VOA慢速英语 2008 1211a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

This week in our Foreign Student Series, we continue our discussion of college entrance tests in the United States. There are two competing admissions tests at the undergraduate level: the SAT and the ACT.

We talked last week about the SAT. The reasoning test involves mathematics and language and includes writing an essay. You can also take SAT subject tests.

The ACT is designed to measure what a student learned in high school. There are questions in four skill areas: math, English, reading and science. The ACT takes just over four hours. It costs fifty-six dollars to take outside the United States. A writing test -- which is not required -- adds thirty minutes and fifteen dollars. Details about the ACT can be found at act.org.

ACT used to be short for American College Testing; SAT once meant Scholastic¹ Aptitude² Test. But today the letters no longer stand for anything.

Most American colleges and universities require applicants³ for a bachelor's degree to take one of the tests. Some students take both.

The ACT is advertised as "America's most widely accepted college entrance exam." The SAT is advertised as the one "most widely taken" and, combined with high school grades, "the best predictor of college success."

Yet activists⁴ have long debated the fairness of these tests and what they really show. The issue has intensified⁵ as the test preparation industry has grown.

Now, some colleges and universities have stopped requiring the tests. A group called FairTest has found almost eight hundred schools where students may be able to gain admission without the SAT or ACT. The list is at fairtest.org.

For graduate-level programs, applicants often have to take the Graduate Record Examinations, or GRE. The general test measures reasoning, thinking and writing skills.

The cost outside the United States is one hundred seventy dollars -- except in China, Taiwan and South Korea. The cost there is one hundred ninety-five dollars.

Students can also take GRE subject tests. Information about the GRE can be found on the Educational Testing Service Web site, ets.org.

The two major language tests for non-native English speakers are the TOEFL and the IELTS. These will be our subject next week.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our Foreign Students Series is online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

2 aptitude   

n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资

参考例句：

• That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
• As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》