英语视频：让99%的美国学校享受高速互联网

 奥巴马在北卡罗来纳州穆尔斯维尔(Mooresville)的一所中学发表演讲时问道：“我们的国家希望人们在喝咖啡有免费的Wi-Fi，为什么学校就不能拥有这样的服务？”奥巴马的新计划旨在使得几乎全美所有学校，尤其是乡村地区学校都能上网，并享受高速网络服务。这项名为“ConnectED”的计划要求美国联邦通信委员会(The Federal Communications Commission)在未来五年内向全美99%的学校提供高速数字化基础设施。据美国教育部称，目前只有约20%的教师报告称科技资源充足。

　　President Obama Speaks on Technology in Schools
　　Remarks by the President at Mooresville Middle School -- Mooresville, NC
　　Mooresville, North Carolina
　　英语演讲稿：
　　THE PRESIDENT:  (Applause.)  Hello, Mooresville!  (Applause.)  Hello, Mooresville.  It is good to be back in North Carolina.  (Applause.)  Now, first of all, I want to thank my staff for being smart enough to schedule a visit right before school lets out.  (Laughter.)  Because that means everybody is in a good mood.  (Laughter.)  However, Principal Tulbert told me that if I wanted to visit, I had to follow school rules.  And since we just recited the Pledge of Allegiance, let me say that, “It’s always a great day to be a Red Imp 1.”  (Applause.)  I gather some of you are going to be Blue Devils next year.  (Applause.)  Being an Imp is okay, but I guess being a Devil -- (laughter.)
　　I want to thank Maureen for the wonderful introduction, but more importantly, for the great work that she and all the staff at this school are doing.  I could not be more impressed with the teachers and the administrators 2.  So give it up for them.  Students, clap for your teachers.  (Applause.)  You may not realize how lucky you are to have great, dedicated 3 teachers, but as a parent, I realize how important that is.  And so we can’t thank them enough.
　　I want to make sure everybody knows that we’ve got one of the finest Secretaries of Education we’ve ever had in Arne Duncan, who’s here.  (Applause.)  Your Mayor, Miles Atkins, is in the house.  (Applause.)  And Superintendent 4 Edwards is here, who’s doing such great work.  So give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  So I want to thank you for inviting 5 me here today.  I know it’s a little warm in here, as it always is in a school gym.  But I was spending a lot of time talking to the students, and they were showing me such incredible work that I got kind of carried away.
　　I’ve come here to Mooresville to announce an important step that we’re taking to grow our economy and to reignite the engine that powers our economy -- and that’s a rising and thriving middle class where everybody has opportunity.
　　Over the past four and a half years, we have been fighting back from the worst recession since the Great Depression, which cost millions of Americans their jobs and their homes and the sense of security that they’ve worked so hard to build.  And North Carolina got hit worse than a lot of states.
　　But thanks to the grit 6 and the determination of the American people, folks are starting to come back.  Our businesses have created nearly 7 million new jobs over the past 38 months; 530 [thousand] of those jobs are new manufacturing jobs that help us sell goods made in America all around the world.  We’re producing more of our own energy.  We’re consuming less energy from other countries.  The housing market and the stock markets are rebounding 7.  Our deficit 8 is shrinking.  People’s retirement 9 savings 10 are growing.  The American auto 11 industry has come roaring back.
　　So we’re getting traction 12.  The gears to the economy are turning.  We’re starting to make progress.  But we’ve got to build on that progress.  Because while the economy is growing, there’s still a lot of families out there who feel like they’re working harder and harder but can’t get ahead.  And the middle class has to be prospering 13 -- not just folks at the very top.  That’s got to be our focus:  a growing economy -- (applause) -- we’ve got to have a growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs.  That’s got to be the North Star that guides all of our efforts.
　　Now, what that means -- I said this in my State of the Union address -- every day, we've got to ask ourselves three questions as a nation.  Number one, how do we make America a magnet for good jobs?  Number two, how do we make sure our workers, our people, have the skills and education they need to do those jobs?  And then, number three, how do we make sure that those jobs pay well so that hard work leads to a decent living?
　　But the reason I'm here today is because you are helping 14 to answer that second question:  How do we make sure Americans have the chance to earn the best skills and education possible?  That's why I came to Mooresville.  Because at a moment when the rest of the world is trying to out-educate us, we've got to make sure that our young people -- all you guys -- have every tool that you need to go as far as your talents and your dreams and your ambitions and your hard work will take you.  (Applause.)

