VOA常速英语2019--教育专家赞美人文教育的价值

Thank you for taking the time to sit with me today. First, tell us about your association.

谢谢你今天花时间和我坐在一起。首先，跟我们讲讲协会吧。

The Association of American Colleges and Universities has a mission of advancing the vitality¹ and public standing² of liberal education equity³ and quality as the foundations for excellence⁴ in undergraduate education in service to democracy.

美国学院和大学协会的使命是促进自由教育的活力和公众地位，公平和质量是为民主服务的优秀本科教育的基础。

Let’s talk about the status of small liberal arts colleges across the US. Where is it right now and what’s happening with them?

让我们来谈谈美国小型文理学院的现状。它现在在哪里，发生了什么事?

There’s a prevailing⁵ national rhetoric⁶ that calls into question the value of higher education in general, and liberal education in particular.

有一种流行的全国性言论对高等教育的整体价值提出了质疑，尤其是自由教育的价值。

A number of small liberal arts colleges are at risk, in part because of this rhetoric, but also because they have served very distinctive⁷ missions. Many small, faith-based institutions in the past, had relied on the clergy⁸, to do administrative⁹ work, to teach classes. And as their numbers are dwindling¹⁰, the colleges are finding that they’re having trouble keeping up with the payroll¹¹. But there are many, many liberal arts institutions that are thriving today, and at AAC&U we believe that that mission is more critical than ever.

一些规模较小的文理学院正面临风险，部分原因是它们的言辞，但也因为它们履行了非常独特的使命。在过去，许多小型的、以信仰为基础的机构，依靠神职人员来做行政工作、授课。随着他们人数的减少，这些大学发现他们在支付工资方面遇到了麻烦。但是，今天有许许多多文理学院蓬勃发展，在美国学院和大学协会，我们相信，这一使命比以往任何时候都更加重要。

Can you give me some examples of colleges that have either closed or been taken over by larger academic institutions, and examples of colleges that are doing okay.

你能给我举一些已经关闭或被大型学术机构接管的大学的例子吗？以及还有一些表现不错的大学的例子。

In the headlines recently there has been attention paid to places like Mount Ida College, looking at a partnership¹² with the University of Massachusetts being absorbed by that.

在最近的头条新闻中，像艾达山学院这样的地方引起了人们的注意，因为它与马萨诸塞大学的合作关系正在被这所大学所吸收。

Marlborough College is looking at a perspective absorption by Emerson, hats being contested right now. At Sweetbriar and Hampshire colleges were thinking about ways that they could partner with other institutions- the Board of Sweetbriar made a decision to close the college,

莫尔伯勒学院正在研究爱默生所吸收的观点。在斯威特布赖尔学院和汉普郡学院，他们正在考虑与其他机构合作的方式——斯威特布赖尔学院的董事会决定关闭学院，

but the alumni got together and revitalized the college and it is continuing to grow and strengthen.

但是校友们聚集在一起，重振了学院，学院也在不断成长壮大。

Hampshire College decided¹³ a year and a half ago not to admit a first year class, but they have allowed students who had already been admitted to the college to attend if they chose to and are very active in recruiting a new class, and their numbers continue to grow.

汉普郡学院在一年半前决定不招收一年级的学生，但他们允许已经被学院录取的学生参加，如果他们愿意的话，而且他们非常积极地招收新班级，而且他们的人数还在继续增长。

So these are colleges that have been at risk, who have looked at innovative¹⁴ ways to take new directions. There’s a recent book out by Mary Marcy -- who is the president of Dominican in California -- and her book focuses on the small college imperative¹⁵ and the ways that colleges that are committed to the liberal arts, but are small, can partner with others with business and industry K through 12 to create new pathways for excellence for student success.

