EDUCATION REPORT - It's College Graduation Season in the Uni

EDUCATION REPORT - It's College Graduation Season in the United States
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, May 19, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

We started our Foreign Student Series on American higher education in September, at the start of the new school year. Now that year is ending, and so is our series. But not yet. We still have a few more subjects. For example, listener Zegeye Mulu in Ethiopia asks about graduation ceremonies.

May and June are the months when most American colleges and universities hold their commencements. These ceremonies are a time for family and friends to gather and celebrate a student's completion of an academic degree.

 
 
Most ceremonies are traditional. The students wear caps and gowns¹ over their clothing. One by one, their names are called. They go to the front, shake hands with school officials and receive a document of some kind.

But first they must they sit and listen to speeches. Colleges and universities often invite famous guests or former students who have become successful.

Schools often want speakers to comment on world events. This Saturday, for example, President Bush is to speak at the graduation ceremony at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Another speaker that day, at another school, is Senator² Hillary Rodham Clinton. She will speak at the commencement at the Rensselaer Polytechnic³ Institute in Troy, New York.

News people are often invited to speak at graduations. So are entertainers. Actor John Lithgow, a nineteen sixty-seven graduate of Harvard, will speak at the university on June ninth.

Then there are speakers like Jon Stewart. He entertains by making fun of the news. HisHehEHis popular program, "The Daily Show," appears on Comedy Central on cable⁴ television.

Last year, Jon Stewart spoke⁵ at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. He graduated from there in nineteen eighty-four. He did offer some serious advice. He said: "College is something you complete. Life is something you experience. So don't worry about your grade, or the results or success. Success is defined⁶ in myriad⁷ ways, and you will find it ... Love what you do. Get good at it."

Well, that is not all Jon Stewart said. You can find his full speech on the William and Mary Web site: w-w-w dot w-m dot e-d-u (www.wm.edu). And our Foreign Student Series is online at voaspecialenglish dot com.

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

1 gowns   

n.（法官、英国律师、大学学生在特别仪式上穿的）长袍( gown的名词复数 )；女长服；（尤指在医院穿的）罩衣；宽松长外衣

参考例句：

• The guests turned up dressed in sumptuous evening gowns. 客人们身着华丽的夜礼服出现了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Did you see those two men in black gowns? “看见么？那两个穿黑大衫的。 来自子夜部分

2 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

3 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

4 cable   

n.缆绳，索；电缆；电报；vt.电汇，打电报

参考例句：

• Don't forget to cable us as soon as you arrive.别忘了一到就给我发个电报。
• The worker attached a cable.工人连接电缆。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 defined   

adj 定义的; 清晰的

参考例句：

• These categories are not well defined. 这些类别划分得不太明确。
• The powers of a judge are defined by law. 法官的权限是由法律规定的。

7 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。