眾所周知，教育為社會提供人才，人才為社會創造財富。但是教育的目的到底是什么，不同的人對于教育的理解又會對整個社會有著什么樣的影響？
Education
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.①
In some modern countries it has been fashionable to think that free education for all can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough. We find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees refusing to do what they think is“low”work, and, in fact, working with one’s hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life,② it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work is suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work.③ Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.
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行文點評
總分總結構。首段首句用詞巧妙，直接點題，并在第二句中進行了通俗的解釋，從而引出論點：教育不是目的，而是手段(Education is not an end, but a means to an end)。第二段分析現狀，指出問題，通過具體的事例使分析更具有說服力。這一段的說明絲絲入扣，既合情合理，又出乎意料。第三段總結收攏全文。
全文用詞精準，句式精巧。例如首句用not…but…直奔主題簡潔有力。第二段中連續使用but, 層層深入，段末的can live without...表面上顯示出相比教育而言食物對于我們更加不可或缺，而深層意思則是表達自己對于社會上“低等”工作鄙視現象的不滿以及揭露了人們對教育的理解誤區。整篇文章行文流暢，觀點的得出水到渠成。最后兩個教育方向的提出，進一步深化了主題。
好文妙譯
教育
教育不是目的，而是達到目的的手段。換句話說，我們教育孩子不僅僅是為了使他們受到教育。我們的目的是讓他們適應生活。
在有些現代國家中有種流行的觀點，那就是全民義務教育可以解決一切社會問題，建立起完美的國家。但我們也能看到，僅有全民義務教育是遠遠不夠的。我們發現在這些國家中，很多擁有大學學位的人拒絕從事他們眼中所謂的“低等”工作，實際上，在這些國家里，體力勞動被認為是骯臟、丟人的。但只要我們想一下就能明白，其實那些完全沒受過教育的農民的工作要比教授的工作重要得多；沒有教育我們可以生活，但是沒有食物我們只有死路一條。如果沒有人每天清掃街道，把垃圾從我們家中運走，我們的城鎮就會感染可怕的疾病。
事實上，當我們說所有的人都必須接受教育以適應生活的時候，意思是我們必須受到這樣的教育：第一，每個人都可以做任何適合自己智力和能力的工作；第二，我們應該意識到所有的工作都是社會的必要組成，為某人的工作感到羞恥是很不正確的。只有這樣的教育才能被認為是真正對社會有益的。
詞匯斟酌
means n. 手段，方法
fashionable a. 流行的，時髦的
ashamed n. 慚愧的，羞恥的
佳句臨摹
①【注釋】in other words換句話說
【臨摹】In other words, when the wind is blowing at 120 kilometers per hour, most waves will be about twelve meters.換句話說,當風速為每小時一百二十公里時大部分浪高將達十二米左右。
②【注釋】fit sb. for使某人適合…
【臨摹】Her height fitted her for basketball.她身材高，適合打籃球。
③【注釋】be ashamed of恥于…，對…感到慚愧
【臨摹】I behaved badly yesterday and I am ashamed of myself now.我昨天表現不好，現在感到很慚愧。
思如泉涌
The primary purpose of education is not to teach you to earn your bread, but to make every mouthful sweeter.教育最主要的目的不是教你如何掙得面包，而是使每一口都更加香甜。
As what sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.教育之于心靈，猶如雕刻之于大理石。
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