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For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today for more

每日跟讀#487: Ecuadorean discovery pushes back origins of chocolate

People have been enjoying chocolate far longer than previously known, according to research published on Monday detailing the domestication and use of cacao beginning 5,300 years ago at an ancient settlement in the highlands of southeastern Ecuador. Scientists examined ceramic artifacts at the Santa Ana-La Florida archeological site, a remarkably preserved village and ceremonial center that was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of the Andes, and found abundant evidence of the use of cacao, from which chocolate is made.

根據週一發表的一份研究顯示，人類享用巧克力的歷史比先前所知的還要悠久。該研究詳細指出，在厄瓜多東南部高地的一處古老聚落，發現五千三百年前已開始出現可可豆的人工培植和食用跡象。在聖塔安娜─佛羅里達考古遺址──當地保存著狀況絕佳的村落遺跡，曾作為儀式中心，屬於安地斯山脈「馬由─欽奇佩」文化圈的一部分──科學家仔細檢驗出土的陶瓷工藝品，並發現充分證據顯示使用可可豆，也就是製作巧克力的原料。

 

The study indicates cacao was domesticated roughly 1,500 years earlier than previously known, and that it occurred in South America rather than in Central America, as previously thought. A tropical evergreen tree called Theobroma cacao bears large, oval pods containing the bean-like cacao seeds that today are roasted and turned into cocoa and multitudes of chocolate confections, although chocolate at the time was consumed as a beverage.

 

研究指出，人工培植可可豆的時間點比先前所知還要再往前推大約一千五百年，並且始於南美洲，而非之前認為的中美洲。可可樹是一種熱帶常青樹，會結出大而橢圓形的豆莢，包覆著像豆子般的可可種子。今日，可可種子會在烘培後被做成可可粉和各式各樣的巧克力糕點，不過巧克力在當時其實是被用來作成飲料喝下肚。

 

The scientists found evidence of cacao’s use at the site over a period starting 5,300 years ago — more than 700 years before building of the Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt — until 2,100 years ago. They found cacao starch grains in ceramic vessels and pottery shards. They also detected residue of a bitter compound found in the cacao tree but not its wild relatives, evidence that the tree was grown by people for food purposes, as well as DNA fragments from the cacao tree.

 

科學家在該遺址發現使用可可豆的證據，當地的人類活動始於五千三百年前──比古埃及建造吉薩大金字塔的時間還要早了七百多年──到兩千一百年前。在陶瓷容器和陶器碎片中，科學家找到可可豆的澱粉粒，還偵測到只會在可可樹中發現，卻不存在於野生近親樹種中的一種苦澀化合物殘餘，這是人類為食用目的而種植可可樹的證據，同時也發現可可樹的DNA片段。

 

“They clearly drank it as a beverage, as shown by its presence in stirrup-spout pots and bowls,” said University of British Columbia anthropologist and archaeologist Michael Blake, who helped lead the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. “The presence of cacao starch grains likely means that they ground the seeds to make the beverages, and so probably, though we aren’t certain, fermented the seeds as well, before grinding them,” Blake added.

 

英屬哥倫比亞大學的人類學暨考古學家麥可‧布雷克指出：「可可豆出現在蹬型壺嘴陶罐和碗裡，證明當地人明顯是把可可豆作成飲料來喝。」布雷克協助主導這份發表於《自然─生態學與演化》期刊的研究，他補充說：「可可豆澱粉粒的存在，表示當地人會把可可豆磨碎來做成飲料，所以，雖然我們還不能確定，他們或許也會在磨碎可可豆前先進行發酵。」

 

 Archeological evidence indicates cacao domestication moved into Central America and Mexico about 4,000 years ago. Before European conquerors arrived in the Americas five centuries ago, great civilizations like the Aztecs and Maya prepared chocolate as a drink, mixed with various spices or other ingredients. “The freshly picked ripe cacao pods have a delicious sweet pulp around them, and mixed together it all has a very mild chocolate taste,” Blake said. “The chocolate confections today contain a great deal of sugar, and this is very different from the indigenous uses of cacao reported in the historical records from the 1500s and 1600s.”

