國家不同，文化也不同。學校不同，學年亦不同。當我們滿載著希望去迎接新學年的到來時，可能身在異國的同齡人正享受著假期所帶來的愉悅和輕松。當我們還在教室里與難題奮戰(zhàn)抗爭的時候，可能身在他鄉(xiāng)的學子已經(jīng)踏著放學的鈴聲奔向了校門。帶著你的感嘆，帶著你的羨慕，跟隨本文一起周游列國，了解繽紛多彩的異國學年吧！

Somewhere in the world， right now， students are hard at work in school. With over 190 nations spanning the globe's 24 time zones， students and their academic years come in a variety of forms. Here's a sampling of the typical school year in 7 nations throughout the world.

此刻，在世界的某個地方，許多學生正在學校里埋頭苦讀。全球24個時區(qū)，分布著190多個國家，學生及其學年的設置各不相同。本文挑選了分布在世界各地的7個國家，帶你一覽這些國家極具代表性的學年。

Australia

Students in Australia attend school for 200 days a year. Their school year lasts from late January to mid December. Since Australia is in the southern hemisphere1)， it experiences summer while it's winter in the northern hemisphere. Summer vacation for Australian students is from mid December to late January. Their school year is divided into four terms， with each term lasting 9 to 11 weeks. Students then have two weeks of vacation between each term. The typical school day is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.， and lunch is eaten at school. Students are required to attend school for at least 11 years， but they usually attend for 12 years. The average class size is 18 students and there are about 6 computers per classroom.

Brazil

Brazil， also found in the southern hemisphere， shares the same summer months as Australia. The school day in Brazil runs from 7 a.m. to noon， and students typically go home at noon to share lunch with their family—Lunch is the most important meal of the day. Most schools require students to wear a uniform.

Math， geography， history， science， Portuguese (the national language of Brazil) and physical education are the main subjects studied by students in Brazil. Many schools can barely2) afford to teach those subjects， which means that courses like art and music are often left out in poorer areas. The average class size is 30 or more students. Most schools do not have a computer in the classrooms， or have only one or two computers for 30 students to share.

France

The school day in France typically runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.， with a half day on Saturday， although students do not attend school on Wednesday or Sunday. Lunch is a two-hour break for public school students. Students usually attend school from age 6 to 18. The average number of students per class is 23. Uniforms are not required， but religious dress of any kind is banned3). The school year for this country in the northern hemisphere stretches4) from August to June， and is divided into four seven-week terms with one to two weeks of vacation in between.

Students in the primary grades， from age 6 to 11， learn basic skills in reading， writing， and math， as well as participate in exercises to develop observation， reasoning， imagination， and physical abilities. Older students study French， math， physical and natural sciences， foreign language， history， geography， economics， and civics5).

Japan

Most Japanese schools run on a trimester6) schedule. The academic year begins in April and ends the following March， with breaks for summer， winter and spring separating the three terms. Uniforms are required and there are extensive rules for hair styles， shoes， socks， skirt length， make-up， accessories7) and more.

In each classroom， the average number of students is 29 with 5 or 6 computers to share between them. Students in Japan study academic subjects， such as Japanese language， math， reading， social studies， music， and art， and they also receive moral education.

Kenya

The school year in this southern-hemisphere nation is divided into three terms， each 13 weeks long， with one-month breaks in between. School days are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Uniforms are mandatory8) in government-run schools. Most classrooms have about 30 students in them. Students study the Kiswahili9) language， English， math， science， music， history， civics， and geography， and receive religious instruction.

Mexico

The school year in Mexico runs from September to June. Students go to school Monday through Friday， and have elective classes10) on Saturdays. Students are required to wear uniforms for elementary school and middle school.

In each classroom， there are about 30 students who must share 3 computers. Students learn Spanish， math， art， and physical education. Other subjects are integrated into courses called environmental knowledge. These include the natural sciences， history， geography， civics， reading， writing， and oral expression.

Russia

The school year in Russia runs from the first of September to late May. Students attend class from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. No uniforms are required; students are instead encouraged to dress warmly. Students remain together in the same class from grades one to ten. Each classroom has about 16 students.

Tenth grade is the last year of mandatory education. Eleventh and twelfth grades offer optional paths， either to vocational11) schools to learn trade skills or to continue to study for university entrance exams. Students in grades one to ten study Russian， math， reading， natural sciences， music， art， and physical education.

