VOA慢速英語：84歲婦女實(shí)現(xiàn)大學(xué)畢業(yè)的人生目標(biāo)

Woman Reaches Lifelong Goal of College Degree at 84

84歲婦女實(shí)現(xiàn)大學(xué)畢業(yè)的人生目標(biāo)

Many people, some even at a very young age, set the goal of graduating from college. One American woman in Texas waited a long time for her chance to reach that goal.

很多人都設(shè)定了上大學(xué)的目標(biāo)，有些人甚至是在還很年幼的時(shí)候。德克薩斯州的一位婦女就等待了很久才有機(jī)會(huì)實(shí)現(xiàn)這個(gè)目標(biāo)。

The woman is 84-year-old Janet Fein. Last week, she received her bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Dallas.

這位婦女就是84歲的珍妮特·費(fèi)恩(Janet Fein)。上周，她拿到了德克薩斯大學(xué)達(dá)拉斯分校的學(xué)士學(xué)位。

Fein has had a full life. She has raised five children and then had a career as a secretary until she retired at age 77. But even then, she was not ready to take it easy and rest during a well-earned retirement.

費(fèi)恩經(jīng)歷了豐富的人生。她養(yǎng)大了5個(gè)孩子，然后在77歲退休前一直擔(dān)任秘書。但是即便如此，她也不準(zhǔn)備在退休后就閑下來。

"I didn't have anything to do in retirement and I didn't think that playing bingo was up to my speed," Fein told the Associated Press. She said she decided to major in sociology because she felt it was "substantial."

費(fèi)恩對(duì)美聯(lián)社表示：“退休后我無事可做，我認(rèn)為玩賓果游戲跟不上我的速度。”她說自己決定主修社會(huì)學(xué)是因?yàn)樗J(rèn)為這是“非常有價(jià)值的。”

Fein grew up in the Bronx area of New York City. She said that in high school, she just wanted to finish and get a job. After graduating early, at the age of 16, she went to work as a secretary at a dress manufacturer.

費(fèi)恩在紐約市布朗克斯地區(qū)長大。她說高中時(shí)自己只想畢業(yè)找份工作。16歲早早畢業(yè)后，她去了一家服裝制造廠擔(dān)任秘書。

After getting married, she spent 18 years staying home with her children. She held several jobs throughout her life, including 20 years as a secretary at a Dallas hospital. That is the job she retired from in 2012. She also worked for 20 years on earning an associate degree, which she received in 1995.

結(jié)婚之后她在家陪伴了孩子18年。她一生之中做過好幾份工作，包括在達(dá)拉斯一家醫(yī)院做了20年秘書，2012年她從這份工作上退休了。她曾攻讀了20年的副學(xué)士學(xué)位，并在1995年拿到了這個(gè)學(xué)位。

But Fein told the AP she also wanted to earn a bachelor's degree "with all of my heart." Even with all of her life experiences, she said she enjoyed reading, writing papers and learning new things. "With each class I already knew a lot, but then I also learned a lot. And that made me happy."

但是費(fèi)恩告訴美聯(lián)社，即使有了這么豐富的人生經(jīng)歷，她還是非常想獲得學(xué)士學(xué)位。她說她喜歡閱讀、寫文章和學(xué)習(xí)新事物。她說：“每節(jié)課我都已經(jīng)懂得了很多，但是還是學(xué)到了很多，這讓我非常高興。”

Fein took part in a state program that lets people who are 65 and older take free classes at public universities in Texas. State officials say about 2,000 people used the program last year.

費(fèi)恩參加了一項(xiàng)州級(jí)計(jì)劃，允許65歲及以上老人到德克薩斯州的公立大學(xué)免費(fèi)就讀。州官員表示，去年大約有2000人參加了這項(xiàng)計(jì)劃。

Estimates show that nationwide, people 65 and older make up less than one percent of U.S. college students. But health experts say continuing with education later in life is one way to keep fit.

據(jù)估計(jì)，在全國范圍內(nèi)，65歲及以上老人在美國大學(xué)生中所占的比例不到1%。但是健康專家表示，老年時(shí)繼續(xù)接受教育是保持健康的方法之一。

Carmel Dyer is director of the UTHealth Consortium on Aging at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She says that keeping active and giving yourself something to look forward to "is just a really positive move."

卡梅爾·戴爾(Carmel Dyer)是德克薩斯大學(xué)休斯頓健康科學(xué)中心UTHealth老齡化聯(lián)盟的主任。她說，保持活力，有所期待是一項(xiàng)非常積極的舉措。

In Fein's case, she kept going to class even as her health conditions worsened. During her studies, it became necessary for her to use a walker to get around and she required oxygen. She also developed knee problems. So, Fein took online classes to finish the last part of her degree requirements.

以費(fèi)恩來說，即使健康狀況惡化她也堅(jiān)持上課。在學(xué)習(xí)期間，她需要使用助步器行走，還需要吸氧。她膝蓋還出了毛病。所以費(fèi)恩參加了在線課程，以完成學(xué)位要求的最后一部分課程。

Her college advisor was Sheila Rollerson. She told the AP that Fein never showed signs of giving up even with all of her difficulties. "She just kept plugging along," Rollerson said.

她的大學(xué)輔導(dǎo)員是希拉·羅勒森(Sheila Rollerson)。羅勒森對(duì)美聯(lián)社表示，即使遇到了困難，費(fèi)恩也從未表現(xiàn)出放棄的跡象。羅勒森表示：“她勤奮地堅(jiān)持了下來。”

Tracy Glass, a 40-year-old student, became friends with Fein after they both took seats in the front of the class. "I sat right next to her and over the course of the semester, built a fast friendship with her," Glass said. She added that Fein's personal memories of world events - like the women's movement – improved a lot of the class discussions.

40歲的學(xué)生特蕾西·格拉斯(Tracy Glass)跟費(fèi)恩都坐在前排座位，之后她們成為了好朋友。格拉斯表示：“我整個(gè)學(xué)期就坐在她旁邊，很快跟她成為了好朋友。”她補(bǔ)充說，費(fèi)恩對(duì)婦女運(yùn)動(dòng)等世界大事的個(gè)人記憶把課堂討論提高了很多。

Carol Cirulli Lanham teaches sociology at the university. She agrees that Fein could make the classroom experience more meaningful for other students. "She would speak up a lot in class and I think that it just made for a more interesting class," she told the AP. "Because she literally remembered some of the times we were talking about."

卡羅爾·拉納姆(Carol Cirulli Lanham)在大學(xué)教社會(huì)學(xué)。她也認(rèn)為費(fèi)恩可以讓課堂體驗(yàn)對(duì)其它學(xué)生來說更有意義。她對(duì)美聯(lián)社表示：“她會(huì)在課堂上大聲說出來，這會(huì)讓課堂更加有趣。因?yàn)樗耆浀梦覀冊(cè)谟懻摰囊恍r(shí)期。”

Renee Brown is one of Fein's caregivers. She says Fein has also inspired her. At 53, she plans to begin nursing school to further her career. Brown said Fein told her, "Renee, you can do it. If I can do it you can do it, and you will feel so good about it,"

蕾妮·布朗(Renee Brown)是費(fèi)恩的護(hù)理員之一。她說費(fèi)恩也激勵(lì)了她。她在53歲的年紀(jì)計(jì)劃開始上護(hù)理學(xué)校以進(jìn)一步發(fā)展自己的事業(yè)。布朗說費(fèi)恩告訴她，“蕾妮，你可以做到。如果我都能做到，你一定也能。你會(huì)覺得很棒。”

I'm Bryan Lynn.

布萊恩·琳恩報(bào)道。