Education changed me a lot 教育改变了我的人生

杜斯兰

父母总是告诉我们：要好好读书，用心读书，接受教育才能改变命运。随着我们长大，我们才慢慢理解他们真正的用意。

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 persons 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 anAd 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 persons 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. 只有当她开始学习阅读时，她才能改变自己的处境，让他们的生活变得更好。

【点石成金】本句运用了强调句，其结构为“It is/was+被强调部分+that/who...”。一般说来，被强调部分指人时，用who或that;指事物时用that。本句强调了时间状语only when she begins to learn

to read。

Ⅱ. Useful expressions

be based on 基于……

earn a living 谋生

a well-educated mind 受过良好教育的人

be of utmost importance 最重要的

be related to 和……有关

rise out of poverty 摆脱贫困