第二節(jié):英國(guó)衛(wèi)報(bào)就教育問題在其網(wǎng)站上組織了一次討論,其中Jesica、Bernal、Stevens、Carlos與lnersoll的觀點(diǎn)頗具代表性。第61—65題是他們各自的觀點(diǎn)。閱讀下面發(fā)表在the Guardians網(wǎng)站上的6段留言(A、B、C、D、E和F),選擇與其觀點(diǎn)一致的表述,并在答題紙上將該項(xiàng)標(biāo)號(hào)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)是多余選項(xiàng)。
61.Stevens blames the modern methods of teaching for the deafening noise in primary schools.
62.Jessica holds the view that it’s shameful that the investment in education has not achieved the expected results.
63.Ingersoll believes that education should be assessed from the students’ aspect and that how much they enjoy is what counts most.
64.Carlos thinks that in terms of education, students’ own willingness to learn really matters.
65.Bernal thinks the standard of education has made significant progress though we may not see plenty of obvious sings of it.
A
I think it’s a great shame that people don’t learn anything today. I mean, good heavens, when you think of all the millions of pounds the Government have spent on education—new schools, more teachers, new equipment. And yet still you find people who can’t read properly, can’t even write their names and don’t know what two and two is without a calculator. I think it’s downright disgraceful. I remember when I was young you went to school to learn. You did as you were told and respected your teachers. Nowadays you get long-haired kids who aren’t interested in anything. No wonder they don’t learn anything.
B
I can’t praise our educational system too much. Our universities provide internationally recognized qualifications and the teaching standards in our country are among the best in the world. The education system in our country is different from that in many other countries, and it greatly appeals to the foreign students. It has a long history of welcoming international students to study in its universities and colleges. Now over 300,000 international students from 180 different courtiers are currently studying in Britain. I think the government should invest more money into this field to maintain the competitiveness of the system and ensure the high quality of the education in the 21st century.
C
Well, there are a log of different views on this, but I think it is probably wrong to imagine that there was some golden age in the past when everything was perfect. It all depends, of course, on what you measure and how you measure it. It may surprise some people that there ha snot been an obvious and dramatic increase in the standard of educating, given the vast amounts of money spent in this area by successive governments in recent years. But of course you can’t expect to see a child grow into an adult overnight.
D
Well, if you asked me, it’s all these modern methods that is the problem. In the old days you sat in rows at desks and you did as you were told. You knew what you had to do and you did it—and you kept quiet. Nowadays, my god, the noise in most schools is deafening especially primary schools. The children wander around—do more or less what they want to as far as I can see. The teacher just sits there or wanders around with them, talking to them. Informal teaching they call it. discovery methods sounds more like a recipe for discovering disaster to me.
E
Many people talk about how to improve education and a lot suggest raising the salaries of teachers and professors. Of course, this is very important to education. Of course, this is very important to education. However, increasing the salary of teachers is just one way to improve education. It will not work without the cooperation of the other determining factors, such as students’ love of knowledge and reading. Even if the teachers are devoted, it will make no sense if the students are not willing to learn.
F
The criticism that what students learn today is not adapted to present-day society is completely wrong because education can never be seen only in terms of how useful the subjects are when students leave school. We ought to assess education in terms of how much the students enjoy those subjects and how much they mean to those students. Instead of being trained to be utilitarian, students should be encouraged to do things for their own sake, and study what they are interested in.