Examinations Exert a Negative

　　Influence on Education We might marvel at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It is really extraordinary that after all these years, educationists have still failed to devise anything more efficient and reliable than examinations. For all the pious claim that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact opposite. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability and aptitude.

　　As anxiety makers, examinations are second to none①. That is because so much depends on them. They are the mark of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of sharp competition where success and failure are clearly defined and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of drop-outs: young people who are written off as utter failures before they have even begun a career②? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?

　　A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt is rigidly laid down by a syllabus, so the student is encouraged to memories. Examinations do not motivate a student to read widely, but to restrict his reading; they do not enable him to seek more and more knowledge, but induce cramming. The most successful candidates are not always the best educated; they are the best trained in the technique of working under pressure.

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　　行文點評

　　本文是一篇典型的三段論文章。在第一段中，作者表明了自己的觀點：考試不能說明一個人真正的能力和資質。第二段闡述了把考試作為檢驗成功與否的標準給學生帶來的負面影響。第三段從教育的目的上說明考試根本不能訓練人獨立思維的能力。

　　文章每一段都有一定的特色。開頭段用的是現象描述法，先概括文章內容涉及的現狀，然后引出主題。中間段的末尾處接連用兩個問句，引起讀者關于考試弊端的思考。結尾段則用一組排比句：“...do not... but to...;...do not...but...，”來增強氣勢，突出強調考試的負面影響，深化了文章的主題。

　　好文妙譯

　　考試對教育的負面影響

　　每一個學科領域所取得的進步都可能讓我們稱奇，然而用于測試一個人的學識和能力的方式卻仍和從前一樣原始。經過這么多年，教育者們仍沒能創立出一種比考試更有效、更可靠的方法，這實在是不可思議。盡管有很多人虔誠地宣稱考試可以測出你掌握的知識，卻仍有這樣一個共識，即考試所收到的效果往往與之相悖。考試或許是一種測驗記憶力的好方法，或者是讓人在極端壓力下快速工作的訣竅,但是它卻一點兒也不能說明一個人真正的能力和才智。

　　考試作為“焦慮癥制造者”是無人能及的。這是因為有那么多事情都依賴著考試。考試在我們的社會中是成功或失敗的標志。在具有決定意義的某一天，你的一生可能就被決定了。一個孩子步入學校大門那一刻起，他便步入了一個競爭殘酷的世界。在那里，成功和失敗都被清晰地加以界定和衡量。輟學者的數量日漸增加——那些年輕人甚至還沒有開始工作便被認為是徹底的失敗者——對此，我們難道不感到驚奇嗎?對學生的自殺率難道我們能無動于衷嗎?

　　除了其他目的之外，良好的教育應該能訓練人獨立思維的能力。考試卻根本做不到這一點。教學大綱生硬地規定了學生必須學些什么，這便鼓勵了學生去死記硬背。考試不但未能激發學生去廣泛地閱讀，反而限制了他們的閱讀范圍。它不但未能促使學生去探求更多的知識，反而導致了死記硬背。最成功的應試者往往不是受教育最好的人，他們只不過是在應付工作壓力的技巧方面訓練有素罷了。

　　詞匯斟酌

　　��marvel vi.(at)驚嘆，贊佩

　　��pious a.虔誠的

　　��aptitude n.(學習方面的)才能，資質，天資

　　��drop-outn. 輟學者

　　��suicide n.①自殺②自取滅亡

　　��lay down 規定，制定

　　��syllabus n.課程大綱

　　��induce vt.引起，導致

　　��cramming n.突擊式學習;填鴨式教學

　　佳句臨摹

　　①【注釋】second to none 不亞于任何人或事物

　　【臨摹】As a dancer, he is second to none.他的舞藝無人能出其右。

　　②【注釋】write sb/sth off 認為某人或某事物已經失敗

　　【臨摹】He lost this match, but don’t write him off as a future champion.他輸了這場比賽，但不要以為他以后當不了冠軍。

　　思如泉涌

　　There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. 教育顯然有兩種：一種是教人怎樣謀生，另一種是教人怎樣生活。

　　A fool can ask more questions than seven wise men can answer. 一愚發問，七智結舌。

　　不同的職業有不同的回報。再者，回報也分多種，有金錢，有公眾的贊譽，也有自我價值的實現…