所以这些大学一直处于危险之中，它们一直在寻找创新的方法来开辟新的方向。加州多米尼加的总统会员玛丽·马西最近出版了一本书——她的书关注的是小型大学的必要性以及大学致力于人文学科的方式，但都是小的，可以与K到12的商业和行业伙伴合作，为学生的成功创造新的途径。

And so, colleges like Bates College have new innovative programs that are connecting curriculum to career in ways that will help address some of the concerns of the skeptics around the fact that a liberal education is seen as inconsistent with employability in this world that is STEM-focused. What is your assessment¹⁶ of Trinity College? Like many colleges, its had its set of challenges, but seems to be doing well.

因此，像贝茨学院这样的学院有新的创新项目，将课程与职业联系起来，这将有助于解决怀疑者的一些担忧，即在这个以stem为重点的世界上，人文教育被视为与就业能力不一致。你对三一学院的评价是什么？像许多大学一样，它也面临着一系列的挑战，但它似乎做得很好。

Trinity College is a very prestigious¹⁷, liberal arts institution in Connecticut -- was founded in 1823with a mission to promote the Liberal Arts and Sciences, and since then has retained a reputation for excellence in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.

三一学院是康涅狄格州一所非常著名的文科院校，成立于1823年，其宗旨是促进文科和理科的发展，从那以后一直保持着文科和理科优秀的声誉。

But they also have established themselves as an anchor institution, and they demonstrate the ways in which their success is inextricably linked to the success of those in the communities that they seek to serve - and so they do have partnerships¹⁸ with business and industry with K through 12 in the Hartford region.

但他们也将自己确立为一个锚定机构，并展示了他们的成功与他们所服务的社区中那些人的成功密不可分的方式——所以他们确实与哈特福德地区的工商业有合作关系。

And I think that makes all the difference at a time when we are trying to establish new pipelines¹⁹ for a diverse populations in liberal arts colleges. What are some of the reasons colleges are closing, or being taken over by other academic institutions?

我认为，在我们试图为文理学院的多元化人群建立新渠道的时候，这一点至关重要。大学关闭或被其他学术机构接管的原因有哪些？

There are a variety of reasons why small liberal arts colleges are closing.

小型文理学院关闭的原因有很多。

There has been a disinvestment in higher education.

对高等教育的投资减少了。

And there’s also been this rhetoric that I mentioned where liberal arts colleges are being called into question.

我也提到过，文理学院也受到质疑。

There has been a shift away from the notion of higher education as a public good, to viewing it as a private commodity. So tuition in exchange for jobs, and as tuition-driven institutions have needed increase their tuition and fees, there’s been some skepticism about the value added of that type of education. And so many students are going to community college, to public institutions, as a way of dealing²⁰ with the cost. They may transfer into four-year independent ... colleges but that’s had some impact.

高等教育的概念已经从公共产品转变为私人商品。因此，学费是工作的交换，而学费驱动的机构需要增加他们的学费和费用，有人怀疑这种教育的附加值。所以很多学生去社区大学，去公共机构，作为一种处理成本的方式。他们可能会转入四年独立生活…但这已经产生了一些影响。

And the fact that we have so many options. One of the great strengths of American higher education is the diversity of the types of institutions. We know that you can get an education that is a quality education at a two-year Community College, a four year public research-institution, a whole range of institutions, and so these options have created some challenges and risks for small liberal arts colleges.

事实上我们有很多选择。美国高等教育的一大优势是机构类型的多样性。我们知道，你可以在两年制的社区大学、四年的公共研究机构、各种各样的机构接受高质量的教育，因此，这些选择给小型文理学院带来了一些挑战和风险。

Some experts say some of these liberal arts colleges have had financial difficulty, and therefore closing because funds are being allocated²¹ to nonacademic initiatives like sports, sports facilities, things like that. What is your opinion about that? These are issues that we need to address; the issues of cost and allocation of scarce resources. When were talking about places like Trinity, or other small liberal arts colleges, they are most likely Division-3 schools so they’re not spending enormous amount of money on athletics²², they don’t have athletic²³ scholarships, but they recognize the importance of making sure that students have curricular and co-curricular experiences-- that they are learning, not only in the classroom, but issues of leadership outside of the classroom as well. What are some of the ways these problems can be mitigated²⁴?

