2006年VOA标准英语-Exchange Students: Promoting Cross-Cultural Und

By Michael Bowman
Washington, D.C.
29 August 2006
 
watch Exchange Students report

Exchange programs provide students with opportunities to learn about people, cultures and nations far from home -- and allow host families and communities to learn from them.  At a time when public opinion surveys show mutual¹ distrust between the United States and much of the Muslim world, several hundred high school students from predominantly Muslim nations recently arrived in Washington, beginning a yearlong stay with American families across the nation. The program places young people at the heart of an effort to promote international dialogue, understanding, and -- ultimately -- peace.

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Some of the students during an orientation² presentation
  
Representing nations from Morocco to Bangladesh, some 300 students spent their first day in the United States at an orientation session outside Washington.

For some, the trip proved a challenge. Israel's bombing of Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon complicated the departure of Lebanese students, including 15-year-old Mohamed.

"We left in a helicopter, because there is no airport [open in Beirut]. We left to Cyprus, then to London, then here. We had a really tiring flight," he said.

The students toured many of the favorite stops for Washington, D.C. visitors, including the Supreme³ Court of the United States  
  
For most, this is their first time away from home. Much of what they encounter is new and unfamiliar⁴. Perhaps not surprisingly, many students initially⁵ clustered together with compatriots to speak their native tongues, which range from Arabic to Bangla to Urdu. After the initial orientation, they were taken on a tour of Washington, including stops at the White House and the Jefferson Memorial.

 
Faizun
  
The students' excitement and sense of anticipation⁶ was palpable to anyone who saw them. Among a large contingent⁷ from Bangladesh is 16-year-old Faizun.

"It is a lifetime opportunity to come here, to know the [American] culture, to have a close look a the people here, to live with a host family, attend high school.  I think it is really nice.  It is awesome⁸, " Faizun said.

The Youth Exchange and Study program, called "YES," is operated by a consortium of non-profit organizations with the backing and support of the State Department.  Launched in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the program has brought more than 1,000 students, most of them Muslim, to the United States over the last four years.

From Washington, the youths are sent to host families in dozens of American communities, large and small, urban and rural, across the nation. 

What do they hope to accomplish during their year in the United States? 

 
Khalil 
  
"We want to know more about America and its culture, and we want American people to know more about our culture," said 16-year-old Khalil of Yemen.

But Khalil acknowledges he has some apprehensions⁹ about challenges he will face. "I think [I may get] homesick, and the language [English]. I think it will be difficult at first. But then we will be staying here for 10 months. I think we will improve our English," he said.

Several students said they want to combat stereotypes¹⁰ some Americans may have about Muslims. Seventeen-year-old Tareq of Jordan said, "Muslims and Middle Easterners are not [all] terrorists. Really. You have to know that we are people. We can think. We are not animals or something."

 
Mary Karam
  
What good can person-to-person cross-cultural contact accomplish in a world often torn apart by violence and prejudice? No one is pretending that student exchange programs can, by themselves, change the world. But they can and do have an impact, according to an administrator¹¹ of the YES program, Mary Karam.

"Change happens on a very personal and local level. And this program is one of those opportunities for change, one of those opportunities to take what is going on globally and bring it to a more personal level -- so that people can interact one-on-one and really learn about one another, learn about one another's cultures, and make a difference and move things forward to help build peace in a region that is struggling," said Karam.

Many Americans agree on the need for better understanding among peoples of the world. Margery Silverson of Maryland was at the Jefferson Memorial when the exchange students arrived. "I do not think they [Muslims] are all terrorists and I do not think they should think of Americans as greedy and only out for the dollar [to make money]," she said.

YES administrators¹² say the program can have a lifelong impact on students and their host families. Already, some students from previous years have returned to visit their American families and applied¹³ to go to college in the United States. Several host families have also journeyed to visit students in their home countries.

1 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

2 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

5 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

6 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

7 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 apprehensions   

疑惧

参考例句：

• He stood in a mixture of desire and apprehensions. 他怀着渴望和恐惧交加的心情伫立着。
• But subsequent cases have removed many of these apprehensions. 然而，随后的案例又消除了许多类似的忧虑。

10 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

12 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

13 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。