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

　　全文結構清晰、脈絡分明。開篇點題，提出問題：為什么要上學。第二段闡述觀點，指出學習每一門課程的目的，接著作者筆鋒一轉，用一個but提出質疑：上學的惟一理由就是把學校里學的一切在現實中應用嗎?在第三段作者針對這個問題提出觀點，即上學的真正目的就是學會如何學習。

　　本文細致地分析了接受學校教育的目的。文章雖短，但層層深入，說理透徹，發人深思。

　　好文妙譯

　　上學的目的

　　你是否問過自己為什么孩子要上學?你可能會說他們上學是去學習母語和其他語言，去學習數學、地理、幾何、歷史、科學及其他學科。此話不假，但他們為什么要學這些?這些東西是他們在校學習的全部內容嗎?

　　我們送孩子上學是為了讓他們為自己長大后的工作做準備。學習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。學習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。學數學是為了日常計量和算數，學習地理是為了了解周圍的世界，學習歷史是為了了解人類，因為他們每天都會與之打交道。在學校里學的一切在他們的日常生活中都有實際應用，但這就是他們上學的惟一理由嗎?

　　當然不是。教育不僅僅是學習事實。首先，我們上學是為了學會如何學習，這樣，當我們離開學校時，我們就能繼續學習。一個會學習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，學校存在的目的不僅僅是教授語言、數學、地理等知識，還要教給學生學習的方法。

　　詞匯斟酌

　　��arithmetic n.算術

　　��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，我應該留下來學習。

　　思如泉涌

　　Art is long, but life is short. 人生有涯，而學無涯。

　　What is learned in the cradle is carried to the grave. 兒時所學，終生難忘。

　　望與生俱來，人人都有。它可以催人上進，使人奮起，創造事業輝煌;也可以使人得隴望蜀，永不滿足，最終陷于痛苦。如何看待，如何運用，不同人的心中有一桿不同的秤…