文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)
作者:Unknown
原文标题:It is still legal to hit children in school in 19 American states
原文发布时间:22 Jan. 2023
It is still legal to hit children in school in 19 American states
According to this year's student handbook, wearing "sagging pants" or being too touchy with a crush in the hallway is enough to get a teenager paddled by the school principal in Union County, Mississippi. A first-time dress code infraction, public display of affection, repeated tardiness or failure to hand in homework three times in nine weeks makes children eligible for corporal punishment.
Beatings in the state's schools are not uncommon. In 2018, the year for which the latest numbers are available, 69,000 American children were hit by public-school staff—30% of them in Mississippi. Though intentionally wounding a pet cat is punishable by six months in prison, teachers in Mississippi can legally strike kindergarteners with wooden paddles for speaking out of turn.
Corporal punishment in public schools is legal in 19 American states; in private school it is permitted in all but two. For a wealthy country that is unusual. In Britain the practice was banned in 1986. Canada did away with it in 2004. In all of Europe and most of South America and East Asia it is outlawed. But since there is no federal prohibition on the books, American students, mostly in the South, can still be hit. Though others disregard it, America is the only country not to have ratified the United Nations' treaty to protect the rights of children, which prohibits the practice.
在美国19个州,在学校体罚学生仍然是合法的
精听党背景导读
很多人认为,体罚早已从美国的公立学校中消失,然而这并非事实。
据《今日美国》(USA Today)近日报道称,在新学年中,用戒尺打屁股——这样一种对不守纪律学生的惩罚方式分别在佛罗里达州的三个县和北卡莱罗那州的两个县中禁止。
不过,这也就意味着,体罚在美国19个州的上百所学校中依然合法。
文本选自:The Economist(经济学人)作者:Unknown原文标题:It is still legal to hit children in school in 19 American states原文发布时间:22 Jan. 2023关键词:体罚 美国 合法
精听党带着问题听
1.“着装守则”用英语如何表达?2. 如何理解“do away with”?3. 加拿大在什么时候取消了体罚?
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
It is still legal to hit children in school in 19 American states
在美国19个州,在学校体罚学生仍然是合法的
段一
According to this year’s student handbook, wearing “sagging pants” or being too touchy with a crush in the hallway is enough to get a teenager paddled by the school principal in Union County, Mississippi. A first-time dress code infraction, public display of affection, repeated tardiness or failure to hand in homework three times in nine weeks makes children eligible for corporal punishment.
sagging pants 下垂的裤子;松垮的裤子;吊裆裤,垮裤;1. sagging adj. 凹陷的;下弯的;松垂的;
touchy adj. 易怒的;棘手的;1. be touchy about sth. 容易为某事物生气;对某事敏感;2. the touchy business of divorce 难办的离婚事务;3. touchy-feely adj. 感情外露的;过分多愁善感的,情绪化的;
He is not exactly known as the touchy-feely type. 确切地说,他不是那种多愁善感的人。
crush n. 拥挤的人群;(对某人短暂的)热恋,迷恋;迷恋对象;1. It was a bit of a crush in the car. 车里有点儿拥挤。2. have a crush on sb. 迷恋某人;对某人一见钟情;
paddle vt. 用桨划;在水中摆动;掌掴;
principal n. 校长;
dress code 着装守则;着装要求;
infraction n. 犯规,违法行为;1. a minor infraction 轻微触犯;轻微违规;
affection n. 喜爱;爱情;1. public display of affaction 公开示爱;2. show affection for sb. 喜欢某人;3. transfer one's affections to sb. 移情别恋爱上某人;
tardiness n. 拖拉;迟到;
eligible adj. 有资格的;符合条件的,合格的;1. be eligible to do sth. 有资格做某事;
You are eligible to vote. 你有资格投票。
corporal punishment 体罚;
参考译文
根据今年的学生手册,在密西西比州联合县,穿着“松垮的裤子”或在走廊上与迷恋的人过于亲热,就足以让一个青少年被校长抽打。第一次违反着装规定、公开示爱、多次迟到或九周内三次未交作业,都会使孩子们有资格受到体罚。
段二
Beatings in the state’s schools are not uncommon. In 2018, the year for which the latest numbers are available, 69,000 American children were hit by public-school staff—30% of them in Mississippi. Though intentionally wounding a pet cat is punishable by six months in prison, teachers in Mississippi can legally strike kindergarteners with wooden paddles for speaking out of turn.
strike vt. 打,撞;1. strike sb. in the face 打某人的脸;2. strike sb. on the head 砸某人的头;
paddle n.(小船的)短桨,桨;桨状工具,桨状物;划桨;<美>(乒乓球的)球拍;<美,非正式>扁条刑杖;
out of turn 不按顺序地;不合时宜地;鲁莽地;
参考译文
在该州的学校里,殴打的情况并不少见。在2018年,也就是有最新数据的那一年,有6.9万名美国儿童被公立学校的工作人员打了,其中有30%在密西西比州。尽管故意伤害一只宠物猫可被判处六个月的监禁,但密西西比州的教师可以合法地用木板打乱说话的幼儿园学生。
段三
Corporal punishment in public schools is legal in 19 American states; in private school it is permitted in all but two. For a wealthy country that is unusual. In Britain the practice was banned in 1986. Canada did away with it in 2004. In all of Europe and most of South America and East Asia it is outlawed. But since there is no federal prohibition on the books, American students, mostly in the South, can still be hit. Though others disregard it, America is the only country not to have ratified the United Nations’ treaty to protect the rights of children, which prohibits the practice.
