VOA慢速英语2020--拜登妻子:教师与政客夫人

Jill Biden is the wife of former United States Vice¹ President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's nominee² for president.

Jill Biden has worked as an English teacher for over 30 years. She has two master's degrees, both of which she earned while teaching and raising a family. She earned a doctorate³ in education from the University of Delaware in 2007. If her husband becomes the nation's 46th president, she will become the first-ever U.S. first lady with a doctoral degree.

Jill Biden was the nation's second lady during the presidency⁴ of Barack Obama. In that position, she worked in support of military families, educated young women about breast cancer prevention and helped direct the public's attention on community colleges. During the eight years that her husband served as vice president, she taught English at a community college just outside of Washington, D.C.

The early years

Jill Biden was born in New Jersey⁵ on June 5, 1951. Her given name was Jill Tracy Jacobs. She grew up in Willow⁶ Grove⁷, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. She has four younger sisters.

As a college student, Jill Jacobs first studied fashion sales at a local community college. But she was not happy with her classes and left the school. In 1970, she married Bill Stevenson, a college football player. A short time later, she began attending the University of Delaware, where she changed her major to English. She and Stevenson later separated and eventually divorced.

Jill Jacobs earned a bachelor's degree at the university in 1975. That same year, she met Joe Biden, then a U.S. senator. The two were married two years later.

Jill Biden helped raise her husband's two boys from his first marriage, which ended in tragedy. His first wife and their baby daughter were killed in a traffic accident in 1972. Joe and Jill Biden had their own child, a girl, in 1981. While pregnant, Jill Biden completed the first of her three advanced degree programs, a Master of Education from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. She earned a second master's degree in 1987 from nearby Villanova University.

In the early 1980s, she began teaching English classes at a hospital for young people with mental health issues. She later spent many years as an English teacher at public high schools in Delaware and then at a local community college.

From teacher to second lady

While her husband served as vice president, Jill Biden was a full-time⁸ professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College. She taught classes there against the advice of her aides at the time.

"Being a teacher is not what I do but who I am," she wrote in her memoir⁹. In the book, she told about changing "into a cocktail¹⁰ dress and heels" in a restroom at her school before attending a White House event. She also wrote about grading papers on Air Force Two, the airplane she and her husband used for official trips.

Biden has said she plans to continue teaching if she becomes first lady. As second lady, Biden used her expertise¹¹ in teaching to bring attention to the importance of community colleges. She has described those schools as "one of America's best-kept secrets." She worked on several projects related to community colleges during the Obama administration.

The 2020 presidential run

Jill Biden continued teaching English classes at Northern Virginia Community College until the autumn of 2019. Three months earlier, Joe Biden had announced he would seek the Democratic Party's presidential nomination¹². It marked his third time running for president.

That August, Jill Biden decided¹³ to put her teaching career on hold to help her husband on the campaign trail. In late 2019 and early 2020, she traveled extensively across the country, reaching out to voters, and speaking at campaign events. Since the coronavirus health crisis began, she has taken part in many online meetings in support of her husband's candidacy.

Her role has marked a considerable change for someone who is a self-described introvert¹⁴ and who did not wish to become a political wife. In her memoir, she wrote that giving her first political speech "made me so nervous I felt sick."

Last month, Jill Biden gave one of her biggest speeches yet during the Democratic National Convention. She offered a hopeful and emotional picture of a Biden presidency. Speaking from a Delaware high school where she taught English years ago, Jill Biden spoke¹⁵ about the issues raised as schools must decide whether to begin in-person teaching as the health crisis continues.

"If we entrust¹⁶ this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours: Bring us together and make us feel whole, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America for us all."

And she promised that if her husband is elected president, America's classrooms "will ring out with laughter and possibility again."

I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

master's degree - n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after one or two years of additional study following a bachelor's degree

first lady - n. the wife of the U.S. president

fashion - n. the business of creating and selling clothes in new styles

divorce- v. to legally end your marriage with (your husband or wife)

bachelor's degree - n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

advanced - adj. beyond the basic level

cocktail dress - n. a usually short dress that is suitable for formal occasions

(high) heels - n. women's shoes that have tall heels

introvert - n. a shy person : a quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

3 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

6 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。

7 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

8 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

9 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

10 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

11 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

12 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 introvert   

n.性格内向的人

参考例句：

• You are very much an introvert.你是一位地道的内向性格者。
• The same conversation that energizes the extravert also drains the introvert.同样的交谈能让外向者荣光焕发，却让内向者精神颓靡。

15 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

16 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。