标题：VOA慢速英语：大学教育人人平等？
听力内容：
Does a College Education Help All People Equally?
Higher education has been a dream for generations of men and women all over the world.
Many people consider higher education a major step on the path towards success.
Most high-paying jobs require a college or university degree. And parents often begin saving for their children's college years when they are still young.
But does higher education improve the lives of all people in the same way?
People have long called colleg e the ‘great equalizer,' meaning it gives students from all backgrounds the same opportunities or similar chances for success.
A study released in February 2017 supports this idea. The study comes from a research program called the Equality of Opportunity Project. It is operated by Stanford University and other top schools in the United States.
In the study, researchers examined tax records from about 30 million U.S. college students and their families. The tax records were from the years 1999 to 2013. The researchers then compared the earnings of families before their children went to college to the income of individual students about 10 years after they completed their studies.
The findings may not come as a surprise to some. For example, it showed a de gree from an ‘Ivy League' or other highly selective school helps students from low income families a great deal.
Ivy League is a term for eight private universities in the northeastern United States. Many people consider them to be among the best for higher education in the world.
Two of the eight, Columbia University and Cornell University, are in New York State. The others are Brown University in Rhode Island; Dartmouth College in New Hampshire; Harvard University in Massachusetts; the University of Pennsylvania; Princeton University in New Jersey; and Yale University in Connecticut.
The study found that about 60 percent of the lowest income students at Ivy League schools earned as much as students from the highest income families later in life. But the high cost and intense level of competition to attend one of these schools can be a barrier for many students.
What may be more interesting is what less widely known colleges can do, says Niklas Flamang. He is a doctoral degree candidate in economics at Stanford.
Flamang says the study identified 10 less selective universities that also helped large numbers of students escape poverty. The State University of New York at Stony Brook is one example. Fifty-one percent of Stony Brook students from the lowest income group entered the highest income group sometime after graduating.
Flamang says this proves that any given college can be a tool for success.
"From a societal perspective, these universities really contribute to economic mobility in the sense that they both admit a large share of low income students, and also provide excellent outcomes for these low income students."
However, there are other issues to consider. The study notes that Ivy League and other top schools are less likely to admit students from low-income families. On average, a young person from the highest income background is 77 percent more likely to attend one of these schools than someone from the lowest income background.
Also, while a college education may help almost everyone, higher income students still have an advantage. That is the opinion of Dirk Witteveen, a doctoral candidate at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
In February, the journal Social Forces published his report on a study of college graduates and their earnings.
Witteveen examined information from the U.S. Department of Education on all students attending an American college or university in 1993 and 2008. He did not compare different schools or degree programs.
Instead Witteveen compared the earnings of all students 10 years after they graduated. He found that the students born into the highest income families still earned at least two percent more after college than anyone else.
Witteveen says this is because people from wealthier families have more connections that can help their children.
"Some families have connections within professional industries that could lead to a good first job or a great first internship. So, more generally, this means that class is a much wider concept than just the amount of money that your parents earn or the amount of wealth that your parents have."
Witteveen suggests that almost no amount of education can take the place of these special relationships. Colleges can help lower income students by doing more to connect them with successful graduates. Also, programs teaching skills like network-building should become part of how colleges prepare students for the real world.
But some people would argue that college is not the only path to success.
Nicholas Wyman is head of the Institute for Workplace Skills and Innovation. His company helps organizations and educators with job training for employees.
Wyman argues that there are still many well-paying jobs that do not require a college degree. This includes jobs in manufacturing and other highly technical fields.
“There is no guarantee of a job,” Wyman said. “College is definitely a pathway for some people, and there is no question that it is very successful for many people. But for some people, there are alternat ives.”
Many U.S. high schools once offered classes in how to repair automobiles and other machines. But programs like these have become less and less common over the years. Wyman says this is because many Americans do not want their children working in positions involving physical labor. He suggests parents should support students' interests in these fields to keep manufacturing jobs from leaving the country.
And, with the cost of college rising, Wyman says young people may find the success they are looking for at a much lower price.
I'm Pete Musto.
