English lessons
Oct 26th 2006
From The Economist print edition
INDEPENDENT schools have long w_______① Chinese parents. Pupils from China make up two-fifths of foreign children educated privately in Britain. But now schools are moving to the students.
Dulwich College and Harrow have already led the way in establishing o________② in China. These international schools have, however, mainly taught expatriates (of all nationalities). They have also been able to teach children from Hong Kong but, crucially, not those from mainland China.
Now the first Anglo-Chinese school teaching Chinese children from the mainland (but not expatriates) is about to be set up. The Girls' Day School Trust (GDST), a network of 28 independent schools, has announced plans to expand eastward. In a joint venture with a Chinese partner, GDST will open a school in Shanghai in 2008, twinned with and bearing the name of Oxford High School, one of its members. Dulwich College hopes to follow s________③ soon with a similar venture, as will Nord Anglia, an educational business that already has two large schools in Shanghai.
（1）The business opportunity arises from the attractions of an English education to Chinese families. Fluency in English and internationally recognised qualifications are keenly sought as China opens up to the world. Tradition adds to the brand appeal; at Harrow's offshoot in Beijing, the youngsters chant the school song. The two schools that Dulwich College has opened feature its iconic bell-tower as a unifying theme, says Graham Able, its headteacher—and extensive playing fields.
Most of the private schools operating abroad license their brand names to a local partner. （2）Although schools with overseas operations are tight-lipped about the exact size of their international profits, one says that they run into six figures and another that they offer “healthy returns”. Dulwich College uses such income to finance bursaries for poorer pupils in its London school.
But not everyone aGREes that foreign expansion is the way forward. ________________________（中国政府仍然严格控制这些学校的教程，这为英国教育人员制造了不少棘手的问题。[单词提示：retain, tricky]） Nord Anglia had to spend months designing a joint English and Chinese curriculum for its new school in Ningbo City. Eton has resisted the temptation to expand abroad. Tony Little, its headteacher, worries about the possible “reputational risk” if standards cannot be maintained overseas. He wants to focus on the school rather than d________④ energy on risky foreign ventures.
试一试：
1．根据首字母提示和译文，填入适当单词：
①INDEPENDENT schools have long w_______ Chinese parents.（中国家长一直是海外私立学校争取的对象）（动词）
②have already led the way in establishing o________ in China.（已经率先在中国建立分校）（名词）
③hopes to follow s________ soon with a similar venture（希望仿效类似联合办学的做法）（名词）
④rather than d________ energy on risky foreign ventures.（而不是在风险很大的海外联合办学上浪费精力）（动名词）
参考答案：
①wooed ②offshoots ③suit ④dissipating
2．翻译划线部分英文：
参考答案：
（1）教育产业的商机源于英语教育对中国家庭的巨大吸引力。随着中国逐步走向世界，精通英语和拥有国际认可的英国教育机构文凭成为很多中国人孜孜不倦追求的目标。除了具有英国学校的品牌吸引力外，这些在大陆开办的国际学校也保留了中国学校的传统。
（2）虽然这些在海外办学的学校都闭口不谈在海外办学的利润有多高，但有人说利润高达6位数，也有人说利润“相当可观”。
3．根据译文，写出句子：
参考译文：The Chinese government retains tight control over the curriculum, which creates tricky problems for British educators.
英国私立学校向中国扩张
2023-01-07英汉翻译
