单选题
In 2009, Time magazine hailed School of One, an online math program piloted at three New York City public schools, as one of the year's 50 best innovations. Each day, School of One software generated individualized math 'play lists' for students who then chose the 'modality' in which they wished to learn — software, a virtual teacher or a flesh-and-blood one. A different algorithm sorted teachers' specialties and schedules to match a student's needs. 'It generates the lessons, the tests and it grades the tests,' one veteran instructor marveled. It saved salaries, too, thereby 'teacher proofing'(as policy wonks say) education in a few clicks.
Although School of One made only modest improvements in students' math scores and was adopted by only a handful of New York schools (not the 50 for which it was slated), it serves as a notable example of a pattern that Andrea Ga bor, who holds the Bloom berg chair of business journalism at Baruch College/CUNY, charts in 'After the Education Wars.' For more than three decades, an unlikely coalition of corporate philanthropists, educational technology entrepreneurs and public education bureaucrats has spearheaded a brand of school reform characterized by the overvaluing of technology and standardized testing and a devaluing of teachers and communities.
The trend can be traced back to a hyperbolic 1983 report, 'A Nation at Risk,' issued by President Ronald Reagan's National Commission on Excellence in Education. Against the backdrop of an ascendant Japanese economy and consistent with President Reagan's disdain for public education (and teachers' unions), 'A Nation at Risk' blamed America's ineffectual schools for a 'rising tide of mediocrity' that was diminishing America's global role in a new high-tech world.
Policymakers turned their focus to public education as a matter of national security, one too important (and potentially too profitable) to entrust to educators. The notion that top-down decisions by politicians, not teachers, should determine what children need was a thread running through the bipartisan 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, the Obama administration's Race to the Top and state-initiated Common Core standards, and the current charter-driven agenda of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. 'Accountability' became synonymous with standardized tests, resulting in a testing juggernaut with large profits going to commercial publishing giants like Pearson.
The education wars have been demoralizing for teachers, over 17 percent of whom drop out within their first five years. No one believes that teaching to the test is good pedagogy, but what are the options when students' future educational choices, teachers' salaries and retention and, in some states, the fate of entire schools rest on student test scores?
In meticulous if sometimes too laborious detail, Gabor documents reform's institutional failings. She describes the sorry turns in New York City's testing-obsessed policies, the undermining of Michigan's once fine public schools (spurred in part by constant pressure from the DeVos family) and the heartbreaking failure of New Orleans to remake its schools after Hurricane Katrina. The largely white city establishment bypassed the majority-black community, inviting philanthropists and the federal government to rebuild its public schools as the nation's first citywide, all-charter system. A dozen years later, more than a third of the city's charter schools have failed.
