VOA慢速英语：新冠病毒是否会导致美国国际学生人数大减？

VOA即美国之音（The Voice of America，简称VOA）。美国之音是一家提供45种语言服务的动态的国际多媒体广播电台。美国之音通过互联网、手机和社交媒体提供新闻、资讯和文化节目，每周服务全球1.64亿的民众。美国之音亦是美国广播事业管理委员会（广播理事会）监管下的政府机构，创立于1942年，是全球最著名的英语广播机构之一。

voa美国之音每天一篇，一起学英语，坚持吧~

Could Coronavirus Lead to a Decrease in International Students in America?

新冠病毒是否会导致美国国际学生人数大减？

By Ashley Thompson
16 May 2020

Priscilla C. of Holland Village in Singapore has a bright future ahead of her. The 17-year-old has been accepted to study economics at Stanford University in California. She hopes to begin her studies this autumn.
新加坡荷兰村的普丽西拉前途一片光明。这位17岁的学生已经被加州斯坦福大学的经济学专业录取。她希望今年秋天开启她的学业。
But Priscilla, who asked VOA not to use her full name, fears the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will have a major effect on her college experience.
但是要求美国之音不要透露全名的普丽西拉担心，持续的新冠病毒大流行将会对她的大学生涯产生重大影响。
She worries about travel restrictions. She also worries about the United States' uneven actions taken to fight the disease outbreak. And she wonders whether she will even be able to attend college classes in person in the fall.
她担心旅行限制。她还担心美国为应对这种疾病而采取的不均衡行动。她还想知道到了秋天她是否能去现场上课。
"It's added a lot of stress and uncertainty to the process," she said. "The most exciting thing about deciding to become an international student was attending college in California, and now there's a big possibility that I won't physically be on the campus I was dreaming about."
她说：“这给该过程增添了很多压力和不确定性。我决定成为一名国际学生，这里面最令人兴奋的事情是去加州上大学。现在我很有可能无法出现在我梦寐以求的校园里。”
She said she trusts that schools will do what they feel is best for their students. But even if colleges do re-open in the fall, Priscilla says she will still probably have health and safety concerns. And, she and her friends fear they may miss out on many traditional college experiences and memories.
她说自己相信学校会尽可能替学生们考虑。但是普丽西拉表示，即使大学在秋季重新开放，她可能仍然会操心健康和安全。而且她和朋友们担心可能会错过许多传统的大学经历和回忆。
Other international students with plans to study in America have similar thoughts and concerns. And, experts worry the effects of the pandemic could cause problems for colleges and universities.
计划在美国学习的其他国际学生也有类似的想法和担忧。专家们也担心这次大流行的影响可能会给高校带来麻烦。
The Institute of International Education, or IIE, does a yearly count of America's international students using State Department data. During the 2018-2019 school year, the IIE found there were over 1,095,000 international students in the U.S. This represents 5.5 percent of the total college student population.
国际教育研究所采用美国国务院的数据对美国的国际学生进行年度统计。该研究所发现，在2018-19学年，美国有超过109.5万名国际学生。这占到了大学生总数的5.5%。
But the number of new, first-time international students studying at American colleges and universities was 7 percent lower than the year before.
但是在美国高校就读的国际学生的新生人数比前一年下降了7%。
The coronavirus crisis is making it more difficult for international students hoping to come to America, observers say.
观察人士表示，新冠病毒危机使得想来美国深造的国际学生更加困难。
Philip Altbach is director of the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College. He says international students were already dealing with the rising cost of American higher education before the coronavirus pandemic. And, the belief that the U.S. has become less welcoming to foreigners is widespread.
菲利普·阿尔特巴赫是波士顿学院国际高等教育中心的主任。他说，在新冠病毒大流行之前，国际学生已经面临了美国高等教育费用的上涨。而且，人们普遍认为美国已经变得不那么欢迎外国人了。
Because of the pandemic, the U.S. has a travel ban on foreign visitors from China and Europe. About 34 percent of international students that come to the U.S. are from China, the IIE reports.
由于这次大流行，美国已经对来自中国和欧洲的外国旅行实施了旅行禁令。据国际教育研究所报告称，来美国就读的国际学生中大约有34%来自中国。
