(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
Public universities in Nigeria have reopened after a nearly six-month long strike by teachers.
In the city of Bauchi, teachers are now back in classrooms at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. History lecturer Maimuna Sadiq attempts to begin where she stopped teaching in June.
FILE - Students and workers carry placards as they march on the Lagos-Ikorodu highway to protest against the suspension of academic activities following a nation-wide strike embarked by lecturers in state-owned universities in Lagos.
"We had treated three topics. You can't remember? So you mean you were not reading?" said Balewa.
Students at public universities across Nigeria tell VOA they feel both happy and worry to be back.
"I am excited, apprehensive. You know, exams is next month. My project work is not completed. I have a lot to do," one student stated.
"We have to rush the semester to end it early, in order to make up the time that we spent on the strike," another student added.
Teachers tell VOA it is the students who lose because of the strike. Repeated strikes can add months, even years, to the time it takes to finish a study program.
A labor group, the Academic Staff Union of Universities suspended the strike in December. Part of the deal that ended the strike was a government promise to invest billions of dollars each year in university buildings and equipment. The money is to be spent during the next five years.
The government said that soon 25 percent of the nation's budget will be spent on education. The teachers and the government also agree to change it in working conditions and special allowances for those in administrative positions.
But some teachers say, the strike was really about pushing the government to make Nigeria's universities better.
Laz Emetike is with Delta State University. "It's for the benefit of all, not a benefit of lecturers only."
He says improvements in the universities, such as better science laboratories, what let Nigeria compete with other parts of the world.
Countries throughout Africa, not just Nigeria, are considering how to answer the exploding demand for admission to universities. These countries must also improve academic values and requirements and find ways to pay teachers enough to keep them.
Experts tell VOA that Nigeria can not ignore this. Hundreds of thousands of young students pass college entrance exams each year but many can not attend public universities because there are not enough classrooms or teachers. Nigeria's population is expected to increase by 100 percent by the middle of this century.
University lecturers say they will be watching to make sure their schools get and effectively use the money the government has promised.
But for now, Nigerian Universities are filled with students and that is a good thing.
And that's the Education Report for VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.suspension n. 悬浮；暂停；停职
The minister warned that any civil servant not at his desk faced immediate suspension.
那位部长警告说任何擅自离岗的公务员面临着立即停职。
2.allowance n. 津贴，零用钱；允许；限额
She gets an allowance for taking care of Amy.
她照顾艾米是有津贴的。
3.academic adj. 学术的；理论的；学院的
Their academic standards are high.
他们的学术水平很高。
内容解析
1."We have to rush the semester to end it early, in order to make up the time that we spent on the strike," another student added.
make up 构成；编造；补足 (某数量)；加班补足 (缺工时间)
They'll have to make up time lost during the strike.
他们将不得不补上因罢工失去的时间。
Less than half of the money that students receive is in the form of grants, and loans have made up the difference.
学生们获得的有不到一半的钱是助学金形式的，贷款补上了不足的部分。
2."It's for the benefit of all, not a benefit of lecturers only."
for the benefit of 为…的利益
The money is to be used for the benefit of the poor.
这笔钱用来为穷人谋福利。
The allowances were for the benefit of the family as a whole.
这种补助金是对整个家庭的补助。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
在教师们罢课近六个月后，尼日利亚公立大学重新开门了。
在包奇市阿布巴卡尔·塔法瓦·巴莱瓦大学，教师们已经回到教室。历史教员Maimuna Sadiq准备从六个月罢课时讲的地方讲。
“我们讲了三个主题，你没记住？意思是你没有看书？”
尼日利亚各地的公立大学学生们告诉美国之音能回到学校让他们喜忧参半。
“我感到既高兴又担忧，要知道下月就要考试，我的项目作业还没完成，有很多事要做。”
“这学期我们要努力赶课，争取早点结束，这样就能弥补罢课期间浪费的时间。”
教师们告诉美国之音，因罢课而遭受损失的是学生。多次罢工会让完成一门学业项目的时间增加数月甚至数年。
劳工组织大学学术人员联盟12月暂停了罢课，结束这次罢课的部分协议包括政府承诺每年对大学建筑和设备投资数十亿美元，这笔资金将在未来五年用。
政府称很快该国预算的25%将用在教育上，教师们和政府都同意改变工作条件和行政岗位的特殊津贴。
但有的研究者说这次罢课事实上迫使政府让尼日利亚的大学变得更好。
Laz Emetike就职于三角洲州立大学，“人人都能从中受益，而不仅仅是教员获益。”
他说大学的改善，比如更好的科学实验室，可以让尼日利亚更好地与世界其他国家竞争。
不仅仅是尼日利亚，整个非洲各国都在考虑如何满足大学入学日益膨胀的需求，这些国家还必须改善学术价值观和要求，想办法给教师发足够的薪水来留住他们。
有专家告诉美国之音，尼日利亚不能忽视这一问题。每年有成千上万学生通过大学入学考试，但因为没有足够的教室和教师，很多学生不能上公立大学。尼日利亚的人口有望在本世纪中期增长100%。
大学教员们称将密切关注学校获得政府承诺的资金，并有效地加以使用。
但到目前为止，尼日利亚大学全是学生，这是个好事。
这就是美国之音慢速英语教育报道，我是鲍勃·多迪。
