01 来自世界各地的雇员在美国的工作状况
TIA-Foreign Workers in the US
DATE=2-12-01
TITLE=THIS IS AMERICA #1051- Foreign Workers in the US
BYLINE=Yenni Djahidin Grow
VOICE ONE:
Many people from around the world are (1)seeking jobs in the United States. There are several ways of finding a job here. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Shirley Griffith. How new (2)immigrants find a job is our report today on the VOA Special English program THIS IS AMERICA.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
The United States is an (3)industrial country with a low percentage of people who do not have jobs. The (4)unemployment rate is about four percent. Many American (5)companies have problems finding skilled workers.
Computer (6)software companies, the (7)agriculture (8)industry, hotels and other companies are seeking workers from other countries. For example, Microsoft, I-B-M and many other high (9)technology companies are seeking skilled workers from countries such as India, China, and the Philippines.
The (10)Institute for the Study of (11)International (12)Migration reports there are about four-hundred-twenty-thousand high-tech foreign workers in the United States. The group says the number will rise to almost Four-Hundred-Seventy Thousand in the next ten years.
VOICE TWO:
The United States (13)Department of Labor is the government agency that (14)deals with employment(15) issues. It reports that there were more than fifteen-million foreign workers in the United States in Nineteen-Ninety-Nine. This is the highest number of foreign workers in seventy years. It is seventeen percent higher than in Nineteen-Ninety-Six.
Immigrants represent twelve percent of all workers in the United States. However, about five-million of these workers are(16) illegal immigrants. They/(17) lack official work permits.
Foreign workers have many kinds of jobs. Many have good jobs in science and technology. But many others have difficult jobs with low pay. These jobs include working in meat production centers and on building projects, cleaning hotel rooms and picking fruits and (18)vegetables.
VOICE ONE:
Foreigners who want to work in the United States must have a work permit. There are different kinds of work permits. People who have (19)permission to live (20)permanently in the United States are permitted to work. The United States Immigration and (21) Naturalization Service is the government agency that deals with immigrants. It reports that more than Six-hundred-Thousand people were given permission to live permanently in the United States in Nineteen-Ninety-Eight.
Citizens of other countries also can get a (22)temporary work permit. This lets them live and work in the United States as long as they have a job.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE TWO:
The Immigration and Nationality Act permits at least one-hundred-forty-thousand immigrants to live in the United States each year based on employment. There are five groups of workers whose immigration to the United States is based on employment. Some of these require a job offer from an employer and official (23)approval by the Labor Department.
The first group is priority workers. These include people with the highest level of(24) ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or sports. They also include (25)extremely successful business leaders, professors, and researchers.
VOICE ONE:
The second group is foreigners with a special skill or those with special training in the sciences, arts or business. For example, artists and professors can receive a work permit this way.
The third group is(26) professionals and skilled or experienced workers. This group includes people with a special skill who can do work not generally done by Americans. Two examples would be computer(27)programmers and people who work as foreign language (28)broadcasters with the Voice of America.
The fourth group is(29) religious workers. Foreigners can ask for a work permit if they plan to work as a (30)clergyman or in another kind of job with a religious organization in the United States.
VOICE TWO:
The fifth group is people who(31) create employment and (32)contribute to the economic growth of the United States. Foreigners can ask for a work permit if they want to(33) invest their money in businesses in the United States. Foreign investors are generally required to invest at least one-million dollars. However, they can invest only five-hundred-thousand dollars if they open a business outside a big city or in an area of high unemployment.
A foreign investor may either create a new business or buy an existing business. The business must create at least ten full-time jobs for American citizens or other people who have permits to work in the United States.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Foreign college students can also get work permits. The student will need a permit from the college or university before starting to look for a job. Usually, students are permitted to work as many as twenty hours a week during the school term. In the summer months or during holiday periods, they may work as much as forty hours a week. Many college or university students decide to work in eating places, book stores or other businesses at their school.
