VOA慢速英语:Dallas Creates a Public School for Boys

Girls and boys usually attend classes together in American public schools. But there are some single-sex programs, like a girls public school in Dallas, Texas. It opened in two thousand four. The students have done well enough that the school system is now opening a school for boys.
美国的公立学校一般男女生一起上课。但是也有一些单一性别项目，例如得克萨斯州达拉斯市的一所女子公立学校。它创建于2004年，由于学生们表现得很好，目前该学校系统正在筹备一所男子学校。

The Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy is part of the Dallas Independent School District. The school year begins Monday. Academy Principal Nakia Douglas has been giving tours to incoming students and their parents.
奥巴马男性领导学院是达拉斯独立学区的一部分。周一是学年的开始。学院院长Nakia Douglas一直在带领新生和他们的家长去参观学校。

NAKIA DOUGLAS: "This wing here will be our electives -- specifically all of our foreign languages: Latin, Mandarin, Spanish. Our debate will be housed here.”
NAKIA DOUGLAS：“这个侧厅将是我们上选修课的地方—特别是我们所有的外语选修课：拉丁语、汉语和西班牙语。我们的辩论也安排在这里进行。

Mr. Douglas says he was the kind of student that the school is seeking.
Dougla先生说，他正是学校寻找的那种学生。

NAKIA DOUGLAS: "I was born and raised in south Dallas by a single parent. I was a neighborhood child. I was that child that -- I would work if I knew the teacher believed in me. But, at the same time, I had a hunger and desire for more. A lot of our young men have that hunger, desire and ability now.”
NAKIA DOUGLAS：“我生长于达拉斯南部的一个单亲家庭。我是一个邻家男孩。我是那如果我知道老师信任我，我就会努力学习的孩子。但是同时，我渴望追求更多的东西。现在很多年轻人都有这种渴望、愿望和能力。

Educational researchers say boys learn in different ways and mature more slowly than girls, and are more likely to leave school. Being in class with the opposite sex can also take attention away from learning.
教育研究人员说，男孩子们的学习方法各不相同，而且比女孩成熟更晚，并且更有可能退学。与异性同班还会分散学习的注意力。

Kendall Keeter thinks the boys school will be good for his son the way the girls school was for his daughter.
Kendall Keeter认为男子学校对他的儿子有好处，就像女子学校对他的女儿有好处一样。

KENDALL KEETER: “Our thought was to also give our son an opportunity that would best prepare him for college in the same manner she was prepared, and I can’t imagine any other option that would have prepared her better.”
KENDALL KEETER: “我们的想法是，给我们的孩子提供一个机会，让他能够为进入大学做最好的准备，就像她女儿那样。我想不到任何方法能让我女儿当年准备得更好。”

Another parent, Madeline Hayes, also likes the idea of a publicly funded school for boys.
另一名家长， Madeline Hayes也支持建立男子公立学校的想法。

MADELINE HAYES: "This is something, as cheesy as it sounds, that I’ve always dreamed about, that there will be a boys school that doesn’t charge twenty-five thousand dollars a year, but would give the same academics, the same level of interaction and leadership.”
MADELINE HAYES：“这件事听起来太棒了，我一直梦想着这一天，那就是能够有一所男子学校，不用收25000美元一年的学费，但却能够提供同等的师资，相同水平的互动和领导。
The school is for grades six through nine. It will offer college preparatory classes and leadership courses even on weekends.
该校有六到九年级课程。它甚至将在周末提供大学预备课程和领导能力课程。

Principal Douglas says the boys will be urged to support one another.
Douglas校长表示，男孩子们将被督促相互支持。

NAKIA DOUGLAS: "Our young men grow together. But all of our young men we call 'brother.' So it may be Brother Malyk Davis or Brother Samuel Keeter. The young men understand they are their brother’s keeper. And so the young men are really learning to be responsible not only for themselves, but also for their brothers here at the campus.”
NAKIA DOUGLAS ：“我们的年轻人一起成长，但我们称呼所有的年轻人为兄弟。所以可能被称为Malyk Davis兄弟，或者Samuel Keeter兄弟。这些年轻人都懂得他们是其兄弟的守护者。因此这些年轻男孩将真正学习到不仅对自己负责，还要对他们在园里的兄弟负责。”

Madeline Hayes’ son Kelvin is twelve. He will be entering the seventh grade.
Madeline Hayes的儿子Kelvin今年12岁，他将进入七年级。

KELVIN HAYES: "I’ve always wanted a higher academic purpose, always want somebody to challenge me when I make my mistakes. I can learn from them. And then they have classes like science, computer and robotics, and I enjoy especially robotics and building new technology, because when I grow up I want to be an engineer."
KELVIN HAYES：“我一直追求一个更高的学术目标，总是希望当我犯错时有人对我提出异议。我可以从他们那里学到东西。而这所学校有科学、计算机和机器人一类的课程，我特别喜欢机器人和建设新技术，因为我希望长大后能当一名工程师。”

Fourteen year-old Malyk Davis will study cooking, or "culinary arts," at the Obama Academy in Dallas. He has already learned from a professional chef. However, he was not so sure he wanted to attend a school only for boys, and he heard bad things about the area.
14岁的Malyk Davis将在达拉斯市的奥巴马中等学校学习厨艺，或 “烹饪艺术”。他已经在一名专业厨师那学习过。然而，他不确定是否真的想要进入一所男子学校学习，而且他听到了一些这方面不好的东西。

MALYK DAVIS: “But once I began to looking into more about the options that they were having, I think I’m really going to enjoy this. It’s going to be a long and tough road, but as long as I’m graduating in twenty fifteen, that’s all that matters to me.”
MALYK DAVIS：“但是，一旦我一开始了解他们可供选择的课程，我认为我会喜欢。这将是一条漫长而艰难的的道路，但只要我在25岁毕业，这就是我的一切。”

Most students who want to be accepted into the Obama Academy will need to have good grades and pass a number of tests. But ten to fifteen percent will not have to meet all of the entrance requirements. Principal Nakia Douglas says they will have to show they have a strong character and a desire to learn.
大多数希望被奥巴马男性领导学院录取的学生都需要有良好的成绩并通过一些测试。但有10%到15%的学生无需满足全部入学要求，Nakia Douglas校长表示，但他们必须证明他们具备坚强的性格和学习的愿望。