20070828 Some (Adults) Call for Shorter Summer Break for US Kids

【蜗牛爬行之速度大比拼】 ahu 小组

National leaders took a fresh look at schools after the Civil War in the 1860s.
十九世纪六十年代美国内战结束后，国家领导人对于学校有了新的看法。
They saw a free public education as a way to help support a strong democracy and prepare workers for new industries.
他们认为免费公共教育可以支持民主和为新工业提供劳动力。
Immigration was increasing and so was the student population.
移民和学生的人口都在不断增加。
More and more people saw the need for a system of required education.
越来越多的呼声要求建立一个教育系统。
But they had different ideas for the calendar.
但是在学年制订方面遇到了困难。
Many city schools wanted a shorter year and a longer summer break.
许多城市的学校希望学年短，假期长。
The schools were often crowded.
学校太拥挤了。
There was no modern air conditioning and air polution (pollution) from factories was a problem.
没有空调，工厂污染都是个问题。
Hot days would make it difficult to learn.
热天对学习也不利。
A long summer break would also give teachers time for other jobs to add to their low pay.
长假可以给老师时间去兼职来贴补他们的微薄工资。
Many rural educators, however, pushed for a longer school year.
然而许多农村地区学校却希望有一个长的学年。
They thought it would keep children safe from industrial dangers at a time when there were few child labor laws.
当时几乎没有保护孩童的劳动法，他们认为长的学年可以减少孩子去工厂打工的危险。
They also thought it would be (lead) to a better prepared workforce.
他们还认为这样可以提供更好的劳动力。
So the traditional school calendar was a compromise with roots that now go back about a century and a half.
所以传统的学年是一种折衷方法，追溯起来已经一个半世纪之久。
The average school year used to be 170 days.
过去平均学年是 170 天。
Times have not changed much.
时间并没有改变太多。
Today the common average is 180 days.
现在普通学年是 180 天。

词汇： compromise: 妥协
workforce: 劳动力
拼写： pollution,
不敏感： lead