只有5人能毕业 美国一高中推迟毕业典礼

近日，美国德州马林高中（Marlin High School）突然通知学生和家长，由于全校毕业班33名学生中只有5名学生达到毕业要求，不合格率达84.8%，校方不得不推迟原定的毕业典礼。

🤔️小作业：

A. They proposed to change the graduation requirements.

B. They defended their decision to postpone the graduation.

C. They apologized and promised improvements.

D. They decided to resign from their positions.

A. The lack of extracurricular activities at Marlin High School.

B. The economic disadvantage of students affecting their academic achievement.

C. The need for stricter school regulations.

D. The increasing use of social media among students.

无注释原文：

Texas high school delays its graduation, after only a handful met diploma requirements

From: NPR

Students at Marlin High School in Texas were celebrating the end of classes on Wednesday — and preparing for graduation later in the week — when the school district announced a stunning change of plans: Graduation would be postponed until sometime in June.

Of 33 seniors in the school's traditional program, only five met the requirements to get a diploma, Marlin ISD Superintendent Darryl Henson said, citing an initial internal audit of attendance, grades and credits that started last week. (The district's audit did not include seniors in the school's alternative education program, he said.)

School officials worked with students over the weekend and this week to help an additional 12 students resolve missing credits and other issues as of Wednesday evening, Henson said. But the district opted to call off the ceremony until more than those 17 students can graduate.

Students and parents air their frustrations

"It's emotional" for all of the students affected, one parent said, at a meeting with administrators held on Wednesday evening in the school auditorium. "They get their hopes up: 'I'm graduating next week! I'm at Six Flags!'" she added, referring to a senior trip the previous Friday.

Other parents spoke about their families' confusion and disappointment — including at least one instance where relatives were flying in from Mexico to see their grandchild get their diploma.

"The support was there" for students from teachers, said Jesse Bustamante, Marlin's director of human resources who also taught at the high school this year.

But students at the meeting vehemently disagreed, airing their frustrations over a litany of issues. They called out teachers who, the students said, were frequently absent. They also said administrators delayed telling students about their remaining class-hour credits, only to relay different numbers later.

One student said that when she was told she needed to do "credit recovery" for an online class earlier this year, it took three months — and repeated email requests — for the school to make the class available to her.

School district cites state standards

William Ealy, the school's dean of instruction, said the school attempted to warn parents that their senior students weren't on track to finish on time, holding an open meeting, calling parents, mailing a notice and offering to host meetings.

"Let this be a lesson learned for all," superintendent Henson said via Twitter. "As we continue to go through our annual graduation audit, it's our obligation to ensure that all students have met all requirements."

"Students in Marlin ISD will be held to the same high standard as any other student in Texas," he added.

The school district announced the abrupt change in plans via Facebook, igniting a spirited debate in the community and online about how the school reached this point — parents dispute that the school made adequate efforts to warn them — and whether the delay is fair to students who fulfilled all their obligations and were ready to graduate.

Marlin is a small town southeast of Waco, near the Brazos River. The most recent Texas Schools report card assigned Marlin High School a "B" rating — an assessment based on how it performs compared to other schools with student populations in similar economic conditions. The report said nearly 99% of Marlin High's 229 listed students are economically disadvantaged.

As he absorbed criticisms and promised improvements at Wednesday's meeting, Henson apologized to parents. He also said it's important to support all of the school's students, and its teachers.

Marlin schools will see changes next year

The school and others in the Marlin district will convert to a four-day school schedule next year, under a plan adopted last month. Nikisha Edwards, the district's chief academic officer, said the change should reduce absentee rates.

The district also hopes the four-day week will make it easier to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Under the plan, students will attend class Monday through Thursday of most weeks. But they'll also go to school on the first Friday of every month, and every Friday in three months: August, January and May.

Four-day schedules have been a growing trend in public education, particularly for rural and small districts coping with budget constraints, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Marlin High is also looking to hire new teachers, advertising starting salaries at $50,798 and commuter incentives up to $1,500, along with other incentives.

- ◆ -

注：中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Texas high school delays its graduation, after only a handful met diploma requirements

From: NPR

Students at Marlin High School in Texas were celebrating the end of classes on Wednesday — and preparing for graduation later in the week — when the school district announced a stunning change of plans: Graduation would be postponed until sometime in June.

