(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
For young people identified as on the autism spectrum, growing into adulthood can have its own challenges. But students at the non-profit educational program Exceptional Minds prove that autism can also mean special talents.
Madeline Petti is an example of how Exceptional Minds helps students with autism seek and reach their full potential.
"I want the world to know that I like designing things and Exceptional Minds is a place where you can go and you will be accepted and you will learn things and it's awesome."
Madeline Petti is part of a new wave of up and coming digital effects artists. She is a young, very talented student who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is learning all about the entertainment industry with Exceptional Minds, a visual effects animation studio in Hollywood, California. Exceptional Minds provides vocational training for young adults with autism.
Madeline has played video games since 4th grade. She has also always loved watching animated shows. But, Madeline says she had a hard time learning in traditional settings.
"I had kind of a difficult time. I get bored really easily when, like, all I'm doing is sitting there and people are talking at me and I'm not really personally invested in the material and when you are not really personally invested you, well really have to force yourself to stay in the moment and pay attention and well if you don't have the motivation to force yourself you are pretty much kind of go off into your own personal La La Land."
Exceptional Minds provided the right kind of learning environment for Madeline. More action, less talking.
"I like coming here because it's so hands on. We are doing so many different things like in a normal classroom you just kind of sit there and they lecture at you and you get more and more bored because all you are doing is sitting there and listening. Whereas here it's a lot more hands on like we get shown examples or we will follow along with the directions. It's I guess we are doing more. I'm second year so I am learning a lot of editing and visual effects I know how to make a light saber. First year we learned animation and photo shop. Photoshop is pretty cool actually. We do a lot of really neat text effects."
Ernie Merlan is EM program director.
"The heart of our program is a full time three year vocational program where they learn to do visual effects and animation and title work specifically for the entertainment industry. The program would teach them not only the technical skills that they needed but the work readiness skills that they needed in order to get a job. So we focus on how they look and what their attitude is and organizing themselves and problem solving on their own and then work place conflict which is something I think we all have but learning how to deal with it is a little tough. We also have part time programs and we have a summer program for younger kids that kind of get them indoctrinated into the kinds of things that we are doing here."
Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability marked by repetitive behaviors and social problems. It affects one in 68 American children. Autism is considered a spectrum condition because its effects can differ widely from person to person. But, like with other disabilities, ASD can make it difficult for a person to find success in work and social experiences.
For Ernie Merlan, working at Exceptional Minds permits him to do something that is part of his life purpose.....help people.
"I love coming in and talking to the students and sometimes when you're the director of a program... you don't have that much of an opportunity to talk to students, but when I come in here and Madeline shows me something she's working on or one of the students has a problem that is a pretty important problem to him, but I'm able to get him through it...that makes my day. Knowing that these guys are going to make something of their lives and that they are going to be able to show the world who they really are that's what it is all about."
Tony Saturno is another student at Exceptional Minds. He earned an Art and Animation certificate at a community college in his home state of Maryland. But, he says the instruction at Exceptional Minds has taught him much more.
"I feel like I've learned a lot of new things here at Exceptional Minds. I've learned some new technical things that go into movies or tv shows whether its live action or animated, but also just story telling in general."
It is costly to run a program like Exceptional Minds. Most families can only pay partial tuition. The program provides financial assistance to every student at the school.
Some students find jobs immediately after finishing the three year Exceptional Minds program. Other students work first at the Exceptional Minds studio. There, students gain connections to Hollywood's major entertainment studios, like Marvel, Fox and Sony. They get to work on movies and television.
Ernie Merlan says the exacting, creative nature of animation seems to fit for some people with ASD. But, he hopes that Exceptional Minds can serve as a model program for teaching other vocations to those on the spectrum.
"Our dream is that we can show other people how to do what we're doing. That they can in their own towns can figure out ways that these individuals can be useful to the town to the local industry and have them be a part of society."
One thing is certain for Madeline Petti, Exceptional Minds has helped to change her outlook on life.
"I don't want to say my life would have been bleak or something without it but I do think that at Exceptional Minds I have a lot more opportunities than I did before. Like I would have made my way but it wouldn't have been as good.
Ernie Merlan says the program changed him as well.
"I am so excited to come into work every day that I don't have the same kind of stress or worries that I had before. I know that I am making a difference and so that changes my attitude about work."
That's Exceptional Minds: ‘changing lives...one frame at a time.'
重点解析
1.grow into成长为
Of course this makes it hard for small sites that may grow into large sites at some point in the future.
当然这使得小型站点将来在某种程度上也很难成长为大型的站点。
2.up and coming有前途的
An up and coming artist with a great set of skills and strong beliefs that he represents in his art.
他富有技巧，并在其作品中表达强烈的信念，是一位冉冉升起的新秀。
3.pay attention 专心
All of these stimulants increase the activity of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) in parts of the brain that control our ability to pay attention and stay alert.
所有这些物质都让大脑中控制注意力和保持清醒的物质——神经递质（一种大脑中的物质）更加活跃。
4.In order to 为了
In order to validate the agreement between yourself and your employer, you must both sign it.
为了使你和你的雇主之间的合同具有法律效力，你们双方必须在合同上签字。
5.figure out解决；想出
It can be difficult, though to figure out creative ways to do it every year.
表达心意可能困难,尽管要想出创造性的方式去做,每年都有。
6.as well也
And we go through that with our board as well, for all of our senior leaders, so they kind of see how our leaders develop.
