VOA慢速英语:A New Reason for Why the Deaf May Have Trouble Reading

短语讲解：

1. Deaf people may have no trouble communicating English words through American Sign Language, or ASL.

sign Language 手语
例句：Deaf people communicate with sign language. 
聋哑人通过手语与人交流。

2. But studies of ASL users show that, on average, educated deaf adults are likely to read at the level of a nine-year-old.

on average 平均，通常
例句：On average, a powerful earthquake occurs less than once every two years. 
通常，强烈的地震每两年发生不到一次。

3. The explanation has always been that this is because they never learned to connect letters with sounds.

connect with 连接，连结
例句：You must connect this wire with that one.
你必须把这条电线和那条接起来。

4. The assumption has always been that the problems with reading were educational issues with what’s the right way to teach reading when you can’t associate sounds with letters.

associate with与…联系在一起
例句：One usually associates poverty with misery.
人们一说到贫穷，常常就联想起悲惨的境遇。

5. We're not dealing with representations in the brain which are primarily auditory.

deal with 论述，涉及
例句：This chapter deals with the problem of inflation.
本章论述通货膨胀问题。
处理，对付，应付
例句：He has learnt to deal properly with all kinds of complicated situations.
他已学会恰当地应付各种复杂局面。

6. Their brains have to choose between two languages all the time.

all the time 一直
例句：I have been busy all the time.
我一直很忙。

7. But, as Professor Allen points out, the signs for them are.

point out 指出
例句：Not only did he point out my shortcomings, but he also helped me to overcome them. 
他不但指出我的缺点,而且帮助我改正它们。