(Reuters)

 

考古證據顯示，可可豆的人工培植技術大概在四千年前傳入中美洲和墨西哥。五個世紀前，當歐洲的征服者們抵達美洲時，諸如阿茲特克和馬雅等偉大文明皆會把巧克力調製成飲料，裡面加入各種香料和其他成分。布雷克表示：「剛摘下來的新鮮可可豆莢裡面含有美味而香甜的果肉，如果把它跟可可豆混在一起，就會產生一種非常溫潤的巧克力口感。」這名學者也說：「今日的巧克力糕點加入大量的糖分，這跟十六世紀和十七世紀留下來的歷史紀錄中，對於當地可可豆使用方法的描述是大相逕庭的。」台北時報章厚明譯

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#487: Ecuadorean discovery pushes back origins of chocolate

People have been enjoying chocolate far longer than previously known, according to research published on Monday detailing the domestication and use of cacao beginning 5,300 years ago at an ancient settlement in the highlands of southeastern Ecuador. Scientists examined ceramic artifacts at the Santa Ana-La Florida archeological site, a remarkably preserved village and ceremonial center that was part of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture of the Andes, and found abundant evidence of the use of cacao, from which chocolate is made.

根據週一發表的一份研究顯示，人類享用巧克力的歷史比先前所知的還要悠久。該研究詳細指出，在厄瓜多東南部高地的一處古老聚落，發現五千三百年前已開始出現可可豆的人工培植和食用跡象。在聖塔安娜─佛羅里達考古遺址──當地保存著狀況絕佳的村落遺跡，曾作為儀式中心，屬於安地斯山脈「馬由─欽奇佩」文化圈的一部分──科學家仔細檢驗出土的陶瓷工藝品，並發現充分證據顯示使用可可豆，也就是製作巧克力的原料。

 

The study indicates cacao was domesticated roughly 1,500 years earlier than previously known, and that it occurred in South America rather than in Central America, as previously thought. A tropical evergreen tree called Theobroma cacao bears large, oval pods containing the bean-like cacao seeds that today are roasted and turned into cocoa and multitudes of chocolate confections, although chocolate at the time was consumed as a beverage.

 

研究指出，人工培植可可豆的時間點比先前所知還要再往前推大約一千五百年，並且始於南美洲，而非之前認為的中美洲。可可樹是一種熱帶常青樹，會結出大而橢圓形的豆莢，包覆著像豆子般的可可種子。今日，可可種子會在烘培後被做成可可粉和各式各樣的巧克力糕點，不過巧克力在當時其實是被用來作成飲料喝下肚。

 

The scientists found evidence of cacao’s use at the site over a period starting 5,300 years ago — more than 700 years before building of the Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt — until 2,100 years ago. They found cacao starch grains in ceramic vessels and pottery shards. They also detected residue of a bitter compound found in the cacao tree but not its wild relatives, evidence that the tree was grown by people for food purposes, as well as DNA fragments from the cacao tree.

 

科學家在該遺址發現使用可可豆的證據，當地的人類活動始於五千三百年前──比古埃及建造吉薩大金字塔的時間還要早了七百多年──到兩千一百年前。在陶瓷容器和陶器碎片中，科學家找到可可豆的澱粉粒，還偵測到只會在可可樹中發現，卻不存在於野生近親樹種中的一種苦澀化合物殘餘，這是人類為食用目的而種植可可樹的證據，同時也發現可可樹的DNA片段。

 

“They clearly drank it as a beverage, as shown by its presence in stirrup-spout pots and bowls,” said University of British Columbia anthropologist and archaeologist Michael Blake, who helped lead the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. “The presence of cacao starch grains likely means that they ground the seeds to make the beverages, and so probably, though we aren’t certain, fermented the seeds as well, before grinding them,” Blake added.