周三，德克萨斯州马林高中（Marlin High School）的学生们正庆祝着课程的结束，并为本周晚些时候的毕业典礼做着准备。然而，学区突然宣布了一个惊人的计划变化：毕业典礼将推迟到6月份的某个时间。

表示“学区（美国制度，区内学校统一管辖）”，英文解释为“(in the US) an area that contains several schools that are governed together”

📍School district在美国教育体系中指的是公立学校系统的一个行政区，它负责某一特定地理区域内的所有公立学校的管理和运营。一个学区可能包括多个学校，如小学、中学和高中。每个学区有一个由当地居民选举产生的教育委员会负责管理。而在中国的教育体系中，学区的概念并不完全一致，但它在一定程度上相当于中国的教育行政区，如城市或县级市的教育局的管辖范围，负责区域内所有公立学校的管理和运营。

1）表示“极有魅力的；绝妙的；给人以深刻印象的”，英文解释为“extremely attractive or impressive”举个🌰：She looks absolutely stunning! 她看上去漂亮极了。

2）表示“令人惊奇万分的；令人震惊的”，英文解释为“extremely surprising or shocking”，如：a stunning defeat 惨败。

🎬 电影《惊天魔盗团2》（Now You See Me 2）中的台词提到：And the stunning revelation that FBI agent Dylan Rhodes ... 还有惊天大揭露联调局特工迪伦·罗兹…

📺 美剧《黑袍纠察队》（The Boys）第一季中的台词提到：Stunning! Absolutely stunning. 惊艳全场，太惊艳了！

表示“推迟，延缓，使延期”，英文解释为“If you postpone an event, you delay it or arrange for it to take place at a later time than was originally planned.”举个🌰：He decided to postpone the expedition until the following day. 他决定将探险活动推迟到第二天。

📍路透社（Reuters）在报道上海高考延期、杭州亚运会延期时标题就都用的是Postpone.

Of 33 seniors in the school's traditional program, only five met the requirements to get a diploma, Marlin ISD Superintendent Darryl Henson said, citing an initial internal audit of attendance, grades and credits that started last week. (The district's audit did not include seniors in the school's alternative education program, he said.)

马林独立学区负责人达里尔·汉森（Darryl Henson）表示，学校常规课程的33名毕业班学生中，只有5名达到颁发毕业证书的要求，并引用了上周开始的对出勤率、成绩和学分的初步内部审核。（他说，该审核未不包括学校另类教育课程中的毕业班学生。）

表示“（中学或大学的）毕业班学生”，英文解释为“a student in their final year of high school or university”。

📍freshman：a student in the first year of high school, college, or university （中学或大学的）一年级新生

📍sophomore /ˈsɒfəˌmɔː/ ：a student studying in the second year of a course at a US college or high school (= a school for students aged 15 to 18)（美国大学或高中的）二年级学生

📍junior：a student in the third year of a course that lasts for four years at a school or college （美国四年制中学或大学的）三年级学生

表示“学位证书；大学文凭”，英文解释为“a document given by a college or university to show that you have passed a particular exam or finished your studies”

ISD在这里是Independent School District的缩写，是美国公立学校系统中的一种行政单元。Independent School District相当于一个行政区域，负责区内所有公立学校的管理和运营。

表示“主管，负责人；（大楼的）看管人”，英文解释为“a person who is in charge of work done in a particular department, office, etc., or who is responsible for keeping a building or place in good condition”举个🌰：In the US, a school superintendent is in charge of the schools in a particular area. 在美国，教育局长主管一个地区的学校。

Superintendent通常是指一个学区的最高行政长官，负责监督该区域内所有学校的运营和管理。具体的称谓可能会因地区和文化差异而有所不同，但一般可以理解为学区的行政负责人、学区主管、总监或校长。

表示“查…的账目；审计”，英文解释为“an official examination of the accounts of a business”举个🌰：The company has an audit at the end of each financial year. 这家公司在每个财政年度的年末都要进行一次审计。

credit /ˈkred.ɪt/ 作名词，1）表示“赞扬；赞许；荣誉”，英文解释为“praise, approval, or honour”举个🌰：She got no credit for solving the problem. 她没有因为解决了这一问题而得到任何赞许。

2）可数名词，表示“学分”，英文解释为“a unit that represents a successfully finished part of an educational course”举个🌰：Each of these classes is worth three credits. 这些课程每门3个学分。

