loadingLike thousands of parents across Britain, I have been scanning the skies with some nervousness this week. My son and daughter are praying for the snow—and the school closure—to continue. And I am praying for slush
Pray 祈祷, 祷告
Slush 烂泥；稀泥浆
At a time when people are worried enough about keeping their jobs, the cost of school closure is immense. Parents unable to secure emergency childcare have no choice but to stay off work themselves. This translates all too quickly into orders unfulfilled and contracts prejudiced. The federation of small businesses reckons that by the end of the week our trembling economy will have suffered losses worth some 3.5
Secure安全的
Emergency 紧急情况
Prejudice 1不利于, 损害 2成见, 偏见, 歧视 Tremble发抖, 颤抖
It is natural to look for the weak link in this chain disaster and, not unusually, it is teachers who are being criticized. Parenting website abound with childhood memories of brave infants, battling their way to School in the big snow of the 1960 and 1970 and angry demands have been made for school staff to show courage and set an example.
According to Margaret Morrissey of the parents Outloud campaign group, we are giving children the message that when thing gets difficult you should stay at home and have fun. Then, when they keep taking sick days from work when they grew up, we wonder why.
Chain链, 锁链, 链子, 链条 Abound大量存在; 充满, 富于 Campaign战役，运动 Wonder
I dare say I could have kept my pair indoors on Monday, reciting time tables instead of hurtling downhill on an offcut of laminate flooring, but it’s not the effect on their characters I’m most concerned about. And it seems unfair to impose out comfortable schoolroom nostalgia on a profession facing peculiar contemporary challenges. Back in 1960s, local schools were largely stalled by local teachers. Today particularly in cities where property price long ago outstripped the wages of public sector workers, teachers are frequently traveling vast distances to get to school.
Recite背诵 2详述; 列举
Hurtle猛冲, 疾飞 Offcut下脚料
Laminate flooring 强化木地板 Laminate 层压材料
Nostalgia对往事的怀恋, 怀旧 Peculiar怪异的; 奇怪的;不寻常的 Contemporary当代的；现代的 Property 房地产, 不动产 Outstrip 胜过 Wage 工资 Sector 部门; 领域
If the transport system grinds to a halt, as it has across Britain this week, there’s not a whole lot of teachers, or dinner ladies, or cleaners, or and other workers on whom the smooth running of our schools depended, can do about it.
Grind n 苦差事, 苦活儿v 压迫; 折磨 Halt 停住, 停止, 暂停 grinds to a halt 慢慢停了下来
smooth光滑的, 平滑的, 平坦的, 平整的, 平静的
Put bluntly, it’s not the teachers who were short of grit this week, it was the road. For the want of some sand for the roads, 3.5bn was lost. There are lessons that cannot be learned at school. Given the weather forecast, I call that fortunate.
Bluntly率直地
Fortunate 交好运的, 带来好运的; 幸运的