VOICE TWO:
People with work permits can find jobs in several ways. For example, they can look at job (34)listings in newspapers. Usually newspapers have (35)detailed listings of job openings on Saturdays or Sundays. For example, the Washington Post has a special section for job listings.
The newspaper divides the job listings into several different areas, including technology, education and health. Technology jobs, for example, include many jobs with Internet companies.
Education jobs includes teaching positions at schools --- from schools for very young children to universities. The newspaper lists many health care jobs, such as working as a nurse in a hospital or taking care of older people.
VOICE ONE:
Many people use computers to look for job openings on the Internet. For example, one Internet web site has a lot of information about finding a job in the United States. It also has information on how to ask for a work permit. It is called Immigrationlink-Dot-Com.
Another Internet web site is called Monster-Dot-Com. It lists thousands of jobs in the United States and around the world. People can use this web site to find a job in the area where they want to work. They can also (36)compare pay for the same job in different places.
VOICE TWO:
If job seekers can not find the job they want, they can publish their job requirements on the Internet. For example, a health care worker can list his or her work experience and training on the Internet. So, a company interested in that person can (37)communicate directly with him or her.
Many people find jobs by sending letters to employers or talking directly with them. Another way to find a job is by looking for (38)announcements of job openings at the work place. For example, many stores and eating places put "help wanted" signs on their windows. So, if a person is interested in the job, he or she can apply directly.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Many American companies require some kind of test for employment (39)candidates. There are several kinds of tests, from simple questions to discussions with a company (40)representative. Many stores require a test to investigate the honesty of future workers.
However, some foreign workers say they failed an employment test because they did not understand the questions. For example, an Indonesian student living in the state of (41)Virginia recently took an employment test. He said he was told to answer one-hundred questions in one hour. He failed the test. He said he needed more time to understand the questions.
VOICE TWO:
Many companies offer training for their new employees. Usually, the company pays the employees during the training period. In many companies, employees may join a labor union to represent them. The union negotiates with the employer. The union offers help to workers when they need it. For example, a worker can ask help from the union if he or she is (42)dismissed.
Working in the United States is the (43)goal for many people from other countries. Experts say people should get as much information as possible about working in the United States. They say a good place to start is by asking the American(44) Embassy or (45)diplomatic office for more information.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
This program was written by Yenni Djahidin Grow. It was produced by Cynthia Kirk. I'm Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Shirley Griffith. Join us again next week for another report about life in the United States on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(1) seek [ ???? ] v.寻找, 探索, 寻求
(2) immigrant[ ????????? ]adj.(从外国)移来的, 移民的, 移居的n.移民, 侨民
(3) industrial[ ??????????? ]adj.工业的, 产业的, 实业的, 从事工业的n.工业工人
(4) unemployment[ ?????????????? ]n.失业, 失业人数
(5) company[ ???????? ]n.公司, 陪伴
(6) software[ ???????? ]n.软件
(7) agriculture[??????????? ]n.农业, 农艺, 农学
(8) industry [ ????????? ]n.工业, 产业, 行业, 勤奋
(9) technology[???????????? ] n.工艺, 科技, 技术
(10) institute [ ??????????? ]n.学会, 学院, 协会vt.创立, 开始, 制定, 开始(调查), 提起(诉讼)
(11) international [???????????????? ] adj.国际的, 世界的n.国际性组织, 国际比赛
(12) migration [ ??????????? ]n.移民, 移植, 移往, 移动