Pete Musto reported this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. How important do you think a college education is to a person's success? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
degree –n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university
background(s) – n. the experiences, knowledge and education in a person's past
selective – adj. careful to choose only the best people or things
doctoral – adj. of or relating to the highest degree that is given by a university
graduating – v. earning a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university
societal – adj. of or relating to people in living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values
perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something
contribute – v. to help to cause something to happen
mobility – n. the ability or tendency to move from one position or situation to another usually better one
outcome(s) – n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process
advantage – n. something, such as a good position or condition, that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others
journal – n. a publication that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people
internship – n. a position as a student or recent graduate who works for a period of time at a job in order to get experience, often without pay
class – n. the way people in a society are divided into different social and economic groups
concept – n. an idea of what something is or how it works
network – n. a group of people or organizations that are closely connected and that work with each other
alternative(s) - n. something that can be chosen instead of something else
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture(农业的）Report. Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased the amount of salt in fresh water used on coastal farms. As a result farmers are increasingly unable to use fields close to the sea. Scientists call this process "salinization（盐渍化）." The term（术语）comes from the word "saline" （生理盐水）-- which means a mixture of salt and water. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says salinization is reducing the world's irrigated lands by 1 to 2 percent every year. Irrigation is the process of supplying land with fresh water from other areas. As saline water cannot be used for irrigation, a farm in Netherlands has managed to grow healthy and tasty vegetables in soil irrigated with salt water. But a farmer in the Netherlands is now using a mixture of sea and fresh water to grow healthy and tasty vegetables.
1．Three university students in Santiago,Chile have developed a phant-powerd device to charge their mobile phones.The three engineering students got the idea for the device while sitting in their school’s courtyard.Their invention is a small biological circuit they call E-Kaia.It captures the energy plants produce during photosynthesis.Aphant uses only a small part of the energy produced by that process,The rest goes into the soil.E-Kaia collects that energy.The device plugs into the ground and then into a mobile phone.The E-Kaia solved two problems for the engineering studnts,They needed an idea for a class project.They also needed an outlet to plug in their phones.One of the student inventors,CamilaRupcich,says the device charges the energy released from the plant into low-level power to charge phones.The E-Kaia is able to fully recharge a mobile phone in less than two hours.I’m Jonathan Evans. 2．University of Washington researchers say they used a laser to turn hot water into cool water. Five engineers from the university are the first in the 50-year history of the laser to refrigerate liquids under normal conditions with light beams. The group used a simple approach to the experiment. Lasers are known for producing hot temperatures. The University of Washington says they “essentially ran the laser phenomenon in reverse.” The discovery has a future in the computer and medical fields. Computer interiors could be cooled by lasers. In a medical laboratory, individual cells could be cooled to see how they react. “Few people have thought about how they could use this technology to solve problems because using lasers to refrigerate liquids hasn’t been possible before,” said researcher Peter Pauzauskie.The cool laser concept can also be used in manufacturing, telecommunications or national defense.The group has an interest in hearing from businesses or scientists who may have every day applications for the cool laser. The findings were published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I’m Marsha James. 3．The United States is marking the 14th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks. U.S. officials and many other Americans attended observances Friday to remember those killed and their loved ones. Nearly 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 when hijackers used four passenger airplanes to carry out suicide attacks in the United States. In addition to the victims, the 19 hijackers also were killed. Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his group claimed responsibility for the attacks. U.S. forces killed him in a surprise raid on his hiding place in Pakistan four years ago. Friday morning, President Barack Obama, his wife and White House workers observed a public moment of silence in Washington. They gathered on the White House grounds at 8:46. That was the exact time when a hijacked airplane struck the World Trade Center. In New York, families of the victims gathered for a ringing of bells and reading of the names of those killed in the terrorist attacks. Moments of silence were held at 8:46 and 9:03 in the morning, when a second hijacked plane also hit the World Trade Center. Near Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and other officials attended an observance at the Pentagon, the home of the Defense Department. They joined in remembering those killed when a hijacked airplane hit the Pentagon, killing 184 people. Earlier Friday, a large American flag was hung down the side of the Pentagon, where the passenger jet hit. There also was a moment of silence at 10:03 a.m. That was the time when a fourth hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. All 44 people on the plane were killed. Many Americans believe the hijackers had planned to attack a target in the nation’s
