新视野大学英语5原文+翻译编辑完美版.docx

新视野大学英语5原文+翻译编辑完美版.docx

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新视野大学英语5原文+翻译编辑完美版

U1AATechnologicalRevolutioninEducation

Ahumanbeingtransportedfromtheyear1900toourtimewouldrecognizemuchofwhatgoesonintoday'sclassrooms—theprevalentlecturing,theemphasisondrill,andthematerialsandactivitiesrangingfromthebasicreadertotheweeklyspellingtests. Withthepossibleexceptionofthechurch,fewinstitutionshavechangedaslittleasthosechargedwiththeformaleducationofthenextgeneration.  

Contrastthiscontinuitywithchildren'sexperiencesoutsidetheschoolwalls. Inmodernsocietychildrenhaveaccesstoarangeofmediathatwouldhaveseemedlikeamiracleinanearlierera.Thevisitorfromthepast,whowouldreadilyrecognizetoday'sclassroom,wouldhavetroublerelatingtotheout-of-schoolworldofa10-year-oldtoday.

Schools—ifnoteducationgenerally—areinherentlyconservativeinstitutions. Inlargemeasure,Iwoulddefendthisconservativetendency. Butchangesinourworldaresorapidandsodecisivethatitwillnotbepossibleforschoolstoremainastheyareortosimplyintroduceafewsuperficialimprovements. Indeed,ifschoolsdonotchangerapidlyandradically,theyarelikelytobereplacedbyothermoreflexibleinstitutions. 

TheTransformingPowerofComputers  

Themostimportanttechnologicaleventofourtimeistheriseofthecomputer. Computersalreadypermeatemanyaspectsofourlives,fromtransportationandtelecommunicationstoentertainment.Scarcelyignorantofthesetrends,manyschoolsnowhavecomputersandnetworkingcapacity. Tosomeextent,thesetechnologicalaccessorieshavebeenabsorbedintothelifeoftheschool,thoughoftentheysimplydelivertheoldlessonsinamoreconvenientandefficientformat.  

Inthefuture,however,educationwillbeorganizedlargelyaroundthecomputer. Computerswillpermitadegreeofindividualinstructionthatinthepastwasavailableonlytotherich. Allstudentsmayreceiveacurriculumtailoredtotheirneeds,learningstyle,pace,andrecordofsuccesswithearliermaterialsandlessons.  

Computertechnologyputsalltheinformationintheworldatone'sfingers,quiteliterally. Thisisbothablessingandacurse. Nolongerdowehavetospendlongperiodsoftimehuntingdownasourceoraperson—now,deliveryofinformationisinstantaneous. Soonwewillnotevenhavetotypeinaninstruction;wewillbeabletosimplyaskaquestionoutloudandthecomputerwillprintoutorspeaktheanswer. Thuspeoplewillachieveinstant"culturalliteracy". 

Lesshappily,theInternethasnomeansofqualitycontrol;"anyonecanplay". Informationanddisinformationminglecomfortablyand,asofyet,therearenoreliablewaystodistinguishsensefromthedistortedfactsanddownrightnonsensecommonontheNet. Identifyingthetrue,thebeautiful,andthegood—andwhichofthesetruths,beauties,orgoodsareworthknowing—constitutesaformidablechallenge.   

Itmightbesaid,inresponse,thattheworldhasalwaysbeenfilledwithmisinformation. Trueenough,butinthepasteducationalauthoritiescouldatleastchoosetheirfavoritetexts. Today'ssituation,witheveryonehavinginstantaneousaccesstomillionsofsources,iswithoutprecedent.  

CustomizingEducation  

Inachangefromprevioustrends,theacquisitionofadiplomafromcertifiedinstitutionsmaybecomelessimportant.Individualswillbeabletoeducatethemselvesandexhibittheircompetenceinasimulatedsetting. Whypay$120,000togotolawschool,ifonecan"readlaw"asinearliertimesandthendemonstrateone'srepertoireoflegalskillsviaacomputer-simulatedpracticalexamination?

 Orlearntoflyaplaneorconductsurgerybysimilarmeans,forthatmatter?

Muchofeducationinthepastwasessentiallyvocational:

designedtomakesurethatindividualscouldcarryoutasinglejob,reliably,throughouttheirproductiveadultyears.Nowadays,thisassumptionisflawed. Fewpeoplewillremaininthesameoccupationfortheirwholelives;manywillmovefrequentlyfromoneposition,company,andsectoroftheeconomytoanother.  

Theexplosionofnewandrapidlychangingrolesintheeconomymakeseducationmuchmorecomplicated. Mostadultteachersandparentswillnothaveexperiencesonwhichtheycandrawtoprepareyoungstersforaworldinwhichtheycanexpecttochangejobsregularly. Intheabsenceofprecedent,adolescentswillhavetopreparethemselvesforrapidlychanging"careerpaths"andlifesituations. 

TheFurtherEffectsofTechnology  

Whilecomputer-basedteachingfigurestobethedominanttechnologicalinfluenceoneducation,otherinnovationswillhaveimpactsaswell. Medicaltechnologieswillpermitstudyofstudents'brainactivityandbloodflowastheyengageinvariouskindsofproblem-solvingorcreativeactivities.  