(13) department[ ??????????? ]n.部, 局, 处, 科, 部门, 系, 学部
(14) deal[ ???? ]n.交易, <口>买卖vi.处理, 应付, 做生意vt.分配, 分给(out)
(15) issue[?????: ]n.出版, 发行, vi.发行, 造成...结果, 进行辩护vt.发布(命令), 出版(书等)
(16) illegal [????????? ]adj.违法的, 不合规定的
(17) lack[???? ]n.缺乏, 短缺的东西vt.缺乏, 没有, 需要vi.缺乏, 没有
(18)vegetable [ ?????????? ]n.蔬菜, 植物adj.蔬菜的, 植物的
(19)permission [???????????? ]n.许可, 允许
(20)permanently [?????????]adv.永存地, 不变地
(21) naturalization[ ????????????????? ]n.移入, 移植
(22)temporary [ ???????????] adj.暂时的, 临时的, 临时性
(23) approval [ ????????? ] n.赞成, 承认, 正式批准
(24) ability [ ???????? ] n.能力, 才干
(25)extremely [ ??????????? ] adv.极端地, 非常地
(26)professional[??????????]n.自由职业者,专业人员, 职业运动员
(27)programmer[??????????? ]n.程序师, 程序规划员
(28)broadcaster[ ???????????? ]n.播送设备, 广播员, 撒播物广播公司
(29)religious[?????????] adj.信奉宗教的, 虔诚的, 宗教上的, 修道的, 严谨的
(30)clergyman[???????????? ] n.牧师, 教士
(31) create[???????? ] vt.创造, 创作, 引起, 造成
(32)contribute[ ???????????? ]v.捐助, 捐献, 贡献, 投稿
(33) invest[???????? ] v.投(资), 购买(有用之物)～, 授予, 投资
(34)listing [ ??????? ] n.[计] 清单, 列表vbl.list的进行时
(35)detailed[????????? ] adj.详细的, 逐条的
(36)compare[ k?m?p?? ] v.比较, 相比, 比喻 n.比较
(37)communicate[?????????????? ]v.沟通, 通信, (房间、道路、花园等)相通, 传达, 感染
(38)announcement[ ??????????? ]n.宣告, 发表, 一项公告, 一项私人告示
(39)candidate[ ????????? ] n.候选人, 投考者
(40)representative[ ??????????????? ] n.代表adj.典型的, 有代表性的
(41)Virginia[ ???????????? ] n.维吉尼亚
(42)dismiss [ ???????? ]vt.解散, 下课, 开除, 解职, 使(或让)离开vi.解散
(43)goal[ ???? ] n.目的, 目标, 守门员, 球门, (球赛等的)得分
(44)embassy[ ??????? ] n.大使及其随员, 大使的派遣, 大使馆
(45)diplomatic[????????????? ] adj.外交的, 老练的
02 解读诗人格温多林·布鲁克斯及其作品
DATE=2-18-01 TITLE=PEOPLE IN AMERICA #1809 - Gwendolyn Brooks BYLINE=Cynthia Kirk VOICE ONE:
I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Sarah Long with the VOA Special English program, PEOPLE IN AMERICA.
Today we tell about the life of award-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks. She was the first African American to win a (1)Pulitzer Prize for(2) Literature.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of(3) poems during her lifetime. She had more than twenty books published. She was known around world for using (4)poetry to increase understanding about black culture in America.
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote many poems about being black during the Nineteen-Forties and Nineteen-Fifties. Her poems described conditions among the poor, (5) racial inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women.
But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She was an expert at the language of poetry. She(6) combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.
VOICE TWO:
Gwendolyn Brooks once said that she wrote about what she saw and heard in the street. She said she found most of her material looking out of the window of her second-floor (7)apartment house in Chicago, Illinois.
In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago. The South Side of Chicago is where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was "A Street in Bronzeville" that gained the attention of literary experts in Nineteen-Forty-Five. Critics praised her poetic skill and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.
Here she is reading from her Nineteen-Forty-Five collection, "A Street in Bronzeville."
CUT ONE - GWENDOLYN BROOKS
"My father, it is surely a blue place and straight. Right, regular, where I shall find no need for(8) scholarly nonchalance or looks a little to the left or guards upon the heart."
VOICE ONE:
In Nineteen-Fifty, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African-American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called "Annie Allen." "Annie Allen" is a collection of poetry about the life of a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and mother. She experiences (9)loneliness, loss, death and being poor.
Mizz Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.
Her next work was a novel written in Nineteen-Fifty-Three called "Maud Martha." "Maud Martha" received little notice when it first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult life of many women are popular among (10)female writers today.
