EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series 16: Where To Live?

EDUCATION REPORT - Foreign Student Series #16: Where To Live?
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, December 16, 2004

This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

We continue our Foreign Student Series. Today, we discuss where to live once you are admitted to an American college or university.

Housing¹ policies differ. Some schools, for example, require students to live in a dormitory, at least for their first year.

Dormitory buildings may have a thousand students, or just a few. Some are organized into suites³. Suites have several bedrooms, a common living area and a bathroom. Six or more people may live in one suite².

Other dorms have many rooms along a hallway, usually with two students in each room. A large bathroom may serve all the students on one floor.

Many students say dormitories provide the best chance to get to know other students. And they generally cost less than apartments or other housing not owned by the school.

Most universities have some separate dorms for males and females⁵. Usually, however, males and females live in the same building. They may even live on the same floor and share the same bathroom. But usually they may not live in the same room unless they are married.

At many schools, male students can join fraternities and female⁴ students can join sororities. These are social organizations. But members may also be able to live at a fraternity and sorority house.

Edward Spencer is the associate vice⁶ president for student affairs at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Mister⁷ Spencer says it is important to understand the rules of the building in which you will live.

He advises students to ask some questions before they decide about their housing. For example: Does the school provide any special kinds of food that the student may require? Are there private bathing areas in the dorms? Will the school provide a single room if a student requests one?

Mister Spencer says some universities take special care to help foreign students in their housing. Virginia Tech, for example, changed its policy against candles in dorms. This way candles can be lit for ceremonial purposes. The university also keeps several dorms open all year. That means foreign students have a place to stay during vacation times.

Our Foreign Student Series continues next week. All of our reports are online at voaspecialenglish dot com.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Gwen Outen.

1 housing   

n.房屋，住宅；住房建筑；外壳，外罩

参考例句：

• Do you think our housing sales will turn around during this year?你认为今年我们的住宅销路会好转吗？
• The housing sales have been turning down since the summer.入夏以来，房屋的销售量日趋减少。

2 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

3 suites   

n.套( suite的名词复数 )；一套房间；一套家具；一套公寓

参考例句：

• First he called upon all the Foreign Ministers in their hotel suites. 他首先到所有外交部长住的旅馆套间去拜访。 来自辞典例句
• All four doors to the two reserved suites were open. 预定的两个套房的四扇门都敞开着。 来自辞典例句

4 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

5 females   

n.雌性动物( female的名词复数 )；女人

参考例句：

• The male birds are more colourful than the females. 这种鸟雄性比雌性更加色彩艳丽。
• The males in the herd protect the females and the young. 兽中的雄性动物保护雌性动物和幼崽。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 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”。