 

英屬哥倫比亞大學的人類學暨考古學家麥可‧布雷克指出：「可可豆出現在蹬型壺嘴陶罐和碗裡，證明當地人明顯是把可可豆作成飲料來喝。」布雷克協助主導這份發表於《自然─生態學與演化》期刊的研究，他補充說：「可可豆澱粉粒的存在，表示當地人會把可可豆磨碎來做成飲料，所以，雖然我們還不能確定，他們或許也會在磨碎可可豆前先進行發酵。」

 

 Archeological evidence indicates cacao domestication moved into Central America and Mexico about 4,000 years ago. Before European conquerors arrived in the Americas five centuries ago, great civilizations like the Aztecs and Maya prepared chocolate as a drink, mixed with various spices or other ingredients. “The freshly picked ripe cacao pods have a delicious sweet pulp around them, and mixed together it all has a very mild chocolate taste,” Blake said. “The chocolate confections today contain a great deal of sugar, and this is very different from the indigenous uses of cacao reported in the historical records from the 1500s and 1600s.”

(Reuters)

 

考古證據顯示，可可豆的人工培植技術大概在四千年前傳入中美洲和墨西哥。五個世紀前，當歐洲的征服者們抵達美洲時，諸如阿茲特克和馬雅等偉大文明皆會把巧克力調製成飲料，裡面加入各種香料和其他成分。布雷克表示：「剛摘下來的新鮮可可豆莢裡面含有美味而香甜的果肉，如果把它跟可可豆混在一起，就會產生一種非常溫潤的巧克力口感。」這名學者也說：「今日的巧克力糕點加入大量的糖分，這跟十六世紀和十七世紀留下來的歷史紀錄中，對於當地可可豆使用方法的描述是大相逕庭的。」台北時報章厚明譯

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#486: ‘Buhaoyisi’ culture and profuse politeness in Taiwan: BBC

For the outsider, Taiwan may seem like the world’s most apologetic country, obsessed with saying buhaoyisi (a term similar to “excuse me”), according to a BBC report titled “The island that never stops apologizing” last week. In fact, the article said, “the culture of buhaoyisi reveals a lot about the island’s hidden layers of modesty and shyness,” and the term serves as a catch-all phrase that can be deployed in almost all kinds of situations.

英國廣播公司上週在標題為「不停道歉的島嶼」報導中指出，對外來者來說，台灣似乎是全世界最愛道歉的國家，常把「不好意思」（buhaoyisi）掛在嘴邊。「事實上，不好意思文化所顯露的是這個島國各種隱藏層次的謙遜、害羞等情緒，」這個萬用名詞還可用於幾乎所有情境。

Although the term is made up of four characters that literally translate to “bad meaning” or “bad feeling,” simply saying buhaoyisi “can open a Pandora’s box of profuse politeness,” while the Western notion of “excuse me” is far too limited to express all the social graces and good manners of this popular expression in Taiwan.

雖然「不好意思」這四個字英文直譯為「不好的意思」或「不好的感覺」，但是說出該詞「就像打開潘朵拉的盒子，充斥著多種客氣含意。」而西方「抱歉」（excuse me）的概念則太過局限，無法涵蓋這個台灣流行語在社交禮儀和禮貌行為的各種意涵。

 

Moral teachings of Confucianism and decades of Japanese colonization have played a key role in shaping Taiwan’s buhaoyisi culture, the report said, although some argued that constantly apologizing for small inconveniences can do more harm than good and even affect your self-esteem.

(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)

報導說，儒家道德教義和數十年日本殖民統治，對形塑台灣的不好意思文化扮演著關鍵角色。但也有人覺得，一直為了造成些微不便而道歉可能弊多於利，甚至還會影響到你的自我存在。

（台北時報張聖恩）

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#486: ‘Buhaoyisi’ culture and profuse politeness in Taiwan: BBC

For the outsider, Taiwan may seem like the world’s most apologetic country, obsessed with saying buhaoyisi (a term similar to “excuse me”), according to a BBC report titled “The island that never stops apologizing” last week. In fact, the article said, “the culture of buhaoyisi reveals a lot about the island’s hidden layers of modesty and shyness,” and the term serves as a catch-all phrase that can be deployed in almost all kinds of situations.

