【新闻精讲】

Last week, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump nominated Betsy DeVos to be the Secretary of Education in his administration.
上周，美国新总统特朗普提名Devos 担任教育部长
Nominate
1. 提名
Under party rules each candidate has to be nominated by 55 Labour MPs.
2. 任命
The European Community would nominate two members to the committee.
Secretary
1. 秘书
2. 部长

DeVos is an education activist. She supports school choice -- a term for policies that let students and their families choose between attending private or public schools.
DeVos是教育激进主义者。她支持学校的选择，也就是让学生和家庭在私立和公立学校之间选择。
Devos has been a leading supporter of charter schools.
她还是特许学校的主要支持者
Activist 激进主义分子，行动主义分子：激进主义的支持者或实行者：
political activists. 政治激进分子
Choose
“We do not choose survival as a value; it chooses us” (B.F. Skinner).
“并不是我们把生存作为一种价值而选择了它；而是它选择了我们” （B•F•斯基纳）。

So, what are charter schools? How are they different from traditional public schools in the United States?
那什么是特许学校，它们和传统学校有什么差别呢？
In today's Education report, we explore the charter school movement.
今天的教育报道中，我们将探索特许学校
Charter
特许状：由一个国家的君主或统治者授予个人、团体或人民的某些权利和特权的书面文件
A royal charter exempted the Massachusetts colony from direct interference by the Crown.
一张皇家的特许状，使马萨诸塞州殖民地免受英王直接干涉
Traditional
传统的，惯例的，教义的：传统、惯例、教义的，与此相关的或与此一致的：
Traditional teaching methods sometimes only succeeded in putting students off learning.
Explore
1. 钻研：系统地研究；调查：
explore every possibility.
系统地研究每一个可能性
2. 勘探：为有所发现而进行的探测或旅行：
exploring outer space. 太空勘探
3. 考察：仔细地检查或寻找：
scientists who have been known to explore in this region of the earth.
以考察这一地域而闻名的科学家们

The American state of Minnesota passed the country's first charter school law in the early 1990s. Since then, charter schools have spread from coast to coast.
在1990早期，美国明尼苏达州是第一个颁布特许学校法的州。从那以后，特许学校就在全国扩散
Spread
1. 展开，铺开；伸开：
spread out the tablecloth; a bird spreading its wings. 隔开桌布；鸟儿展翅
2. 使被广泛看到或知道；散布，普及：
spread the news; spread the beam of the flashlight.
传播消息；露出手电的微光
3. 广泛地散布：
The tornado spread destruction.
暴风造成的破坏蔓延开来
From coast to coast. 全国
Winter storms are making life difficult from coast to coast.

There are currently more than 6,700 charter schools, educating nearly 3 million students nationwide. Those numbers come from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, a non-profit organization.
现在有超过6700所特许学校，在全国范围内教育300万学生。该数据来自于非盈利性组织国家公立特许学校联盟
Current
1. 当前的：属于现在这个时期的：
current events; current leaders. 时事；现任领导人
2. 流行
Current thinking suggests that toxins only have a small part to play in the build up of cellulite.
3. 流：稳定、平稳地向前运动：= flow
a current of air from a fan; 从风扇中吹出的一股气流；
A powerful electric current is passed through a piece of graphite.
Nationwide
全国性的：在全国范围内：
a speech that was broadcast nationwide; nationwide opposition to the tax hike.
全国性的播出的演说；全国性的反对税收增多
non-profit organization非盈利性组织
organization
1. 组织，形成一个团体
Most of these specialized schools are provided by voluntary organizations.
2. 动词的名词形式，组织，具备系统性的统一
Several projects have been delayed by poor organisation.

Charter schools are a kind of public school that receives a special charter, or written rules, from a state government.
特许学校其实一种从州政府获得特殊许可的公立学校，
A charter is a document, or series of documents, that gives rights to a person or group of individuals.
特许许可授权给个人和团体
A kind of = sort of
表示种类的意思
A kind of flower 一种花
Kind of 表示仅仅
it‘s kind of late to begin 只是晚了一会才开始
Document
1. 文件
The policeman wanted to see all our documents.
2. 文字记录
He wrote a book documenting his prison experiences.
Right
权利：由法律，习惯或本性赋予某人或政府机构的东西：
“Certain rights can never be granted to the government, but must be kept in the hands of the people”(&b{Eleanor Roosevelt})
“某些权利永不能归属于政府，必须掌握在人民手中”(埃莉诺•罗斯福)

Charter schools cannot require students to pay tuition for their education. The schools also cannot set admissions requirements.
特许学校不要求学生付学费，这个学校也没有入学要求
Require
1. 要求
The rules also require employers to provide safety training
2. 需要
If you require further information, you should consult the registrar.
Tuition 学费：常用于修饰另一个名词：
tuition payments; tuition assistance. 学费缴纳，助教
Set
规定：为…规定时间：
set June 6 as the day of the invasion. 规定六月六日为入侵时间

If too many young people asked to be admitted, the school must choose its students through a lottery system.
如果太多年轻人入学，学校只能从摇号系统里面挑选学生
Admit
许可，准许：允许行使…的权利，作用或特权：
was admitted to the bar association.
被接纳到律师协会
Lottery
抽奖给奖法：一种竞赛，其中记号被分配或卖掉，获胜的记号被预先秘密选定或在随意抽奖中最终被确定
纯粹靠运气的选择 ==》 抓阄法
Which judges are assigned to a case is always a bit of a lottery.