(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
Adam Braun established the organization Pencils of Promise in 2008. Its goal is to make sure all children have a chance for education. Six years later, the non-profit group is building a new school somewhere every 90 hours. It has helped more than 22,000 children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
It all started when Adam Braun was a college student. He was visiting India when a boy stopped him on the street, the boy asked for money. Mr. Braun asked the boy what he would want, if he could have anything in the world.
"I thought the answer was going to be 'a house' or 'a car' or 'a boat'. His answer was 'a pencil'. So I gave him my pencil and he just lit up with joy. I realized he never had been to school before, and that was the reality for 57 million children around the world," Braun said.
Adam Braun started working in finance after he graduated from college. But he never forgot the boy and the problem he represented.
"We live in a world in which every single child can have access to quality education, because we have everything necessary already. We have the capability of educating every child. So I became immensely committed to helping create that world," Braun said
Mr. Braun raised money for his project by using social media. He paid for building the first Pencils of Promise school, in Laos, five years ago. Since then, his group has helped pay for more than 200 schools in rural areas of Laos, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Ghana.
He says, his organization works closely with the local education agencies. He says the officials organize the main program of studies. But he says his group provides additional learning materials about health and water and waste systems. Pencils of Promise also works closely with communities.
Leslie Engle Young is another Pencils of Promise employee. She says local people are willing to combine efforts and resources for children's education.
"We started saying 'OK, how can we get your 20 percent? What part of the labor can you do? What materials do you have that you can contribute to the project?' And through this really organic conversation, we start building a true partnership with these people," Young said.
Such support helped Adam Braun decide to expand his organization's work beyond the elementary school level. Pencils of Promise developed financial plans to help students continue on to secondary school and teacher training.
"We are really rigorous about making sure that the programs are not just beautiful photos and videos of kids, but that we're actually seeing incredible results in the classroom. And if we're not seeing results, then we need to change our programs. That's why our kids in Pencils of Promise schools progress from one grade to the next at two times the national average," Braun said.
And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. For more education stories, go to our website learningenglish.voanews.com. I'm Christopher Cruise.
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.immensely adv. 极大地；无限地；广大地；庞大地
I enjoyed this film immensely.
我非常喜欢这部电影。
2.rigorous adj. 严格的，严厉的；严密的；严酷的
The selection process is based on rigorous tests of competence and experience.
挑选过程是建立在对能力和经验严格缜密的考核的基础之上的。
3.incredible adj. 难以置信的，惊人的
The wildflowers will be incredible after this rain.
这场雨过后，野花将开得非常好。
内容解析
1.What materials do you have that you can contribute to the project?
contribute to 有助于；捐献
Various factors contributed to his downfall.
多种因素的作用导致了他的倒台。
The three sons also contribute to the family business.
这3个儿子也为家族事业做出了贡献。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。
亚当·布劳恩2008年成立了承诺铅笔组织，目的是确保每个儿童都有接受教育的机会。6年后，这家非盈利组织每90小时就在某个地方建立一所现学校，已经帮助了非洲、亚洲和拉美2.2万多名儿童。
这一切要追溯到亚当·布劳恩是大学生的时候，他当时在访问印度，然后一个男孩在街头拦住他问他要钱。布劳恩问他如果能得到世界上任何东西，他想要什么。
“我原以为答案是一座房子或一辆车或一艘船，但他的回答是一支铅笔。我就把我的铅笔给他，他非常开心。我意识到他以前从未上过学，这就是全世界5700万儿童面临的现实。”
亚当·布劳恩大学毕业后从事金融工作，但他从未忘记这个男孩和他代表的问题。
“我们这个世界每个孩子都有权利获得高质量的教育，因为我们已经具备所需的条件。我们有能力教育每个孩子，所以我开始致力于帮助创造这样的世界。”
布劳恩使用社交媒体为项目筹款，5年前他为在老挝建设第一所承诺铅笔学校提供资金。自那时起，他的组织已经帮助老挝、尼加拉瓜、危地马拉和加纳乡村地区的200多所学校。
他说他的组织与当地教育机构密切合作，官方组织主要的研究项目。但他说他的组织还提供了卫生、水和垃圾系统方面的额外学习资料。承诺铅笔项目还与社区密切合作。
莱斯利·恩格尔·杨是承诺铅笔的另一位雇员，她说当地人愿意为儿童教育做出努力并提供资源。
“我们一开始说，‘我们怎么能得到你们的20%？你们能做些什么？你们能给项目提供什么样的材料呢？’通过这些谈话，我们开始和这些人建立真正的伙伴关系。”
这样的支持让亚当·布劳恩决定将组织的工作拓展到小学以外，承诺铅笔开发了金融计划，帮助学生继续接受中学教育和教师培训。
“我们认真确保这些项目不仅仅是漂亮的图片和孩子们的视频，也在教室看到不可思议的结果。如果我们没有看到这些结果，那么我们需要改变项目，因此承诺铅笔学校的孩子们升学比例是全国平均水平的两倍。”
这就是美国之音慢速英语教育报道，登陆learningenglish.voanews.com获得更多教育报道，我是克里斯多夫·克鲁斯。
