教育專欄 (37) 博幼基金會有72%同仁可以看得懂BBC英文新聞

我們常常說國人應該有國際觀,可是如果英文不好,也談不上有什麼國際觀了。要看得懂英文新聞網站是一件非常重要的事,我們最近舉行了一個英文檢定測驗,受測者要看兩篇英文新聞,可以查字典,然後將它翻譯成中文。這兩篇文章如下:

博幼全體員工英文檢定卷-9/22

 

部門:                    姓名:________

一、短文翻譯(2篇文章翻譯完整程度平均達80%即為通過)

The gadgets were already prohibited on rides but now visitors will be asked not to bring them to the parks at all. A spokeswoman told the BBC: “Handheld extension poles have become a growing safety concern for both our guests and cast.’ The ban comes into effect at Disney parks in the United States on June 30th. The long arm of a selfie stick helps users take a better self-portrait, but there are fears that they could cause injury when the pictures are taken.

The shrine in Bangkok was hit by a deadly explosion on Monday and reopened to the public on Wednesday. At least 20 people died and some were injured in the attack on the Erawan Shrine, which is popular with Thai Buddhists. Thai police say the main suspect is a young man seen entering the shrine with a backpack then leaving without it.                                                              

Prime Minister has said the incident was ever the worst attack on Thailand. In another attack on Tuesday, an explosive device was thrown at a pier in Bangkok. No one was hurt, but the authorities have not ruled out a link between the incident.

值得我們高興的是,有72%的同仁考過了這次檢定。我深信只要再過幾個月,大概總會又有相當多的同仁可以通過這個測驗。我們之所以會有這麼多的同仁有這種英文閱讀的程度,是因為很多同仁都自願的替博幼將英文新聞翻譯成中文。每一個星期都要做這種翻譯的工作,時間長了以後當然就會有這個能力。不僅如此,我們的同仁也被鼓勵去看靜宜大學製作的國際英文新聞導讀影片(http://www.boyo.org.tw/boyo/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=740:2015&catid=93:2015-07-23-08-24-03&Itemid=340),這個網站對我們同仁的幫助非常之大。

我們國家絕對應該注意成人教育,教育不能在二十幾歲以後就終止,也絕對不能只限於學校教育。博幼基金會就是根據這個想法,設法使得我們的同仁在工作的同時也有知識上的成長,英文是我們同仁成長的一部份。

如果我們國家有70%的人民看得懂英文國際新聞,我們國家人民的國際觀就會大大地增進。也許全國人民的70%是不容易的事,但是至少政府要希望全國的大學生、公務員、軍官都應該有70%具備看得懂國際新聞的能力。這也不難的,我希望大家知道,一個人的英文閱讀能力也不是一天就能夠提高的,而是要不斷地每週閱讀新的文章,久而久之,一定會有顯著進步的。

我們當然不能以此為滿足,對所有已經通過這次檢定的同仁,我們可能會有更難的檢定,也許將來我們會從一本狄更斯的小說中選一段出來,看同仁看不看得懂,因為能夠看得懂英文小說也是一件好事。