综合英语(二)上册课文翻译及详解.doc

Lesson One Twelve Things l Wish They Taught at School 　 Carl Sagan 　 Learning Guide 　　俗话说：“活到老，学到老。”人的一生就是不断学习、不断丰富和充实自己的过程。青少年阶段，尤其是中学阶段，无疑是学习的最佳时期。中学教育的重点应放在什么地方？美国著名科学家和科普作家萨根批评中学只抓各个学科具体内容的做法，他认为中学要注重对青少年的宏观教育，使他们建立起唯物的世界观和宇宙观，使他们能够正确对待自己，关心周围的世界——人类生存的环境和自己的地球同胞。 　　 1 I attended junior and senior high school, public institutions in New York and New Jersey, just after the Second World War. It seems a long time ago. ① The facilities and the skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time. Since then, Ive learned a great deal. One of the most important things Ive learned is how much there is to learn, ② and how much I dont yet know.③ Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matters. In some respects that education was terribly narrow; the only thing I ever heard in school about Napoleon was that the United States made the Louisiana Purchase from him. ④(On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans, the only history that was thought worth teaching was American history. ) In spelling, grammar, the fundamentals of math, and other vital subjects, my teachers did a pretty good job. But theres so much else I wish theyd taught us. 　　① The facilities and skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time. 　　 　学校的设施、教师的水平在当时的美国大大高于一般的水平。　　　　 above/ average：高于或低于一般的标准水平。well：adv 相当地，大大地 　　 　The facilities and skills of the teachers were perhaps much better than those in most schools in….　　 …..how much I dont yet know. 　　 　我所学到的最重要的一点，就是要学的东西实在太多，而我还没有学到的东西也太多了。　 　 　how much I dont know up till now.　　 Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matters.　 　 　有时候，我想那时要是能多学点真正的东西，今天我会多么地心存感激。 　 　　I would be grateful today if I had learned more at high school about things that are really important.　　④ On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are