VOICE TWO:
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote poems about the black experience in America. She described the anger many blacks had about racial(11) injustice and the feeling of being different. She used poetry to (12)criticize those who did not show respect for the poor. Yet for all the anger in her writing, Gwendolyn Brooks was considered by many to be a (13)gentle spirit and a very giving person.
By the early Nineteen-Sixties, Mizz Brooks had reached a high(14) point in her writing career. She was considered one of America's leading black writers. She was a popular teacher. She was praised for her use of language and the way people (15)identified with her writing.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas in Nineteen-Seventeen. But she grew up in Chicago. She began writing when she was eleven years old. She mailed several poems to a (16)community newspaper in Chicago to surprise her family.
In a radio broadcast in Nineteen-Sixty-One, Mizz Brooks said her mother (17)urged her to develop her poetic skills:
CUT TWO - GWENDOLYN BROOKS
"My mother took me to the library when I was about four or five. I enjoyed reading poetry and I tried to write it when I was about seven, at the time that I first tried to put(18) rhymes together. And I have loved it ever since."
VOICE TWO:
Gwendolyn Brooks married Henry L. Blakely in Nineteen-Thirty-Nine. Henry Blakely was a young writer who later published his own poetry. They lived in Chicago for the next thirty years, (19) divorced in Nineteen-Sixty-Nine, but re-united in Nineteen-Seventy-Three. They had two children, Nora Brooks Blakely and Henry Blakely.
Throughout her life, Mizz Brooks supported herself through speaking (20)appearances, poetry readings and part time teaching in colleges. She also received money from organizations that offered grants designed to support the arts.
VOICE ONE:
One of Gwendolyn Brooks most famous poems is called "We Real Cool". It is a short poem that talks about young people feeling hopeless:
"We real cool. We left school. We (21)lurk late. We strike straight. We sing sin. We thin (22)gin. We jazz June. We die soon."
VOICE TWO:
By the end of the Nineteen-Sixties, Gwendolyn Brooks's poetry expanded from the everyday experiences of people in Bronzeville. She wrote about a wider world and dealt with important political issues. She won praise for her sharper, real-life poetic style.
Gwendolyn Brooks was affected by the civil rights struggles and social changes taking place in America. She began to question her relations with whites. She said she felt that black poets should write for black people.
That became (23)evident in her next collection of poetry in Nineteen-Sixty-Eight called "In the Mecca." Critics suggested Mizz Brooks had become too political and seemed to be writing only for black people. Her new poems received little notice in the press.
VOICE ONE:
In some of her poems, Gwendolyn Brooks' described how what people see in life is affected by who they are. One example is this poem, "Corners on the Curving Sky":
Our earth is round, and, among other things
That means that you and I can hold completely different
Points of view and both be right.
The difference of our positions will show
Stars in your window. I cannot even imagine.
Your sky may burn with light,
While mine, at the same moment,
Spreads beautiful to darkness.
Still, we must choose how we separately corner
The circling universe of our experience
Once chosen, our cornering will determine
The message of any star and darkness we
encounter.
VOICE TWO:
Although her poetry did not receive much notice in the press, Gwendolyn Brooks continued to receive honors. She was chosen poet (24)laureate of the state of (25)Illinois in Nineteen-Sixty-Eight. In Nineteen-Seventy-Six, she became the first black woman to be elected to the National (26)Institute of Arts and Letters.
She received a lifetime achievement award from the National(27) Endowment of the Arts in Nineteen-Eighty-Nine. And she was named the Nineteen-Ninety-Four Jefferson Lecturer by the National Endowment of the (28)Humanities. That is the highest honor given by the federal government for work in the humanities.
Mizz Brooks once said that of all the awards she received, there was only one that meant a lot to her. It was given to her at a (29)workshop in an old theater in Chicago. She said "I was given an award for just being me, and that's what poetry is to me - just being me."