英國廣播公司上週在標題為「不停道歉的島嶼」報導中指出，對外來者來說，台灣似乎是全世界最愛道歉的國家，常把「不好意思」（buhaoyisi）掛在嘴邊。「事實上，不好意思文化所顯露的是這個島國各種隱藏層次的謙遜、害羞等情緒，」這個萬用名詞還可用於幾乎所有情境。

Although the term is made up of four characters that literally translate to “bad meaning” or “bad feeling,” simply saying buhaoyisi “can open a Pandora’s box of profuse politeness,” while the Western notion of “excuse me” is far too limited to express all the social graces and good manners of this popular expression in Taiwan.

雖然「不好意思」這四個字英文直譯為「不好的意思」或「不好的感覺」，但是說出該詞「就像打開潘朵拉的盒子，充斥著多種客氣含意。」而西方「抱歉」（excuse me）的概念則太過局限，無法涵蓋這個台灣流行語在社交禮儀和禮貌行為的各種意涵。

 

Moral teachings of Confucianism and decades of Japanese colonization have played a key role in shaping Taiwan’s buhaoyisi culture, the report said, although some argued that constantly apologizing for small inconveniences can do more harm than good and even affect your self-esteem.

(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)

報導說，儒家道德教義和數十年日本殖民統治，對形塑台灣的不好意思文化扮演著關鍵角色。但也有人覺得，一直為了造成些微不便而道歉可能弊多於利，甚至還會影響到你的自我存在。

（台北時報張聖恩）

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#485: France halts fuel tax hikes in bid to calm fiery protests

The French government announced Tuesday that it would suspend planned increases in fuel taxes for six months in a bid to quell fierce protests that have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. The concession was one of several made by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a rare televised address, after the country was rocked by intense street clashes and vandalism in Paris over the weekend.

 法國政府週二宣布暫緩調漲燃油稅六個月，試圖平息這場已擴大為法國總統馬克宏任內最大危機的猛烈抗議行動。繼上週末爆發激烈街頭衝突，巴黎市容亦遭破壞而深深撼動全國後，法國總理菲力普相當罕見地以電視演講方式宣布數項讓步。

 

 

“This anger, you would have to be deaf and blind not to see it, nor hear it,” Philippe said after more than a fortnight of demonstrations by so-called “yellow vest” protesters. “No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger,” he added.

 「黃背心」抗議民眾發起多次示威遊行超過兩星期後，總理菲力普表示：「除非你又聾又瞎，不然你絕不會看不見、也不會聽不到這樣的憤怒。」他補充說：「沒有任何稅收值得讓國家團結陷入危機。」

 

Pressure has been mounting after protests degenerated into the worst street clashes in central Paris in decades, leading to scores of injuries and arrests. The concessions, coming after an earlier 500-million-euro (US$570 million) relief package for poorer households, mark the first time French President Emmanuel Macron has had to give ground in the face of public opposition.

 隨著抗議行動惡化成為巴黎市中心數十年來最糟的街頭衝突，造成數十人受傷或遭逮捕，壓力也逐漸升高。法國政府不久前向貧困家庭提出五億歐元（五億七千萬美元）的紓困方案，此回又做出數項讓步，可說是法國總統馬克宏首次被迫向民怨退讓。

 

“The French don’t want crumbs, they want the whole baguette,” Benjamin Cauchy, one of the movement’s organizers, told AFP earlier Monday when asked about the suspension of fuel taxes. Rescinding the increase was the main demand of the demonstrators, alongside a higher minimum wage and the return of a wealth tax on high-earners that was abolished last year.

 

抗議活動的領袖之一，班傑明·寇西週一稍早被問到對暫緩調漲燃油稅的看法時，向法新社表示：「法國人不要麵包屑，他們要整條法國麵包」。示威群眾的主要訴求仍是撤銷調漲決定，以及提高最低工資，並且恢復去年廢止向高收入階級課徵的富人稅。

 

 

The “yellow vest” movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by supporters, emerged on social media in October after months of swelling anger over rising fuel prices. It quickly grew into wider protests against rising costs of living, especially among rural and small-town voters who accuse Macron of representing a Parisian elite with little understanding of their monthly struggle to make ends meet.