2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） 2016年6月大学英语四级听力VOA慢速英语练习题（第二十二套） Apps to Help Students Do Their Best Work Evernote Application software for computers or mobile devices can do a lot of things for students of all ages. Apps?can help students get better organized, study for tests and prepare research papers. In other words, they can help the user do his or her very best work. Apps can help any users, even those who are not students, get more organized and improve their work. Whether or not you are a student, here are some apps worth considering. Quizlet Quizlet is a study aid app. It is filled with?flash cards?on many subjects to study. Use the cards that come with the app or create your own. Quizlet has links to subjects like: Arts & Literature Languages & Vocabulary Math & Science History & Geography Standardized Tests Professional & Careers The app has a mix of text, images and audio recordings, includingpronunciation?of words in different languages. Quizlet has games to play and tests to take. Cards are available on the app even when you are not connected to the Internet. Quizlet is available as a free app from Apple’s iTunes store. Quizlet for iPhone and iPad Quizlet for Android devices You can learn more at the Quizlet website. EasyBib Sometimes the most difficult part of writing a research paper is creating thebibliography. A bibliography lists all of the publications and other sources used in your research. Getting just the right?citations?to appear in the correct?format?can be difficult and take a lot of time. The EasyBib app can make creating a bibliography easier. The app can help organize the information and find citations for books, websites and more. EasyBib users can simply?scan?the barcode on a book with a mobile phone camera to get the information they need. You can also search for documentation in the app if the book is unavailable at the time. The app offers over 7,000 different citation formats, including the commonly used Modern Language Association, or MLA, style. Users can change the way in which the information is organized and stored within the app. Users can email information from EasyBib to others or to send it to a home
No.1 This is the VOA Special English Education Report. A program in the eastern United States invites young people into a prison to try to scare them away from prison. The goal is to teach them to avoid bad choices and bad influences that could put them behind bars for life. Students can take a tour of the prison, in school groups or by themselves. At the end, the young people sit down for a discussion with some of the inmates. The program is called Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy, or PATT. It takes place at the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown, a medium-security prison for men. Sal Mauriello is a case specialist there. SAL MAURIELLO: "We have a group of eleven inmates who are in the PATT program. They tell the youth what they went through as a child, what their crimes consist of. They try to teach them about peer pressure. They try to teach them about bad choices." The Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy program also includes an essay-writing contest. Tomi Dare is a seventeen-year-old student at Hagerstown Community College. She saw an announcement for the contest on her college website. To enter, students had to write about peer pressure and why they do not do drugs. The prize: five hundred dollars for school. In her essay, Ms. Dare wrote about her own experience growing up as an African-American girl interested in sports. T OMI DARE: "Drugs and alcohol not only slow a person down, it doesn't make you feel like you are a winner. It doesn't make you feel like you are the best. As an athlete, I'm 6-2 [188 centimeters], so I feel that I should be above peer pressure because I'm bigger than everybody that I’m around. "So I was talking about that and I was talking about how I consider myself a queen. And if I’m royalty, I need to not put substances in my body. Drugs and alcohol are not what a queen should be taking." The scholarship is presented by the Prisoners Against Teen Tragedy program. Prison spokesman Mark Vernarelli says most teens who visit come to understand what even one bad decision can mean. MARK VERNARELLI: "A lot of men and women serving life in prison in the state of Maryland didn't pull a trigger or plunge a knife into anybody. They were accessories to a crime. They
VOA慢速英语听力练习（学案） Most US Front-Line Workers Are Women, Minorities Step 1 Words in This Story front line(s) –n.the most important and active position in a job or field of activity essential–adj.extremely important and necessary pandemic–n.an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world invisible–adj.impossible to see delivery–n.the act of taking something to a person or place tendon–n.a tough piece of tissue in your body that connects a muscle to a bone customer(s) –n.someone who buys goods or services from a business insurance–n.an agreement in which a person makes regular payments to a company and the company promises to pay money if the person is injured or dies, or to pay money equal to the value of something (such as a house or car) if it is damaged, lost, or stolen quarantine(d) –v.to keep (a person or animal) away from others to prevent a disease from spreading anxiety–n.fear or nervousness about what might happen pistol(s) –n.a small gun made to be aimed and fired with one hand Step 2 Listen and fill in the missing words. It is becoming clear that the coronavirus crisis has had a major effect on the people working on the front
By VOA 22 July, 2015 From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report. International students and workers must take a standardized test of English to move into higher levels of education and employment. There are three popular tests that universities or employers can use. They are the Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL, the Test of English for International Communication, TOEIC, and the International English Language Testing System, IELTS. In most cases, the choice is clear. A student applying to a school learns which test the program requires. However, some programs or universities will accept scores from any of the international tests of English. Then, a student may choose which test to take. The TOEIC tests workplace communication The Educational Testing Service, ETS, in Princeton, New Jersey, develops and administers both the TOEFL and the TOEIC. It says the TOEIC measures the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment. A TOEFL preparation class The TOEIC test started in the 1970s. The Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry asked ETS to develop a test for corporations to use. They wanted to know if non-native English speakers could carry out business in English. The TOEIC is based on English used in the workplace. But the test does not require knowledge of special business words. The questions come from real situations like attending a company meeting. Organizations sometimes use the TOEIC to measure progress in English training programs. They also use it to consider people for placement at the right level in language programs. ETS says that 14,000 organizations in 150 countries use the TOEIC. The TOEFL tests English used in the classroom There are several versions of the TOEFL. Students take the Internet-based TOEFL, or TOEFL IBT, on a computer. Many U.S. universities require the TOEFL IBT for international student admissions. Another TOEFL is the paper-based TOEFL, or TOEFL ITP. It is part of ETS's institutional testing program. TOEFL ITP is used within institutions for the purpose of placement or to evaluate progress of students. It is not accepted for entrance to universities.