一些专家说，这些文理学院有些资金困难，因此关闭，因为资金被分配给了体育、体育设施等非学术项目。你对此有什么看法？这些都是我们需要解决的问题；稀缺资源的成本和分配问题。当我们谈到像三一学院或其他小型文理学院这样的地方时，它们很可能是分三区的学校，所以它们不会在体育上花很多钱，它们没有体育奖学金，但是，他们认识到确保学生拥有课程和合作课程经验的重要性——他们不仅在课堂上学习，也在课堂之外学习领导力的问题。有哪些方法可以减轻这些问题？

Leaders of small liberal arts colleges need to tell their story in a more compelling way, not only to those inside of the academy, but to those outside of the academy as well, who may be skeptical²⁵ about the value of a liberal education at a time when rapidly changing technology means rapid obsolescence²⁶. And in a world that is globally interdependent, the best preparation that we can offer students is one that teaches them to write, speak and think with precision, coherence²⁷ and clarity, to anticipate and respond to objections, to engage in moral imagination, imagining what its like to be in the shoes of another different from oneself, and to be adaptable²⁸ and flexible in the face of that rapid change. That’s exactly what a liberal education does for students.

领导人的小型文理学院需要告诉他们的故事在一个更令人信服的方式,不仅那些学院内部，但这些学院之外的，谁会怀疑人文教育的价值在快速变化的技术意味着快速退化。在全球相互依存的世界，我们可以提供给学生最好的准备就是教他们写作、精确地说话和思考，去预测和回应反对意见，去进行道德想象，想象自己站在另一个和自己不同的人的立场上是什么样子，去适应和灵活地面对快速的变化。

The narrow technical training that has been promoted by many individuals today, places students at risk because once those resources are outsourced or replaced by new technologies, the students lose the capacity to become innovators in their own lives without a liberal arts background. We don’t think at AAC&U that there is an inconsistency between a liberal education and technical or pre-professional education. We think a liberal education can be applied²⁹ to students at all types of institutions, and that’s what we are championing at our organization.

如今许多人提倡的狭隘的技术培训，将学生置于危险之中，因为一旦这些资源被外包或被新技术取代，学生们就失去了在没有文科背景的情况下在自己的生活中成为创新者的能力。在美国学院和大学协会，我们不认为人文教育与技术教育或职前教育之间存在矛盾。我们认为，人文教育可以适用于所有类型的机构的学生，这是我们组织所倡导的。

1 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

4 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

5 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

6 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

7 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

8 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

9 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

10 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

11 payroll   

n.工资表，在职人员名单，工薪总额

参考例句：

• His yearly payroll is $1.2 million.他的年薪是120万美元。
• I can't wait to get my payroll check.我真等不及拿到我的工资单了。

12 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

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 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

16 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

17 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。

18 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

19 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

20 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

21 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

22 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

23 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

24 mitigated   

v.减轻，缓和( mitigate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cost of getting there is mitigated by Sydney's offer of a subsidy. 由于悉尼提供补助金，所以到那里的花费就减少了。 来自辞典例句
• The living conditions were slightly mitigated. 居住条件稍有缓解。 来自辞典例句

25 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

26 obsolescence   

n.过时，陈旧，废弃

参考例句：

• For some small unproductive mills,the reality is not merger but obsolescence and bankruptcy.对一些效率低下的小厂而言，现实不是合并，而是可能被淘汰和破产。
• Finally,the cost approach can provide a basis for allocating penalties,specifically economic obsolescence.最后，成本法可作为一个分配因陈旧特别是因经济

27 coherence   

n.紧凑；连贯；一致性

参考例句：

• There was no coherence between the first and the second half of the film.这部电影的前半部和后半部没有连贯性。
• Environmental education is intended to give these topics more coherence.环境教育的目的是使这些课题更加息息相关。

28 adaptable   

adj.能适应的，适应性强的，可改编的

参考例句：

• He is an adaptable man and will soon learn the new work.他是个适应性很强的人，很快就将学会这种工作。
• The soil is adaptable to the growth of peanuts.这土壤适宜于花生的生长。

29 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。