VOICE ONE:
Although she was well-known, Gwendolyn Brooks lived a quiet life. She said her greatest interest was being involved with young people. She spent time giving readings at schools, prisons and hospitals. She also attended yearly poetry competitions for Chicago children. She often paid for the awards given to the winners.
Haki Madhubuti directs the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Creative Writing and Black Literature at Chicago State University. He said Mizz Brooks felt children would help lead the way toward healing the wounds of the United States civil rights movement of the Nineteen-Sixties. One young student talked about how Mizz Brooks' poetry affected her. She said that(30)Gwendolyn Brooks' writings influenced her to write down how she truly feel deep inside.
VOICE TWO:
Gwendolyn Brooks influenced many African-American writers. Friends say her prize-winning works also helped other black Americans to develop their own sense of (31)identity and culture.
Doctors discovered Mizz Brooks had cancer in November, Two-Thousand. She died December Third at her home in Chicago. She was eighty-three.
The (32)funeral service was held on the South Side, the same area of the city that had been a window for much of Mizz Brooks's poetry. The service was at times filled with laughter. There were warm remembrances of a woman whose life and words had touched people forever. African(33) drums sounded and dancers leaped.
Gwendolyn Brooks worked right up to the end of her life. Her most recent collection of poems, called "In Birmingham", will be published later this year.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written and produced by Cynthia Kirk. I'm Shirley Griffith.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program on the Voice of America.
(1) Pulitzer[ ?????????]普利策
(2) literature[ ?????????? ]n.文学(作品), 文艺, 著作, 文献
(3) poem[ ???????????????]n.诗, 象诗一样, 美丽的东西
(4) poetry[ ???????????????????]n.诗, 作诗法, 诗意, 诗情
(5) racial[ ??????? ]adj.人种的, 种族的, 种族间的
(6) combined[ ????????? ]adj.组合的, 结合的
(7) apartment[ ?????????? ]n.<美>公寓住宅, 单元住宅, 房间
(8) scholarly[????????]adj.学者气质的, 学者风度的
(9) loneliness[??????????]n.孤独, 寂寞
(10) female[ ???????? ]n.女性, 女人, 雌兽adj.女性的, 女子的, 妇女的, 雌的,
(11) injustice[ ?????????? ]n.不公平, 不讲道义
(12) criticize[ ?????????? ]v.批评, 责备
(13) gentle[?????????]adj.温和的, 文雅的
(14) point[?????]n.点, 尖端, 分数, 要点, 分数vt.弄尖, 指向, 指出, 瞄准,
(15) identifier[???????????????]n.检验人, 标识符
(16) community[ ??????????? ]n.公社, 团体, 社会, (政治)共同体, 共有, 一致,
(17) urgence[???????]n.紧急, 紧急的事, 强求, 催促, 坚持
(18) rhyme[ ?????]n.韵, 押韵, 押韵的词vi.押韵, 作诗, 韵律和谐vt.使押韵,
(19) divorced离婚的
(20) appearance[ ????????? ]n.出现, 露面, 外貌, 外观
(21) lurk[????? ]n.潜伏, 埋伏vi.潜藏, 潜伏, 埋伏
(22) gin[ ???? ]n.陷阱, 起重装, 轧棉机, 杜松子酒v.轧
(23) evident[ ???????? ]adj.明显的, 显然的
(24) laureate[ ???????? ]adj.佩戴桂冠的n.戴桂冠的人
(25) Illinois[???????????? ]n.伊利诺斯州(美国州名)
(26) institute[ ??????????? ]n.学会, 学院, 协会vt.创立, 开始, 制定,
(27) endowment[ ?????????? ]n.捐赠, 捐赠的基金(或财产), 天资, 捐款
(28) humanities人文学科
(29) workshop[????????? ]n.车间, 工场
(30) Gwendolyn[ ?????????? ]n.格温多林(f.)
