[考研英语]自学考试综合英语二 课文.docVIP

Twelve Things I Wish They Taught at School1.I attended junior and senior high school, public institution in New York and New Jersey, just after the Second World War. It seems a long time ago. The facilities and 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 thing I’ve learned is how much there is to learn, and how much I dont yet know. Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matter. In some respects educations is terribly narrow; the only thing I ever learned in school about Napoleons was that??the United States made a Louisiana Purchase from him (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 no much else I wish theyd taught us.2.Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified. It seems to me there are many things (often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple memorization of facts) that the schools should teach ——things that truly would be useful in later life, useful in making a stronger country and a better world, but useful also in making people happier. Human beings enjoy learning. Thats one of the few things that we do better than the other species on our planet. Every student should regularly experience the Aha!——when something you never understood, or something you never knew was mystery becomes clear.3.So heres my list: Pick a difficult thing and learn it well4.The Greek philosopher Socrates said this was one of the greatest of human joys, and it is. While you learn a little bit about many subjects, make sure you learn a great deal about one or two. It hardly matters what the subject is, as long as it deeply interests you, and you place it in its broader human