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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行文点评
本文是一篇典型的三段论文章。在第一段中，作者表明了自己的观点：考试不能说明一个人真正的能力和资质。第二段阐述了把考试作为检验成功与否的标准给学生带来的负面影响。第三段从教育的目的上说明考试根本不能训练人独立思维的能力。
文章每一段都有一定的特色。开头段用的是现象描述法，先概括文章内容涉及的现状，然后引出主题。中间段的末尾处接连用两个问句，引起读者关于考试弊端的思考。结尾段则用一组排比句：“...do not... but to...;...do not...but...，”来增强气势，突出强调考试的负面影响，深化了文章的主题。
好文妙译
考试对教育的负面影响
每一个学科领域所取得的进步都可能让我们称奇，然而用于测试一个人的学识和能力的方式却仍和从前一样原始。经过这么多年，教育者们仍没能创立出一种比考试更有效、更可靠的方法，这实在是不可思议。尽管有很多人虔诚地宣称考试可以测出你掌握的知识，却仍有这样一个共识，即考试所收到的效果往往与之相悖。考试或许是一种测验记忆力的好方法，或者是让人在极端压力下快速工作的诀窍,但是它却一点儿也不能说明一个人真正的能力和才智。
考试作为“焦虑症制造者”是无人能及的。这是因为有那么多事情都依赖着考试。考试在我们的社会中是成功或失败的标志。在具有决定意义的某一天，你的一生可能就被决定了。一个孩子步入学校大门那一刻起，他便步入了一个竞争残酷的世界。在那里，成功和失败都被清晰地加以界定和衡量。辍学者的数量日渐增加——那些年轻人甚至还没有开始工作便被认为是彻底的失败者——对此，我们难道不感到惊奇吗?对学生的自杀率难道我们能无动于衷吗?
除了其他目的之外，良好的教育应该能训练人独立思维的能力。考试却根本做不到这一点。教学大纲生硬地规定了学生必须学些什么，这便鼓励了学生去死记硬背。考试不但未能激发学生去广泛地阅读，反而限制了他们的阅读范围。它不但未能促使学生去探求更多的知识，反而导致了死记硬背。最成功的应试者往往不是受教育最好的人，他们只不过是在应付工作压力的技巧方面训练有素罢了。
词汇斟酌
marvel vi.(at)惊叹，赞佩
pious a.虔诚的
aptitude n.(学习方面的)才能，资质，天资
drop-outn. 辍学者
suicide n.①自杀②自取灭亡
lay down 规定，制定
syllabus n.课程大纲
induce vt.引起，导致
cramming n.突击式学习;填鸭式教学
佳句临摹
①【注释】second to none 不亚于任何人或事物
【临摹】As a dancer, he is second to none.他的舞艺无人能出其右。
②【注释】write sb/sth off 认为某人或某事物已经失败
【临摹】He lost this match, but don’t write him off as a future champion.他输了这场比赛，但不要以为他以后当不了冠军。
思如泉涌
There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. 教育显然有两种：一种是教人怎样谋生，另一种是教人怎样生活。
A fool can ask more questions than seven wise men can answer. 一愚发问，七智结舌。
不同的职业有不同的回报。再者，回报也分多种，有金钱，有公众的赞誉，也有自我价值的实现…
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