英语课文

Majoring in English for Fun and Profit1The study of literature is not only civilized and civilizing — encompassing, as it does, philosophy, religion, the history of events and the history of ideas —but popular and practical. One-sixth of all those who receive bachelor’s degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences are English majors. These graduates qualify for a surprising range of jobs. Their experience puts the lie to the popular superstition that English majors must choose between journalism and teaching: in fact, English majors also receive excellent preparation for future careers in law, medicine, business, and government service.2Undergraduates looking forward to law school or medical school are often advised to follow a strict regimen of courses considered directly relevant to their career choices. Future law-school students are advised to take courses in political science, history, accounting, business administration — even human anatomy, and marriage and family life. Future medical school students are steered into multiple science courses — actually far more science courses than they need for entrance into medical school. Surprisingly, many law schools and medical schools indicate that such specialized preparation is not only unnecessary, but undesirable. There are no "pre-law" courses: the best preparation for law school — and for the practice of law — is that preparation which makes a student capable of critical thinking; of clear, logical self-expression; of sensitive analysis of the motives, the actions, and the thoughts of other human beings. These are skills which the study of English is designed to teach.3 Entrance into law school, moreover, generally requires a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, a minimum grade point average, and an acceptable score on theLaw School Admission Test (L.S.A.T.). This test has three parts. The first evaluates skills in reading comprehension, in figure classification, and in the evaluation of written material. The second part of the test evaluates control of English grammar and usage, ability to organize written materials, and competence to edit. The third part evaluates the student’s general knowledge of literature, art, music, and the natural and social sciences. Clearly an undergraduate major in English is strong preparation for the L.S.A.T.4As for medical schools, the main requirement for admission is only thirty-two hours of science courses. This requirement is certainly no impediment to a major in English. Moreover many medical schools require a minimum score on the Medical College Admissions Test, another test which offers an advantage to the well-rounded liberal arts student. The M.C.A.T. evaluates four areas of competence: skill with synonyms, antonyms, and word association; knowledge of basic mathematics from fractions through solid geometry; general knowledge of literature, philosophy, psychology, music, art, and the social sciences; and familiarity with those fundamentals of biology, chemistry, and physics taught in high school and in introductory college courses. The English major with a solid, basic grounding in science is well prepared for this test and for medical school, where his or her skills in reading, analysis, interpretation, and precise communication will equip him or her to excel. The study and practice of medicine can only benefit from the insights into human behavior provided by the study of literature.5Such insights are obviously also valuable to the student who plans a career in commerce. Such students should consider the advantages of an English major with an emphasis in business: this program is designed to provide a liberal education, as well as to directpreparation for a business career. The need for such a program is clear: graduates with merely technical qualifications are finding jobs in business, but often failing to hold them. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Journal of College Placement have reported that increasing numbers of graduates from reputable business schools find themselves drifting from one job or firm to another, unable to hold a position for longer than twelve months. Employers complain that these apparently promising young men and women are simply not competent communicators: because they are not sufficiently literate, they cannot absorb managerial training; they cannot make effective oral presentations; they cannot report progress or problems in their writing; they cannot direct other workers. Skill in analysis and communication is the essence of management.6Consequently the English major with an emphasis in business is particularly well prepared for a future in business administration. Nearly four hundred companies in fields ranging from banking and insurance to communications to manufacturing were asked whether they hired college graduates with degrees in English, even when those graduates lacked special training in the industry: Eighty-five percent of the companies said that they did. College graduates with degrees in English are working successfully in marketing, in systems engineering, in personnel management, in sales, in programming, in project design, and in labor relations.7English majors are also at work in the thousand occupations provided by government at all levels. Consider, for example, the federal government—by a very wide margin, America’s biggest employer. In organizations ranging from the Marine Corps to the Bureau of Mines, from the Commerce Department to the National Park Service, thefederal government employs a work force of nearly three million men and women. English majors may qualify for many of these jobs. Recently, 51 federal agencies were asked the same question: whether they hired college graduates