新奇事件簿 叙利亚难民成澳大利亚学校优等生

A Syrian refugee¹ who could hardly speak a word of English two years ago has just passed his high school exams in Australia with flying colours. Saad Al-Kaab, 19, has just graduated with the top marks at one of Australia's biggest high schools. His outstanding overall grades put him in the top 4 per cent of all graduates in Melbourne. Saad fled the civil war in Syria to start a new life in Australia. He said: "Coming to a place where you don't know how to speak, where you don't understand people - it was really hard…because it just felt unreal." He added: "It really makes me sad to think that I have friends in my school back in Syria who were as good as me, but who didn't have the opportunity that I've had."

两年前还几乎一个英语单词都不会说的一名叙利亚难民以出色的成绩通过了高中考试。19岁的Saad Al-Kaab在澳大利亚最大的高中以优异的成绩毕业。他的总分排在墨尔本所有毕业生的前4%。Saad逃离叙利亚内战，在澳大利亚开始了新生活。他说：“到一个语言不通，文化不同的地方是非常困难的，感觉非常不真实。”他补充说：“想到在叙利亚学校的同学，他们和我一样优秀，但是却没有我这样的机会，我就非常伤心。”

Saad said that he tried to learn English from his cousins for his first two months in Australia. Then he started to watch a popular political programme on television. It is a live broadcast of Australia's politicians questioning their prime minister about the issues of the day. He explained how the show helped his English. He said: "They use the best, persuasive² language in parliament. They speak slowly and you can find the words." He said it was very different to Syrian politicians and parliament, where "all they do is clap". Saad is very appreciative³ of his new beginning. He said: "I just want to say thank you so much to Australia for giving me the opportunity. It's revived⁴ me and given me a new life."

Saad说，来到澳大利亚的前两个月，他努力跟表兄弟姐妹学习英语。后来他在电视上观看一个非常受欢迎的政治节目，是澳大利亚政客向首相咨询时政问题的现场广播。他解释说，这个节目对他学英语提供了非常大的帮助。他说：“他们使用的是议会中最好的，最有说服力的语言。他们的语速很慢，你能够听清每个单词。”他说，叙利亚政客和议会则非常不同，他们只会鼓掌。Saad非常感激他的新开始。他说：“我非常感谢澳大利亚给我这样一个机会。它唤醒了我，给我了新生。”

1 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

2 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

3 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

4 revived   

adj.再生的v.恢复( revive的过去式和过去分词 )；苏醒；使再生效；回忆起

参考例句：

• The flowers soon revived in water. 这些花见了水很快就活过来了。
• The temperance [dry; anti-alcohol] movement revived in the city. 这个城市的禁酒运动又活跃起来了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》