VOA慢速英語(yǔ):US to Help Boost Haiti's Education System

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

這里是美國(guó)之音慢速英語(yǔ)教育報(bào)道。

Haiti is among the poorest nations in the world, only about half the children in the country go to primary school. And the United Nations children's agency UNICEF says, fewer than 25 percent attend secondary school.

海地位居全球最窮的國(guó)家之列，該國(guó)只有大約一半孩子上小學(xué)。聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)(UNICEF)表示，該國(guó)只有不到25%的孩子上中學(xué)。

Many Haitian schools are in poor condition. They lack running water and dependable electricity. The United States Institute of Peace has called the education system in Haiti "dysfunctional", it says reforms and financial assistance are badly needed.

海地許多學(xué)校條件很差，它們?nèi)鄙僮詠?lái)水和可靠的電力。美國(guó)和平研究所稱海地教育系統(tǒng)“機(jī)能失調(diào)”，并表示，該國(guó)教育系統(tǒng)急需改革和財(cái)政援助。

Last week, U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan visited Haiti to discuss its education system. He met with with Haitian President Michel Martelly. Mr Martelly was elected in 2011, he is working on his campaign promise to make education required and free of charge for every child.

上周，美國(guó)教育部長(zhǎng)阿恩·鄧肯(Arne Duncan)訪問(wèn)海地討論該國(guó)的教育系統(tǒng)。他會(huì)見(jiàn)了海地總統(tǒng)米歇爾·馬爾泰利(Michel Martelly)。馬爾泰利先生于2011年當(dāng)選總統(tǒng)，他正致力于他“每個(gè)孩子都必須上學(xué)且不收費(fèi)”的競(jìng)選承諾。

Mr Duncan announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID) will invest millions of dollars to improve Haiti's education system. The agency will invest the money through its Room to Learn program, a program seeks to increase equality in opportunities for education. Mr Duncan said the United States will also provide technical assistance to Haiti's Education Ministry.

鄧肯先生宣布，美國(guó)國(guó)際開(kāi)發(fā)署將投資數(shù)百萬(wàn)美元用于改善海地的教育系統(tǒng)。該機(jī)構(gòu)將通過(guò)其Room to Learn項(xiàng)目投入這些資金。該項(xiàng)目旨在增加教育的平等機(jī)會(huì)。鄧肯先生表示，美國(guó)也將為海地教育部提供技術(shù)上的援助。

The American Education Secretary spoke with VOA's Creole Service after he returned to the U.S.

鄧肯先生回國(guó)后同美國(guó)之音的克里奧爾語(yǔ)頻道進(jìn)行了交流。

He said Haitian lawmakers are considering legislation that would expand funding for education. He said that if the measure passes, the law would be hugely important. Mr Duncan talked about his visits to several schools in Haiti, these included a school for children who live on the street. Mr Duncan praised the students for their courage and their efforts to gain a better life.

他說(shuō)，海地國(guó)會(huì)議員正在考慮立法增加教育經(jīng)費(fèi)。他說(shuō)，如果這一措施獲得通過(guò)，該法案將極其重要。鄧肯先生談到了他參觀的幾所海地學(xué)校，其中包括一所為街頭兒童設(shè)立的學(xué)校。鄧肯先生贊揚(yáng)了這些學(xué)生為贏得更好未來(lái)的勇氣和努力。

"To hear their stories of why they are working so hard, and why they want to get off the streets - I'll never forget it," said Duncan.

鄧肯先生說(shuō)，“聽(tīng)到他們?yōu)槭裁慈绱伺W(xué)習(xí)，為什么想要跳出這種街頭生活的故事，我畢生難忘。”

Mr Duncan noted that many children lost parents in the 2010 earthquake. Another school he visited had 110 students in a single classroom. He also said it is very rare for Haitian school to have computers.

鄧肯先生指出，許多孩子在2010年的地震中失去父母。另一所他參觀的學(xué)校一個(gè)教室就有110名學(xué)生。他還表示，海地的學(xué)校極少能有計(jì)算機(jī)。

However, he said most students are able to get a meal at school. For many, that is their only meal of the day.

不過(guò)，他表示，大多數(shù)學(xué)生能在學(xué)校吃上一頓飯。對(duì)許多人來(lái)說(shuō)，這是他們一天中唯一的一頓飯。

In his interview with the Creole Service, Mr Duncan also talked about language use in Haitian schools. The country has two official languages - Creole and French. Most Haitians speak Creole but most schools use French. Mr Duncan said he believes this situation is difficult for children who learn Creole at home.

在接受克里奧爾語(yǔ)頻道的采訪中，鄧肯先生還談到了海地學(xué)校使用的語(yǔ)言。該國(guó)有兩種官方語(yǔ)言，克里奧爾語(yǔ)和法語(yǔ)。大多數(shù)海地人說(shuō)克里奧爾語(yǔ)，但大多數(shù)學(xué)校使用法語(yǔ)。鄧肯先生說(shuō)，他認(rèn)為這種情況對(duì)在家學(xué)的是克里奧爾語(yǔ)的孩子來(lái)說(shuō)很困難。

"And I think that for other challenges students are facing, when their teacher speaking a different language from use, that can be pretty hard," said Duncan.

鄧肯先生說(shuō)，“我認(rèn)為學(xué)生們面臨的另一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)是，他們老師說(shuō)的語(yǔ)言和日常使用的不同。這點(diǎn)相當(dāng)困難。”

He praised an experimental program that teaches reading in Creole in about 300 schools. Mr Duncan also noted the importance of having good data to help schools. He said there is a need for collecting more basic information like the number of schools, the number of teachers and how the student are progressing.

他贊揚(yáng)了在大約300所學(xué)校用克里奧爾語(yǔ)教閱讀的一個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)方案。鄧肯先生還指出了獲得有效數(shù)據(jù)幫助學(xué)校的重要性。他表示，有必要收集更多的基本信息，如學(xué)校數(shù)量、教師數(shù)量，以及學(xué)生學(xué)業(yè)進(jìn)展。