(AFP)

 

這場「黃背心」運動，因支持者穿著高度醒目的外套而得名，來自民眾對於攀升油價醞釀數個月的怒氣，從十月開始浮現在社群網站。抗議運動很快地就演變成抗議物價上漲的大規模示威。來自農村或小型城鎮的選民特別對物價上漲感到不滿，他們更指控馬克宏代表巴黎的菁英份子，對於他們每個月要多費力才能達到收支平衡幾乎一無所知。

（台北時報章厚明譯）

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#485: France halts fuel tax hikes in bid to calm fiery protests

The French government announced Tuesday that it would suspend planned increases in fuel taxes for six months in a bid to quell fierce protests that have ballooned into the deepest crisis of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. The concession was one of several made by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a rare televised address, after the country was rocked by intense street clashes and vandalism in Paris over the weekend.

 法國政府週二宣布暫緩調漲燃油稅六個月，試圖平息這場已擴大為法國總統馬克宏任內最大危機的猛烈抗議行動。繼上週末爆發激烈街頭衝突，巴黎市容亦遭破壞而深深撼動全國後，法國總理菲力普相當罕見地以電視演講方式宣布數項讓步。

 

 

“This anger, you would have to be deaf and blind not to see it, nor hear it,” Philippe said after more than a fortnight of demonstrations by so-called “yellow vest” protesters. “No tax merits putting the unity of the nation in danger,” he added.

 「黃背心」抗議民眾發起多次示威遊行超過兩星期後，總理菲力普表示：「除非你又聾又瞎，不然你絕不會看不見、也不會聽不到這樣的憤怒。」他補充說：「沒有任何稅收值得讓國家團結陷入危機。」

 

Pressure has been mounting after protests degenerated into the worst street clashes in central Paris in decades, leading to scores of injuries and arrests. The concessions, coming after an earlier 500-million-euro (US$570 million) relief package for poorer households, mark the first time French President Emmanuel Macron has had to give ground in the face of public opposition.

 隨著抗議行動惡化成為巴黎市中心數十年來最糟的街頭衝突，造成數十人受傷或遭逮捕，壓力也逐漸升高。法國政府不久前向貧困家庭提出五億歐元（五億七千萬美元）的紓困方案，此回又做出數項讓步，可說是法國總統馬克宏首次被迫向民怨退讓。

 

“The French don’t want crumbs, they want the whole baguette,” Benjamin Cauchy, one of the movement’s organizers, told AFP earlier Monday when asked about the suspension of fuel taxes. Rescinding the increase was the main demand of the demonstrators, alongside a higher minimum wage and the return of a wealth tax on high-earners that was abolished last year.

 

抗議活動的領袖之一，班傑明·寇西週一稍早被問到對暫緩調漲燃油稅的看法時，向法新社表示：「法國人不要麵包屑，他們要整條法國麵包」。示威群眾的主要訴求仍是撤銷調漲決定，以及提高最低工資，並且恢復去年廢止向高收入階級課徵的富人稅。

 

 

The “yellow vest” movement, named after the high-visibility jackets worn by supporters, emerged on social media in October after months of swelling anger over rising fuel prices. It quickly grew into wider protests against rising costs of living, especially among rural and small-town voters who accuse Macron of representing a Parisian elite with little understanding of their monthly struggle to make ends meet.

(AFP)

 

這場「黃背心」運動，因支持者穿著高度醒目的外套而得名，來自民眾對於攀升油價醞釀數個月的怒氣，從十月開始浮現在社群網站。抗議運動很快地就演變成抗議物價上漲的大規模示威。來自農村或小型城鎮的選民特別對物價上漲感到不滿，他們更指控馬克宏代表巴黎的菁英份子，對於他們每個月要多費力才能達到收支平衡幾乎一無所知。

（台北時報章厚明譯）

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#484 : To Innovate, the Workplace Comes to Class

In a sleek laboratory at Marshall University last month, four high school teachers hunched over a miniature steam-electric boiler, a tabletop replica of the gigantic machinery found in power plants.

 

 

They hooked the boiler to a small, whirring generator and tinkered with valves and knobs, looking for the most efficient way to turn coal, natural gas, nuclear or solar energy into electricity.

