VOA慢速英语20060914a

EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series: Starting OutBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, September 14, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week, in our Foreign Student Series, we discuss the first steps to studying in the United States.


Oregon State University is attracting more Saudi students than it has in many years

Step one is to visit an American educational advising center. There are more than four hundred of these offices around the world. You can find them through the State Department Web site for international students. We will give that address later.

Or you can ask the public affairs office at a United States embassy¹ to tell you where to find the nearest advising center.

Step two is to start gathering² information about the different choices in higher education programs in the United States.

Some schools, for example, offer one-year certificate programs. These are in subjects like computer programming, public relations and administrative³ work.

Junior or community colleges offer a two-year associate degree. These programs can prepare students for skilled jobs. Or, if students want to continue their education, many universities accept this work as the first two years toward a bachelor's degree.

To get a bachelor's degree, students traditionally take general subjects during the first two years. These include areas like history, literature, mathematics and science. After that they take classes in their major area of study.

At the graduate school level, a master's degree can take up to three years to complete. A doctorate⁴ can take four to six years. But some medical specialties⁵, for example, require years more of study.

Whatever you choose, educational advisers⁶ say you should begin to plan at least two years before you want to start classes in the United States.

The address of the State Department Web site for international students is educationusa.state.gov.

If you would like to ask us a question about education in the United States, send it to [email protected]. We cannot help with individual cases. But we might be able to answer a general question on the air as our Foreign Student Series continues.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Transcripts⁷ and audio files of each report in our series will appear on our Web site, www.unsv.com. Next week, the subject is the difference between a college and a university. I'm Doug Johnson.

1 embassy   

n.大使馆，大使及其随员

参考例句：

• Large crowd demonstrated outside the British Embassy.很多群众在英国大使馆外面示威。
• He's a U.S. diplomat assigned to the embassy in London.他是美国驻伦敦大使馆的一名外交官。

2 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

3 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

4 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

5 specialties   

n.专门，特性，特别；专业( specialty的名词复数 )；特性；特制品；盖印的契约

参考例句：

• Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典，艰深难懂，而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句

6 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

7 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句