【正确答案】①2009年,《时代周刊》称赞一个叫“一校通”(School of One)的在线数学课项目为年度最佳五十项创新之一,该项目首先在纽约市三所公立学校试点运行。②每天,该课程软件会生成个性化的数学课“播放列表”,学生可根据自己喜好,选择学习的“模式”——在软件上学习、跟着虚拟的或真人老师上课均可。③还有另外一个算法,可根据老师的专长和课表进行分类,从而与学生的需求进行匹配。④一位资深指导员感叹道:“它可以生成课程、测试,并给出测试的分数。”⑤这个软件也节省了工资支出,有了它,教师们只要点一点就能进行“教育校对”(说法源于教育政策策士)。 ⑥尽管“一校通”并未大幅度提高学生的数学成绩,也仅在纽约一小部分学校使用(并非预期进驻的五十所学校),但它却是纽约市立大学巴鲁克学院彭博商业新闻学主席安德烈埃·加博尔(Andrea Gabor)在《教育战之后》(After the Education Wars)一书中提出的教育模式的一个典范。⑦30多年来,企业慈善家、教育技术企业家和公共教育官员这几个看似不太可能达成统一战线的群体,共同带头掀起一股学校改革风潮,其特点是过度强调技术和标准化测试,而贬低教师和社会在教育中的作用。 ⑧该改革风潮的兴起可追溯到1983年罗纳德·里根政府时期的“国家教育卓越委员会”(National Commission on Excellence in Education)发表的一篇夸大其词的报道——“处于危机中的国家”。⑨当时正值日本经济发展,而里根总统又一向轻视公共教育和教师群体,“处于危机中的国家”将美国学校的低效怪罪于“正在蔓延的平庸潮”,称其拉低了美国在新型高科技世界中的全球地位。 ①政策制定者将公共教育上升到国家安全的层面,称其太过重要(当然也可能是利润太高)以至于不能委托给教育者。②有种看法认为,决定儿童需求的应是政客们自上而下的决策而不是教师群体。从2001年关国两党支持通过的“有教无类”法案(No Child Left Behind Act),到奥巴马政府提倡的“力争上游”计划(Race to the Top),再到州政府提出的“共同核心课程”标准(Common Core standards)和现任教育部部长贝琪·德沃斯(Betsy DeVoS)倡导的“特许学校”章程,这一观点始终贯穿其中,③“责任制”已变成标准化测试的同义词,促使一些大规模、高收益的教育机构转型成为商业出版巨头——皮尔森教育(Pearson)就是一个典型例子。 ④“教育战”削弱了教师队伍的士气,超过17%的老师在他们从业5年内辞职转行。⑤没人赞同应试教育是一种好的教学方法,但是当学生的升学选择权、教师的工资和职位的保留,甚至是在一些州,整个学校的命运都依赖于学生的分数时,教育者也别无他法。 ⑥加博尔在她的书中不厌其烦地阐述了教育改革的体制缺陷,⑦她记载了纽约市实行“考试至上”政策后带来的消极转变、密歇根市几所优秀公立学校的没落(部分是迫于德沃斯家族的压力),以及新奥尔良市在“卡特里娜”飓风之后重建学校失败的令人心碎的困境。⑧在白人居多的城市,学校建设优于黑人占主体的社区,这使得慈善家和联邦政府决定重建公立学校,首次建成覆盖全市的特许学校体系。⑨十几年后,超过三分之一的特许学校都惨遭滑铁卢。
【答案解析】Para. 1 ① In 2009, Time magazine hailed School of One, an online math program piloted at three New York City public schools, as one of the year's 50 best innovations. ② Each day, School of One software generated individualized math 'play lists' for students who then chose the 'modality' in which they wished to learn — software, a virtual teacher or a flesh-and-blood one. ③ A different algorithm sorted teachers' specialties and schedules to match a student's needs. ④ 'It generates the lessons, the tests and Excellence in Education. ⑨ [难句] Against the backdrop of an ascendant Japanese economy and consistent with President Reagan's disdain for public education (and teachers' unions), 'A Nation at Risk' blamed America's ineffectual schools for a 'rising tide of mediocrity' that was diminishing America's global role in a new high-tech world. 难句理解 Against the backdrop of an ascendant Japanese economy and consistent with President Reagan's disdain for public education( and teachers' unions), 'A Nation at Risk' blamed America's ineffectual schools for a 'rising tide of mediocrity' that was diminishing America's global role in a new high-tech world. 定语从句 a 'rising tide of mediocrity' that was diminishing America's global role in anew high-tech world. 本句为复合句,结构较为复杂,翻译时应先找出句子的主干,即'A Nation at Risk' blamed America's ineffectual schools for a 'rising tide of mediocrity'。前面两个由and连接的并列短语作状语,补充说明主句发生的背景。主句后又跟了一个that引导的定语从句,修饰a 'rising tide of mediocrity' ,对其进一步说明。 采分点分析 采分点一:基本素质 1.①句Time为美国三大时事周刊之一,已有普遍接受的译法,可直接采用,译为《时代周刊》即可。注意要和英国的Times“《泰晤士报》”区分开来。 2.⑥句Andrea Gabor为普通人名,直接音译为安德烈埃·加博尔,并用括号加注原文即可;其著作After the Education Wars可直译为《教育战之后》,并同样用括号加注原文。Baruch College/CUNY为“纽约市立大学巴鲁克学院”,是一所以商科而闻名的公立大学,也是纽约市立大学的学院成员。 采分点二:选词用词 1.②句School of One为美国的一个线上数学课项目,可根据后文对它的描述,选一个合适的译法,如“一校通”,再用括号加注原文即可。 2.②句flesh-and-blood意为“有血有肉的,确有其人的”,这里跟virtual(虚拟的)对应,可译为“真人的”。 3.⑥句modest为多义词,有“谦虚的”“不多的”“不重要的”等义项,这里修饰improvements“进步,提高”,应该选择第2个义项。slate也是多义词,有“严厉批评,猛烈抨击”“推举某人”“预定,安排”等义项,这里根据上下文可知,应选择第3个义项。 4.⑦句brand为多义词,有“品牌”“烙印”“(有别于其他的)一种,(独特的)一类”等义项,这里修饰school reform,应该选择第3个义项,并稍加意译,处理为“一股……风潮”。 采分点三:理解结构 1.②句较长,包含两个定语从句。第一个定语从句的先行词是students“学生”——既是play lists“课程列表”生成作用的对象,也是第一个定语从句中chose the 'modality'“选择‘模式”’的主语,因此可在这里将句子进行分层,前一句用“软件”作主语,后一句选择“学生”作为主语,处理为“该课程软件会生成个性化的数学课‘播放列表’,学生可根据自己喜好,选择学习的‘模式’……”。 2.⑨句开头是两个由and连接的并列短语作状语,补充说明主句发生的背景,成分较长,因此,可译成两个小短句,同时增译“当时正值”“一向”等词,使得表达更加流畅;主句('A Nation at Risk' blamed... for a 'rising tide of mediocrity') 后的定语从句修饰a 'rising tide of mediocrity',从句较长不宜处理成前置定语,可增译“称其”来将定语从句与主句连接起来。 