VOA慢速英语:SAT考试改革为难国际学生

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

美国之音英语教学，这里是教育频道。

The organization that administers a widely-used college entrance test called the SAT will change examination in 2016. The Not-for-Profit College Board announced that it no longer will test students on rarely used words. Students also will not be required to provide a writing work called an essay. And the new SAT will include passages from American historical documents or from writings on issues like freedom and human rights.

被称为SAT的广泛应用于大学入学考试的管理组织在2016年会做出相应的改革。非营利性的大学理事会宣布不再考非高频词汇。也不需要学生写论文，新的SAT考试的文章将包括一些美国的文献资料或者像自由和人权等的一些议题。

The SAT is one of two major tests for entrance to American colleges and universities. The other test is called the ACT. Test scores help colleges decide if the candidate can succeed at their schools. More than 2 million students take the SAT yearly, they include about 100,000 foreign students.

SAT是美国大学两个主要的入学考试之一，另一个被称为ACT。大学将把考试分数作为是否录取学生的依据。每年有超过20万学生参加SAT，其中大约10万学生来自国外。

Nigerian student Peace Umoru is in her first year at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Ms Umoru says she thinks the new test will be easier, because of the removal of rarely used words. She says that is the hardest part for international students.

尼日利亚学生皮斯是华盛顿特区霍华德大学的大一新生。Umoru女士说她认为新的入学考试更简单了，因为取消了非常见词的考试。她说，那对于国外的学生来说是最难的一部分。

The College Board says words on the new test will relate to usage. Students will be asked to identify the meaning of words based on the way they are used in reading passages.

大学理事会表示新的词汇考试将会跟平时应用相关。测试方法是让学生通过词汇在文章中的应用确定其含义。

Eddie West is with the National Association for College Admission Counseling. He says the new test will better predict a student's performance in college.

埃迪维斯特就职于美国大学招生咨询协会。他表示新的入学考试将能更好的预测学生在大学的表现。

"Personally, I feel like the changes are moving the test in a more positive direction in so far as they link up with skills and abilities that students will need to succeed, not just in getting into a college, university, but in succeeding once there," said West.

维斯特先生说“我个人认为考试的改革目前正在朝着积极的方面发展，因为这和学生自身的技巧和能力相关，不仅仅是帮助学生进入大学而是让他们在那里获得成功。”

But Mr West says the addition of material related to American historical documents could make the test harder for international students.

但是新加入的美国历史文献对于外国学生来说考试变得更难了!

"It is going to be relatively uncommon for an international student to be really conversant with the Declaration of Independence or Martin Luther King Jr.'s work, or anything else along those lines that might be cited in the test," said West.

“对于国外学生来说，独立宣言或者马丁路德金的著作或者一些其他与考试相关的内容，他们相对来说并不真正熟悉或者常见到”维斯特说到。

Jamaican Shanique Campbell is a second year student at Howard University. She called the new material very scary for international students.

牙买加人Shanique Campbell是霍华德大学一名大二学生。她说新加入的考试材料对国际学生来说非常可怕。

"We are already faced with knowing that we are taking an American-based exam, and so there are a lot of things that we are not prepared for in terms of what to expect on that exam — [for example], cultural references that we will not be able to identify with," said Campell.

Campell 说“我们早知道面临的是美国的考试，因此考试中可能会出现很多我们并没有准备好的东西。比如说我们无法认同的文化背景。”

Bob Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing spoke to VOA by Skype.

国家公平公开测试中心的鲍勃舍费尔通过Skype与美国之音连线。

"Students from other countries, particularly those who did not grow up learning English, are at a double disadvantage. The test is in a foreign language for them, and they didn't get test prep. So, it is harder," said Schaeffer.

舍费尔表示“来自国外，尤其那些不是从小就学习英语的学生将处于双重劣势下。一方面测试是用外语测试，另一方面他们对考试没做好准备。因此对他们来说考试更难!”

But the College Board says it has formed a free, online educational service. Khan Academy will provide preparation material linked to the newly designed SAT.

但是大学理事会表示他们建立了一个免费的在线教育服务平台。可汗学院将提供与最新考试相关的准备材料。

And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. For more news of education, and for podcasts, captioned videos and lessons to test your English skills, visit our website at chinavoa.com. I'm Jerilyn Watson.

这就是今天美国之音英语教学教育资讯，想了解更多访问我们的网站chinavoa.com。

(本文由chinavoa.com翻译整理，转载请说明出处。)