 

 

上個月在美國西維吉尼亞州馬歇爾大學一間造型優美的實驗室裡，四名高中老師朝向一台微型蒸氣電熱鍋爐弓下身。這是發電廠裡巨大鍋爐的桌上型複製品。

 

他們把鍋爐連接上一台嗡嗡作響的小發電機，調整閥門和旋鈕，尋找把煤、天然氣、核能或太陽能轉為電力最有效的方式。

 

 

The teachers, who were attending a summer training program, are helping West Virginia in another kind of transformation. Long one of the poorest states, it is now leading the way in turning vocational education from a Plan B for underachieving students into what policymakers hope will be a fuel source for the state’s economic revival.

 

這些參加暑期訓練專案的老師正在幫助西維吉尼亞州進行另一種轉型。向來是美國最貧窮的州之一的西維吉尼亞現在打起頭陣，要把職業教育從成績不佳學生的次要選擇，轉變成決策者希望的、這個州經濟復甦的一股原動力。

 Simulated workplaces, overseen by teachers newly trained in important state industries like health, coal and even fracking — the energy industry's technique to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure water, other mixtures, and chemicals, are now operating in schools across the state. Students punch a time clock, are assigned professional roles like foreman or safety supervisor, and are even offered several vacation days of their choice in addition to regular school breaks. (Many take time off during deer hunting season.)

 

現在，西維吉尼亞全州各地都有學校開辦模擬工作場所，指導老師都在這個州重要的產業如醫療、煤礦甚至水力壓裂受過最新訓練。水力壓裂是能源業的技術，透過注入高壓水、其他混合物和化學物，從岩石開採石油和天然氣。學生上下班打卡，被指派擔任領班或安全監督員等專業角色，甚至在學校例行假期之外可以自選幾天休假。（許多人在獵鹿季休假。）

 

Traditional math and English teachers have been reassigned to technical high schools, to make sure students on the vocational track still gain reading, writing and math skills.

 

 

And this fall, students enrolled in simulated workplaces will need to participate in one of the program’s boldest elements: random drug testing.

 

傳統的數學和英文老師被調派到職業高中，以確保技職體系的學生仍掌握讀、寫、算技能。

 

 

今年秋天，參加模擬職場專案的學生必須參與專案最大膽的項目之一：毒品隨機檢測。

 Given the extent of the state’s opioid crisis, employers “wouldn’t take anything we were doing seriously until we passed that hurdle,” said Barry Crist, principal of the Fayette Institute of Technology in Oak Hill.

西維吉尼亞州橡樹山市「費耶特技術學院」校長克里斯特說，由於西維吉尼亞州有嚴重的鴉片類藥物危機，雇主「不會把我們做的當一回事，除非我們通過毒品這道關卡」。

 

 

West Virginia’s heavy push on vocational education comes as leaders of both parties have talked about making it a priority, a shift from the No Child Left Behind era of education reform, in which college for everyone was often the goal. In 2015, fewer than half of 25- to 34-year-olds nationwide had earned an associate or bachelor’s degree, according to census figures.

 

 

西維吉尼亞州力推職業教育之際，兩黨領袖也在討論優先推動技職教育，不啻告別「不放棄任何孩子」的教育改革時代，這種改革經常以「人人上大學」為目標。根據人口普查數據，2015年全美25到34歲的族群，獲有副學士或學士學位者不到一半。

 

 

“Vocational training is a great thing,” President Donald Trump said a week before Election Day. “We’re going to start it up big league.” In June, he signed an executive order that redirected federal job training funds toward apprenticeships, in which students learn skills at actual work sites.

 

 

美國總統川普在總統大選投票日的一周前說：「職業教育很棒，我們會大刀闊斧開辦。」他6月簽署行政命令，把聯邦政府職業訓練的專款改撥給學徒制，這種制度讓學生在實際工作場所學習技能。

 

Source: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/317475/web/

文／Dana Goldstein譯／李京倫

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today

每日跟讀#484 : To Innovate, the Workplace Comes to Class

In a sleek laboratory at Marshall University last month, four high school teachers hunched over a miniature steam-electric boiler, a tabletop replica of the gigantic machinery found in power plants.