Enhancedunderstandingofthegeneticbasisoflearningisalsolikelytoinvadetheclassroom. Itmaybepossibletodeterminewhichyoungstersarelikelytoadvancequicklyandwhichonesseemdoomedto"difficult"schoolexperiences. Someauthoritieswillinsistthatthesefindingsbeappliedinspecificcases,whileotherswillvigorouslyobjecttoanydecisionsmadeonthebasisofgeneticinformation. Drugsthatclaimtoimprovelearning,memory,orenthusiasmwillbecomereadilyavailable. Teachersandparentsmayfacemoraldilemmasthatwouldinearliertimeshavebeenrestrictedtosciencefiction.  

Finally,recentbreakthroughsinbiologyandmedicinemaychangeeducationinthemostradicalways. Ifindividualsseekto"design"offspringthroughgeneticengineering,ortoalterthegeneticstructureofanalreadyexistingperson,orifitbecomespossibletoclonehumans,thenourdefinitionsofwhatitmeanstobeahumanbeing,andtobeapartofahumansociety,willbechangedforever. 

ConservatismIsNotNecessarilyEvil  

Ihavenotedthateducationisconservative,andthatthisconservativetendencyisnotnecessarilyanevil. Indeed,withrespecttothetransmissionofvaluesandtheteachingofcertainsubjects,aconservativeapproachmaywellbecalledfor. Yettheexplosionofknowledgecallsforcloseandfreshattentiontothecurriculum. Newandimaginativeapproacheswillhavetobedevelopedifyoungpeoplearetobepreparedfortherapidlychangingrolestheycanexpecttoassume.

U1BBeYourOwnTailor  

Amanwenttoatailorandtriedonasuit. Ashestoodbeforethemirror,henoticedthejacketwasalittleunevenatthebottom. "Oh,"saidthetailor,"don'tworryaboutthat.Justholdtheshorterenddownwithyourrighthandandnoonewillevernotice."  

Thecustomerthennoticedthatthecollarofthejacketcurledupinsteadoflyingflat. "Oh,that,"saidthetailor. "That'snothing.Justturnyourheadalittleandholddownthecollarwithyourchin." Thecustomernextcomplainedthatthebottomsofthetrouserswereabittoohigh. "Oh,don'tworryaboutthat,"saidthetailor,"justpullthetrousersdownwithyourlefthand,andeverythingwillbeperfect." Thecustomeragreedthatthegarmentnowlookedfineandhepurchasedit.  

IamateacherandIamalsothatcrippledman. Ihavetugged,pulled,limped,heldonandbentover,butwhyhaven'tImadetheeducationsystemlooklikeawell-fittingsuit?

 Ihavelistenedtothetailor'sinsteadofmyownvoice.  

Inthebeginningofourcareersasteachers,avoice,fullofoptimism,spokeclearlytous. Itsaid,IamateacherandIamvaluable. Thevoiceaffirmedthatthesacredrelationshipbetweenchildandteacherwastheclassroom'sstrength. Thevoicerangout:

Servethechildfirst.Dowhatisimportant.Actonprinciples.Workhard.Takecare.Thevoiceinsisted:

Makeadifference.  

Andwhathappenedtothevoice?

Asteachers,wewantedsomuchtobelieveinourselves,tomakethatdifference,thatwenevernoticedwewerenothingmorethanfactoryworkers. Wedidnotwanttoadmitthatthissystem,whosebusinessitwastonourishmindsandmolddreams,wasbarelymorethana19th-centuryfactorywhereourstudentscollectedbasicskillsonanassemblyline. Wetriednottoconfrontwhowereallywere—workers,notprofessionals,inafactorycalledschool.  

Andwhereareourvoicesnow?

Wearebusyputtingoutfires,movingfromonecrisistothenext,swallowingonenewprogramafteranother,tryingtoassimilatenewstrategiesinone-daytrainingprograms—digestingnothing,meetingthedemandsandexpectationsofinnumerablespecialinterests. Thetempoofourworkdoesnotallowustimetoreflectortodream. Dreamsarebornofreflection,butwearenotareflectiveprofession. Dreamsarebornofrest,butwearenotarestedprofession. Wehaveallowedthetailortodesignoursuits.  

Thevoicecallsouttous,Iknowthetruth. Iknowwhyschoolsdon'twork,whythissuitdoesn'tfit. Weignorethatvoice.Bestill.Youmightgetintotrouble.  

Thevoicepleads,IneedtimetonurturemyselfandtherelationshipsIhavewithmystudentsandpeers,Ineedfewerstudents. Whosaid25wasmanageable?

 Butwesilencethevoice. Peoplewillsayyouarenaive.  

Thevoicesuggests,Ineedintensivetraining,morethanaweekendsymposiumorafter-schoolmeetings,tolearnhowtoimplementnewpoliciesinmyclassortosetupauthenticdemonstrationsofproficiency. Weputdownthevoice.  

Thenextday,themanworehisnewsuit,usingallthehandandchin"adjustments". Asthispatheticmanlimpedthroughtheparkwithhischintuckeddown,onehandtuggingathiscoatandtheothergraspinghistrousers,twomenstoppedplayingchesstowatch. "Oh,myGod,"saidthefirst."Lookatthatpoor