Unit 4 Language and Economy课文翻译大学体验英语四

Unit 4 Language and Economy

Passage A A Stateless Language That Europe Must Embrace The 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.

Undergraduates 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.

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 the Law 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 soc ial sciences. Clearly an undergraduate major in English is strong preparation for the L.S.A.T.

As 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