职称英语综合类阅读理解第十八篇Goal of American Education逐句翻译

Goal of American Education 美国教育的目标

Education is an enormous and expensive part of American life.教育是美国人的生活中很重要的一部分，花销也大。Its size is matched by its variety.其规模宏大，种类多样。

Differences in American schools compared with those found in the majority of other countries lie in the fact that education here has long been intended for everyone —not just for a privileged elite. 与其他大多数国家相比，美国教育的不同在于美国教育是为每一个人设置的~"不只是为享有特权的优等生。Schools are expected to meet the needs of every child, regardless of ability,学校是要满足每个孩子的需要，不论其能力如何，and also the needs of society itself.同时也要满足社会本身的需求。This means that public schools offer more than academic subjects. 这意味着公立学校提供的教育不只限于学术方面的课程。It surprises many people when they come here to find high schools offering such courses as typing, sewing, radio repair, computer programming or driver training, along with traditional academic subjects such as mathematics, history, and languages. 很多人来到美国之后会吃惊地发现，高中除了提供传统课程，例如：数学、历史

和语言之外，他们还提供一些课程如打字、缝纫、无线电修理、计算机课程或驾驶训练课程。Students choose their curricula depending on their interests, future goals, and level of ability.学生选择课程是根据个人喜好、目标以及能力水平。The underlying goal of American education is to develop every child to the utmost of his or her own possibilities, 美国教育的潜在目标是将每一个孩子的能力最充分地发挥出来，and to give each one a sense of civic and community consciousness.培养每一个孩子的公民和社区觉悟感。

Schools have traditionally played an important role in creating national unity and “Americanizing”the millions of immigrants who have poured into this country from many different backgrounds and origins. 传统上,学校在建立民族团结以及使移民者美国化两方面起着重大作用。成千上万的移民者涌入这个国家，他们的出身背景不同。Schools still play a large role in the community, especially in the small towns.在社区中，尤其在小城镇，学校仍然起着重要作用。

The approach to teaching may seem unfamiliar to many, not only because it is informal,美国的教学方法看起来似乎也很陌生对于许多人，不仅因为这种教学方法不正式，but also because there is not much emphasis on learning facts. 而且不

把重点放在学习具体知识上。Instead, Americans try to teach their children to think for themselves and to develop their own intellectual and creative abilities. 相反，美国人教孩子独立思考，教他们自己去开发自己的智慧以及创造能力。Students spend much time, learning how to use resource materials, libraries, statistics and computers. 学生花很多时间学习怎样使用参考资料、图书馆、数据以及计算机。Americans believe that if children are taught to reason well and to research well, they will be able to find whatever facts they need throughout the rest of their lives.美国人认为只要孩子具有好的推理能力，好的研究方法，他们就能在以后找到自己所需的具体知识。Knowing how to solve problems is considered more important than the accumulation of facts.他们还认为懂得怎样解决问题比积累事实更重要。

This is America's answer to the searching question 上述的教学方法正是美国对这一问题的回答。that thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving time: 在这个变化万千的时代里，全世界细心的父母都在思考一个尖锐而深刻的问题：“How can one prepare today's child for a tomorrow that one can neither predict nor understand?”“怎样为孩子的明天做准备呢？孩子的明天既