(31) identity[ ?????????? ]n.同一性, 身份, 一致, 特性, 恒等式
(32) funeral[ ?????????? ]n.葬礼, 出殡
(33) drum[ ???? ]n.鼓, 鼓声, [解]鼓膜, 鼓室vi.击鼓, 作鼓声vt.打鼓奏
03 婴孩的早期智力开发
DATE=2-20-01 TITLE=SCIENCE IN THE NEWS #2112 - Babies and (1)Intelligence BYLINE=George Grow
VOICE ONE: This is Bob Doughty.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Steve Ember with SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, a VOA Special English program about recent developments in science. Today, we discuss some recent findings about how intelligence develops in babies.
((THEME))
VOICE ONE:
Not long ago, many people believed that babies only wanted food and to be kept warm and (2)dry. Some people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old.
But doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life. The National (3)Institute of Child Health and Development is an American government (4)agency. Its goal is to discover which experiences can (5)influence healthy development in humans.
Researchers at the Institute note that babies are strongly influenced by their (6)environment. They say a baby will smile if his mother says or does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please his mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and (7)communicate with other humans.
VOICE TWO:
The American researchers say this ability to learn exists in a baby even before birth. They say newborn babies can recognize and understand sounds they heard while they were still developing inside their mothers.
One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder on the (8)stomach of a (9)pregnant woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story. On the day the baby was born, the scientists tested to find out if the baby knew the sounds of the story he had heard while inside his mother.
The researchers did this by placing a device in the mouth of the (10)newborn baby. The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way. If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story. The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born. They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
A few years ago, researchers in Britain showed one way a mother may influence the intelligence of her baby. They found that babies who are fed milk produced by their mothers might develop greater intelligence than those who are fed other kinds of milk.
The British study involved three-hundred babies born early, before the end of the normal nine-month development period. Two-hundred-ten babies were fed breast milk produced by their mothers. The other ninety babies were given a liquid called formula. (11) Formula is commonly used in place of mother's milk.
The babies were too small to take the milk directly from their mothers' breasts or from bottles. So, they were fed through tubes. That means the way the babies were fed did not affect the study.
VOICE TWO:
The babies involved in the study were given intelligence tests when they were eight years old. Those who were given breast milk did better on the tests than those who received formula.
The British researchers said their study should not be considered (12)final proof that children who are breast-fed are more intelligent. But they said the study did produce strong evidence that human milk contains fats and (13)hormones needed for development.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
Many experts say the first years of a child's life are important for all later development. One American expert believes intelligence is built on (14)emotional exchanges during the first three years of life. Stanley Greenspan is a professor at the George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D-C. He has written several books about child development.
Doctor Greenspan agrees with experts who say babies learn and develop better if they are actively involved. For example, he says playing with an eight-month-old baby is better than showing pictures to the baby. He says playing teaches the baby how to communicate.
VOICE TWO:
A few years ago, Doctor Greenspan published a book called “The Growth of the Mind.” He wrote that six experiences are necessary for a child to develop a healthy mind. These necessary experiences for children are the ability to be (15)calm and under control. Being involved with other people and forming trusting relationships. Communicating with smiles and other body movement. Seeing systems or (16)common ways to do things. Learning to create ideas. And building a link between ideas and thinking.
((MUSIC BRIDGE))
VOICE ONE:
A recent study shows how mothers can strongly influence(17) social development and language skills in their children. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (18)supervised the study. The agency worked with researchers at fourteen universities across the United States.
The study involved more than one-thousand-two-hundred mothers and children. Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. They observed the mothers playing with their children four times during this period.The researchers(19) attempted to measure the(20) sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children's activities and did not (21)interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of the mental condition called (22)depression.
VOICE TWO:
The study found that the children of depressed women did not do as well on tests as the children of women who did not (23)suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly on tests of language skills and understanding what they heard.
These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people. The researchers also noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the general health of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when the women suffered from depression.
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VOICE ONE:
A long-term American study shows the importance of early education for poor children. The study is known as the Abecedarian Project. It involved more than one-hundred young children from poor families in the state of North Carolina.
