VOA慢速英语2018 得州84岁老妪获得大学学位

Woman Reaches Lifelong Goal of College Degree at 84

Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.

很多人都设定了上大学的目标，有些人甚至是在还很年幼的时候。德克萨斯州的一位妇女就等待了很久才有机会实现这个目标。

The woman is 84-year-old Janet Fein. Last week, she received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas.

这位妇女就是84岁的珍妮特·费恩（Janet Fein）。上周，她拿到了德克萨斯大学达拉斯分校的学士学位。

Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired 1 at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement 2.

费恩经历了丰富的人生。她养大了5个孩子，然后在77岁退休前一直担任秘书。但是即便如此，她也不准备在退休后就闲下来。

“I didn’t have anything to do in retirement and I didn’t think that playing bingo was up to my speed,” Fein told the Associated Press. She said she decided 3 to major in sociology 4 because she felt it was “substantial 5.”

费恩对美联社表示：“退休后我无事可做，我认为玩宾果游戏跟不上我的速度。”她说自己决定主修社会学是因为她认为这是“非常有价值的。”

Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. She said that in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary at a dress manufacturer 6.

费恩在纽约市布朗克斯地区长大。她说高中时自己只想毕业找份工作。16岁早早毕业后，她去了一家服装制造厂担任秘书。

After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including 20 years as a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from in 2012. She also worked for 20 years on earning an associate degree, which she received in 1995.

结婚之后她在家陪伴了孩子18年。她一生之中做过好几份工作，包括在达拉斯一家医院做了20年秘书，2012年她从这份工作上退休了。她曾攻读了20年的副学士学位，并在1995年拿到了这个学位。

But Fein told the AP she also wanted to earn a bachelor’s degree “with all of my heart.” Even with all of her life experiences, she said she enjoyed reading, writing papers and learning 7 new things. “With each class I already knew a lot, but then I also learned 8 a lot. And that made me happy.”

但是费恩告诉美联社，即使有了这么丰富的人生经历，她还是非常想获得学士学位。她说她喜欢阅读、写文章和学习新事物。她说：“每节课我都已经懂得了很多，但是还是学到了很多，这让我非常高兴。”

Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas. State officials say about 2,000 people used the program last year.

费恩参加了一项州级计划，允许65岁及以上老人到德克萨斯州的公立大学免费就读。州官员表示，去年大约有2000人参加了这项计划。

Estimates 9 show that nationwide, people 65 and older make up less than one percent of U.S. college students. But health experts say continuing with education later in life is one way to keep fit.

据估计，在全国范围内，65岁及以上老人在美国大学生中所占的比例不到1%。但是健康专家表示，老年时继续接受教育是保持健康的方法之一。

Carmel Dyer is director of the UTHealth Consortium on Aging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She says that keeping active and giving yourself something to look forward to “is just a really positive move.”

卡梅尔·戴尔（Carmel Dyer）是德克萨斯大学休斯顿健康科学中心UTHealth老龄化联盟的主任。她说，保持活力，有所期待是一项非常积极的举措。

In Fein’s case, she kept going to class even as her health conditions worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she required oxygen. She also developed knee problems. So, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements.

以费恩来说，即使健康状况恶化她也坚持上课。在学习期间，她需要使用助步器行走，还需要吸氧。她膝盖还出了毛病。所以费恩参加了在线课程，以完成学位要求的最后一部分课程。

Her college advisor 10 was Sheila Rollerson. She told the AP that Fein never showed signs of giving up even with all of her difficulties. “She just kept plugging along,” Rollerson said.

她的大学辅导员是希拉·罗勒森(Sheila Rollerson)。罗勒森对美联社表示，即使遇到了困难，费恩也从未表现出放弃的迹象。罗勒森表示：“她勤奋地坚持了下来。”

Tracy Glass, a 40-year-old student, became friends with Fein after they both took seats in the front of the class. “I sat right next to her and over the course of the semester 11, built a fast friendship with her,” Glass said. She added that Fein’s personal memories of world events - like the women’s movement – improved a lot of the class discussions 12.

40岁的学生特蕾西·格拉斯（Tracy Glass）跟费恩都坐在前排座位，之后她们成为了好朋友。格拉斯表示：“我整个学期就坐在她旁边，很快跟她成为了好朋友。”她补充说，费恩对妇女运动等世界大事的个人记忆把课堂讨论提高了很多。

Carol Cirulli Lanham teaches sociology at the university. She agrees that Fein could make the classroom experience more meaningful for other students. “She would speak up a lot in class and I think that it just made for a more interesting class," she told the AP. “Because she literally 13 remembered some of the times we were talking about.”

卡罗尔·拉纳姆（Carol Cirulli Lanham）在大学教社会学。她也认为费恩可以让课堂体验对其它学生来说更有意义。她对美联社表示：“她会在课堂上大声说出来，这会让课堂更加有趣。因为她完全记得我们在讨论的一些时期。”

Renee Brown is one of Fein’s caregivers. She says Fein has also inspired her. At 53, she plans to begin nursing school to further her career. Brown said Fein told her, “Renee, you can do it. If I can do it you can do it, and you will feel so good about it,"

蕾妮·布朗（Renee Brown）是费恩的护理员之一。她说费恩也激励了她。她在53岁的年纪计划开始上护理学校以进一步发展自己的事业。布朗说费恩告诉她，“蕾妮，你可以做到。如果我都能做到，你一定也能。你会觉得很棒。”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

bachelor’s degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study

secretary – n. someone who works 14 in an office answering phones, writing letters, arranging meetings, etc.

bingo – n. game in which players mark numbers on a board

substantial – adj. important or large in amount

online– n. connected to or involving a computer or telecommunications system

plug along – v. to work hard at something for a long time

semester – n. one of the two time periods a college year is divided into

literally – adv. in a completely accurate 15 way

inspire – v. make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it