What age was the world's oldest student when she got a colle

What age was the world's oldest student when she got a college degree in the United States?

世界上年龄最大的学生多大年龄拿到大学学位

a) 91

b) 95

c) 101

Yvonne:  This is "6 Minute English", I'm Yvonne Archer 1 and thanks to William Kremer for joining me again today. Hello William! 

William:  Hello Yvonne. 

Yvonne:  William, what type of stories would you say we generally hear about the country Sudan? 

William:  Umm – not very positive stories. We hear a lot of stories about the war and about refugees 2 in Darfur. 

Yvonne:  ...But not everyone in Sudan is involved the conflict or the war. So in today's programme, we hear about something different! 

William:  Yeah! 

Yvonne:  Yes. I met - during a British Council 3 trip to Nigeria – a gentleman who's a volunteer at a very special school in Sudan 

William:  Right, so what's special about the school? Is it that it's open even though there's a war? 

Yvonne:  Well that's part of it, but as we'll find out, there's even more to it than that. But first, you'd better answer today's big question. William. Are you ready? 

William:  Yes. 

 

Yvonne:  Okay. What age was the world's oldest student when she got a college degree in the United States? Was she a) 91 b) 95 or c) 101 

William:  I'm going to go for one hundred and one. 

Yvonne:  I like that age too, but -we'll find out whether you're right or wrong later on! Now following the signing of the Comprehensive 4 Peace Agreement in Sudan, some ex child soldiers – people who used to be soldiers when they were children - were disarme. Their weapons were taken away so that they could become a part of society again. And this included going to school, something they hadn't done during the country's twenty-one years of war. 

William:  Gosh. 

Yvonne:  Hmmm. Santo Khamis is a volunteer teacher at a primary school in Sudan which was specially 5 set up in 2006 for ex-child soldiers. He describes his students as 'aggressive' and 'stubborn 6' when they first begin school. William, what does he mean by that? 

William:  Well, someone who is described as 'aggressive' behaves in an angry and forceful way – and a way that makes other people feel threatened, uncomfortable, maybe even afraid sometimes. So being 'aggressive' is a negative quality. 

Yvonne:  And 'stubborn'? 

 

William:  That's another negative quality – to be 'stubborn'. Someone who is described as 

'stubborn', continues to do or believe exactly what they want to even if they're 

wrong. So a stubborn person can be really annoying and difficult to deal with 

because they refuse to change their mind. 

Yvonne:  Thanks William. Now as we hear from Santo, try to find out how long it takes 

before the students at his school begin to change. 

 

SANTO KHAMIS

You get them aggressive in the classes. There are times, (they) threaten teachers because they are used that military life where things are done by command. They will (be) so stubborn and very hard to approach but after a year, they change for the better and I'm proud of that.

Yvonne: The students at Santo's school, who are between 25 and 40 years old, sometimes threaten the teachers if they don't get what they want. But how long does it usually take before students change for the better?

William: Well, it only takes about a year – which isn't very long at all. So Santo is quite rightly proud of that.

Yvonne: Santo and the other teachers spend time talking with and questioning new students to help them. But they also talk about what students will learn, how going to school will help them become a part of society again and bring peace to Sudan. But they also talk about the great future students can have!

William: And what subjects do they learn at the school, Yvonne?

Yvonne: Santo told me that the students really enjoy history, geography and environmental studies. But learning 7 languages, including English, really helps them to get jobs!

 

SANTO KHAMIS

Most of them get employed within the organisations as security 8 guards, others work in houses of the foreigners within the country as cleaners, others work as messengers 9 in offices…

William:  That's great. So do they go onto secondary 10 schools? 

Yvonne:  Well sadly, no – not at the moment because they're too old to go to school with young people. But Santo and his friends and colleagues are trying to set up a special secondary school for them so that they can learn agriculture and become farmers. And of course, lots of them would like to go to university. So that's great, isn't it? 

 

William: Yeah – it is. We wish them lots of luck with that and let's hope that they get lots of donations（捐赠物） and more volunteers to help them start those new secondary schools.

Yvonne:  Absolutely. But now, it's time for the answer to today's big question. William, what age was the world's oldest student when she got a college degree in the United States?

William: I said, maybe a hundred and one.

Yvonne: And you'd be really pushing it! She wasn't. She was ninety-five.

 

William: Aww…!

Yvonne:   So -still a good age, isn't it?

William: A very good age, yeah.

Yvonne: But that's all we've got time for on today's "6 Minute English". Join BBC Learning English again for more!

W/Y:   Goodbye! (本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

点击收听单词发音  






1
archer

  
 


n.射手，弓箭手


参考例句：





The archer strung his bow and aimed an arrow at the target.弓箭手拉紧弓弦将箭瞄准靶子。
The archer's shot was a perfect bull's-eye.射手的那一箭正中靶心。












2
refugees

  
 


n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )


参考例句：





The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。












3
council

  
 


n.理事会，委员会，议事机构


参考例句：





The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。












4
comprehensive

  
 


adj.综合的，全面的，广泛的


参考例句：





He was educated at the local comprehensive school.他曾在地区的综合中学受教育。
An objective test can be quite comprehensive.客观测试相当全面。












5
specially

  
 


adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地


参考例句：





They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。












6
stubborn

  
 


adj.难以移动，去除的，固执的，顽固的


参考例句：





I can not cope with that boy;he is stubborn.我对付不了那个孩子，他很固执。
When he's in his stubborn mood,he isn't easily talked round.他那股牛劲上来了，一时不容易说服。












7
learning

  
 


n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词


参考例句：





When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。












8
security

  
 


n.安全，安全感；防护措施；保证(金)，抵押(品)；债券，证券


参考例句：





A security guard brought him down with a flying tackle.一名保安人员飞身把他抱倒。
There was tight security at the airport when the President's plane landed.总统的专机降落时，机场的保安措施很严密。












9
messengers

  
 


n.信使，信差，送信人( messenger的名词复数 )


参考例句：





Messengers will relay your letters. 邮递员将接转你的信件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
To this monarch also (in 628) came messengers from Muhammad. 穆罕默德的使者也来找过这位君主（628年）。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史












10
secondary

  
 


adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手


参考例句：





It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。