So that’s the spirit that's reflected in the motto of your school district -- “every child, every day.”  It’s that fundamental belief that no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, every child can learn.  Every child can succeed.  Every child, every day, deserves that chance.  We've got an obligation to give every young person that chance.  (Applause.) 
　　And that means making sure we've got the best teachers and giving those teachers support and paying them what they deserve.  (Applause.)  Yes.  All the teachers say, amen.
　　AUDIENCE:  Amen!
　　THE PRESIDENT:  It requires parents who are more active and involved.  Parents, school is not a passive thing where you just dump off your kids, they come back and somehow automatically they learn.  You've got to be involved in the education process.  It requires smarter schools that are safer places to learn.  And in an age when the world’s information is a just click away, it demands that we bring our schools and libraries into the 21st century.  We can't be stuck in the 19th century when we're living in a 21st century economy. 
　　And that’s why, today, we're going to take a new step to make sure that virtually every child in America’s classrooms has access to the fastest Internet and the most cutting-edge learning tools.  And that step will better prepare our children for the jobs and challenges of the future and it will provide them a surer path into the middle class.  And, as a consequence, it will mean a stronger, more secure economy for all of us.
　　Specifically, today, I am directing the Federal Communications Commission, which is the FCC, to begin a process that will connect 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed broadband Internet within five years.  Within five years we're going to get it done.  (Applause.)
　　Now, those of you here at Mooresville understand why this is important, but I'm speaking to a larger audience, so I want to explain why this is important.  Today, the average American school has about the same bandwidth as the average American home, even though obviously there are 200 times as many people at school as there are at home.  Only around 20 percent of our students have access to true high-speed Internet in their classroom.  By comparison, South Korea has 100 percent of its kids with high-speed Internet.  We've got 20 percent; South Korea 100 percent.  In countries where -- in a country where we expect free Wi-Fi with our coffee, why shouldn’t we have it in our schools?  Right?  (Applause.)  Why wouldn’t we have it available for our children’s education?
　　So the good news is, here in Mooresville, you’ve committed yourself to this cause.  Starting in the third grade, as all of you know because you've lived through it, every student in the district gets a laptop and high-speed, wireless 15 Internet in the classroom.
　　And I just saw the ways that it’s changing how you learn.  You don’t just write papers and take tests.  You're working together on videos and presentations and movies and poetry.  Your high school Spanish class might Skype with students in Barcelona or Buenos Aires.  One student proudly said, “We’re able to work on more projects and homework outside of class.”  Now that’s not normally something teenagers brag 16 about.  (Laughter.)  But that's exactly the attitude that’s going to help you succeed and help your country succeed.
　　And as I was learning in talking to some of the teachers here, it's helping the teachers, too.  Because if a student is falling behind, a teacher is seeing it in real time.
　　Did somebody fall down?  One thing you guys got to do, by the way -- bend your knees a little bit when you're standing 17.  If you stand up straight -- I'm just giving you a tip so you don't faint -- (laughter) -- which happens all the time, and it's really embarrassing.  (Laughter.)  But if you already did, you should sit down.
　　But it gives teachers the ability to see in real time what students need help, who is falling behind, and then offer extra help.  If you’ve already mastered a lesson, you can move on to the next one.  So as one teacher said, “The thing I’m most proud of is not the technology, it’s the relationships I can build with the students that I teach.”
　　Now, here at this school, this has only been going on for a few years.  But so far, the results have been remarkable 18.  Graduation rates are up.  Last year, out of 115 school districts in North Carolina, you ranked in the bottom 10 in the amount of money you spend per student, but you ranked number two in student achievement.  Number two.  (Applause.)  So you're spending less money getting better outcomes.  And around the country, educators have started to take notice.  So many people want to see this school for themselves that there's a waiting list for tours all the way into 2014.
　　But here's the thing:  As special as what you've done is, I don’t want this success to be restricted to one school or one school district.  There is no reason why we can’t replicate 19 the success you've found here.  And imagine what that will mean for our country.
　　Imagine a young girl growing up on a farm in a rural area who can now take an AP biology or AP physics class, even if her school is too small to offer it.  Imagine a young boy with a chronic 20 illness that means he can't go to school, but now he can join his classmates via Skype or FaceTime and fully 21 participate in what's going on.
　　Imagine educators spending fewer hours teaching to a test, more time helping kids learn in new and innovative 22 ways.  Imagine more businesses starting here and hiring here in this area, in North Carolina, because they know for a fact that we’ve committed ourselves to equipping all of our kids with better skills and education than any place else on Earth.  That’s what we need.  (Applause.)
　　So over the next five years, we’re going to partner with private companies to put people to work laying fiber 23 optic cables to our schools and setting up wireless connections in our schools with speeds 10 to 100 times faster than what most schools have today.  We’re going to work with states to give teachers who want to use these technologies in the classroom the professional development that they need, because I was talking to Ms. Tulbert and she said, for all the teachers here, it took some adaptation to get used to these new technologies.
　　Once all these classrooms are wired for superfast Internet, that means a big new market for private innovation -- America’s companies who created the computers and smartphones and tablets that we all use --
　　AUDIENCE MEMBER:  (Inaudible.)
　　THE PRESIDENT:  It's okay.  This happens.  They'll be all right.  Just give them a little space.  That’s why we've got the medics here.  They'll be okay.
　　Oh, teachers give me some tips here.  I've lost their attention.  (Laughter.)  All right, everybody.  Right over here.
　　So what we're going to be able to do is to get companies to compete to create affordable 24 digital devices designed specifically to these new connected classrooms.  I want to see a tablet that’s the same price as a textbook.  (Applause.)  I want to see more apps that can be instantly updated with academic content the day it’s available, so you don’t have old, outdated 25 textbooks with student names still in them from years ago.  These are the tools that our children deserve.
　　And there’s no reason we can’t do all this.  If you think about the history of America, we united a continent by rail.  We stretched a network of highways from sea to shining sea.  We brought light to dark and remote areas.  We connected the world through the Internet, through our imagination.  All these projects created jobs.  All these projects grew our economy.  They also unified 26 the country and they are unifying 27 the world.  And this project we're talking about today can do the same thing.  I am determined 28 to see it through on behalf of our kids.  (Applause.)
　　And for those of you who follow politics in Washington, here's the best news -- none of this requires an act of Congress.  (Applause.)  We can and we will get started right away.  Yes, we can.  (Applause.)  Look, there are all kinds of things I do need Congress to do, and I want to work with them everywhere I can.  But where we've got an opportunity to just go ahead and do something that’s going to help our young people, help our teachers, help our education system, help this economy, help our middle class, help to create jobs, we've just got to go ahead and do it.  (Applause.)  This is something we have to do for the sake of our kids and our future.
　　But there are other things that I'm going to be working with Congress to do that will improve our education system on behalf of our kids and our future.  Because if we can bring our kids and our schools into the digital age, you can't tell me we can’t start improving our early-childhood education system and making high-quality preschool available to every child in America.  (Applause.)
　　You can’t tell me that we can’t find the wherewithal to hire even more good teachers in science and math and technology and engineering.
　　You can't tell me that we can’t rethink and redesign our high schools, or partner with colleges and businesses to put our young people on the path of jobs -- not just today's jobs, but tomorrow's jobs.
　　We can make sure that middle-class families aren't priced out of a college education.  We can make sure that interest rates on federal student loans don't double for students and parents at the end of this month.  (Applause.)  I want to work with Democrats 29 and Republicans to keep those rates low.
　　How many students here expect to go to college?  I expect all of them to raise their hand.  (Applause.)  So we've got to make sure that college is affordable for every young person, and that's going to require some help from Congress.
　　But we have to give every child, every day, the shot at success that they deserve.  Every day.  (Applause.)  FDR once said, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”  And as long as I’m President, I’m going to keep fighting with everything I’ve got to build a better future for our young people and to give them a chance to build their own future.  That’s how we’re going to strengthen our middle class.  That's how we'll secure America’s future for generations to come.  That’s what I’m going to fight for as President of the United States.  That's why I'm so proud of all of you here at Mooresville.
　　Congratulations, everybody.  Have a great summer.  God bless you.  God bless America. 
　　   
　　END

