VOA慢速英语 2008 1002a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Today, in week four of our Foreign Student Series, we discuss differences between public and private in American higher education.

A big difference involves money. Public colleges and universities charge for an education just like private schools. But state schools cost less because they get money from the states that started them to educate local citizens. As a result, out-of-state and international students usually pay more than state residents¹, at least the first year.

The state with the most residents, almost forty million, is California. Its systems of two-year and four-year colleges and universities are among the largest in the world.
　

A science building at the University of Oregon

But the example we are going to focus on today is to the north of California, in a much smaller state on the West Coast: Oregon.

The University of Oregon, located in Eugene, is one of the campuses² in the Oregon University System. The cost for undergraduates³ this year is six thousand dollars for state residents. Housing⁴ is an additional⁵ eight thousand. Nonresidents pay the same for housing -- but almost twenty thousand dollars for tuition⁶ and fees.

Let's see how these numbers compare to a private college in Oregon.

Lewis and Clark College in Portland has four thousand students, compared to twenty thousand at the University of Oregon. Housing costs eight hundred dollars more than at the state school. But the big difference is tuition. The published price at Lewis and Clark is almost thirty-four thousand dollars.

Yet Lewis and Clark is one of the few American colleges to offer financial aid for international students. Each year it awards financial aid to twenty students from other countries. And it says the average award last year was nineteen thousand dollars. That would make Lewis and Clark cheaper for international students than the University of Oregon.

But, of course, prices alone do not say anything about the quality of a school or the value of an education.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. If you have a general question about American colleges and universities, we might answer your question in our series. Tell us your name and where you are. Use the Contact Us link at voaspecialenglish.com or write to [email protected].

1 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

2 campuses   

n.（大学）校园（campus的复数形式）

参考例句：

• University campuses are often the bellwether of change. 大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
• Sport looms much larger on US campuses than in China. 体育在美国大学比中国大学突出得多。 来自互联网

3 undergraduates   

（未获学士学位的）大学生，大学肄业生( undergraduate的名词复数 )； 本科生

参考例句：

• All undergraduates reading English attend a turtorial group each week. 所有攻读英语的本科生每周上一次导师辅导课。
• This is a course for undergraduates. 这是为本科生开的一门课。

4 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

5 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

6 tuition   

n.（某一学科的）教学，讲授，指导，学费

参考例句：

• Students can apply for individual tuition.学生可以申请个别指导。
• Is this money enough for the tuition fee?这些钱交学费够吗？