翻译天堂 2016-04-26
本文选自本文选自《华盛顿邮报》2016.04.06期，有关美国四健会（4-H clubs）的一篇文章，稍有难度，有问题可以随时来问我。本期参考译文由网友@ZzzZzzzzzz--- 提供，我修改得有点多，如有不妥，欢迎指出！
Farming, with added STEM
农业与科技理工并驾齐驱
T. Rees Shapiro | 764 words
For more than a century, boys and girls with an abiding curiosity about harvesting corn and raising cattle found refuge in 4-H clubs, which developed deep roots in the farming communities that make up the fruited plains between America's coastal population centers.
一个多世纪以来，一直都对种植庄稼和养殖牲畜充满好奇的少男少女们在四健会找到了他们的大本营。四健会起源于农村地区，在美国沿海人口中心之间形成了的种植平原。
But a new effort, slated to begin this month, is seeking to broaden the group's traditional scope beyond agriculture, aiming to push it into the 21st century by forging more of a connection with the nation's urban youth. The local organizations want to move from the countryside into the cities.
但是，为了推动四健会在21世纪的进程，与城市青年增进联系，一个项新的计划将于本月开展，即努力拓展四健会在农业之外的传统业务范围。地方性组织也计划从农村向城市迁移。
"We just know we need to break out of this limited view that people have of 4-H," said Jennifer Sirangelo, chief executive of the National 4-H Council. "We're still connected to our roots in agriculture, but we are so much more."
“我们只知道我们需要打破四健会成员现有的狭隘观念。”国家四健会主席詹妮弗·瑟兰奇罗说道，“我们仍然以农业为基础，但不仅限于农业。”
The campaign to rebrand 4-H is part of a strategy to increase membership and diversity in the historically white and rural leadership development club, which dates to 1902.
重建四健会的活动是增加会员人数和多样性战略的一部分。四健会成立于1902年，历史上是一个培养白人和农村孩子领导力发展的俱乐部。
Part of the transformation will involve emphasizing 4-H projects surrounding science, technology, engineering and math - the STEM fields - promoting activities such as rocketry or building drones.
四健会的部分转变主要围绕科学，技术，工程，数学这四项内容（STEM领域）展开，促进了像火箭和无人机制造这类活动的发展。
"What has happened is very quietly, in an under-the-radar,very humble way, we've evolved into an organization with a global reach," Sirangelo said. "We just believe that 4-H has been a secret for far too long."
瑟兰奇罗说：“四健会的发展低调而隐秘，目前我们已经逐步形成一个具有全球影响力的组织。我们相信四健会已经潜匿得够久了。
Sirangelo said that typical 4-H activities include hands-on work such as growing lettuce in ahydroponics lab, then having children learn about nutrition by preparing a salad and selling leftover greens to teach entrepreneurial skills.
瑟兰奇罗提到典型的四健会活动包括在无土栽培实验室里种植生菜的实践活动，还有通过准备沙拉学习营养方面的知识，以及出售残余蔬菜来教授他们创业技能。
"They come out of 4-H with confidence and resilience and the ability to overcome obstacles," Sirangelo said.
瑟兰奇罗谈到：“从四健会走出的孩子们充满着自信、适应能力强，拥有战胜困难的能力。”
There are about 6 million children from kindergarten to high school who take part in activities sponsored by 4-H, with white children making up more than half of the total membership.
从幼儿园到高中，大约有600万的孩子参加了由四健会发起的活动，其中白种人儿童占了一半多。
Sirangelo said that by 2025, the group wants to enroll 10 million students annually. The plan, she said, is for many of the newest members to come from minority families. Today, there are 1.7 million 4-H members who are black or Hispanic, and the group seeks a total of 4.2 million within the next decade.
瑟兰奇罗说，到2025年，四健会计划每年接收1000万名学生。这项计划主要面向许多来自少数民族家庭的最新成员们。现如今，已经有170万黑人或拉美裔成员，该组织将在下一个10年把这一数字提升到420万。
Sirangelo said that demographic data collected by the organization shows that there are about 30 million children in the country who are underserved and could benefit from leadership development programs such as 4-H.
瑟兰奇罗称组织收集到的人口数据表明，国内大约有3000万儿童没有受到完备的服务，但他们可以从四健会这类领导力培养项目中受益。
"We want to ensure that our program has a welcome mat in every community," Sirangelo said. "We know if we don't get them ready for leadership, we may have a huge leadership void affecting every industry and sector in the future."
“我们想确保我们的项目在每一个社区都受欢迎。”瑟兰奇罗继续说，“我们知道如果我们不让孩子们为成为领导者做准备，我们可能会失去将来在各行各业有影响力的大批领导人才。”
In Damascus, Md., on Thursday, more than a dozen 4-Hmembers crammed into pews at a Methodist church for a monthly meeting that began with a gavel knock and there citing of the Pledge of Allegiance and the 4-H pledge: "I pledge my head to clearer thinking; my heart to greater loyalty;my hands to larger service; and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world."
