them. This resulted in Zimbabwe having the highest adult literacy rate in Africa, according to U.N. figures. But that achievement is now at risk.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

3 gaffes   

n.失礼，出丑( gaffe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The presidential candidate made three mistakes, or gaffes, during his speech. 校长候选人在演讲中出了三次错，或失态。 来自超越目标英语 第4册
• When the microphones were on, gaffes gushed from his lips. 而当电话响起，他却口无遮拦，屡屡失言。 来自互联网

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

12 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

13 rehabilitated   

改造（罪犯等）( rehabilitate的过去式和过去分词 )； 使恢复正常生活； 使恢复原状； 修复

参考例句：

• He has been rehabilitated in public esteem. 公众已恢复对他的敬重。
• Young persons need to be, wherever possible, rehabilitated rather than punished. 未成年人需要受到尽可能的矫正而不是惩罚。

14 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。