 

 

They hooked the boiler to a small, whirring generator and tinkered with valves and knobs, looking for the most efficient way to turn coal, natural gas, nuclear or solar energy into electricity.

 

 

上個月在美國西維吉尼亞州馬歇爾大學一間造型優美的實驗室裡，四名高中老師朝向一台微型蒸氣電熱鍋爐弓下身。這是發電廠裡巨大鍋爐的桌上型複製品。

 

他們把鍋爐連接上一台嗡嗡作響的小發電機，調整閥門和旋鈕，尋找把煤、天然氣、核能或太陽能轉為電力最有效的方式。

 

 

The teachers, who were attending a summer training program, are helping West Virginia in another kind of transformation. Long one of the poorest states, it is now leading the way in turning vocational education from a Plan B for underachieving students into what policymakers hope will be a fuel source for the state’s economic revival.

 

這些參加暑期訓練專案的老師正在幫助西維吉尼亞州進行另一種轉型。向來是美國最貧窮的州之一的西維吉尼亞現在打起頭陣，要把職業教育從成績不佳學生的次要選擇，轉變成決策者希望的、這個州經濟復甦的一股原動力。

 Simulated workplaces, overseen by teachers newly trained in important state industries like health, coal and even fracking — the energy industry's technique to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure water, other mixtures, and chemicals, are now operating in schools across the state. Students punch a time clock, are assigned professional roles like foreman or safety supervisor, and are even offered several vacation days of their choice in addition to regular school breaks. (Many take time off during deer hunting season.)

 

現在，西維吉尼亞全州各地都有學校開辦模擬工作場所，指導老師都在這個州重要的產業如醫療、煤礦甚至水力壓裂受過最新訓練。水力壓裂是能源業的技術，透過注入高壓水、其他混合物和化學物，從岩石開採石油和天然氣。學生上下班打卡，被指派擔任領班或安全監督員等專業角色，甚至在學校例行假期之外可以自選幾天休假。（許多人在獵鹿季休假。）

 

Traditional math and English teachers have been reassigned to technical high schools, to make sure students on the vocational track still gain reading, writing and math skills.

 

 

And this fall, students enrolled in simulated workplaces will need to participate in one of the program’s boldest elements: random drug testing.

 

傳統的數學和英文老師被調派到職業高中，以確保技職體系的學生仍掌握讀、寫、算技能。

 

 

今年秋天，參加模擬職場專案的學生必須參與專案最大膽的項目之一：毒品隨機檢測。

 Given the extent of the state’s opioid crisis, employers “wouldn’t take anything we were doing seriously until we passed that hurdle,” said Barry Crist, principal of the Fayette Institute of Technology in Oak Hill.

西維吉尼亞州橡樹山市「費耶特技術學院」校長克里斯特說，由於西維吉尼亞州有嚴重的鴉片類藥物危機，雇主「不會把我們做的當一回事，除非我們通過毒品這道關卡」。

 

 

West Virginia’s heavy push on vocational education comes as leaders of both parties have talked about making it a priority, a shift from the No Child Left Behind era of education reform, in which college for everyone was often the goal. In 2015, fewer than half of 25- to 34-year-olds nationwide had earned an associate or bachelor’s degree, according to census figures.

 

 

西維吉尼亞州力推職業教育之際，兩黨領袖也在討論優先推動技職教育，不啻告別「不放棄任何孩子」的教育改革時代，這種改革經常以「人人上大學」為目標。根據人口普查數據，2015年全美25到34歲的族群，獲有副學士或學士學位者不到一半。

 

 

“Vocational training is a great thing,” President Donald Trump said a week before Election Day. “We’re going to start it up big league.” In June, he signed an executive order that redirected federal job training funds toward apprenticeships, in which students learn skills at actual work sites.

 

 

美國總統川普在總統大選投票日的一周前說：「職業教育很棒，我們會大刀闊斧開辦。」他6月簽署行政命令，把聯邦政府職業訓練的專款改撥給學徒制，這種制度讓學生在實際工作場所學習技能。

 

Source: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/317475/web/

文／Dana Goldstein譯／李京倫

 

For more English shadowing articles, please visit www.15mins.today