3）表示“赊购，赊账，信用贷款”，英文解释为“a method of paying for goods or services at a later time, usually paying interest as well as the original money”举个🌰：They decided to buy the car on credit. 他们决定用赊购的方法买那辆汽车。

作动词，credit A with B 或者 credit B to A，表示“认为是…的功劳；把…归于”，英文解释为“to believe or say that sb is responsible for doing sth, especially sth good”举个🌰：The company is credited with inventing the industrial robot. 发明工业机器人是那家公司的功劳。

School officials worked with students over the weekend and this week to help an additional 12 students resolve missing credits and other issues as of Wednesday evening, Henson said. But the district opted to call off the ceremony until more than those 17 students can graduate.

汉森说，经过周末及本周学校官员与学生们的共同努力，截至周三晚上，已有另外12名学生解决了缺失学分等其他问题。但学区决定推迟毕业典礼，直到除这17个学生外的更多学生能够毕业。

表示“选择”，英文解释为“If you opt for something, or opt to do something, you choose it or decide to do it in preference to anything else.”举个🌰：Depending on your circumstances you can opt for one method or the other. 根据自己的情况，你可以选择这种或那种方法。

call /kɔːl/ 表示“取消，停止，中止（尤指体育赛事）”，英文解释为“to decide that a planned event, especially a sports event, will not happen, or to end an activity because it is no longer useful or possible”举个🌰：Tomorrow's match has been called off because of the icy weather. 因为天气寒冷，明天的比赛取消了。

Students and parents air their frustrations 学生和家长表达他们的不满

"It's emotional" for all of the students affected, one parent said, at a meeting with administrators held on Wednesday evening in the school auditorium. "They get their hopes up: 'I'm graduating next week! I'm at Six Flags!'" she added, referring to a senior trip the previous Friday.

对所有受影响的学生来说，“都挺伤心的”，一位家长在周三晚上于学校礼堂举行的与学校行政人员的会议上说。“他们满怀希望：‘我下周就要毕业了！我在Six Flags游乐园！’”她补充道，指的是上周五的一次毕业班旅行。

auditorium /ˌɔː.dɪˈtɔː.ri.əm/ 表示“剧院；礼堂；音乐厅”，英文解释为“a large public building where meetings, concerts, etc. are held”

Other parents spoke about their families' confusion and disappointment — including at least one instance where relatives were flying in from Mexico to see their grandchild get their diploma.

其他家长也谈到了家人们的困惑和失望，包括有一位家人从墨西哥飞过来，想看孙子拿到毕业证书。

"The support was there" for students from teachers, said Jesse Bustamante, Marlin's director of human resources who also taught at the high school this year.

今年也在这所高中任教的人力资源总监杰西·布斯塔曼特（Jesse Bustamante）说，老师们对学生“提供了支持”。

But students at the meeting vehemently disagreed, airing their frustrations over a litany of issues. They called out teachers who, the students said, were frequently absent. They also said administrators delayed telling students about their remaining class-hour credits, only to relay different numbers later.

但在会议上，学生们强烈反对，他们列举了一系列问题，并对此表达了不满。学生们指责一些老师经常缺勤。他们还说，行政人员在告知学生们剩余的课时学分时拖延时间，结果给出了不同的答案。

vehemently /ˈviː.ə.mənt.li/ 表示“激烈地；强烈地；猛烈地”，英文解释为“in a strong and emotional way”举个🌰：He has vehemently denied having an extra-marital affair. 他极力否认自己有婚外情。

a litany of sth 表示“一连串（反复发生的不愉快的事情）”，英文解释为“a long list of unpleasant things, especially things that are repeated”举个🌰：The manufacturers are reported to have received a litany of complaints from dissatisfied customers. 据报道制造商已经收到了顾客一连串不满意的投诉。

作动词，表示“接转，转送，转发（信息、消息等）”，英文解释为“to receive and send on information, news, etc. to sb”举个🌰：He relayed the message to his boss. 他将这个消息转给了他的老板。

作名词，表示“中继设备”，英文解释为“a device that reacts to a small change in an electrical current by moving switches or other devices in an electrical circuit”

One student said that when she was told she needed to do "credit recovery" for an online class earlier this year, it took three months — and repeated email requests — for the school to make the class available to her.