Half of the children attended an all-day program at a high-quality childcare center. The center offered educational, health and social programs. Children took part in games and activities to increase their thinking and language skills and social and (24)emotional development. The children attended the program from when they were a few weeks old until the age of five years. The other group of children did not attend the childcare center. After the age of five, both groups attended public school.
VOICE TWO:
Researchers compared the two groups of children. When they were babies, both groups had similar results in tests for mental and physical skills. However, from the age of eighteen months, the children in the educational child care program did much better in tests.
The researchers tested the children again when they were twelve and fifteen years old. The tests found that the children who had been in the child care center continued to have higher (25)average test results. These children did much better on tests of reading and (26)mathematics.
VOICE ONE:
Recently, organizers of the (27)Abecedarian Project completed yet another examination of the students who are now twenty-one years old. They were tested for thinking and educational ability, employment, parenting and social skills.
The researchers found that the young (28)adults who had the early education still did better in reading and mathematics tests. They were more than two times as likely to be attending college or to have(29) graduated from college.
Experts say the Abecedarian Project is the longest and most carefully controlled study of the effects of early education. The study shows that early childhood education improves the educational success of poor children. The study is more evidence that learning during the first months and years of life is important for all later development.
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VOICE TWO:
This VOA Special English program, SCIENCE IN THE NEWS, was written and produced by George Grow. This is Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.
(1) intelligence[????????????? ]n.智力, 聪明, 智能
(2) dry[??????]adj.干的, 干燥的, 口渴的vt.(使)干燥, (使)变干v.干燥
(3) institute[ ??????????? ]n.学会, 学院, 协会vt.创立, 开始, 制定, 开始(调查), 提起(诉讼)
(4) agency[ ????????? ]n.代理处, 行销处, 代理, 中介
(5) influence[ ??????????]n.影响, 感化, 势力, 有影响的人(或事), (电磁)感应vt.影响, 改变
(6) environment[????????????????]n.环境, 外界
(7) communicate[ ????????????? ]v.沟通, 通信, (房间、道路、花园等)相通, 传达, 感染
(8) stomach[???????? ]n.胃, 胃口, 胃部v.容忍
(9) pregnant[ ????????? ]adj.怀孕的, 重要的, 富有意义的, 孕育的
(10) newborn[????????????????????]n.婴儿adj.新生的, 再生的
(11) formula[ ????????? ]n.公式, 规则, 客套语,代乳品
(12) final[???????? ]n.结局, 决赛, 期末考试, < adj.最后的, 最终的, 决定性的
(13) hormone[ ???????? ]n.荷尔蒙, 激素
(14) emotional[ ??????????]adj.情绪的, 情感的
(15) calm[ ???? ]adj.(天气、海洋等)静的, 平静的, 沉着的v.(使)平静, (使)镇定, 平息
(16) common[ ?????? ]adj.共同的, 公共的, 公有的, 普通的, n.[复][总]平民, 公有,
(17) social[?????????]adj.社会的, 爱交际的, 社交的, 群居的
(18) supervise [ ??????????? ]v.监督, 管理, 指导
(19) attempt[???????? ]n.努力, 尝试, 企图vt.尝试, 企图
(20) sensitivity[ ??????????????]n.敏感, 灵敏(度), 灵敏性
(21) interfere[ ????????? ]vi.干涉, 干预, 妨碍, 打扰
(22) depression[ ????????? ]n.沮丧, 消沉, 低气压, 低压
(23) suffer[?????? ]vt.遭受, 经历, 忍受vi.受痛苦, 受损害
(24) emotional[?????????? ]adj.情绪的, 情感的
(25) average[????????? ]n.平均, 平均水平, 平均数, 海损adj.一般的, 通常的, 平均的
(26) mathematics[ ???????????? ]n.数学
(27) abecedarian[ ????????????????????? ]n.初学者, 学字母者adj.字母的, 初步的
(28) adult[ ?????????????? ]n.成人, 成年人adj.成人的, 成熟的
(29) graduate[ ??????????????????? ]n.(大学)毕业生, 研究生v.(使)(大学)毕业
