VOA慢速英语2010-Education Report - Bullying: Comments Fro

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Last week's report on bullying¹ brought so many comments online, we are going to take this time to share some.

One person, who gave no name or country, described an experience with a Parent Teacher Association²:

I have been a victim of bullying in a PTA group. It is not just a problem for teenagers. Adult also engage in bullying activities but it is usually verbal³ abuse⁴ by spreading lies to ruin your reputation or isolate⁵ the victim from the rest of the group. Since we are the role model of the next generation, our behavior will shape the future society.

Vicky in Taiwan still remembers being scared by bullies⁶ in junior high school. And Jung Kim wrote: Even we Koreans are made fun of by our own. If you're not cool with the popular people you will be laughed at.

Jeanne from Brazil says children should be taught to respect differences. And Kelly in the United States suggested that parents should spend more time with their children: If they are taught to be considerate when they are very young, they will not treat other people in a mean way.

Boys leaving a school in Tokyo in a 2007 photo

Joruji in Japan called for improving communication among students, parents and teachers. Farshad, an Iranian in the United States, and Selim from France both suggested using psychologists in school to help control the problem.

Some people complained that bullying is not always taken seriously. Commenter phantuanduong in Vietnam wrote:

We as parents and teachers should let children understand that they will be punished if they do wrong, and the punishments won't be only reminders⁷ or warnings.

But not everyone agreed.

Denysenko in Ukraine says what we call bullying is a part of the socialization process:

Children need to know how to defend oneself, how to establish relationships in a group. If laws or teachers or police will protect a child against "bullying," he or she will never become an independent person.

And several of you expressed sadness at the case of fifteen-year-old Phoebe Prince. Bullying may have led to her suicide⁸. Moneem Alhasee from Libya wrote:

I'm really astonished how such a beautiful nice girl can do such a thing. She made a mistake when she listened to those who criticized⁹ her. They were jealous¹⁰ of her. God bless you, Phoebe Prince.

You can find last week's report at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also add your own comments on our website or on Facebook at VOA Learning¹¹ English. Next week, learn about a new study of bullies.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

3 verbal   

adj.口头的，用言辞的，用文字的，动词的

参考例句：

• Verbal statements are no guarantee.口说无凭。
• I delivered a verbal protest against their brutal acts.我对他们的暴行提出口头抗议。

4 abuse   

vt.滥用；辱骂；诋毁；n.滥用；恶习；弊端

参考例句：

• You can't make personal abuse on her.你不可对她进行人身攻击。
• She screamed abuse at me.她尖声责备我。

5 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

6 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

7 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

8 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

9 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。

10 jealous   

adj.妒忌的，猜忌的；精心守护的

参考例句：

• He was jealous when he discovered that she loved someone else.当他发现她爱别人的时候，他吃醋了。
• An honorable Chinese citizen should be jealous of his own rights.一名光荣的中国公民应当珍惜自己的公民权利。

11 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。