By Dana Demange 2011-10-4 STEVE EMBER: I'm Steve Ember. BARBARA KLEIN: And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. At the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. you might see two cowboy boots. They are painted with a design of clouds and stars. They look like boots that you could wear on your feet. But they are really made out of carefully formed clay material. The artist William Wilhelmi made these ceramic pieces. How did he make these colorful boots? Today, we answer that question as we explore the world of clay art. (MUSIC) Smithsonian American Art Museum William Wilhelmi made "Cowboy Boots" in 1980. STEVE EMBER: Clay is one of the most universal materials known to humans. Throughout history and around the world, people have developed the art of forming clay to make ceramic objects, or pottery. Clay is m ade of water and earth. It is formed into different shapes. The n high levels of heat harden it to produce many kinds of ceramics. Different kinds of clay contain different minerals such as silicon or iron dioxide. The kinds of minerals in clay affect how soft or hard it is to work with. The mineral content of clay also affects the temperature level at which it hardens.
VOA《走遍美国》慢速英语2011-2-10 American History: Hoover Wins in 1928 The presidential election of nineteen twenty-eight gave American voters a clear political choice. The Democratic Party nominated Al Smith. He was the popular governor of the state of New York. The Republican Party chose Herbert Hoover. He was an engineer and businessman who served as secretary of commerce for presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge. This week in our series, Rich Kleinfeldt and Harry Monroe tell us about the presidential election of nineteen twenty-eight. RICH KLEINFELDT: Governor Alfred Smith of New York had campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in nineteen twenty-four. But he was defeated at the party convention by a compromise candidate, John Davis. Four years later, however, Smith could not be stopped. He had a strong record as governor of the nation's most heavily-populated state. He campaigned for the presidency on a policy of building new electric power stations under public control. Smith knew that many conservative Americans might be worried by his new ideas and his belief in strong government. So he chose as his campaign manager a Republican industrial leader who had worked with General Motors, DuPont and other major companies. Smith hoped this would prove his faith in the American private business system. HARRY MONROE: Al Smith was a strong political leader and an effective governor. But he frightened many Americans, especially conservative citizens living in rural areas. They lived on farms or in small towns. Al Smith was from the city. And not just from any city, but New York City, a place that seemed big and dirty and filled with foreign people and strange traditions. Al Smith's parents came from Ireland. He grew up in New York and worked as a salesman at the Fulton Fish Market. Smith was an honest man. But many rural Americans simply did not trust people from big cities. Al Smith seemed to them to represent everything that was new, different, and dangerous