VOA慢速英语2009年-Education Report - Studying in the US: Rev

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

For ten months, we have talking about coming to study in the United States. This week, we complete that series and repeat some of the advice.
　
The goal of all that work: Caps are thrown into the air at the end of Brown University's graduation ceremony in Providence¹, Rhode Island.

You should begin planning at least two years early.

Decide what kind of school interests you: Big or small, city or rural², public or private, two-year or four-year?

Two-year colleges, also known as community colleges, have not always gotten a lot of respect. Yet they are the largest part of the American higher education system. They often serve older and part-time students and those needing special help. But other students begin at a community college to save money, then finish at a four-year college or university.

On Tuesday, President Obama announced a plan to invest³ twelve billion dollars in community colleges over the next ten years. The goal is to help an additional⁴ five million students earn degrees or certificates⁵. The president said jobs requiring at least an associate degree are expected to grow twice as fast in the coming years as jobs requiring no college experience.

To help with your college search, try to attend education fairs and visit an Education USA Advising Center. You can find the nearest one at educationusa.state.gov. Also visit school Web sites and sites where students share their experiences, like CollegeClickTV and zinch.com.

Apply to at least three schools. Make sure they are accredited⁶. To do that, go to chea.org -- c-h-e-a dot o-r-g.

As soon as you are accepted, make an appointment for a visa interview at an American embassy⁷ or consulate⁸. The State Department says it is working to reduce visa delays that have affected⁹ foreign science students and researchers over the past year.

Financial aid can be limited for international students. To reduce costs, you might look into online classes or a foreign campus¹⁰ of an American school.

During our Foreign Student Series we also talked about student life in the United States and programs to help international students. For example, writing centers can help teach the rules of American academic writing.

All the reports in our series -- including programs on admissions¹¹ tests -- can be found at voaspecialenglish.com. Thanks to everyone who sent us questions. If you have a question, we might answer it in a future program. Write to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name and country.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

1 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

2 rural   

adj.乡下的，田园的，乡村风味的

参考例句：

• He lived a rural life.他过着田园生活。
• We left the city for a rural home.我们离开城市，去农村安家。

3 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

4 additional   

adj.添加的，额外的，另外的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to set down these additional rules.有必要制定这些补充规则。
• I think we can fit in an additional room.我想我们可以再加建一间房子。

5 certificates   

n.证明书，执照( certificate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They accepted their certificates with words of thanks. 他们一边道谢，一边接过证书。 来自辞典例句
• The bank manager is said to have issued fake certificates. 据说那个银行经理曾出具伪造的凭证。 来自辞典例句

6 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

7 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。

8 consulate   

n.领事馆

参考例句：

• The Spanish consulate is the large white building opposite the bank.西班牙领事馆是银行对面的那栋高大的白色建筑物。
• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

11 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