我们不能总是为我们的青少年们造就一个美好的未来，但我们却能为未来造就优秀的青少年一代。在中国，早期教育已经成为热门话题，却仍存在许多问题。
Early Education in China
Chinese are very generous while educating children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to study because they believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is.① So parents will spend an unreasonable amount of money on education.② Even poor couples will buy a computer for their children.
However, the best early education is usually very cheap.
Children’s skills vary. Most parents fail to realize though,③ what children lack today is self-respect and self-confidence.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple choice tests and study well instead of the most important skills of being confident, happy and clever. Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and other housework.
Cooking will improve many skills children need later in life. Though demanding patience and time, it is an enjoyable experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he works hard and gradually finishes his job successfully. His result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of self-confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set your child plays with will make him curious and arouse his interest. He may spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them. These activities are not merely teaching a child to read a book, but rather to think, to use his mind. And that is more important.
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行文点评
文章首段通过对中国早期教育现状的描述——中国父母在孩子的早期教育过程中慷慨投入，暴露出这种投资的盲目性，自然地引出了第二段的结论，即the best early education is usually very cheap。第三段是整篇文章的中心，通过分析家长对孩子能力认识不足的现状，指出早期教育的方向： what children lack today is selfrespect and selfconfidence。下面的一段针对前面提到的问题，分析了现代教育失败之症结所在：现在的父母只教孩子怎么做选择题，怎么学习好，而忽略了教育他们如何成为自信、快乐、聪明的人。并紧随其后提出了解决方案，并在下两段中对两个具体方案举例进行分析。
文章采取夹叙夹议的形式，在举出具体事例的同时，有明确的中心、主题句出现。多用but, not等否定句式增加强调意味。
好文妙译
中国的早期教育
中国人在教育孩子方面非常慷慨。父母们常常不吝惜金钱，把孩子送到最好的学校，甚至国外去学习。他们觉得越贵的教育越好。所以家长常常不惜重金投入教育。即使家境贫困，父母也都会为孩子购买电脑。
但是，最好的早期教育通常并不昂贵。
孩子们的能力各不相同。但是很多家长却不曾意识到这一点：现在的孩子真正缺乏的是自尊、自信。
问题是，父母只知道教孩子怎么做选择题，怎么学习好，而忽略了最重要的是如何教育他们成为自信、快乐、聪明的人。要达到这一目标，家长可以教给孩子像烹调、缝纫和一些其他家务劳动等实用技能。
烹饪可以在多方面提高孩子的能力，而这些技能在他们以后的生活中是十分必要的。虽然做饭对耐性、时间都有要求，但它也是一种愉快的体验。一个优秀的厨师总是试图提高厨艺，为此他会努力付出，最终能成功地完成他的工作。他的劳动成果——一顿丰盛的饭菜，会给他带来很大的满足感和自信。
孩子玩耍的坏收音机或电视机等一些旧电器会引起孩子的好奇心，激发他的兴趣。他可能一连几小时琢磨或修理这些电器。这些活动不仅仅教会孩子读书，还能教会他们如何思考，如何用脑。这才是更重要的。
词汇斟酌
generous a. 慷慨的
lack v. 缺乏
arouse v. 唤醒，激起
佳句临摹
①【注释】the more...the better…越…越…
【临摹】The sooner the better. 愈快愈好。
②【注释】spend money on sth. 在…花费
【临摹】He spends all the money on books. 他把所有的钱都用来买书。
③【注释】fail to做…失败了，没有做到…
【临摹】He is so stubborn that I failed to persuade him to accept our suggestion.他太顽固了，我没有办法说服他听从我们的建议。
思如泉涌
The best horse needs breaking, and the aptest child needs teaching.最好的马儿要人驯，最伶俐的孩子要人教。
Let early education be a sort of amusement; you will then be better able to find out the natural bent.初期教育应是一种娱乐，这样才更容易发现一个人天生的爱好。
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