考博英文 英文读物 英文新闻.doc

Like thousands of parents across Britain, I have been scanning the skies with some nervousness this week. My son and daughter are praying for the snowand the school closureto continue. And I am praying for slush Pray 祈祷, 祷告Slush 烂泥；稀泥浆At a time when people are worried enough about keeping their jobs, the cost of school closure is immense. Parents unable to secure emergency childcare have no choice but to stay off work themselves. This translates all too quickly into orders unfulfilled and contracts prejudiced. The federation of small businesses reckons that by the end of the week our trembling economy will have suffered losses worth some 3.5Secure安全的Emergency 紧急情况Prejudice 1不利于, 损害 2成见, 偏见, 歧视Tremble发抖, 颤抖It is natural to look for the weak link in this chain disaster and, not unusually, it is teachers who are being criticized. Parenting website abound with childhood memories of brave infants, battling their way to School in the big snow of the 1960 and 1970 and angry demands have been made for school staff to show courage and set an example. According to Margaret Morrissey of the parents Outloud campaign group, we are giving children the message that when thing gets difficult you should stay at home and have fun. Then, when they keep taking sick days from work when they grew up, we wonder why. Chain链, 锁链, 链子, 链条Abound大量存在; 充满, 富于Campaign战役，运动Wonder I dare say I could have kept my pair indoors on Monday, reciting time tables instead of hurtling downhill on an offcut of laminate flooring, but its not the effect on their characters Im most concerned about. And it seems unfair to impose out comfortable schoolroom nostalgia on a profession facing peculiar contemporary challenges. Back in 1960s, local schools were largely stalled by local teachers. Today particularly in cities where property price long ago outstripped the wages of public sector workers, teachers are frequently traveling vast distances to get to school. Recite背诵 2详述; 列举Hurtle猛冲, 疾飞Offcut下脚料Laminate flooring 强化木地板Laminate 层压材料Nostalgia对往事的怀恋, 怀旧Peculiar怪异的; 奇怪的;不寻常的Contemporary当代的；现代的Property 房地产, 不动产Outstrip 胜过Wage 工资Sector 部门; 领域If the transport system grinds to a halt, as it has across Britain this week, theres not a whole lot of teachers, or dinner ladies, or cleaners, or and other workers on whom the smooth running of our schools depended, can do about it. Grind n 苦差事, 苦活儿v 压迫; 折磨Halt 停住, 停止, 暂停grinds to a halt 慢慢停了下来smooth光滑的, 平滑的, 平坦的, 平整的, 平静的Put bluntly, its not the teachers who were short of grit this week, it was the road. For the want of some sand for the roads, 3.5bn was lost. The