美国国家公共电台 NPR Venezuela's Teachers And Students Skip School For Survival

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Now to Venezuela where due to a catastrophic economic meltdown, it's getting harder for children to get an education. Public school teachers are resigning in droves. Classes are being canceled, and many students skip school or drop out to go to work. Here's reporter John Otis.

JOHN OTIS, BYLINE¹: These students at a Caracas elementary school are some of the lucky ones. Their classroom has electricity and a teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: That's not always the case. Classes here are frequently called off due to nationwide power outages. Gasoline shortages have collapsed² public transportation, making it harder for teachers to get to the school. That puts a bigger burden on parents like Karen Benini, the mother of a first grader.

KAREN BENINI: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Teachers miss so many classes that Benini says she often steps in to substitute even though she's not qualified³.

BENINI: (Through interpreter) I'm not a teacher. I didn't study to be at teacher. I'm a graphic⁴ designer.

OTIS: Other teachers have quit. Some are among the 4 million Venezuelans who have fled the country amid hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine. Teachers who still show up for work often do so out of loyalty⁵ to their students. Among them is Maria Perez. She teaches geography at a K-12 in Ramo Verde, a hillside slum on the outskirts⁶ of Caracas.

MARIA PEREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: The Ramo Verde school used to have 12 teachers, but Perez says it's now down to four. As her wages shrink, she's also thinking of leaving.

You don't earn very much, no?

PEREZ: (Laughter) No.

OTIS: How much? Like in dollars, how much?

PEREZ: It's in one month, $5.

OTIS: That's nothing.

PEREZ: It's nothing.

OTIS: After school and on weekends, Perez sells food and cellphone accessories on the street to make ends meet. For all her struggles, she feels worse for her students, many of whom are malnourished. The school is supposed to provide midday snacks, but often there are no provisions in the cafeteria.

PEREZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Perez says three of her students recently fainted in class, including one girl who hadn't eaten dinner the night before or breakfast that morning. In exchange for food, many of her students skip school to do odd jobs like hauling water. During power outages in Ramo Verde, water pumps don't work. So residents fill up buckets and containers at this mountainside spring. Instead of attending classes, some kids go door to door delivering spring water.

One example is 15-year-old Michael Villareal. He's just arrived home after trudging⁷ up a steep hill with a 5-gallon water jug⁸ on his shoulders.

MICHAEL VILLAREAL: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: Instead of charging bolivars, that badly devalued Venezuelan currency, Villareal says he accepts rice, pasta and flour for his labor⁹.

(SOUNDBITE OF BABY CRYING)

OTIS: That helps keep food on the table for his parents, brothers and baby sister. But Villareal ends up missing a lot of school. The Venezuelan government refuses to publish dropout¹⁰ rates or numbers on student and teacher absenteeism. To make up for lost class time, officials extended the current school year which was supposed to finish in June to the end of July. But Nancy Hernandez, a national board member of the Venezuelan equivalent of the PTA, says it won't make much difference.

NANCY HERNANDEZ: (Speaking Spanish).

OTIS: She says, "we have determined¹¹ that the 2018-2019 academic year has been lost." For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Caracas, Venezuela.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 outskirts   

n.郊外，郊区

参考例句：

• Our car broke down on the outskirts of the city.我们的汽车在市郊出了故障。
• They mostly live on the outskirts of a town.他们大多住在近郊。

7 trudging   

vt.& vi.跋涉，吃力地走（trudge的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• There was a stream of refugees trudging up the valley towards the border. 一队难民步履艰难地爬上山谷向着边境走去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two mules well laden with packs were trudging along. 两头骡子驮着沉重的背包，吃力地往前走。 来自辞典例句

8 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 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。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。