阅读难度：

Nearly 12,000 parents were prosecuted and 25 given prison sentences because of their children's truancy from school last year, the Guardian reported.

Just over 9,000 were convicted, and nearly two-thirds of those were fined.

The longest jail sentence imposed on a parent was 90 days, according to the Ministry of Justice. The highest fine imposed last year was 850 pounds.

Government figures show that more than 450,000 children -- 7 percent of the school population -- persistently missed school in autumn 2010 and spring 2011.

That means they missed 15 percent of school days -- a level of absence equivalent to skipping a month's worth of lessons in a year. （点击《卫报》查看原文）

英国孩子逃学家长坐牢

       据《卫报》报道，去年，英国有近1.2万名家长因孩子逃学而被起诉，25名家长被判刑。

       有超过9000名家长被宣布罪名成立，其中三分之二的被判罚款。

       司法部称，最长刑期是一名家长被判坐牢90天，而最高额罚款达850英镑。

       政府提供的数据表明，2010年秋季学期和2011年春季学期，英国有45万多学生经常性逃学，这个数据占到在校学生人数的7%。

       这意味这他们逃课逃掉了整个学期天数的15%，相当于整整一个月的课程。

(China.org.cn November 10, 2011)