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Facing America's High Dropout Rates

美国面临高辍学率

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Less than sixty percent of students now entering four-year American colleges are likely to graduate. The completion rate is lower than for almost any other wealthy country, and worst for poor and minority students.  A new book about America's public universities explores the complex causes of the high dropout rate. The book is called "Crossing the Finish Line."

President Obama wants the United States to again have the world's highest percentage of college graduates by two thousand twenty. But to finish college, children first have to reach the starting line by getting there.

On Tuesday the president gave a nationally broadcast speech to students about the importance of staying in school. He spoke on the first day of classes at a high school in Virginia. He talked about personal responsibility, and used himself as an example of someone who overcame difficulties.

BARACK OBAMA: "My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in." But he told students that problems in their own lives should not stop them from learning.

BARACK OBAMA: "That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying." This was not the first presidential speech to students. Ronald Reagan spoke from the White House in nineteen eighty-eight. And George H.W. Bush spoke from a school in Washington in nineteen ninety-one. But many conservatives criticized plans for the speech. Some called it "socialized education" or federal interference in local schools. Others feared it would be too political. Some schools decided not to show the speech. But the White House released the text on Monday, and that calmed a lot of critics. On Sunday, on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said thirty percent of students do not graduate from high school. He called the dropout rate "staggering." It represents more than a million students every year who entered ninth grade but do not complete twelfth grade.

The education secretary called the objections to the president's speech "silly." But he also said one of the activities suggested for students "wasn't worded quite correctly." It related to the goal of increasing college graduation rates. It suggested that students "Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president." But after conservatives objected, the activity was changed to writing about personal goals.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are on line with Transcripts and MP3s at voaspecialenglish.com.  I'm Steve Ember.

一、全文翻译

这里是VOA特别英语教育报道。

现在，就读美国四年制大学的学生仅有不到60%可能毕业。毕业率低于几乎其他任何发达国家，而贫穷和少数民族学生的毕业率是最低的。一本关于美国公立大学的新书探索了辍学率高的诸多原因。这本书的名字叫做“穿越终点线”。

奥巴马总统希望截止到2020年，美国的大学生毕业率达到世界最高水平。但是要完成大学学业，孩子们首先要迈入大学校门。周二，奥巴马总统通过全国广播发表了讲话，向学生们讲述了继续在学校读书的重要性。他在佛吉尼亚一所高中开学的第一天发表了讲话。他谈到了个人责任，并以自己的亲身经历来鼓励学生们克服困难。

奥巴马：“在我两岁的时候，父亲离开了我们，我由单亲妈妈抚养长大，母亲通常要忙于生计，不可能给予我们其他孩子拥有的东西。在我的生命中，我经历了失去父亲的痛苦。我也经历了孤单，绝望的时期，我曾经以为我无法生存下去。” 但是他告诉学生们，自己生命中的问题不能阻止他们学习。

奥巴马总统：“没有任何借口可以跟老师顶嘴，停课或辍学。没有任何借口可以使你放弃努力。” 这不是第一次针对学生的总统讲话。1988年，里根总统在白宫向学生发表讲话。1991年，布什在华盛顿一所学校向学生发表讲话。但是许多保守派人士对总统发表讲话的计划提出批评。其中一些人称此为“社会化的教育”或者联邦对当地学校的干预。其他人担心这太过政治化。一些学校决定不播放这段讲话。但是白宫于周一公布了讲话内容，这平息了许多批评的声音。周日，CBS的“Face the Nation”节目中，美国教育部长邓肯(Arne Duncan)称，大约30%的学生未从高中毕业。他表示，该辍学率非常“惊人”。该数字表明，每年有100多万学生进入九年级却未完成十二年级的学业。

教育部长称，对总统讲话的反对非常“愚蠢”。但是他还说，为学生建议的一些活动“表达并不正确”。其中一项与增加大学毕业率有关。该活动建议学生“给自己写封信，看一下自己可以怎样帮助总统”。但是经过保守派人士反对之后，活动被更改为写出个人目标。

二、词汇学习

1.minority                                                   n. 少数,未成年,少数民族

例句：Lijiang is inhabited by the Naxi minority people.
            丽江是纳西族人民聚居的地方。

2.overcome                                              v.战胜,克服,胜过

例句：They overcome their difficulty by working hard.
            他们通过努力工作的办法来克服困难。

3.raise                                                      v.升起,举起,唤起,提高,使出现,使复活,提出,筹集；养育

例句：I was raised on rice in the South.
           我在南方吃米饭长大。

4.socialized                                            adj.社会化

例句：The children must be properly socialized.
            孩子们必须被正确地社会化。

5.interference                                          n.干涉,干预;妨碍,打扰;抵触,冲突;干涉,干扰

例句：He will not brook any interference.
            他不会容忍他人的任何干涉。

6.calm                                                     v.使安静,使镇定

例句：The softness of his reply calmed her down.
            他温和的回答使她冷静下来。

7.staggering                                          adj. 蹒跚的,犹豫的,惊人的

例句：Remarks which betray a staggering contempt for the truth.
           全然不顾事情真相的言论。

8.objection                                             n. 异议,反对,缺点,缺陷,妨碍,拒绝之理由

例句：I do not find any objection to your attending the lecture .
           我看不出您来讲课有什么不可以的。