VOA常速英语:International Presence at West Point Benefits Both Foreign and American Cadets

Montenegrin Nevena Nikolic came to West Point three years ago, the academy has accepted foreign students for more than 100 years.The first graduated in 1889, “That gentleman was from Guatemala.Since that time, we’ve graduated 478 internationals and they represent 84 different countries, so it’s quite a long-living program.”
内维娜·尼科利来自黑山，三年前她来到西点军校。学院100多年前开始招收外国学员。第一位外国学员毕业于1889年。“那位毕业生是位男士，危地马拉人。此后，来自84个国家的478位外国学员从这里毕业，所以这个项目开展的时间真的是不短了。”
Nevena applied to the US Military Academy after learning about the experience of fellow Montenegrins who graduated from the Naval Academy in Anapolis.
在了解了从安纳波利斯军校毕业的黑山同胞的经历后，内维娜向美国军事学院（又称“西点军校”）提交了申请。
“I came to West Point a couple of days before the training started.Everything was great because we had sponsor families who were there to help us with everything.And then the training started which was very challenging because the transition from civilian to military life is very difficult so the next two to three months of military training were crucial.”
“在训练开始前的几天，我来到了西点军校。一切都很好，因为有赞助我们的家庭，他们会帮助我们解决所有的问题。然后训练拉开了帷幕，这非常具有挑战性，原因在于，从普通人转变到能适应军事生活很不容易，所以接下来的两到三个月的军事训练至关重要。”
After initial difficulties, Nevena adapted well to life at West Point.Situated along the banks of the Hudson River less than 50 miles north of New York City,the academy has been training officers for the US army since its establishment in 1802.Brent Matthews, associate dean in charge of international students, says there are good reasons for accepting students from other countries.
经历了最初的困难之后，内维娜适应了西点军校的生活。西点军校位于纽约市以北约50英里以外的哈德逊河沿岸，自1802年成立以来为美国军队培养了众多军官。布伦特·马修斯是负责国际学生工作的副院长，他表示，招收来自其他国家的学生很有必要。
“The rationale in the old days was to train future leaders the way we train ours and to teach them and to develop them.Nowadays, it’s changed a little bit, I think our rationale is to develop the individual to be the best that person can be,not necessarily to be a rubber-stamp West Point graduate, but to develop them so that they can take tools home whether they use them or not,whether the lessons are applicable to that situation.They may not be but if we offer them the tools on critical thinking, that, then that’s the true benefit.”
“过去，我们的理念是，用培养美国未来领导者的方式来培养、教导学员，促进他们发展。现如今，理念有所不同。我认为，我们要将一个人培养成他能成为的最好的人，而不是未经慎重考虑就让学员毕业，要培养学员，以便他们能把学到的一些方法、手段带回到自己的国家，无论他们今后是否用得上，无论那些课程是否适用于他们今后遇到的某一情境。有可能他们没能用上学过的这些课程，但如果我们能教会他们如何进行批判性思维。那才是真正的‘授之以渔’”。
US law allows for up to 60 students from foreign countries to attend a military academy which has 4,400 cadets and their education is sponsored by their governments.There are now 54 international students representing 30 different countries.The main challenge for foreign cadets is English language proficiency.For Matthews, their presence at the academy is absolutely vital.
依照美国法律，外国学生进入西点军校学习的人数上限为60人，西点军校目前共约有4400名学生，外国学生的教育由各自政府资助。目前，来自30个国家的54名国际学生在西点军校就读。外国学员面临的主要挑战是英语语言能力。对于马修斯来说，全寄宿封闭式管理非常重要。
“The American cadets perceived or they get to look at the world through the lens of another person.They get exposure to things that not everything we do in America is the only way to do things.They can see different approaches and different psychological ways of looking at things to expand their minds so it benefits the American cadets to have the internationals with that.It also benefits the internationals to see things the way America sees things.”
“美国学生看待世界......，或者说他们要逐渐学会透过别人的眼睛去看世界。他们要懂得，美国人的做事方式并不是唯一的做事方式。他们可以看到不同的方法和看待事情的不同心态，这样能帮助他们拓展思维，所以，一方面，招收国际学生对美国本国的学生有益，另一方面，也有助于国际学生了解美国看世界的方式。”
For Nevena Nikolic who will graduate in May of 2019,her West Point education will be a good starting point for her planned career in the Montenegrin army.
内维娜·尼科利将于2019年5月份毕业，她的职业规划是成为黑山军队的一名士兵，因此对她来说，西点军校的教育经历将会是一个很好的起点。
“I would really like to be able to go to Afghanistan with my unit as soon as possible because I think that kind of military training is the best for future development as a soldier.I’m looking forward to those kind of challenges.”
“我非常希望能够尽快与我的部队一起去阿富汗，因为我认为这种军事训练对未来作为一名士兵是绝佳的。我期待着这些挑战。”
Milena Djurdjic, for VOA News, West Point, New York.
VOA新闻，米莱娜·朱迪吉于纽约州西点军校为您播报。