CCTV9英语新闻：Remote classrooms challenge for education

Teaching at schools in China's rural regions can be filled with hardships. But those who commit their lives to helping¹ rural children realize their dreams say they are starting to witness great changes both inside and outside the classroom.

 

Wu Bifang is a teacher at Anjing primary school in Fenghuang County of Hunan province. The school is situated² on a mountain, far away from the county's central town. He joined the school after graduating from university, and has stayed with them for ten years. For him, rural education is not just a job, but part of his life.

 

"Teaching makes me happy. I want to change my students' minds and improve their knowledge. I don't want them to continue the old perception that education is worthless for rural kids," Wu said.

 

Even though he's persevered³ for a decade, Wu admits there have been moments of doubt.

 

"Sometimes I admire those who chose to work outside the county. They earned 40,000- to 50,000 yuan on average per year," Wu said.

 

Instead, rural teachers must make do on roughly one thousand yuan per month. But progress is being made.

 

In 2011, Fenghuang County began raising subsidies⁴ for rural teachers from less than 100 to a maximum of 14-hundred yuan. Combined with their salaries, teachers like Wu Bifang now can get over 3,000 yuan every month.

 

Changes can also be seen in the schools, instead of wooden classrooms and bumpy⁵ roads, there are now newly built teaching buildings and a playground.

 

But still, hard living conditions and the isolation⁶ of rural life have driven away many qualified⁷ teachers, meaning more work for those who stay.

 

"I have to teach every class for students in 3 grades. Here I work as a teacher of Chinese AND English. Sometimes it means a heavy workload," Rural teacher Long Zhifang said.

 

The government has recently rolled out a plan that promises more support and professional development opportunities for rural teachers.

 

"To best implement⁸ the plan, firstly, governments at all levels should get serious about it. Secondly⁹, investment should be inclined to poorer and less developed areas. Finally, we should work out a timeline and specify¹⁰ the people in charge to monitor the implementation," Liu Limin, vice¹¹ minister of Ministry¹² Of Education, said.

 

The government plan aims to take concrete measures that will benefit current rural teachers, and also encourage more educators to bring their skills to the countryside. 

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

3 persevered   

v.坚忍，坚持( persevere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She persevered with her violin lessons. 她孜孜不倦地学习小提琴。
• Hard as the conditions were, he persevered in his studies. 虽然条件艰苦，但他仍坚持学习。 来自辞典例句

4 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

9 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

10 specify   

vt.指定，详细说明

参考例句：

• We should specify a time and a place for the meeting.我们应指定会议的时间和地点。
• Please specify what you will do.请你详述一下你将做什么。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。