VOA标准英语2010年-France Asks Top Universities to Admit

France's top universities have recently agreed to admit more poor students, after strong pressure from the government to do so.  The debate on offering less privileged youngsters an equal chance at success in France is far from over.

They are called grandes ecoles, a small and elite¹ group of higher education establishments that are unique to France.  Most of this country's top politicians and business leaders have graduated from these schools.  Their champions say grande ecoles are based on meritocracy.  That is because students entering the schools must all pass the same national exam.

But until now, most of these students have come from privileged backgrounds.  Critics say the national exam is biased², since it presumes a level of knowledge and cultural background that students from working class families may not have.
That has prompted a call from the French government for these universities to institute new admissions procedures favoring underprivileged students.  President Nicolas Sarkozy, who did not graduate from a grande ecole, laid out that demand in a January speech. 

Mr. Sarkozy said 30 percent of students admitted into grandes ecoles should come from poorer backgrounds.  The government is calling this a "goal" not a quota³, which runs counter to the French system.  After initially⁴ resisting the government's push, the grandes ecoles say they will try to meet the 30 percent goal within three years.

Until now, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, commonly known as Sciences Po, is the only grande ecole to have aggressively sought out a more diverse student body.  Science Po Director Richard Descoings told VOA the school's efforts have paid off.  He says academically and professionally, it is impossible to distinguish students from poor and elite backgrounds.

Smoking a cigarette outside Science Po's library one evening, 22-year-old student Sofie Bonnard said she backed the government's push for other grandes ecoles to open up. 

Bonnard comes from a less privileged school district in France's tough, working class suburbs.  She is a beneficiary of Science Po's efforts to diversify⁵ its student body.  Before that, she says, students from her high school never thought they could get into a grande ecole.

The government's diversity drive for the grandes ecoles has prompted a call by a group of academics for the state to level the playing field in other areas, like offering more housing and scholarships to poorer students attending these institutions.  Etienne Boisserie heads the group, which is called "Save the University." 

Boisserie argues the government is focusing too narrowly on the elite grandes ecoles, which account for just a small slice of French university graduates.  He says there are many good students attending less prestigious⁶ universities who have been forced to abandon their educations because they simply cannot afford them.

The debate is also cast narrowly on questions of economic inequality.  Efforts to promote ethnic⁷ minorities, known as affirmative-action programs in the United States, are taboo⁸ in France.   But low-income neighborhoods the government wants targeted generally have a higher proportion of minorities.

Anti-discrimination activists⁹ like Mouloud Aounit believe that diversifying¹⁰ French universities is only a first step.  Aounit is head of the Movement Against Racism¹¹ and for Friendship of Peoples, or MRAP, a Paris-based anti-discrimination group. 

Aounit hopes the government call will prompt what he describes as a larger "de-ghettoization" of France's social system, which must also include equal access to jobs.  He says there must be more measures for less fortunate youngsters to catch up.

 

1 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

2 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

3 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

4 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。

5 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

6 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

7 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

8 taboo   

n.禁忌，禁止接近，禁止使用；adj.禁忌的；v.禁忌，禁制，禁止

参考例句：

• The rude words are taboo in ordinary conversation.这些粗野的字眼在日常谈话中是禁忌的。
• Is there a taboo against sex before marriage in your society?在你们的社会里，婚前的性行为犯禁吗？

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

11 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。