教育改變了我的人生

廣東 杜斯蘭

父母總是告訴我們：要好好讀書，用心讀書，接受教育才能改變命運。 隨著我們長大，我們才慢慢理解他們真正的用意。

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Have you ever read the book The Rent Collector? This book is based on a true story of a family in Cambodia who lives in a garbage dump (垃圾廠). They look for things of value that they can sell and earn a living in the trash. They have a son who is ill and the mother is trying all she knows to try and heal him. It is only when she begins to learn to read that she is able to change her situation and make their lives better.

This is a powerful story and one that is repeated all around the world. One-third of children around the world do not complete six years of schooling—the basic need for education.Studies show that even one year of education increases a person's earnings worldwide by 10%. The more you know, the more you are able to better your life.

Education was always of utmost importance in my home growing up. My parents always told us how our education would better our lives. I guess I got that, but not really. As I have grown up and seen the benefit of a well-educated mind, I am only just beginning to understand what they really meant.

I graduated from high school and from college with honors. The knowledge and skills gained from these degrees have given me confidence, abilities and opportunities that I would not have received otherwise. I feel that the poverty around the world is directly related to education. The more educated a person is, the more likely that person will be to rise out of poverty and change their situation. Education does change lives.

After the typhoon in the Philippines, my father spent a lot of time over there with a non-profit organization to help build things back up. One of the goals was to help people restore their lives with work, homes and education. These men did not have the knowledge or the tools needed to fill the necessary jobs. So, a training program was started to help them. Once they had skills, they were able to support their families and escape their poverty-stricken lives. It was education and job-training that helped them get out of trouble.

Reading Check

Ⅰ. Complete the following mind map with only one word for each blank.

Ⅱ. Discussion

Do you think a university education can change a person's life? In what way and why?

Language Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence

It is only when she begins to learn to read that she is able to change her situation and make their lives better. 只有當她開始學習閱讀時，她才能改變自己的處境，讓他們的生活變得更好。

【點石成金】本句運用了強調句，其結構為“It is/was+被強調部分+that/who...”。 一般說來，被強調部分指人時，用who或that；指事物時用that。 本句強調了時間狀語only when she begins to learn to read。

Ⅱ. Useful expressions

be based on 基于……

earn a living 謀生

a well-educated mind 受過良好教育的人

be of utmost importance 最重要的

be related to 和……有關

rise out of poverty 擺脫貧困