新理念大学英语2课文

1、全新版大学英语第二版综合教程2Unit 1 Reading TaskText A00:04.86Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University,00:10.83reflects on a visit to China00:13.05and gives his thoughts on different approaches to learning in China00:17.34and the West.00:19.02Learning, Chinese-Style00:22.39Howard Gardner00:2

2、5.24For a month in the spring of 1987,00:29.39my wife Ellen and I lived in the bustling eastern Chinese city of Nanjing00:34.95with our 18-month-old son Benjamin00:38.24while studying arts education00:40.60in Chinese kindergartens and elementary schools.00:44.11But one of the most telling lessons El

3、len and I got00:47.46in the difference between Chinese and American ideas of education00:51.93came not in the classroom00:53.77but in the lobby of the Jinling Hotel where we stayed in Nanjing.00:58.29The key to our room was attached to a large plastic block01:03.00with the room number on it.01:04.95

4、When leaving the hotel,01:06.42a guest was encouraged to turn in the key,01:09.40either by handing it to an attendant01:12.19or by dropping it through a slot into a box.01:15.12Because the key slot was narrow,01:17.91the key had to be positioned carefully to fit into it.01:22.24Benjamin loved to car

5、ry the key around,01:26.07shaking it vigorously.01:27.76He also liked to try to place it into the slot.01:32.18Because of his tender age and incomplete understanding01:36.95of the need to position the key just so,01:39.90he would usually fail. Benjamin was not bothered in the least.01:45.17He probab

6、ly got as much pleasure01:47.54out of the sounds the key made01:49.50as he did those few times01:51.72when the key actually found its way into the slot.01:55.19Now both Ellen and I were perfectly happy to allow Benjamin02:00.05to bang the key near the key slot.02:02.60His exploratory behavior seemed

7、 harmless enough.02:06.53But I soon observed an interesting phenomenon.02:10.76Any Chinese staff member nearby would come over to watch Benjamin and,02:16.84noting his lack of initial success, attempt to assist.02:20.96He or she would hold onto Benjamins hand and, gently but firmly,02:26.48guide it

8、directly toward the slot, reposition it as necessary,02:31.99and help him to insert it.02:34.47The teacher would then smile somewhat expectantly at Ellen or me,02:38.95as if awaiting a thank you and on occasion would frown slightly,02:44.26as if considering us to be neglecting our parental duties.02

9、:48.46I soon realized02:50.44that this incident was directly relevant to our assigned tasks in China:02:55.64to investigate02:57.34the ways of early childhood education (especially in the arts),03:02.06and to throw light on Chinese attitudes toward creativity.03:06.39And so before long03:07.87I bega

10、n to introduce the key-slot anecdote03:11.73into my discussions with Chinese educators.03:14.86Two Different Ways to Learn03:18.07With a few exceptions03:20.74my Chinese colleagues displayed the same attitude03:24.39as the staff at the Jinling Hotel.03:26.82Since adults know how to place the key in

11、the key slot,03:30.91which is the ultimate purpose of approaching the slot,03:34.39and since the child is neither old enough nor clever enough03:39.00to realize the desired action on his own,03:42.20what possible gain is achieved by having him struggle?03:46.02He may well get frustrated and angry ce

12、rtainly not a desirable outcome.03:51.27Why not show him what to do?03:53.57He will be happy,03:55.02he will learn how to accomplish the task sooner,03:58.16and then he can proceed to more complex activities,04:01.55like opening the door04:03.17or asking for the key both of which accomplishments can

13、04:07.18(and should) in due course be modeled for him as well.04:10.93We listened to such explanations sympathetically04:14.75and explained that, first of all,04:17.57we did not much care04:18.89whether Benjamin succeeded in inserting the key into the slot.04:22.82He was having a good time04:24.77an

14、d was exploring, two activities that did matter to us.04:28.84But the critical point was that, in the process,04:32.84we were trying to teach Benjamin04:35.05that one can solve a problem effectively by oneself.04:39.32Such self-reliance is a principal value of child rearing04:43.57in middle-class Am

15、erica.04:45.28So long as the child is shown04:47.84exactly how to do something whether it be placing a key in a key slot,04:52.76drawing a hen04:54.02or making up for a misdeed he is less likely04:58.01to figure out himself how to accomplish such a task.05:01.68And, more generally,05:03.62he is less

16、 likely to view life as Americans do as a series of situations05:09.48in which one has to learn to think for oneself,05:12.44to solve problems on ones own05:15.21and even to discover new problems05:17.80for which creative solutions are wanted.05:20.56Teaching by Holding His Hand05:23.63In retrospect

17、, it became clear to me05:26.89that this incident was indeed key and key in more than one sense.05:31.85It pointed to important differences05:35.41in the educational and artistic practices in our two countries.05:39.81When our well-intentioned Chinese observers came to Benjamins rescue,05:45.46they

18、did not simply push his hand down clumsily or uncertainly,05:50.13as I might have done.05:51.60Instead, they guided him with extreme facility05:56.12and gentleness in precisely the desired direction.05:59.89I came to realize06:02.00that these Chinese were not just molding and shaping Benjamins perfo

19、rmance06:07.73in any old manner:06:09.23In the best Chinese tradition,06:11.71they were06:12.58ba zhe shou jiao teaching by holding his hand so much so06:19.07that he would happily come back for more.06:21.42The idea that learning should take place by continual careful shaping06:27.23and molding app

20、lies equally to the arts.06:30.80Watching children at work in a classroom setting,06:34.42we were astonished by their facility.06:36.91Children as young as 5 or 6 were painting flowers,06:41.63fish and animals with the skill and confidence of an adult;06:46.34calligraphers 9 and 10 years old06:49.36

21、were producing works that could have been displayed in a museum.06:53.45In a visit to the homes of two of the young artists,06:57.61we learned from their parents06:59.16that they worked on perfecting their craft for several hours a day.07:03.95Creativity First?07:07.15In terms of attitudes to creati

22、vity07:11.02there seems to be a reversal of priorities:07:14.56young Westerners making their boldest departures first07:19.24and then gradually mastering the tradition;07:22.41and young Chinese being almost inseparable from the tradition,07:27.64but, over time, possibly evolving to a point equally o

23、riginal.07:32.67One way of summarizing the American position07:36.54is to state that we value originality07:39.72and independence more than the Chinese do.07:42.92The contrast between our two cultures07:47.23can also be seen in terms of the fears we both harbor.07:51.98Chinese teachers are fearful t

24、hat if skills are not acquired early,07:57.10they may never be acquired; there is, on the other hand,08:01.67no comparable hurry to promote creativity.08:05.51American educators fear that unless creativity has been acquired early,08:12.08it may never emerge; on the other hand, skills can be picked up later.08:17.75However, I do not want to overstate my