本周四，在马里兰州的大马士革，十几名四健会成员挤在卫理公会教堂的长椅上，他们来参加每月一次的会议。小木槌敲响后，会议拉开帷幕，他们开始宣读《效忠宣誓》和四健会誓言：“我宣誓，为了我的组织，我的团体，我的祖国，我的世界，我将更加保持头脑清醒、内心忠诚、服务大众、健康生活。”
The Montgomery County students listened to presentations on the history of popcorn - including that kernels as ancient as 1,000 years old can still be popped for consumption - and they learned about sewing a throw pillow from scratch, and how to sharpen kitchen knives with a whetstone and steel.
蒙哥马利县的学生参加了有关爆米花历史的讲座，讲述了1000年前的谷粒仍然可以爆开销售，他们还学会了如何零基础缝制一个抱枕，以及如何用磨刀石和钢铁打磨厨房刀具。
Kumar Thotapally said that he saw how 4-H made his children better leaders and more confident in themselves. His daughter Shreya, a 15-year-old at Clarksburg High, is now the club's treasurer and has learned about fund raising and accounting.
库马尔·托特帕利说，他可以看出四健会让他的孩子成为更优秀的领导者，也更加自信。他的女儿希莱亚今年15岁，就读于克拉克斯堡高中，现在是四健会的财务主管，她已经学会了基金的筹集和会计。
"When I was young, I used to be shy and I didn't like public speaking," Shreya said. "Now, I got a first place in a public speaking competition."
希莱亚说：“小时候，我很害羞，不喜欢在公共场合发言。但是现在我在演讲比赛中赢得了第一名。”
Shreya said that 4-H also has expanded her horizons and allowed her to learn new skills such as stitching garments for a fashion show and cooking chili for a country fair. She said she thinks people often think of 4-H as just "the farm type and the cattle. Our group is more broad."
希莱亚还说四健会开阔了她的眼界，让她学到了新技能，比如为时装秀缝制服装、在集市上烹饪辣椒。她说人们通常以为四健会只会种地和养牛羊，其实这个组织涉及的范围很广泛。
Sirangelo said that the new campaign aims to show that the club's offerings are diverse and that there is something in 4-H for millions of students, regardless of their interests.
瑟兰奇罗称这次新活动主要是为了展示四健会所提供的项目是丰富多彩的，对于成千上万的学生来说，不管他们的兴趣是什么，在这里的确可以学到一些东西，。
"I truly believe that every young person has the potential to be a true leader," Sirangelo said, adding that 4-H can make it a reality. "We really believe they have power today to change our world and make it better."
“我坚信每一个年轻人都有成为真正的领导者的潜能，”瑟兰奇罗表示，并补充说四健会可以将其变为现实，“我们真的相信他们现有的能力能够改变我们的世界，让世界更美好。”
【词汇短语】
STEM：代表科学（Science），技术（Technology），工程（Engineering），数学（Mathematics）。STEM教育就是科学，技术，工程，数学的教育。在国家实力的比较中，获得STEM学位的人数成为一个重要的指标。美国政府STEM计划是一项鼓励学生主修科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)领域的计划，并不断加大科学、技术、工程和数学教育的投入，培养学生的科技理工素养。
（http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=9KP3fMN2HWwWxQi44VdnaBjQxa8sJrBBL0W7vuHSwT8Gfet0OtLZMz4iv_3gRuPiZHR8qxLnQ9iVck9B5tKIK_）
4-H clubs：四健会(美国农业部主办的美国农村青年组织，在农业和家庭经济方面提供现代科学教育，四个H即head， hands， heart和health)
（http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=4x5elTpMPNibRfVtX1ST0XFgH9HbE6GZg46hkaFwMyqQUAijwRY0wF0qyfZKpVAzU24tEjD9o36EhFLSfCuqKq）
abiding adj. An abiding feeling, memory, or interest is one that you have for a very long time. 持久的 (感情、记忆、兴趣)
例：He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.
他对这门手艺有着一种发自内心和持久不变的热爱。
seeking to 追求；争取；力图
forging a connection 建立……联系
hydroponics n. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants without the use of soil, by using water through which nutrients are pumped. 无土栽培
例：So, is hydroponics a cheaper way of producing food?
所以，无土栽培可以更廉价生产食物？
leftover adj. You use leftover to describe an amount of something that remains after the rest of it has been used or eaten. 剩余的
hispanic n. A Hispanic is someone who is Hispanic. 拉美裔美国人
例：About 80 percent of Hispanics here are U.S. citizens.
这里约80%的拉美裔美国人是美国公民。
demographic n. The demographics of a place or society are the statistics relating to the people who live there. 人口统计数据
underserved adj. 服务不周到的；服务水平低下
crammed into If people or things are crammed into a place or vehicle, it is full of them. 挤满的
例：Between two and three thousand refugees were crammed into the church buildings.
两到三千名难民挤进了教堂里。
pew n. A pew is a long wooden seat with a back that people sit on in church. (教堂里的) 靠背长椅
例：Charlene sat in the front pew.
查伦坐在前排的靠背长椅上。
popcorn n. Popcorn is a snack that consists of grains of corn that have been heated until they have burst and become large and light. 爆米花
kernels n. The kernel of a cereal crop such as wheat is the seed that is inside the hard husk. (小麦等谷类作物麸壳里的)谷粒
from scratch 白手起家；从头做起；从零做起