澳大利亞

澳大利亞的學生每年要上200天學，每學年從1月下旬開始，到12月中旬結束。由于澳大利亞位于南半球，因而當北半球還是寒冬臘月時，澳大利亞卻正值炎炎夏日。學生的暑假時間從12月中旬到次年1月下旬。他們的每個學年都分為4個學期，每個學期長達9～11周，學期之間會有兩個星期的假期。學生一般上午9點上課，下午3:30放學，中午在校就餐。學生按要求至少要上11年學，但通常他們都會上12年。每個班一般會有18名學生，每間教室配備約6臺電腦。

巴西

巴西也位于南半球，夏季時間和澳大利亞一樣。巴西學生每天上午7點上課，中午放學，一般回家和家人一起吃午飯——這可是巴西人一天中最重要的一頓飯。大多數(shù)學校要求學生要穿校服。

巴西學生要上的課主要有數(shù)學、地理、歷史、科學、葡萄牙語(巴西的官方語言)和體育。很多學校資金不足，只能勉強開設這些課程，這意味著更貧困的地區(qū)的學校往往就沒有美術和音樂這類課程。學校每個班平均有30名或30名以上的學生。大多數(shù)學校教室里沒有配備電腦，即便有一兩臺也是30名學生共用。

法國

法國學生一般上午8點上課，下午4點放學，周六要上半天課，但周三和周日不用上學。公立學校的學生有兩個小時的午餐時間。通常來說，6～18歲為法國學生的上學年齡，每個班平均有23名學生。學校不要求學生穿校服，但禁止穿任何宗教服飾。法國位于北半球，學年從8月開始到次年6月結束，每學年分為4個學期，每學期長達7周，學期之間有1～2個星期的假期。

6～11歲的低年級學生要學習閱讀、寫作和數(shù)學這些基本技能，還要參加各項活動以培養(yǎng)觀察、推理和想象能力并鍛煉體能。高年級學生要學習法語、數(shù)學、物理和自然科學、外語、歷史、地理、經(jīng)濟學以及公民學。

日本

大多數(shù)日本學校采取每學年3學期制，學年從4月開始到次年3月結束，中間穿插有暑假、寒假和春假3個假期。學校要求學生穿校服，而且對學生的發(fā)型、鞋子、襪子、裙子長度、化妝品、配飾等都有詳盡的規(guī)定。

日本學校每個班平均有29名學生，共用5～6臺電腦。學生要學習日語、數(shù)學、閱讀、社會學、音樂、美術等課程，同時也要接受思想道德教育。

肯尼亞

肯尼亞地處南半球，每學年分為3個學期，每學期長達13周，學期之間都有一個月的假期。學校上午8點上課，下午4點放學。公立學校的學生必須穿校服。大多數(shù)班級有30名左右的學生。學生要學習斯瓦希里語、英語、數(shù)學、科學、音樂、歷史、公民學以及地理，而且還要接受宗教教育。

墨西哥

墨西哥的學年從9月開始到次年6月結束。學生從周一到周五都要上學，周六還有選修課。中小學生必須穿校服。

學校每個班約有30名學生，全班要共用3臺電腦。學生要學習西班牙語、數(shù)學、美術和體育。其他科目則并稱為通識課，包括自然科學、歷史、地理、公民學、閱讀、寫作以及口頭表達。

俄羅斯

俄羅斯的學年從9月1日開始到次年5月下旬結束。學校從上午8:30開始上課，下午3點放學。學校不要求學生穿校服，不過提倡學生穿衣要注意保暖。學生從1～10年級均在同一個班，每班約有16名學生。

10年級是俄羅斯義務教育的最后一年。11年級和12年級的學生可自主選擇方向，要么去職業(yè)學校學習行業(yè)技能，要么就繼續(xù)學習考取大學。1～10年級的學生要學習俄語、數(shù)學、閱讀、自然科學、音樂、美術以及體育。

1.hemisphere [?hem?sf??(r)] n. (地球或天體的)半球

2.barely [?be?li] adv. 僅僅；幾乎不

3.ban [b?n] vt. (以官方明令)禁止

4.stretch [stret?] vi. 伸展，延伸

5.civics [?s?v?ks] n. [用作單或復]公民學；公民課

6.trimester [tra??mest?(r)] n. <美> (一學年分為三學期制中的)一學期

7.accessory [?k?ses?ri] n. [常作accessories] (婦女的)裝飾品(如手提包、手套等)

8.mandatory [?m?nd?t?ri] adj. 強制的；命令的

9.Kiswahili [?ki?sw??hi?li] n. 斯瓦希里語(東非坦桑尼亞、肯尼亞等地通用的語言；亦作Swahili)

10.elective class: 選修課

11.vocational [v???ke???nl] adj. 職業(yè)的