Christopher Rim is the chief executive officer of Command Education, a New York-based college advising company. He says many of the students his company works with are from places like Hong Kong and Shanghai. He says many of them have been considering other choices for international higher education.
克里斯托弗·里姆是总部位于纽约的大学咨询公司Command Education的首席执行官。他说，他公司服务的很多学生都来自于香港和上海。他说其中许多人已经在考虑国际高等教育的其它选择。
Some U.S. schools have already said they will re-open in the fall. But it is still unclear how classes will operate in many cases.
一些美国学校已经表示将在秋季重新开放。但是仍不清楚很多学校要如何上课。
The possibility remains that many American colleges and universities will reopen online. That means that international students who remain in their home countries may have to take classes in the middle of the night. It also means they will not get the traditional experiences of living in shared housing and taking part in campus events.
许多美国高校可能仍然将会在网上重新开放。这意味着呆在国内的国际学生可能必须在半夜上课。这也意味着他们将无法获得住宿舍以及参加校园活动的传统体验。
Rim said, "They're not paying a $70,000 or $80,000 tuition to sit in front of a computer in their bedroom or their living room at home."
里姆说：“他们不会掏七八万美元学费，就坐在家里的卧室或客厅的电脑前上课。”
Rim noted that a decrease in international students coming to the U.S. would present a serious financial problem for schools and their surrounding communities. International students added over $44 billion to the nation's economy in 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports.
里姆指出，来美国就读的国际学生人数减少将给学校及其周边社区带来严重的经济问题。美国商务部报告称，2018年国际学生为美国经济贡献了440亿美元。
But James Hundreiser of the National Association Of College And University Business Officers argues that the threat to American higher education is not so great. He says schools no longer have as much financial dependence on international students' tuition as they once did. And the quality of online education is actually very good.
但是美国高校商务人员联合会的詹姆斯·洪德里泽认为，对美国高等教育的威胁并不是很大。他说，学校不再像以前那样严重依赖国际学生的学费。而且，线上教育的教学质量实际上也很好。
"I actually wonder if this will open up the doors to...more international students...because of those who can't afford to necessarily travel overseas," said Hundreiser. "We know that affordability is an issue for not only American students, but also international students."
洪德里泽表示：“我确实想知道，这是否会为迎来更多国际学生打开大门。因为有些人负担不起不可避免的出国费用。我们知道，不只是美国学生负担不起，国际学生也负担不起。”
Priscilla C. still plans to study at Stanford, even with her concerns. So do her friends who also have plans to study in America. And even if there is a decrease in the number of international students, Altbach, Rim and Hundreiser all agree that it will not last long.
尽管有所担忧，普丽西拉仍然计划上斯坦福大学。她的朋友们也计划到美国学习。即使国际学生人数有所减少，阿尔特巴赫、里姆和洪德里泽都认同这种情况不会持续很长时间。
"Students around the world still see the U.S. as one of the best higher education systems in the world, and the American society, even with the current problems that we face, as an attractive place to be," Altbach said.
阿尔特巴赫表示：“世界各地的学生仍然将美国视为全球最好的高等教育体系之一，即使美国社会目前有种种问题，它也被视为最有吸引力的地方。”
I'm Dorothy Gundy.
我是多萝西·甘迪。

Words in This Story

pandemic – n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the worldoutbreak – n. a sudden start or increase of fighting or diseasestress – n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life and workuncertainty – n. the quality or state of feeling unsure about somethingexciting – adj. causing feelings of interest and enthusiasmcampus – n. the area and buildings around a university, college, or schooltuition – n. money that is paid to a school for the right to study thereafford – v. to be able to pay for somethingsociety – n. the people of a particular country, area, or time thought of especially as an organized communityattractive – adj. having a feature or quality that people like

*内容来源凯蒂·韦孚（51VOA.COM原创翻译），侵删~

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