about American life. But being from New York City was not Al Smith's only problem. He also opposed the new national laws that made it illegal to buy or produce alcoholic drinks. And he had political ties to the New York political machine. But worst of all, in the eyes of many Americans, Al Smith was a Roman Catholic. RICH KLEINFELDT: From George Washington through Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and up to Calvin Coolidge, every American president had been male, white, and a Protestant Christian. Of
VOA慢速英语练听力需坚持 扫除词汇障碍 领会文章大意 这里需要提醒的是，在听的过程中，我们切忌将注意力全部集中在单词上，一个一个单词地去听，这样听的结果很可能是你把每个单词都听明白了，但是整篇文章到底讲了什么却是一头雾水。所以，在听的时候，我们应该以句子为单位，在大脑中将每个句子的关键信息迅速整合，这样才能了解每一句讲了什么、每一段又讲了什么，从而准确领会文章的大意。 反复精听训练 在进行系统的听力训练时，学习者仅仅理解了听力内容的大概是远远不够的，对于文章的诸多细节，比如一些重要的数据、年代和各种史实等，也要尽量准确无误地听出，这就需要通过反复精听来实现。所以科学系统的精听训练对学习者来说非常重要，通过精听训练，对于文章中的每一个语言点，甚至一些语音、语调、语汇的细微差别，学习者都可以努力捕捉和分辨。 因此，反复聆听，掌握每一个句子，是提升英语听力水平的必由之路！2遍、4遍、6遍……要有不听明白誓不罢休的精神。当然学习过程中还会出现这样的问题：单句可以听懂，但是段落、文章又听不懂了！怎么回事？原来反应太慢！这要求学习者根据自己的反应敏锐度来确定句子与句子的间距。 精听学习中需要提醒的是：在听的过程中，我们切忌对照英文原文来听或者是随意地翻看听力书的英文原文。很多同学都有这样的体会，在看英文原文之前，自己无论如何也听不懂，可是一看原文就什么都明白了，其实这样下来不是你“听”懂了，而是“看”懂了。 记住：阅读永远不可能代替听力，我们练习听力的目的就是要锻炼你对声音的瞬间反应、记忆、理解和思维的能力，而不是锻炼阅读能力。所
以这种取巧的方法万万要不得，你要想真正提高自己的听力水平，就一定要克制住自己翻看原文的欲望。 那么什么时候才是我们翻看听力原文的最佳时机呢？一般来说，我们只有在反复听了五遍、十遍还是听不出来的地方，才是英文原文发挥作用的良机。而这些你始终听不明白的地方，多数可能是因为音的连读、爆破、变音、弱读，或者是你反应不出来的词汇等等。在屡听而不懂的情况下翻看，你会在恍然大悟中将他们牢牢记住。并将他们仔细的琢磨，这样下次再遇上，你就会顺利过关。反之，这些难点将会成为你听力中永远的痛，在某个不经意的时刻将你重重阻碍。 VOA英语学习方法三步走 这次讨论的目的在于发现常见的错误的学习方法，总结出一套行之有效的最佳 VOA Special English 学习方法，欢迎大家积极参与讨论！ 最佳实践一：用 VOA Special English 练听力 网站上提供的 VOA Special English 节目文本是配有MP3声音的，声音文件由美国本土资深专业播音员录制，如果想有效提高自己的英语听力，VOA Special English 节目资料将是非常好的听力练习素材。而最快最有效的提高英语听力的方法就是做听写，怎么听呢？下面分几个层次介绍听写的方法。 （一）初级英语水平学生（相当于高中英语水平）做听写的方法 1、下载一个 5 分钟的 report 到电脑里（包括下载report的MP3录音和文本），准备好一本英汉词典或电子词典 2、认真阅读report文本一至两遍，遇到不懂的单词请立即查词典。 3、将文本放在一边，开始听report的MP3录音，并将听到的写下来，就是做听写练习。一直循环播放，尽可能的将自己能听写出来的，全部写出来。 4、将自己的听写稿和原稿对照，找出没有听写出来的词句，并标上记号，这些没有听出来的词句可能很简单，但事实是你没有听写出来，这些就是你听力的盲点，所以要特别留意。 5、再反复地听report的MP3录音，这次不用纸笔听写，而是在脑袋里做听写，就是指当你听到一句的时候，脑袋里把这一句给拼出来，确保听清每一个词句，并留意你在听写时没有写出来的词句的发音。 6、第二天再听上面的report的MP3录音，并采用上面第5点所用的听法。第四天再听上面的report的MP3录音，等到第七天再听几篇，仍采用上面第 5点所用的听法。为什么要反复地听？因为我们之所以听不懂，是因为听的太少了。反复听的目的在于强化，让你形成一种听力条件反射，就是让你拥有一听到某些词句就能立即条件反射式地在脑袋里写出来你所听到的词句。 练习听力有点像练习电脑打字里的盲打，花时间多做练习自然就会盲
V O A慢速英语阅读 Prepared on 24 November 2020
From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture(农业的） Report. Climate change has caused a rise in sea levels. This has increased the amount of salt in fresh water used on coastal farms. As a result farmers are increasingly unable to use fields close to the sea. Scientists call this process "salinization（盐渍化）." The term（术语）comes from the word "saline" （生理盐水）-- which means a mixture of salt and water. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says salinization is reducing the world's irrigated lands by 1 to 2 percent every year. Irrigation is the process of supplying land with fresh water from other areas. As saline water cannot be used for irrigation, a farm in Netherlands has managed to grow healthy and tasty vegetables in soil irrigated with salt water. But a farmer in the Netherlands is now using a mixture of sea and fresh water to grow healthy and tasty vegetables.