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VOA慢速英语2018 得州84岁老妪获得大学学位

时间:2018-12-26 16:04:27

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(单词翻译)

Woman Reaches Lifelong Goal of College Degree at 84

Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.

很多人都设定了上大学的目标,有些人甚至是在还很年幼的时候。德克萨斯州的一位妇女就等待了很久才有机会实现这个目标。

The woman is 84-year-old Janet Fein. Last week, she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas.

这位妇女就是84岁的珍妮特·费恩(Janet Fein)。上周,她拿到了德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校的学士学位。

Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired1 at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement2.

费恩经历了丰富的人生。她养大了5个孩子,然后在77岁退休前一直担任秘书。但是即便如此,她也不准备在退休后就闲下来。

“I didn’t have anything to do in retirement and I didn’t think that playing bingo was up to my speed,” Fein told the Associated Press. She said she decided3 to major in sociology4 because she felt it was “substantial5.”

费恩对美联社表示:“退休后我无事可做,我认为玩宾果游戏跟不上我的速度。”她说自己决定主修社会学是因为她认为这是“非常有价值的。”

Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. She said that in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary at a dress manufacturer6.

费恩在纽约市布朗克斯地区长大。她说高中时自己只想毕业找份工作。16岁早早毕业后,她去了一家服装制造厂担任秘书。

After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including 20 years as a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from in 2012. She also worked for 20 years on earning an associate degree, which she received in 1995.

结婚之后她在家陪伴了孩子18年。她一生之中做过好几份工作,包括在达拉斯一家医院做了20年秘书,2012年她从这份工作上退休了。她曾攻读了20年的副学士学位,并在1995年拿到了这个学位。

But Fein told the AP she also wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree “with all of my heart.” Even with all of her life experiences, she said she enjoyed reading, writing papers and learning7 new things. “With each class I already knew a lot, but then I also learned8 a lot. And that made me happy.”

但是费恩告诉美联社,即使有了这么丰富的人生经历,她还是非常想获得学士学位。她说她喜欢阅读、写文章和学习新事物。她说:“每节课我都已经懂得了很多,但是还是学到了很多,这让我非常高兴。”

Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas. State officials say about 2,000 people used the program last year.

费恩参加了一项州级计划,允许65岁及以上老人到德克萨斯州的公立大学免费就读。州官员表示,去年大约有2000人参加了这项计划。

Estimates9 show that nationwide, people 65 and older make up less than one percent of U.S. college students. But health experts say continuing with education later in life is one way to keep fit.

据估计,在全国范围内,65岁及以上老人在美国大学生中所占的比例不到1%。但是健康专家表示,老年时继续接受教育是保持健康的方法之一。

Carmel Dyer is director of the UTHealth Consortium on Aging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She says that keeping active and giving yourself something to look forward to “is just a really positive move.”

卡梅尔·戴尔(Carmel Dyer)是德克萨斯大学休斯顿健康科学中心UTHealth老龄化联盟的主任。她说,保持活力,有所期待是一项非常积极的举措。

In Fein’s case, she kept going to class even as her health conditions worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she required oxygen. She also developed knee problems. So, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements.

以费恩来说,即使健康状况恶化她也坚持上课。在学习期间,她需要使用助步器行走,还需要吸氧。她膝盖还出了毛病。所以费恩参加了在线课程,以完成学位要求的最后一部分课程。

Her college advisor10 was Sheila Rollerson. She told the AP that Fein never showed signs of giving up even with all of her difficulties. “She just kept plugging along,” Rollerson said.

她的大学辅导员是希拉·罗勒森(Sheila Rollerson)。罗勒森对美联社表示,即使遇到了困难,费恩也从未表现出放弃的迹象。罗勒森表示:“她勤奋地坚持了下来。”

Tracy Glass, a 40-year-old student, became friends with Fein after they both took seats in the front of the class. “I sat right next to her and over the course of the semester11, built a fast friendship with her,” Glass said. She added that Fein’s personal memories of world events - like the women’s movement – improved a lot of the class discussions12.

40岁的学生特蕾西·格拉斯(Tracy Glass)跟费恩都坐在前排座位,之后她们成为了好朋友。格拉斯表示:“我整个学期就坐在她旁边,很快跟她成为了好朋友。”她补充说,费恩对妇女运动等世界大事的个人记忆把课堂讨论提高了很多。

Carol Cirulli Lanham teaches sociology at the university. She agrees that Fein could make the classroom experience more meaningful for other students. “She would speak up a lot in class and I think that it just made for a more interesting class," she told the AP. “Because she literally13 remembered some of the times we were talking about.”

卡罗尔·拉纳姆(Carol Cirulli Lanham)在大学教社会学。她也认为费恩可以让课堂体验对其它学生来说更有意义。她对美联社表示:“她会在课堂上大声说出来,这会让课堂更加有趣。因为她完全记得我们在讨论的一些时期。”

Renee Brown is one of Fein’s caregivers. She says Fein has also inspired her. At 53, she plans to begin nursing school to further her career. Brown said Fein told her, “Renee, you can do it. If I can do it you can do it, and you will feel so good about it,"

蕾妮·布朗(Renee Brown)是费恩的护理员之一。她说费恩也激励了她。她在53岁的年纪计划开始上护理学校以进一步发展自己的事业。布朗说费恩告诉她,“蕾妮,你可以做到。如果我都能做到,你一定也能。你会觉得很棒。”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

bachelor’s degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

secretary – n. someone who works14 in an office answering phones, writing letters, arranging meetings, etc.

bingo – n. game in which players mark numbers on a board

substantial – adj. important or large in amount

online– n. connected to or involving a computer or telecommunications system

plug along – v. to work hard at something for a long time

semester – n. one of the two time periods a college year is divided into

literally – adv. in a completely accurate15 way

inspire – v. make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
2 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 sociology lwrwn     
n.社会学,社会关系学,群落生态学
参考例句:
  • He is studying sociology.他正研究社会学。
  • A pioneer of legal sociology in Germany was Max Weber.德国法律社会学的先驱是马克斯·韦伯。
5 substantial 1sbwv     
adj.大的,相当可观的,大体上的
参考例句:
  • She is preparing a substantial meal against his return.她正在准备一顿丰盛的饭菜为他接风。
  • The country bought a substantial number of weapons.这个国家购买了大量武器。
6 manufacturer DBgxl     
n.生产厂商,制造公司,厂主
参考例句:
  • A manufacturer can amplify the demand of a product by advertising widely.厂商能用大做广告的方法来扩大人们对产品的需求。
  • Prices are laid down by the manufacturer.价格是由厂商制定的。
7 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
8 learned m1oxn     
adj.有学问的,博学的;learn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
  • In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里,他被视为有学问的人。
9 estimates d72749910e71e75279b310239e18f36f     
估计
参考例句:
  • Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
  • We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后,接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 advisor JKByk     
n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。
11 semester XDJzN     
n.一学期,半学年,六个月的时间
参考例句:
  • A student will probably attend four or five courses during each semester.每个学生一学期可能要修四五门课程。
  • I had an especially rough time during my first semester.我第一个学期的日子难受极了。
12 discussions 48ee344d9a540894650ce4af27e169dd     
n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 );商讨;详述;论述
参考例句:
  • Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
  • Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。
13 literally 28Wzv     
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实
参考例句:
  • He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
  • Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候,她不走到真正要昏厥了,决不肯坐下来。
14 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
15 accurate KJByg     
adj.正确无误的;准确的,精确的
参考例句:
  • He has made an accurate measurement of my garden.他准确地丈量了我的花园。
  • He is always accurate in what he says and does.他说的和做的总是正确无误。

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