VOA标准英语2011--Harvard's First Woman President Settles

Harvard's First Woman President Settles into Role

Harvard University is arguably one of the most prestigious¹ universities in the world. Founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1636, it is among the oldest in the United States.
In 2007, Harvard named historian and scholar Drew Gilpin Faust its 28th president. She is the first woman to hold that position.
Role model
Other American universities have had women presidents. But when Harvard named Drew Gilpin Faust as its first woman president, the world took note.
"At a press conference right after the announcement of my appointment, I was asked something about what it was like to be the first woman president of Harvard," Faust recalls. "My response, which I had not predetermined, was to answer that I wasn't the woman president of Harvard, I was the president of Harvard."
But Faust soon realized that being the first woman to hold that position did matter to a lot of people.
"The response to my appointment from young girls and women all over the world, from the parents of young girls, was so moving," she says. "They found in my appointment an indication of hope and aspiration² that they or their children could embrace."
That, she says, made her recognize "that being the first woman president of Harvard has a lot of significance and that it is meaningful, and I ought not to forget that."
Breaking barriers
While Faust serves as a role model for young girls today, she had no one to look to as she was growing up. She never dreamed of a life in academia, let alone becoming president of an Ivy³ League university.
"I grew up at a time where very little was expected of women," she says. "It was anticipated that probably I would marry and be a wife and mother. There was little discussion what I'd be when I grew up beyond that."
Her mother, who never worked outside of the home, was not one to encourage Faust to higher ambitions. "My mother was very much a part of traditional views of women," Faust says, adding that her mother seemed quite angry to have limited options for herself.
"Something she said to me quite often when I was being rebellious⁴ or imagining something was possible for myself that she didn't think was possible, she would say, ‘It's a man's world, sweetie, and the sooner you figure it out the happier you will be.'"
But Faust was able to take advantage of the growing wave of new opportunities for women in the 1960s. Sadly, Faust's mother didn't live to witness her daughter's success. She died when Faust was 19.
Early influences
Faust grew up surrounded by history in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.
She lived on Lee Jackson Highway, named for two Civil War generals who fought for the south, in an area where many battles had been fought between the Union and Confederate armies.
She recalls playing Civil War endlessly with her brothers. "I always had to be Grant, because my older brother got to be Lee, and it was a long time before I discovered that actually Lee had lost and Grant had won."
But the War Between the States became more than a game to Faust. She is a noted⁵ scholar of the American South and the Civil War.
Her most recent book, "This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War," was named one of the "10 best books of 2008" by the New York Times.
Cost of learning
Since becoming president of Harvard, Faust has made it a priority to ensure that the cost of an education at the elite⁶ private university does not prohibit talented applicants⁷ from attending.
The annual tuition, room and board for a Harvard undergraduate is more than $50,000, but the majority of students pay much less.
Faust says 60 percent of the students receive financial aid from the university. "And, of those students, the cost of education is just about $11,000 a year. And for students from families with incomes under $60,000 a year, there is no parental⁸ contribution expected at all."
Model education
Faust's responsibilities as president of Harvard have taken her to many corners of the globe. She says American higher education is seen as a model in many other countries.
She recalls meeting with a group of university presidents in China last year.
"What they wanted to talk with me about was the liberal arts and humanities and how they could introduce some of those perspectives into their higher education system, in order to bring the kind of imaginativeness, curiosity and creativity that they saw as characteristic of American higher education."
It is, Faust says, a lesson for Americans to keep in mind. In this troubled economy, many are searching for immediate⁹ economic return when they graduate. But education, she says, should prepare people for a lifetime, not just a single career.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

3 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

4 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

7 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

8 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。