EDUCATION REPORT - American Schools Celebrate International

EDUCATION REPORT - American Schools Celebrate International Education Week
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, November 17, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.

It is International Education Week in the United¹ States, a time to think about and celebrate international education and exchange. The special week is a project of the State Department and the Department of Education.

 
International Education Week
Officials of these agencies² say Americans need to learn more about the world outside their own country. They say people everywhere need to understand the similarities³ and differences among nations, peoples and cultures. They say this is true especially in a world where information and news travel quickly twenty-four hours a day.

Schools and colleges across the country are holding special events this week to support international education. The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville is showing pictures that are part of a Study Abroad Photo Contest. It is holding International Education Night, an evening of food, cultural performances and activities from around the world. The university will also host a naturalization ceremony for people becoming American citizens.

The University of Buffalo⁴ in the state of New York is also offering⁵ events this week. These include speakers, an Anatolian marketplace and programs about ways students can study in a foreign country.

One organization that has worked for years to improve world understanding through exchanges is AFS. This private group began in nineteen fourteen as the American Field Service. Its job was to transport wounded⁶ French soldiers during World War One. Today more than fifty countries take part in AFS education exchanges. Nearly eleven thousand students and adults take part in the program each year.

Students in an AFS exchange program must be between fifteen and eighteen years old. They stay in another country for three months, six months or eleven months. They live with a family that has agreed to treat the visitor as a full member.

AFS also has programs for adults to help meet community needs in more than twenty countries. More than three hundred fifty thousand people have taken part in AFS programs through the years.

More information about the group can be found at its Web⁷ site, a-f-s dot o-r-g.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 similarities   

[ similarity ]的复数形式； 类似( similarity的名词复数 )； 相像性； 相仿性； 类似性

参考例句：

• similarities between human and non-human animals 人和其他动物之间的相似之处
• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。

4 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

5 offering   

n.提供，奉献物，牲礼

参考例句：

• What is your competition offering?你的竞争者提出的条件是什么？
• The police are offering a big reward for information about the robbery.警方出大笔赏金要求提供那起抢劫案的破案线索。

6 wounded   

adj.受伤的；n.伤员

参考例句：

• The wounded man let out a cry of pain.伤员发出一阵痛苦的叫喊声。
• She attended on the wounded soldier day and night.她日夜护理着负伤的战士。

7 web   

n.网，蛛丝，蹼，织物，圈套，卷筒纸；vi.生蹼，形成网；vt.织蜘蛛网于，使落入圈套

参考例句：

• The spider weaves a web.蜘蛛织网。
• You mean the World Wide Web?你是说国际互联网？