VOA慢速英语 2009 018a

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

What do you think is the most popular subject of study for international students at colleges and universities in the United States?

How many of you thought of engineering¹? Seventeen percent of foreign students, or one out of six, studied engineering during the last academic year.

But the Institute of International Education says twenty percent, or one in five, studied business and management.
　

Two fifth-graders, seated, learning2 the basics of business administration3 during a month-long program at an elementary school in San Francisco, California, in 2007

Which brings us to the subject this week in our Foreign Student Series -- the Graduate Management Admission⁴ Test. The GMAT is commonly required for students who want to earn a master of business administration.

The GMAT is a computer test that measures reading, mathematics and writing skills. You have to write two essays in sixty minutes.

An organization of business schools, the Graduate Management Admission Council⁵, is responsible for the GMAT. Four thousand programs around the world, it says, use the GMAT as an important part of their admissions⁶ process.

But just as students compete on tests, tests also compete. In fact, the GMAT could offer a good case study for a business class. The council's Web site points out that the Educational Testing Service has recently been marketing⁷ its GRE test to graduate schools of business.

The council presents reasons why business schools should use the GMAT instead of the Graduate Record Examinations⁸, or GRE. Most importantly, it says the GMAT was designed by business schools for business schools.

The GMAT costs two hundred fifty dollars, which is a lot. But the council says that is because the test can be taken almost every day of the year at more than four hundred centers around the world. Almost two hundred of these are outside the United States.

Students can learn more about the GMAT at mba.com.

Now, another question: Which countries do you think send the most students to the United States for higher education? The Institute of International Education in New York says last year's top five were India, China, South Korea, Japan and Canada. The United States, it says, received a record six hundred twenty-four thousand international students. The number was seven percent higher than the year before.

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

1 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

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 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

4 admission   

n.允许进入；承认；入场费，入会费，入场券

参考例句：

• We attached a condition to his admission to our school.我们对准许他入校附加了一个条件。
• By her own admission,she was responsible for the accident.她自己承认，事故应该由她负责。

5 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

6 admissions   

n.准许进入( admission的名词复数 )；入场费；入场券；承认

参考例句：

• a need-blind admissions policy 不考虑经济能力的录取政策
• He's the Dean of Admissions for the University of Michigan. 他是Michigan大学的新生注册主任。 来自辞典例句

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 examinations   

n.检查( examination的名词复数 )；考试；考查；试题

参考例句：

• He had been forced to incriminate himself in cross-examinations. 他在盘问中被迫受到牵连。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Examinations are hanging over her head—that's why she can't sleep at nights. 她大脑里想的都是考试，所以晚上无法入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》