do away with 废除,去掉;
outlaw vt. 使非法,禁止,取缔;
disregard vt. 忽视,轻视,不尊重;1. n. 漠视,轻视
show disregard for sth./sb. 不顾及某事物/某人;
ratify vt. 批准,正式签署;
参考译文
在美国19个州,公立学校体罚学生是合法的;在私立学校,除了两所学校外,其他所有学校都允许这样做。对于一个富裕的国家来说,这是不寻常的。在英国,这种做法在1986年被禁止。加拿大在2004年取消了这种做法。在整个欧洲和南美及东亚的大部分地区,这种做法都是非法的。但是,由于书上没有联邦禁令,美国学生,主要是南方的学生,仍然可以被打。虽然其他国家无视它,但美国是唯一没有批准联合国保护儿童权利条约的国家,该条约禁止这种做法。
精听党每日单词
sagging pants
下垂的裤子;松垮的裤子;吊裆裤,垮裤;
touchy
/ˈtʌtʃi/ adj. 易怒的;棘手的;
crush
/krʌʃ/ n. 拥挤的人群;(对某人短暂的)热恋,迷恋;迷恋对象;
paddle
/ˈpæd(ə)l/ vt. 用桨划;在水中摆动;掌掴;
principal
/ˈprɪnsəp(ə)l/ n. 校长;
dress code
着装守则;着装要求;
infraction
/ɪnˈfrækʃ(ə)n/ n. 犯规,违法行为;
affection
/əˈfekʃ(ə)n/ n. 喜爱;爱情;
tardiness
/ˈtɑːrdinəs/ n. 拖拉;迟到;
eligible
/ˈelɪdʒəb(ə)l/ adj. 有资格的;
corporal punishment
体罚;
strike
/straɪk/ vt. 打,撞;
paddle
/ˈpæd(ə)l/ n.(小船的)短桨,桨;桨状工具,桨状物;划桨;<美>(乒乓球的)球拍;<美,非正式>扁条刑杖;
out of turn
不按顺序地;不合时宜地;鲁莽地;
do away with
废除,去掉;
outlaw
/ˈaʊtlɔː/ vt. 使非法,禁止,取缔;
disregard
/ˌdɪsrɪˈɡɑːrd/ vt. 忽视,轻视,不尊重;
ratify
/ˈrætɪfaɪ/ vt. 批准,正式签署;
精听党文化拓展
据世界体罚研究网站(www.corpun.com)公布,现在,许多美国校区都会或多或少地细化关于体罚的规定,并将其印刷在他们的学校手册中。它们通常细化到什么样的过错将受到戒尺的惩罚、最多能打多少下、戒尺所允许的尺寸、身体上允许被击打的部位(通常是“臀部”,但有时是“臀部区域”或“身体下后部”)、谁能在何处实施体罚、何人须在场、需要什么样的“合法程序”(例如,在有旁观者在场的情况下,正式地陈述学生因何受到惩罚)、是否有必要事先得到家长准许以及如果学生拒绝服从体罚的后果。
来自位于美国佐治亚州南部科菲县的莫里斯·刘易斯(Morris Leis)校长表示,他的校区之所以允许体罚,是因为这是一种有效的惩罚方式。他说:“如果家长不希望我们体罚学生,那么我们就不会那么做。但我们并没有收到很多投诉。”
佛罗里达州圣罗萨县校区负责人提姆·维罗斯迪克(Tim Wyrosdick)称,体罚在大多数家长中“颇为流行”。但是,在家长们起诉三个教师用体罚虐待他们孩子后,这种做法自六月开始被禁止。“我们做这个决定是为了保护教师。”维罗斯迪克说。“家长们同意体罚但又改主意了。这把教师放在了一个不公平的位置上。”
孟菲斯学校董事会成员肯尼斯·万鲁曼(Kenneth T. Whalum Jr.)在《今日美国》上撰文表示,那些将体罚称为“以暴制暴”的人,错误地把体罚贴上了“揍”的标签。“体罚”的准确定义,应当简单理解为“身体上”的惩罚,或者是一种通过有意营造痛苦的经历,以此来制止不当的行为,而同时鼓励正当行为。那些把体罚歪解为“揍”的人,通常是把它和他们自己童年中的创伤性经历联系在了一起,或是把体罚建立在某些基于创伤性经历的学术实验研究上。
万鲁曼称,在调查中显示,为了形成并保持纪律,有75%至80%的教师们更希望能够保留体罚。他们认为,如果一小部分学生的不良行为通过体罚得以改正,它同样也可以对更大一部分没有不良行为的学生产生纠正作用。
精听党每日美句
Business makes a man as well as tries him.
事业可以考验人,也可以造就人。