(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
US School Closings Can Leave Rural Students Struggling
The closing of classrooms and the move to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected students living in rural areas. Cyliss Castillo is one of them. The 18-year-old lives in Cuba, New Mexico, in a school district on the edge of Native American land that belongs to the Navajo Nation.
Like many of his neighbors, Castillo does not have the internet or even electricity. "There's not a lot to do here. You clean up, pick up trash or build stuff," he told the Associated Press.
Castillo said he does not like online school. "Hopefully by next semester we'll be going back into school…I just find it a lot easier and a lot better than just out here, not doing (anything)," he said.
The Cuba Independent School District sits in a village of about 800 people. The district has kept buses running as a way to bring school to students who live in widely separated areas.
The buses carry schoolwork, art supplies and meals. Advisers also use the buses to speak with students who may be struggling with online bullying, abuse, thoughts of suicide or other problems.
The buses are very important for families in the Cuba school district. About half of the students are Hispanic. The other half are Native American, including many Navajo-speaking English-language learners.
Many families in the area do not have running water. Castillo and others with no electricity charge their school-issued computers with car batteries or at a family member's house. At least one student sends a computer with the buses to be charged at school. Internet service is often either not available or too costly for families living in such rural areas.
For students without home internet, the buses bring USB drives loaded with schoolwork and video lessons from teachers. Some students, like Castillo, began asking for schoolwork on paper because of the difficulty of charging computers.
With COVID-19 cases increasing in New Mexico to their highest levels yet, it is unclear when the district will restart in-person classes.
The district has learned to deal with difficulties. And it has established a good record with graduations, with about 83 percent of its students finishing high school. That is well above the state average.
The district has long used a "community school" method of helping students. Social workers, nurses and teachers help students day and night, not just during the school day. The idea is that students will do better in school if their home life can be improved. All students were given computers in 2019, well before the coronavirus health crisis. That made the move to distance learning easier in March when school buildings started shutting down.
Before the buses leave Cuba High School each day, about 25 bus drivers and school workers spend over an hour preparing for the trip. They load up milk, fruits and vegetables, prepared meals, toilet paper and other important necessities.
As the bus travels, it passes a home every few kilometers. The Castillos built their home by hand and use a small camper as well.
On a recent day, students went out to meet the bus driver, Kelly Maestas. He asked them how they were doing and handed out lunches.
Among the students was 15-year-old Autumn Wilson. Her father died after she started high school last year. Then school shut down. Now she cannot play on the volleyball team anymore.
Autumn said the sadness over her father's death makes it difficult for her to finish schoolwork. But she sometimes finds happiness riding horses with her grandfather. And she looks forward to visits from the bus driver, who once brought her candy for her birthday.
"Kelly, he's really funny to talk to. And if you're feeling sad you can really talk to him," Autumn said. She added: "And you can trust him."
I'm Jonathan Evans.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. belong to 属于；归属；
I used to belong to a youth club
我过去是一个青年俱乐部的成员。
2. struggle with 与……斗争；和……斗争；
We still have to struggle with all kinds of difficulties.
我们仍得和各种各样的困难作斗争。
3. load up 装满；装载货物；
You load up the car and I'll sort the kids out.
你装车，我把孩子们安顿好。
4. shut down 关闭；停业；
They shut down the nuclear reactor for safety reasons.
出于安全原因他们关闭了核反应堆。
参考译文
美国学校关闭让乡村学生举步维艰
在新冠病毒爆发期间，关闭学校并转为在线教学极大地影响了乡村地区的学生，赛利斯·卡斯蒂略就是其中一名学生。他今年18岁，住在新墨西哥州的古巴居民区，这是属于纳瓦霍族的美国原住民土地边缘的一个学区。
卡斯蒂略和他的许多邻居一样，没有互联网，甚至没有电。“在这里没什么可做的。”他告诉美联社说：“做清理、捡垃圾或者建东西。
卡斯蒂略表示他不喜欢网校，他说：“希望下学期我们能回学校……我只是觉得回学校比在这里轻松多了，也会好很多，在这儿什么也干不了。”
古巴独立学区坐落在一个大约有800人的村庄里。该区一直有校车运行，以便送居住在相隔甚远地区的学生去上学。
校车上载有作业、美术用品和饭菜，学习顾问们还利用校车与那些可能正在被网络欺凌、虐待、自杀念头或其他问题困扰的学生交谈。
校车对古巴独立学区的家庭非常重要，这里大约一半的学生是西班牙裔，另一半是美国原住民，包括许多说纳瓦霍语的英语学习者。
这个地区的许多家庭没有自来水。卡斯蒂略和其他家里没电的学生用汽车电池给学校发的电脑充电，或到其它家庭成员的家里充电。至少有一名学生会带着电脑坐校车去学校充电。对于生活在这些乡村地区的家庭来说，往往无法接入互联网，或者是网络使用费用过高。
对于那些家里没有互联网的学生，校车会带来装载有作业和教师视频课程的U盘。一些像卡斯蒂略这样的学生，因为很难给电脑充电，所以他们开始要求纸介作业。
随着新墨西哥州新冠病毒病例上升至最高水平，尚不清楚该地区何时将重新开始面授课程。
这个地区找到了处理困境的方法，并创造出良好的毕业记录，大约83%的学生完成了高中学业，这远远高于该州的平均水平。
该区长期采用“社区学校”的方式帮助学生。社会工作者、护士和教师不分昼夜地帮助学生，不仅是在学生在校期间。他们的想法是，如果家庭生活能得到改善，学生在学校的表现会更好。所有的学生都在2019年拿到了电脑，那是在新冠病毒危机爆发之前。今年3月，学校开始停课，这使得向远程教育转变变得更加容易。
每天在校车离开古巴高中之前，大约有25名校车司机和校工会花一个多小时准备行程。他们装上牛奶、水果和蔬菜、准备好的饭菜、卫生纸和其他重要的必需品。
校车行驶时，每隔几公里就经过一户人家。卡斯蒂略的家是他们自己建造的，他们还使用了一辆小型露营车。
最近，学生们出去见校车司机凯利·梅斯塔斯。他询问学生们过得怎么样，还给他们分发了午餐。
学生中有一名15岁大的秋·威尔逊，她去年上高中后父亲去世了。随后，学校就关闭了。现在，她不能再去排球队打球了。
秋说，父亲去世的悲伤让她很难完成课业，但她有时会和爷爷一起骑马找乐子。她期待着校车司机的来访，他曾经在她过生日时带来糖果。
“跟凯利说话真有趣，如果你感到悲伤，可以和他聊聊。”她补充道：“你可以信任他。”
乔纳森·埃文斯报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
