學(xué)生上大學(xué)的目的各不相同：探索知識，充實自己；改變自身處境，謀求好的社會地位；滿足父母的期望…還有人從未認真想過。
The Purpose of School
Have you ever asked yourself why children go to school? You will probably say that they go to learn their own language and other languages, arithmetic, geography, geometry, history, science and all the other subjects. That is quite true, but why do they learn these things? And are these things all that they learn at school?
We send our children to school to prepare them for the time when they will be big and will have to work for themselves. They learn their own language so that they will be able to tell others clearly what they want and what they know, and understand what others tell them. They learn foreign languages in order to be able to benefit from what people in other countries have written and said and in order to make people from other countries understand what they themselves mean. They learn arithmetic in order to be able to measure and count things in their daily life, geography in order to know something about the world around them, and history to know something about human beings they meet every day. Nearly everything they study at school has some practical use in their life, but is that the only reason why they go to school?
No. There is more in education than just learning facts. We go to school, above all①, to learn how to learn, so that, when we have left school, we can continue to learn. A man who really knows how to learn will always be successful, because whenever he has to do something new which he has never had to do before, he will rapidly teach himself how to do it in the best way. The uneducated person, on the other hand②, is either unable to do something new, or does it badly.The purpose of schools, therefore, is not just to teach languages, arithmetic, geography, etc., but teach pupils the way to learn.
［330 words］
行文點評
全文結(jié)構(gòu)清晰、脈絡(luò)分明。開篇點題，提出問題：為什么要上學(xué)。第二段闡述觀點，指出學(xué)習(xí)每一門課程的目的，接著作者筆鋒一轉(zhuǎn)，用一個but提出質(zhì)疑：上學(xué)的惟一理由就是把學(xué)校里學(xué)的一切在現(xiàn)實中應(yīng)用嗎？在第三段作者針對這個問題提出觀點，即上學(xué)的真正目的就是學(xué)會如何學(xué)習(xí)。
本文細致地分析了接受學(xué)校教育的目的。文章雖短，但層層深入，說理透徹，發(fā)人深思。
好文妙譯
上學(xué)的目的
你是否問過自己為什么孩子要上學(xué)?你可能會說他們上學(xué)是去學(xué)習(xí)母語和其他語言，去學(xué)習(xí)數(shù)學(xué)、地理、幾何、歷史、科學(xué)及其他學(xué)科。此話不假，但他們?yōu)槭裁匆獙W(xué)這些?這些東西是他們在校學(xué)習(xí)的全部內(nèi)容嗎?
我們送孩子上學(xué)是為了讓他們?yōu)樽约洪L大后的工作做準備。學(xué)習(xí)母語是為了讓他們能夠明確地告訴別人自己想要什么和知道什么，并能理解別人的話。學(xué)習(xí)外語是為了從外國人的著作和言語中獲益并讓外國人了解自己說話的含義。學(xué)數(shù)學(xué)是為了日常計量和算數(shù)，學(xué)習(xí)地理是為了了解周圍的世界，學(xué)習(xí)歷史是為了了解人類，因為他們每天都會與之打交道。在學(xué)校里學(xué)的一切在他們的日常生活中都有實際應(yīng)用，但這就是他們上學(xué)的惟一理由嗎?
當(dāng)然不是。教育不僅僅是學(xué)習(xí)事實。首先，我們上學(xué)是為了學(xué)會如何學(xué)習(xí)，這樣，當(dāng)我們離開學(xué)校時，我們就能繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)。一個會學(xué)習(xí)的人總會是一個有成就的人，因為不管他何時需要做以前從未做過的事的時候，他都能很快地自己學(xué)會以最好的辦法來做。相反地，一個未受過教育的人不是無法做好新事情，就是做得很糟。因此，學(xué)校存在的目的不僅僅是教授語言、數(shù)學(xué)、地理等知識，還要教給學(xué)生學(xué)習(xí)的方法。
詞匯斟酌
arithmetic n.算術(shù)
geometry n.幾何
prepare sb. for sth. 讓某人為某事做好準備
佳句臨摹
①【注釋】above all 最重要的；尤其
【臨摹】He longs above all to see his family again.他尤其渴望再見到家里人。
②【注釋】on the other hand 另一方面
【臨摹】I want to go to the party, but on the other hand I ought to be studying. 我想去參加聚會，但從另一方面來說，我應(yīng)該留下來學(xué)習(xí)。
思如泉涌
Art is long, but life is short. 人生有涯，而學(xué)無涯。
What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave. 兒時所學(xué)，終生難忘。 |
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