VOA慢速英语20060223a

EDUCATION REPORT - Praise for Advanced Placement Classes, but Also CriticismBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, February 23, 2006

I'm Doug Johnson with the VOA Special English Education Report.

The Advanced Placement program is fifty years old. As we reported last week, it was created to let high school students do college-level work. They can earn college credits¹ if they do well on an exam.

In the United States, one-third of students who graduate from high school take at least one Advanced Placement course. Choices differ from school to school. Yet schools in poorer areas might offer few A.P. courses or none at all.

The program has many supporters. They point to studies that show that students with A.P. experience are better prepared for college. In fact, some arrive with enough credits to start at the second-year level. That saves money.

But the program also has critics. Some students and educators say A.P. classes often try to teach too much, so the learning² is not very deep. And critics argue that classes can seem taught too much to the exam. Students and teachers might not have a lot of time to explore other areas.

Another issue has to do with the increasing competition for college. Some education experts say the fears of parents are helping³ to fuel the growth of A.P. classes. But a study by two economics⁴ professors suggests that the program might be expanding too fast to guarantee quality.

Kristin Klopfenstein and Kathleen Thomas compared the performance of students in Texas. They say A.P. students were no more likely than non-A.P. students to have higher grade point averages after their first semester⁵ at college. They also found that students with A.P. experience were generally no more likely than others to return for a second year of college.

Another researcher, Philip Sadler, presented a study last week at a meeting of the American Association⁶ for the Advancement⁷ of Science. This study involved students who got high marks on an A.P. science exam but still took a beginning-level science class in college. Mister⁸ Sadler says they did well, but not as well as many people might have expected.


science education

The College Board, which administers⁹ the A.P. program, says the study was too small to mean much. It says other research shows that students who do well on Advanced Placement exams are likely to be more successful in college.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Doug Johnson.

1 credits   

n.节目前后字幕；信任，信用，声望，荣誉， [财务]贷方，银行存款；信任( credit的名词复数 )；存款；学分；（借钱偿还的）信誉link-v.相信，信任，把…归给

参考例句：

• He credits me with having better sense than that. 他认为我的见识要比那强得多。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Does this item go among the credits or the debits? 这笔账应记入贷方还是借方？ 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 learning   

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。

3 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。

4 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

5 semester   

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。

6 association   

n.联盟，协会，社团；交往，联合；联想

参考例句：

• Our long association with your company has brought great benefits.我方和贵公司的长期合作带来了巨大的利益。
• I broke away from the association ten years ago.我10年前就脱离了那个团体。

7 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

8 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

9 administers   

管理( administer的第三人称单数 )； 治理（国家）； 给予； 执行

参考例句：

• Physical exercise administers to the circulation of the blood. 体育锻炼有助于血液循环。
• Health administers to peace of mind. 健康有助于身心的安宁。