我们也征询董事会的意见，看看他们对所有高级领导的看法，所以他们知道我们的领导们是如何发展的。
参考译文
对诊断有自闭症谱系障碍的年轻人来说，步入成年会给他们带来一些不同于常人的挑战。但是在“非凡头脑”这个非营利性教育项目中的学生证明了自闭症也意味着特殊的才能。
“
非凡头脑”项目帮助自闭症患者寻求和充分发挥他们的潜力，玛德琳·佩蒂就是一个很好的例子。
“我想让世界知道我喜欢设计，而且“非凡头脑”是一个你可以参与的项目，在那里，人们会接受你，你会学到东西，这太棒了。”
玛德琳·佩蒂是新一代有进取心的数字特效艺术家中的一员。她是一个年轻，有才华的学生，她患有自闭症谱系障碍。佩蒂参与了“非凡头脑”项目，现在她在加州好莱坞的一家视觉效果动画工作室学习有关娱乐业有关的一切知识，“非凡头脑”项目为患有自闭症的年轻的成年人提供职业培训。
玛德琳自从四年级就开始玩电子游戏。她也一直喜欢看动画节目。但是，玛德琳说自己在传统环境中很难学习。
“我经历了一段困难的时光。在一些时候，我很容易会感到无聊，比如当我坐着的时候，人们在谈论我，而我并没有真的参与到对话当中，这时候你会强迫自己停留在此刻，保持专注，而且如果你没有强迫自己的那种动力，你就像是进入了你自己的乐土。”
“非凡头脑”项目为玛德琳提供了适合她的学习环境。多行动，少说话。
“我喜欢来这里，这个项目非常注重动手实践。我们会做很多不同的事情，在一般的教室里，你就是坐在你的位置上，人们给你上课，然后你会越来越无聊，因为你做的事情无非就是坐在那里听课。但是在这里，我们更注重动手实践。比如我么会看到一些实例，或者按照说明来做一些事情。我觉得我们会做更多的事情。这是我来这里的第二年，我正在学习很多编辑和视觉效果，我知道如何制作光剑。第一年我们学习动画和PS。实际上PS是非常酷的应用。我们做了很多非常整洁的文本效果。”
欧尼·梅尔兰是“非凡头脑”的项目总监。
“我们这个项目的核心是一个为期三年的全职职业计划，在这里，他们可以学习专门为娱乐行业服务的视觉效果、动画和职称工作课程。为了使学生们能找到工作，我们的项目不仅教授他们需要的专业技术能力，而且也教授一些他们需要的言语准备技巧。所以我们关注他们的长相和态度，让他们管理自己和独立解决问题，然后解决工作冲突，我觉得我们都存在这个问题，但是学会怎么处理它是有一点难的。我们也有部分时间才做的项目，我们有针对小孩子的暑期项目，这个项目会给孩子们灌输一些本项目的观念。
自闭症谱系障碍是一种以重复行为和社会问题为特征的发育障碍。在每68个美国人中就有一个患有此病。自闭症被认为是一种谱系疾病，因为它的影响因人而异。但是，像其他的身心障碍者一样，自闭症会使一个人难以在工作和社会经历中取得成功。
对欧尼·梅尔兰来说，“非凡头脑”项目工作可以让他做一些事情，这是他人生目标的一部分，那就是帮助他人。
“我喜欢来到这里和学生们聊天，有时候当你是一个项目的主管时，你没有那么多的机会跟学生们聊天，但是我来到这里的时候，玛德琳向我展示了他正在做的事情，或者某一个学生正碰到一个对他非常重要的问题。但我能帮他挺过来，这就构成了我的一天。知道这些学生可以在生活中有所作为，而且他们可以向世界展示真正的自己，这就是它的意义所在。
托尼·萨图尔诺是“非凡头脑”项目的另外一名学生。他在家乡马里兰州的一所社区大学获得了艺术和动画证书。但是，他说他在“非凡头脑”项目学到了更多的东西。
“我觉得自己在这里学到了很多新的东西。总之，我学到了一些电影和电视节目中应用的新技术，不管是真人还是动画，也学了关于讲故事的知识。”
经营一个像“非凡头脑”类似的项目是很昂贵的。大多是家庭只能支付一部分学费。该项目给学校的每名学生都提供经济援助。
有些学生在完成三年的学习后就很快找到了工作。其他的学生则起初在“非凡头脑工作室”工作。在那里，学生们可以接触到好莱坞的主要娱乐工作室，比如漫威、福克斯和索尼。他们开始在电影和电视上工作。
欧尼·梅尔兰动画的严谨和创造性似乎适合一些自闭症患者。但是，他希望“非凡头脑”可以成为一个模范的项目，可以向患自闭症的人提供其他职业培训。
“我们的梦想就是我们可以向其他人展示如何去做我们正在做的事情。在他们的城镇，使这些个体可以做一些对城镇对当地工业有用的事情，让他们成为社会的一份子。
对玛德琳·佩蒂来说，有一件事情是肯定的，“非凡头脑”项目已帮助她改变了她对生活的看法。
“如果没有“非凡头脑”项目的帮助，我不会说我的生活会是没有希望的或者会怎么样，但是我真的觉得在“非凡头脑”，我获得了比之前多得多的机会。没有“非凡头脑”项目的帮助，我也会前行，但是就不会像现在这样这么好了。
欧尼·梅尔兰认为这个项目也改变了他。
“我每天来上班的时候满怀激动，我再也没有以前工作时的压力和烦恼了。我知道现在我有重要的影响，这改变了我对工作的看法。
这就是“非凡头脑”：“一步一步地改变生活。”
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