with English degrees but without special job training, 88 percent of these federal employers said yes. The list of federal positions for which English majors may qualify ranges from Claims Examiner to Foreign Service Officer to Highway Safety Management Specialist. Again, those who seek positions of high reward and responsibility may be asked to take a test —the federal government uses the Professional and Administrative Career Examination, or P.A.C.E., to evaluate applicants for about 10,000 jobs each year — and again, the test focuses on language skills: comprehension, analysis, interpretation, the ability to see logical relationships between ideas, and the ability to solve problems expressed in words. Not surprisingly, competent English majors often receive very high scores on the P.A.C.E.8In short, a major in English is neither restricting nor impractical: the study of English is excellent preparation for professional life.The Unsung Heroes: What About Working Dads?1On our first "date" after our twin daughters were born, my husband and I went to see the movie Toy Story. We enjoyed it, but afterward my husband asked, "Where was the dad?" At first, it seemed petty to criticize an entertaining family movie because of one small point. The more I thought about it, however, the more glaring an omission it seemed. Not only was dad not around, he wasn't even mentioned - despite the fact that there was a baby inthe family, so dad couldn't have been that long gone. It was as if the presence- or absence - of a father is a minor detail, not even requiring an explanation.2This is only one example of the media trend toward marginalizing fathers, which mirrors enormous social changes in the United States. David Blankenhorn, in his book Fatherless America, refers to this trend as the "unnecessary father" concept.3We are bombarded by stories about the struggles of working mothers (as opposed to non-working mothers, I suppose). Meanwhile, a high proportion of media stories about fathers focus on abusive husbands or deadbeat dads. It seems that the only time fathers merit attention is when they are criticized for not helping enough with the housework (a claim that I find dubious anyway, because the definition of "housework" rarely includes cleaning the gutters, changing the oil in the car or other jobs typically done by men) or when they die. When Mr. Blankenhorn surveyed fathers about the meaning of the term "good family man," many responded that it was a phrase they only heard at funerals.4One exception to the "unnecessary father" syndrome is the glowing media attention that at-home dads have received. I do not mean to imply that at-home dads do not deserve support for making this commitment. I only mean to point out the double standard at work when at-home dads are applauded while at-home mothers and breadwinner fathers are given little, if any, cultural recognition.5The very language we use to discuss men's roles (i.e., deadbeat dads) shows a lack of appreciation for the majority of men who quietly yet proudly fulfill their family responsibilities. We almost never hear the term "working father," and it is rare that calls for more workplace flexibility are considered to be for men as much as for women. Oursociety acts as if family obligations are not as important to fathers as they are to mothers - as if career satisfaction is what a man's life is all about.6Even more insulting is the recent media trend of regarding at-home wives as "status symbols" - like an expensive car - flaunted by the supposedly few men who can afford such a luxury. The implication is that men with at-home wives have it easier than those whose wives work outside the home because they have the "luxury" of a full-time housekeeper. In reality, however, the men who are the sole wage earners for their families suffer a lot of stresses. The loss of a job - or even the threat of that happening - is obviously much more difficult when that job is the sole source of income for a family. By the same token, sole wage earners have less flexibility when it comes to leaving unsatisfying careers because of the loss of income such a job change entails. In addition, many husbands work overtime or second jobs to make more needed money for their families. For these men, it is the family that the job supports that makes it all worthwhile. It is the belief that having a mother at home is important to the children, which makes so many men gladly take on the burden of being a sole wage earner.Today, there is widespread agreement among researchers that the absence of fathers from households causes serious problems for children and, consequently, for society at large. Yet, rather than holding up "ordinary" fathers as positive role models for the dads of tomorrow, too often society has thrown up its hands and decided that traditional fatherhood is at best obsolete and at worst dangerously reactionary. This has left many men questioning the value of their role as fathers.7As a society, we need to realize that fathers are just as important to children asmothers are - not only for financial support, but for emotional support, education and discipline as well. It is not enough for us merely to recognize that fatherlessness is a problem - to stand beside the grave and mourn the loss of the "good family man" and then try to find someone to replace him (ask anyone who has lost a father though death if that is possible). We must acknowledge how we have devalued fatherhood and work to show men how necessary, how important they are in their children's lives.8Those fathers who strive to be good family men by being there every day to love and support their families - those unsung heroes - need our recognition and our thanks for all they do. Because they deserve it.。