1、标题：voa在线收听附字幕:一周上课四天是否可行?对应音频：1111a.mp3听力内容：Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day WeekThis is the VOA Special English Education Report.As we said last week, American schools are looking for ways to save money on bus transportation because of high fuel prices. More children may have to walk, ride
2、their bikes or find other ways to get to school.But, as another effect of the high prices, they may not have to go to school as often.Some schools, especially in rural areas, are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.Beginning i
3、n the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school Tuesday through Friday. Each school day will be sixty-five minutes longer.Superintendent Greg Schmidt says the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs. The district ha
4、s about seven hundred students living in an area of nine hundred square kilometers.State officials have approved the plan for three years. They may change their mind before then if learning suffers.In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school Monday through Thursday since nineteen nin
5、ety-five. Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved an estimated one million dollars over just the past eight years.But he sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time. And activities that used to interfere with classes are now held on non-school days.He says that in the f
6、uture, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes. And in some states, high school students can take them, too.A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and tea
7、chers. But working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day. In agricultural areas, though, it can mean an extra day of helping on the family ranch.In New Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in nineteen seventy-four because of the Arab oil boycott. Now, seve
8、nteen out of eighty-nine districts use it.The Lake Arthur School District has just one hundred sixty students. Lake Arthur used a four-day schedule for twelve years. But a few years ago it went back to five days.Michael Grossman heads the district. He says two studies there failed to show any real e
9、ducational improvement using the four-day week. And he says not much instruction was taking place during the last hour of school, because teachers and students were too tired.And thats the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Im Steve Ember.这里是VOA特别英语教育报道。我们说过，由于燃料价格上周，美
10、国学校试图在校巴交通方面节省资金。越来越多的孩子必须走路，骑自行车或寻找其他方法去上学。但是，作为价格上涨的另外一个影响，他们可以不用那么经常去上学了。一些学校，尤其是乡村地区的学校开始向每周上课四天转变。这意味着不再按照过去周一到周五的时间表上课，而是每天需要上课更长时间。从秋季开始，明尼苏达州Maccray校区的学生将从周二到周五期间去上学。每天的上课时间比以前增加65分钟。主管Greg Schmidt说，该学区预期每年能够在交通费用方面节省6.5万美元。该学去大概有700名学生，居住在大约900平方千米的范围内。州政府官员三年前就已经批准了该计划。如果他们了解到学生学习非常痛苦，在那之前
11、可能就已经改变主意。在南达科州的Custer，学生们从1995年开始就从周一到周四去上学。主管说，过去的八年，这个改变节约了大约100万美元的资金。但是他也看到了其他益处。学生们有了更多接受辅导的时间。以前经常与上课相冲突的活动现在可以安排在不上学的时间进行。他说，未来，网络课堂的发展可以让去学校上课的时间进一步缩短。高燃料价格已经导致高校学生们越来越多地使用网络课堂。在某些州，高中生也在使用网络课堂。每周上课四天对老师和学生来说似乎都是很好的主意。但是第五天，上班的父母必须支付额外的费用来请人照看孩子。然而，在农村地区，这意味着孩子们多了一天的时间来给家里的农场帮忙。在新墨西哥，由于阿拉伯石
12、油抵制行动，第一个学区在1974年更改为每周上课四天。现在，89个学区中有17个作出了改变。Lake Arthur学区共有160名学生。Lake Arthur沿用每周上课四天的惯例已经20年的时间。但是几年前，该学区恢复了每周上课五天的制度。该学区的负责人Michael Grossman说，两项研究表明，每周上课四天对教育没有任何的改善。他说，在每一天的最后几个小时，由于老师和学生都非常疲惫，学生实际上得不到什么辅导。1.effect n. 效果,影响consequence，result，effect，outcome这些名词均含“结果”之意。consequence多指随某一事件引起的，必然或自
13、然的不良结果，不强调直接的因果关系，而侧重事件发展的逻辑关系。result普通用词，含义广泛，侧重因某种原因所产生的最终结果，而不是眼前的结果。effect指因某种原因直接产生的结果，着重持续稳定与其影响。outcome普通用词，多指事物经过一系列发展变化所导致的最终结局，而不是某种原因的直接结果。常可与result通用。2.superintendent n.监管人; 负责人; 主管人3.benefit n.U好处,益处，福利例句：It is possible to overstate the benefits of stabilization.稳定性带来的好处有可能被夸大。advantage
14、，benefit，interest，favour，profit，gain这些名词均有“利益、好处”之意。advantage指因某方面占优势或利用某机会以及对方弱点而获得利益与好处。benefit普通用词，指通过正当手段从物质或精神方面得到的任何好处或利益。interest作“利益”解时，多用复数形式，既可指集团、群体的利益，又可指个人的利益。favour指在竞争中获得的advantage,也可指在狭隘的个人利益。profit着重收益，尤指从物质、钱财等方面获得的利益。gain指获得的物质利益，也暗示不损坏他人利益而得的无形好处。4.instructional a.教育性的,指导性的5.head
15、 vt.带领; 居…之首; 主管例句：He will head a firm.他将主管一家公司。1.They may change their mind before then if learning suffers.if引导省略句，if后原本是条件状语从句，由于主语和前面主句的主语一致，可以将主语和谓语省略，由于人和动作之间只主动的关系，所以用if 现在分词的形式。if引导的句子成分省略还有另外一种形式：如：Send the goods now if ready.= Send the goods now if they are ready. 货物如已备好，请即送来。If tru
16、e, this will cause us a lot of trouble.= If it is true, this will cause us a lot of trouble. 这事若是事实，它将给我们造成许多麻烦。注：这类省略结构中有的已构成相对固定的搭配，if necessary (如果需要)，if possible (如果可能)等。如：If necessary, ring me at home. 如果必要，可往我家里打电话。If possible, let me know beforehand. 如果可能，可在事前通知我。2.And activities that used to
17、 interfere with classes are now held on non-school days.interfere with干预, 阻挠, 妨碍, 阻止例句：That interferes with my plan.那干扰了我的计划。The noise interferes with my work.这噪音妨碍我的工作。3.Now, seventeen out of eighty-nine districts use it.seventeen out of eighty-nine表示分数分数应该怎么表达呢，我们今天就来简单地说一下。1) 较小分数的一般读写方法。如：1/3 one-third 2/3 two-thirds 3/5 three-fifths(2) 较复杂分数的简明读写方法。如22/9 twenty-two over ninea/b a over b 或 a divided by b 43/97 forty-three over ninety-seven(3) 整数与分数之间须用and连接。如：four and a half nine and two fifths(4) 分数用作前置定语时，分母要用单数形式。注意下列写法与读法。如：a one-third mile1/3英里 a three-quarter majority3/4的多数
