VOA慢速英语2010年-Education Report - Sleepy Teens, Early

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Last week, we talked about the conflict between sleepy teenagers and early morning classes. Many people commented on our website and Facebook page.

For example, Damla Ece in Turkey wrote: I agree with the idea of starting lessons later so teenagers can feel better in the morning. But sleeping more than seven hours can be wasting time for students.

Tran in Vietnam disagreed: I think teenagers, on the average, need eight to ten hours of sleep everyday. It's useless trying to force them to concentrate while they can't concentrate.

Enilton Neymakes in Brazil goes to sleep late and wakes up in the afternoon. That's my life, but at least I am studying.

Afshin Heydari from Tehran says schools should start early to avoid heavy traffic later in the morning. And Suze from Jordan wrote: When I was a teenager, I enjoyed taking my courses as early as possible. That way I could find a long time in the day to do my own activities.

But Azra from Kyrgyzstan said the reason schools start early there is a lack of classrooms.

Omid in Afghanistan calls teenagers the destiny¹ makers² of a society. So they must be more alert³ and active in order to be more successful.

And Joruji in Japan wrote: When I was a teenager, I used to get up before six to go to school, which was far from home, and I don't remember having problems. I think nowadays the Internet, TV games and cell phones make teens go to sleep later.

Thirty-year-old Kika in Spain says: In my opinion, young people are very lazy.

But Dennis Jin disagrees: For high school students in China, we must reach class at six-twenty in the morning and be back home usually at ten in the evening. Then we'll have some extra schoolwork to do. Can you imagine how long could we sleep every day?

Teenagers are not the only ones who suffer. Kathy in Canada wrote: My daughter likes complaining about everything in the morning, and I know that this is from lack of sleep. I wish schools should change their start time to eight-thirty or nine a.m.

Vidara Mom, a Cambodian living in New Zealand, says school starts at nine and finishes at three p.m. Therefore the students have heaps⁴ of times to interact⁵ and play before they go home.

Wibi Sebastian from Indonesia wishes school started at seven-thirty instead of seven. But one thing, don't forget to eat breakfast!

And Naima Star in Libya wrote: Getting up so early in the morning and leaving the warm bed is so difficult, especially in the cold weather. It reminds me of that old song: "It's nice to get up in the morning, but it's nicer to stay in bed."

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report. You can comment on all of our programs at voaspecialenglish.com, and on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning⁶ English. I'm Jim Tedder⁷.

1 destiny   

n.命运，定数，天命

参考例句：

• Nobody knows his own destiny.没有人知道自己的命运。
• It was her destiny to become famous.她命里注定出名。

2 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 alert   

adj.机警的，活泼的，机灵的；vt.使...警觉

参考例句：

• Drivers must be on the alert for traffic signals.驾驶员必须密切注意交通信号。
• The rabbIt'seems to be very alert all its life.兔子似乎一生都小心翼翼，十分警觉。

4 heaps   

adv. <口>很, 非常地 名词heap的复数形式

参考例句：

• They brought home heaps of travel brochures. 他们将成堆的旅行手册带回家。
• The machine flung up great heaps of earth. 这台机器抛起了大片的土。

5 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

6 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。

7 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网