一名学生说，今年早些时候，当她被告知需要为线上课程“补修学分”时，学校花了三个月的时间——并且是在她多次发送邮件请求的情况下——才让她能上这门课。

School district cites state standards 学区引用州标准

William Ealy, the school's dean of instruction, said the school attempted to warn parents that their senior students weren't on track to finish on time, holding an open meeting, calling parents, mailing a notice and offering to host meetings.

学校的教学主任威廉·埃利（William Ealy）说，学校通过公开会议、给家长打电话、邮寄通知以及提议主办更多会议，试图提醒家长，毕业班学生可能无法按时完成学业。

1）表示“援引；传唤，传讯”，英文解释为“to officially name or mention someone or something in a law court, or to officially request someone to appear in a court of law”举个🌰：He has been cited as the co-respondent in the divorce case. 他作为这起离婚案的共同被告被传讯。

2）表示“举例，引证；引用”，英文解释为“to mention something as proof for a theory or as a reason why something has happened”举个🌰：She cited three reasons why people get into debt. 她举出了人们为何负债的3个原因。

dean /diːn/ 表示“系主任；学院院长”，英文解释为“an official of high rank in a college or university who is responsible for the organization of a department or departments”举个🌰：She is the new dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. 她是社会科学院的新任院长。

"Let this be a lesson learned for all," superintendent Henson said via Twitter. "As we continue to go through our annual graduation audit, it's our obligation to ensure that all students have met all requirements."

“让这成为所有人的教训，”汉森在推特上说。“继续开展年度毕业审核时，我们有义务确保所有学生都达到所有要求。”

表示“义务；责任；职责”，英文解释为“the fact that you are obliged to do something”举个🌰：If you have not signed a contract, you are under no obligation to (= it is not necessary to) pay them any money. 如果你没有签合同，你就没有义务付给他们钱。

"Students in Marlin ISD will be held to the same high standard as any other student in Texas," he added.

他补充说：“要求马林独立学区的学生达到与德克萨斯州其他学生同样高的标准。”

The school district announced the abrupt change in plans via Facebook, igniting a spirited debate in the community and online about how the school reached this point — parents dispute that the school made adequate efforts to warn them — and whether the delay is fair to students who fulfilled all their obligations and were ready to graduate.

学区通过Facebook宣布了这一突然的计划变动，在社区和网上引发激烈争论，讨论学校是如何走到这一步的——家长们质疑学校是否做出了充分的努力来提醒他们——以及对已完成所有要求、即将毕业的学生，延迟毕业是否公平。

1）表示“激起”，英文解释为“If something or someone ignites your feelings, they cause you to have very strong feelings about something.”举个🌰：There was one teacher who really ignited my interest in words. 曾经有一位老师真正激起了我对文字的兴趣。

2）表示“点燃；着火”，英文解释为“When you ignite something or when it ignites, it starts burning or explodes. ”举个🌰：The bombs ignited a fire which destroyed some 60 houses. 炸弹引起了一场火灾，烧毁了大约六十间房屋。

可以作名词，也可以作动词，1）表示“对…提出质询；对…表示异议（或怀疑）”，英文解释为“to question whether sth is true and valid”举个🌰：These figures have been disputed. 有人对这些数字提出了质疑。

2）表示“争论；辩论；争执”，英文解释为“to argue or disagree strongly with sb about sth, especially about who owns sth”举个🌰：The issue remains hotly disputed. 这个问题至今仍在激烈地辩论中。

3）表示“争夺；竞争”，英文解释为“to fight to get control of sth or to win sth”。

🎬电影《地狱男爵2：黄金军团》（Hellboy II: The Golden Army）中的台词提到：Is there anyone here who would dispute my right? 有人想和我争权吗？

🎬电影《拜见岳父大人3》（Little Fockers）中的台词提到：While I dispute the findings, I appreciate the gesture. 虽然我对结果有质疑 我谢谢你们的好意。

📍in dispute 表示“受到怀疑的”，英文解释为“being doubted”举个🌰：I don't think her ability is in dispute - what I question is her attitude. 我相信她的能力没有问题，但我怀疑她的态度。

Marlin is a small town southeast of Waco, near the Brazos River. The most recent Texas Schools report card assigned Marlin High School a "B" rating — an assessment based on how it performs compared to other schools with student populations in similar economic conditions. The report said nearly 99% of Marlin High's 229 listed students are economically disadvantaged.