Para. 4 ① Policymakers turned their focus to public education as a matter of national security, one too important (and potentially too profitable) to entrust to educators. ② [难句]The notion that top-down decisions by politicians, not teachers, should determine what children need was a thread running through the bipartisan 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, the Obama administration's Race to the Top and state-initiated Common Core standards, and the current charter-driven agenda of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. ③ 'Accountability' became synonymous with standardized tests, resulting in a testing juggernaut with large profits going to commercial publishing giants like Pearson. Para. 5 ④ The education wars have been demoralizing for teachers, over 17 percent of whom dropout within their first five years. ⑤ No one believes that teaching to the test is good pedagogy, but what are the options when students' future educational choices, teachers' salaries and retention and, in some states, the fate of entire schools rest on student test scores? Para. 6 ⑥ In meticulous if sometimes too laborious detail, Gabor documents reform's institutional failings. ⑦ She describes the sorry turns in New York City's testing-obsessed policies, the undermining of Michigan's once fine public schools (spurred in part by constant pressure from the DeVos family) and the heartbreaking failure of New Orleans to remake its schools after Hurricane Katrina ⑧ The largely white city establishment bypassed the majority-black community, inviting philanthropists and the federal government to rebuild its public schools as the nation's first citywide, all-charter system. ⑨ A dozen years later, morethan a third of the city's charter schools have failed. 难句理解 The notion that top-down decisions by politicians, not teachers, should determine what children need was a thread naming through the bipartisan 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, the Obama administration's Race to the Top and state-initiated Common Core standards, and the current charter-driven agenda of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. 同位语从句 that top-down decisions by politicians, not teachers, should determine what children need 宾语从句 what children need 本句为复合句,结构比较复杂。句子的主干是The notion Was a thread,为主系表结构,主句主语后跟了一个that引导的同位语从句,交代这个notion的具体内容。该同位语从句中又包含一个what引导的宾语从句,充当determine的宾语,说明决定的内容。主句表语thread后为很长的后置定语结构,交代这种思想贯穿于哪些政策内。 采分点分析 采分点一:基本素质 1.②句中No Child Left Behind Act、Race to the Top、Common Core standards均为教育法案和倡议等,可分别直译:“有教无类”法案、“力争上游”计划以及“共同核心课程”标准,同时在括号内加注原文。Betsy DeVos为普通人名,可直接音译为“贝琪·德沃斯”,并在括号内加注原文。 2.③句Pearson在这里其实是指Pearson Education,即全球最大教育出版社“皮尔森教育”,为皮尔森集团旗下三大子公司之一。 3.⑦句Michigan、New Orleans均为美国市名,已有固定译法,直接采用即可,分别译为“密歇根市”“新奥尔良市”。 采分点二:选词用词 1.③句became synonymous with直译为“变成与……同义”,可转换为“变成……的同义词”,这样更符合中文的表达习惯。juggernaut本义为“巨大而不可抗拒的事物”,这里具体是指“大规模的教育机构”,由于后面又跟了一个后置定语结构with large profits,故可将juggernaut with large profits处理为“大规模、高收益的教育机构”。 2.④句短语drop out意为“退出……;辍学”,这里指老师退出教师行业,可译为“辞职转行”。 3.⑤句retention为抽象名词,意为“保留,留存(某物)”,这里应把保留的对象具体译出,即“职位保留”。 4.⑥句In meticulous if sometimes too laborious detail若直译为“一丝不苟的,甚至有时记录了过于繁琐的细节”,会十分拗口,可进行意译,处理为“不厌其烦地阐述了……”。 采分点三:理解结构 1.①句前一个分句中as a matter of national security作状语修饰前面的句子,若直译为“作为国家安全层面的问题”不符合中文的表达习惯,可稍加转换,使用“把……上升到……层面”的结构,处理为“政策制定者将公共教育上升到国家安全的层面”。one too important... to entrust to educators是一个同位语结构,中文里没有类似的表达方法,可增译“称其”将句子连接起来。 2.②句结构较为复杂,主句主语The notion后跟了一个that:引导的同位语从句,说明这种notion的具体内容,该同位语从句中又包含一个较短的宾语从句what children need,可将该部分单独译成一句“有种看法认为,决定儿童需求的应是政客们自上而下的决策而不是教师群体”。表语a thread的后置定语包含了几个并列结构,成分很长,不宜处理成前置定语,可将其处理成状语成分先译出,再处理a thread,即“从2001年美国两党支持……到……,这一观点始终贯穿其中”。