托福词汇之“休学创业篇”

　　休学创业

　　关于休学创业，全国政协委员、新东方创始人/CEO俞敏洪去年曾这样说：

　　"Students are allowed to suspend their courses to do business. I thinkthat's good, but we must treat it rationally. As an angel investor, I'm invitedto view graduates' startup projects every day. Speaking frankly, 95 percent ofthem are not innovative, just copycats, but that's normal, even in the UnitedStates. I think we should move forward by identifying really innovative projectsand then supporting them with preferential policies".

　　现在允许学生休学创业，这是好事，但我们应该采取理性的态度。我现在搞天使投资，每天接触的大学生项目非常多，坦率地说，95%是没有创新的。但这是正常现象，就算在美国，100个公司里也没有多少公司有创新能力，其余的都是模仿拷贝。我们应该进一步挑选出真正的创新项目，用优惠政策给予支持。

　　弹性学制

　　所谓弹性学制，狭义的定义是指学习内容有一定的选择性，学习年限有一定的伸缩性的学校教育教学模式。它是在学分制的基础上演进而至，是学分制的另类发展和表现。

　　间隔年” gap year

　　说到弹性学制，很多人会想到国外的“间隔年”(gap year)。

　　Gap year is an English expression (also known as drop year, deferred year,bridging year, etc) referring to a period of time - not necessarily a year inwhich students take time off and do something other than schooling, such astravel or work. The year out is most commonly taken after secondary school andbefore starting university. However, over recent years there has been anincrease in 21-23 year olds taking a year out after completing their degree.

　　Gapyear(空档年)是一个英国词儿，指学生离开学校一段时间，经历一些学习以外的事情，比如外出旅行或者工作。当然，这段时间不一定非得是一年。空档年一般选在离开中学进入大学之前。不过，近几年越来越多21到23岁、已经获得学位的年轻人也开始给自己一个空档年。

　　The practice of taking a deferred year developed in the United Kingdom inthe 1960s. During this time, a student might travel, engage in volunteer workoverseas or undertake a working holiday abroad.

　　空档年这种做法于二十世纪六十年代兴起于英国。在空档年期间，学生可以旅行、参与海外义工活动或者到国外打工度假。

　　A year out has grown very popular among students in the UK, Australia, NewZealand and Canada. A trend for year out is to participate in internationaleducation programs that combine language study, homestays, cultural immersion,community service, and independent study.

　　如今，空档年在英国、澳大利亚、新西兰以及加拿大的学生当中都已非常流行。新近的趋势是在空档年期间参与国际教育项目，其中包括语言学习、住家、文化渗透、社区服务以及独立学习等。