马林是位于瓦科东南部、布拉索斯河附近的一个小镇。最近的德州学校评估报告将马林高中评为“B”级——这是基于马林高中与其他学生群体经济状况相似的学校相比的评估结果。该报告称，马林高中229名在册学生中，近99%的学生经济状况不佳。

表示“贫困的，条件差的，处于劣势的，处于不利地位的”，英文解释为“not having the standard of living conditions, education, etc. that most people have”举个🌰：A new educational programme has been set up for economically disadvantaged children. 一个新的面向贫困儿童的教育计划已经设立。

As he absorbed criticisms and promised improvements at Wednesday's meeting, Henson apologized to parents. He also said it's important to support all of the school's students, and its teachers.

周三的会议上，汉森在听取批评并承诺改进的同时，向家长们道歉。他还表示，支持学校所有的学生和老师是很重要的。

Marlin schools will see changes next year 马林的学校明年将会有所改变

The school and others in the Marlin district will convert to a four-day school schedule next year, under a plan adopted last month. Nikisha Edwards, the district's chief academic officer, said the change should reduce absentee rates.

据上个月通过的一项计划，这所学校和马林学区其他学校明年将改为四天教学制。该学区首席学术官尼基莎·爱德华兹（Nikisha Edwards）表示，这一变化应该会降低缺勤率。

1）表示“转变”，英文解释为“If one thing is converted or converts into another, it is changed into a different form.”举个🌰：The signal will be converted into digital code. 信号将被转变成数字编码。

2）表示“改建”，英文解释为“If someone converts a room or building, they alter it in order to use it for a different purpose.”举个🌰：By converting the attic, they were able to have two extra bedrooms. 通过改建阁楼，他们又多出了两间卧室。

3）表示“改装”，英文解释为“If you convert a vehicle or piece of equipment, you change it so that it can use a different fuel.”举个🌰：Save money by converting your car to run on used vegetable oil. 通过改装你的汽车使其燃烧用过的植物油来省钱。

4）表示“换算”，英文解释为“If you convert a quantity from one system of measurement to another, you calculate what the quantity is in the second system.”举个🌰：Converting metric measurements to U.S. equivalents is easy. 把公制度量衡换算成美制度量衡很容易。

5）表示“改变信仰”，英文解释为“If someone converts you, they persuade you to change your religious or political beliefs. You can also say that someone converts to a different religion.”举个🌰：If you try to convert him, you could find he just walks away. 如果你想让他改变信仰，他会扭头就走。

absentee /ˌæb.sənˈtiː/ 表示“旷课者；旷工者；缺勤者”，英文解释为“someone who is not at school or work when they should be”举个🌰：There are several absentees from school this week, because a lot of people have flu. 因为流感肆虐，这星期有几个学生缺课。

The district also hopes the four-day week will make it easier to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Under the plan, students will attend class Monday through Thursday of most weeks. But they'll also go to school on the first Friday of every month, and every Friday in three months: August, January and May.

该学区还希望四天制能更加吸引和留住优质教师。据该计划，大多数周内，学生只要周一至周四上课。而每个月的第一个星期五以及八月、一月和五月的星期五也要上课。

Four-day schedules have been a growing trend in public education, particularly for rural and small districts coping with budget constraints, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

根据美国全国州立法会议（National Conference of State Legislatures），公立教育四天教学制已成为一种日益增长的趋势，特别是在那些面临预算限制的农村和小地区。

表示“限制；束缚；约束”，英文解释为“something that controls what you do by keeping you within particular limits”举个🌰：The constraints of politeness wouldn't allow her to say what she really thought about his cooking. 出于礼貌，她不会说出自己对他的厨艺的真实看法。

表示“立法机构”，英文解释为“the group of people in a country or part of a country who have the power to make and change laws”

Marlin High is also looking to hire new teachers, advertising starting salaries at $50,798 and commuter incentives up to $1,500, along with other incentives.

马林高中也在招聘新教师，宣传起薪为50,798美元，通勤补贴最高可达1,500美元，同时还有其他激励措施。

表示“上下班往返的人，通勤者”，英文解释为“someone who regularly travels between work and home”举个🌰：The train was packed with commuters. 火车上挤满了上班族。

表示“激励；刺激；鼓励”，英文解释为“something that encourages you to do sth”举个🌰：There is no incentive for people to save fuel. 没有使人们节约燃料的鼓励办法。

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