 




点击收听单词发音  






1
imp

  
 


n.顽童


参考例句：





What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。












2
administrators

  
 


n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师


参考例句：





He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城












3
dedicated

  
 


adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的


参考例句：





He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。












4
superintendent

  
 


n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长


参考例句：





He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。












5
inviting

  
 


adj.诱人的，引人注目的


参考例句：





An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。












6
grit

  
 


n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关


参考例句：





The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。












7
rebounding

  
 


蹦跳运动


参考例句：





The strength of negative temperature concrete is tested with supersonic-rebounding method. 本文将超声回弹综合法用于负温混凝土强度检测。
The fundamental of basketball includes shooting, passing and catching, rebounding, etc. 篮球运动中最基本的东西包括投篮，传接球，篮板球等。












8
deficit

  
 


n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差


参考例句：





The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。












9
retirement

  
 


n.退休，退职


参考例句：





She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。












10
savings

  
 


n.存款，储蓄


参考例句：





I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。












11
auto

  
 


n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车


参考例句：





Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。












12
traction

  
 


n.牵引；附着摩擦力


参考例句：





I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。












13
prospering

  
 


成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 )


参考例句：





Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。












14
helping

  
 


n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的


参考例句：





The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。












15
wireless

  
 


adj.无线的；n.无线电


参考例句：





There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。












16
brag

  
 


v./n.吹牛，自夸；adj.第一流的


参考例句：





He made brag of his skill.他夸耀自己技术高明。
His wealth is his brag.他夸张他的财富。












17
standing

  
 


n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的


参考例句：





After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。












18
remarkable

  
 


adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的


参考例句：





She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。












19
replicate

  
 


v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的


参考例句：





The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。












20
chronic

  
 


adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的


参考例句：





Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。












21
fully

  
 


adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地


参考例句：





The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。












22
innovative

  
 


adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的


参考例句：





Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。












23
fiber

  
 


n.纤维，纤维质


参考例句：





The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。












24
affordable

  
 


adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的


参考例句：





The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。












25
outdated

  
 


adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时


参考例句：





That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。












26
unified

  
 


(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的


参考例句：





The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。












27
unifying

  
 


使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一


参考例句：





In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。












28
determined

  
 


adj.坚定的；有决心的


参考例句：





I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。












29
democrats

  
 


n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )


参考例句：





The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》