【答案解析】在整个人类历史上，成功的源泉在于对土地、黄金和石油等自然资源的控制。突然之间，成功的钥匙变成了知识。知识经济之王比尔-盖茨没有土地、黄金或石油。人们是怎样用知识来创造财富的?以知识为基础的经济正在提出一些新问题，提供新答案，为成功制定新的游戏规则。信息技术使人们有机会采用高得多的生产力水平开发新产品。
成功的知识经济要求政府在教育、研究与开发领域投入巨资。有时候，成功的企业必须在成功时甘愿颠覆自我，方能建立起更加成功的新企业。在20世纪初曾名列美国最大的12家公司中，有11家没有看到21世纪的曙光。技术突破不断出现，经济环境不断变化，而这些公司未能适应新的形势。 [解析]
For all of human history the source of success has been controlling natural resources--land, gold and oil. Suddenly the answer is knowledge. The king of knowledge economy, Bill Gates, owns no land, no gold or oil. How does one use knowledge to build wealth? The knowledge-based economy is asking new questions, giving new answers and developing new rules for the success game. Information technology has opened up opportunities for new products with much higher levels of productivity.
A successful knowledge-based economy requires large public investments in education, research and development. Sometimes successful businesses must be willing to destroy the old while it is still successful if they wish to build the new that will become more successful. Of what were the twelve American companies at the beginning of the 20th century, eleven were not around to see the beginning of the 21st century. Technological breakthroughs occur, the economic environment changes, and they could not adjust.

【答案解析】大量移民人口的存在也许给美国学校带来了一些学生学业问题。我认为，那些来自某些穷国未受过良好教育的贫穷家庭的孩子并没有从美国教育制度中受益。他们在学习上存在着许多困难。让我尤其感到困扰的是，我们经常把孩子在学习中产生的困难归因于贫困、父母或生活环境，我们应该停止这样做。贫穷不是孩子学习困难的直接原因。
另一方面，家长与家庭环境确实是重要因素。如果家长认真对待学校教育，最终孩子也会认真对待，特别是在掌握文化技能的低年级阶段。哪怕是在破旧的教室里面，他们也会健康成长。家长认真对待学校教育有可能意味着一段时间内放弃某些就业机会，从而确保孩子放学后做有益的事。 [解析]
The presence of large numbers of immigrants might explain some of the student performance problems in American schools. I think children of poor, ill-educated families from some poor societies do not benefit from American education. They have many difficulties in their study. What particularly troubles me is that we need to stop blaming poverty, parents or the home environment for the difficulty a child has in learning. Poverty is not directly to blame for such difficulties.
But on the other hand, parents and the home environment are crucial factors. If parents take school seriously, by and large children will too, especially in the early years when literacy skills are being mastered, and they will thrive even in run-down school buildings. Taking school seriously may mean that a parent gives up some employment opportunities for a while to make sure that children are doing something constructive after school.