VOA常速英语2015--UNICEF称全球教育面临危机（在线收听）

UNICEF称全球教育面临危机

The U.N. Children’s Fund says global education is in crisis. In a new report, UNICEF warns millions of children are not learning the very basics. The report was released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

联合国儿童基金会称全球教育面临危机，联合国儿童基金会在一份最新报告中警告称有数百万儿童未能学到最基本的知识，这份报告是在瑞士达沃斯世界经济论坛上发布的。

UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Yoka Brandt describes education as a human right, saying there’s a moral obligation to invest in it.

联合国儿童基金会副总干事约卡·布兰特称教育为人权，称我们有道德的责任来投资教育。

“Education can put people on a path towards good health, empowerment and employment and it helps to rebuild more peaceful societies. It gives children in emergencies a future, a place of safety and a sense of normalcy. And we all know that the benefits of girls’ education go well beyond their own education, but extend to their children.”

“教育能帮助人们通往健康之路，促进赋权和雇佣，帮助重建更和平的社会。给危机中的儿童以未来，给他们安全之地和正常生活的感觉。我们都知道女孩受教育的益处已经超越教育本身，还能惠及她们的孩子。”

Brandt said that despite the benefits education offers, there is an education crisis.

布兰特称尽管教育能带来益处，目前却存在着教育危机。

“58-million children and 63-million adolescents are out of school. And worse, we’re also facing a learning crisis because an estimated 130-million children cannot read or write, despite reaching grade four. And it’s these two twin crises that are being addressed in this new UNICEF report – The Investment Case for Education and Equity -- which we are very pleased to launch here,” she said.

“5800万儿童和6300万青少年辍学，更糟糕的是，我们还面临学习危机，因为估计有1.3亿儿童无法阅读和协作，尽管他们已经到了4年级。这两个危机将在UNICEF的新报告中得到解决，报告名为‘教育和公平投资实例’，我们很高兴在这里宣布。”

She said initial progress in enrolling children in school has slowed down. It may be hard to reverse the trend.

她说学校招收儿童的初步进展已经放缓，可能很难扭转这个趋势。

“The population of school age children, especially in the poorest countries, is increasing. And it is increasing very, very fast. For instance, in sub-Saharan Africa, over 440-million children must be enrolled by 2030 to achieve basic education for all, which means that is two and a half times the number that are being enrolled today,” she said.

“学龄儿童数量，尤其是最贫困国家里的学龄儿童数量正在增加，而且增加得特别快。比如，在撒哈拉南部非洲，必须在2030年前招收超过4.4亿儿童才能实现全民基本教育的目标，这意味着相当于现在招收量的2.5倍。”

The UNICEF official said that low income countries need an additional $26 billion annually to provide basic education. She says that’s the equivalent of five percent of the annual profits of the world’s 15 highest earning companies.

这位UNICEF官员称低收入国家每年需要额外的260亿美元来提供基本教育，她说这相当于全世界15个收入最高国家5%的年收益。

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown took part in the report’s release. He’s chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Strategic Infrastructure Initiative.

英国前首相戈登·布朗参与了这份报告的发布，他是世界经济论坛全球战略基础设施计划的主席。

“It was said once that the only international language that the world understands is the cry of a child. But it seems to me that over the last year, in crisis after crisis, we have neglected children even in the most difficult, precarious and sad situations,” he said.

“曾经有人说，全世界唯一能理解的国际语言是孩子的哭声，但在我看来，在发生了一个又一个危机的去年，我们忽略了面临最艰难、最危险和最悲惨处境的孩子们。”

For example, he said, there are 500,000 Syrian children refugees in Lebanon – but only 100,000 have been absorbed into Lebanon’s education system. Brown says the rest are vulnerable to child labor and child marriage.

他说，比如，黎巴嫩有50多万叙利亚儿童难民，但只有10万儿童被纳入黎巴嫩的教育系统。布朗说其他的孩子都容易成为童工或成为童婚的受害者。

“We have the schools. We have the teachers. We have the agreement of the government. We have the plan. UNICEF has drawn it up. But we have not been able to find the extra $136-million in international funding that is needed,” he said.

“我们有学校，我们有教师，我们有政府的协议，我们也有计划。联合国儿童基金会已经制定了计划，但我们未能找到所需的另外1.36亿美元国际资金。”

Brown said that the response to a humanitarian crisis should include an emergency fund for education.

布朗说对人道危机的应对应该包括儿童应急基金。

“Half the children out of school in the world are in crisis countries where there are conflicts. And the last year has been a year where we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child, but it is a year that has been more marked by the violation of the rights of millions of children,” he said.

“全世界一半的失学儿童都在发生冲突的危机国家，去年我们庆祝了儿童权利公约25周年，但去年有数百万儿童的权利受到侵犯。”

Musician Angelique Kidjo said in many African countries educating girls is not considered important or necessary.

音乐家安洁莉克·琪蒂欧说，在很多非洲国家，女孩教育没有被视为是重要或必要的问题。

“In order to transform my continent, we need highly educated girls. Secondary and tertiary education are key to transform completely our society.”

“为了让我们这个大陆改头换面，我们需要教育程度高的女孩子，初中和高中教育是彻底改变我们社会的关键。”

Kidjo, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, said, “I’m not doing this to be famous. It’s not my point. It’s not my purpose in life. It’s because I believe deeply in the people of my continent. You give them the chance and you empower them. You don’t pity them. You don’t dehumanize them. You just sit with them and say, ‘what do you need?’”

UNICEF亲善大使琪蒂欧说，“我这么做不是为了出名，这不是我关注的，也不是我的人生目标。而是因为我深信这个大陆的人们，给他们机会你就能赋权他们，你不同情他们，你不教化他们，你只是坐在他们身边说，‘你需要什么呢？’”

She told the World Economic Forum there can be no peace in the world without educating children.

她在世界经济论坛上说，不教育儿童世界就不可能有和平。

“Let’s invest in education to live on the world of peace and take the fuel out of the terrorist group(s). All those angry people out there because they felt left out of the system that we have today.”

“让我们投资教育，创造和平的世界，让恐怖组织失去激励，之所以有愤怒的人，是因为他们感到自己被我们今天的制度排斥在外。”

Kidjo said education gives children “hope, perspective, challenges and opportunities.”

琪蒂欧说教育给孩子们“希望、视野、挑战和机会。”