(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA's Learning English, this is the Education Report.
Parents in South Australia's Aboriginal lands may lose some of their financial aid if they do not send their children to school. New rules link school attendance with payments for parents living in poverty.
Warren Mundine is Prime Minister Tony Abbott's top advisor on issues concerning Aboriginals, native Australians. He disagrees with connecting school attendance and aid. Instead, he urges the government to find ways to improve attendance without punishing parents.
"Now, I know governments find that punitive measures need to happen but I think they're really a last resort."
Mr. Mundine says the situation can change if tribal leaders support education.
"We need to work with parents and we need to work with communities because we are making a massive cultural change here."
But other officials say they believe the threat of stopping aid will force families to take education more seriously.
In South Australia state, only fifty percent of children stay in school after the age of fifteen. In some areas, as much as ninety percent of Aboriginal children struggle to read and write.
The state government says it has special programs for Aboriginal children. It says students work with their parents and teachers to develop a personal learning plan. The plan is re-examined each year. Local officials also say the public schools provide special workers -- called mentors -- who work individually with Aboriginal students who need extra help.
At year seven, Aboriginal students can join a program called Enter for Success. It helps students deal with the change to high school. The program is designed to improve student attendance at school. The students can choose which high school to attend. School officials say students receive support in reaching the goals on their individual learning plans.
The state of Western Australia also has special programs for Aboriginal and other ethnic groups. The state operates a program called Focus Schools. The program centers on basic skills like reading, writing and numbers skills. Sixty-seven of these public Focus Schools serve students in 79 very rural areas. Most are primary schools.
Some students on the secondary level study with Internet teaching programs. The state's minister for education and child development said the Focus Schools program also includes 118 coaches working with students in 134 schools. About 670,000 indigenous peoples live in Australia.
And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. I'm Catherine Cole.
VOA英文文本来自51VOA，译文由可可原创，未经许可请勿转载。
词汇学习
1.attendance n. 出席
Attendance at lectures is compulsory.
这些讲座是必须参加的。
2.concerning prep. （表示论及）关于，就…而论
I'm going to the library to enquire after any information concerning this matter
我准备去图书馆查询有关此事的任何信息。
3.punitive adj. 处罚的，惩罚性的
And finally our government must change its punitive attitude towards both big and little business.
最后，政府必须改变对大小事务一律惩罚的态度。
4.resort n. 采用的办法
Nuclear weapons should be used only as a last resort...
不到万不得已时不能选择使用核武器。
5.massive adj. 大规模的
We needed to reskill our workforce to cope with massive technological change.
我们得让工人学习新技能，以应对巨大的技术变革。
6.secondary adj. 中等的；中等教育的
More than five-thousand secondary school students have been expelled for cheating.
5,000多名中学生因为作弊被开除。
7.indigenous adj. 土生土长的；生来的
Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.
印第安人是美洲的土著居民。
内容解析
1.He disagrees with connecting school attendance and aid.
disagree with不同意
I disagree with you about this.
对于这件事，我跟你意见不一样。
2.The program centers on basic skills like reading, writing and numbers skills.
center on以…为中心；重点在于…
Her novels center on the problems of adolescence.
她的小说以青少年问题为中心。
参考翻译
美国之音慢速学英语节目，这里是教育报道。
澳大利亚南部大陆上的土著居民家长将失去一些经济援助，如果他们不送自己的孩子去上学。新的规定将入学与贫困父母津贴联系起来。
Warren Mundine是总理艾伯特关于土著居民事宜的高级顾问。他不赞同将入学和援助联系在一起。他敦促政府寻找在不惩罚父母的情况下提高入学率的方法。
“现在，我知道政府认为需要采取惩罚性的措施，但是我认为这是最后不得已的选择。”
Mundine表示，如果部落领袖支持教育的话，情况会发生改变。
“我们需要和家长一起努力，和整个社区一起努力，因为我们正试图在这里做出重大的文化变革。”
但是其他官员表示，他们相信，停止援助的威胁将迫使家长们更加严肃地对待教育。
在澳大利亚南部，只有50%的孩子15岁后仍然在学校上学。在一些地区，多达90%的土著儿童读写有困难。
州政府表示，他们设立了专门针对土著儿童的项目。政府表示，学生们和家长以及老师一起制定个性化的学习计划。该计划每年都会进行重审。当地官员们还表示，公立学校提供特别的工作人员——称为辅导员——单独辅导需要额外帮助的土著学生。
在第七年的时候，土著学生可以参加叫做“走向成功”的项目。该项目帮助学生应对进入高中的变化。该项目是为了提升入学率。这些学生可以选择入读哪一所高中。学校官员们表示，学生们受到支持，达成自己的个人学习计划目标。
西澳大利亚州也有针对土著居民和其他少数民族的项目。该州设立了一个叫做“关注学校”的项目。该项目集中在阅读，书写和算术等基本技能方面。共有67所这样的公立学校为79个乡村地区的学生服务。其中大部分是小学生。
其中一些中学生通过网络教学课程来学习。该州教育和儿童发展部长表示，“关注学校”项目共有118名教练在134所学校工作。澳大利亚共有大约670,000名土著居民。
以上就是今天的美国之音慢速英语教育报道。我是Catherine Cole。
