看《参考消息》，学地道翻译（26）——中国高考制度根深蒂固

《参考消息》2006年6月20日：中国高考制度根深蒂固

【美国《洛杉矶时报》6月1 8日报道】题：中国的高考使人们为升入大学作更好的准备

China's Entrance Exam Further Stacks the Deck for College Seats
By Mark Magnier, Times Staff Writer
June 18, 2006
BEIJING — Yao Yao, 18, emerged from her college entrance exam at Beijing No. 55 Middle School tired but relieved it was finally over. She had done what she could. In a few weeks, a website will reveal a single three-digit score that will determine her future.

The odds are high for Yao and the other 8.8 million Chinese high school students who pored over Chinese, math, science, art and English questions in quiet halls around the nation this month. China has only 2.6 million university seats to offer them.

Nor is this af________①process. Chinese college admissions officers don't look at your high school grades, personal interviews, recommendations or essays in making their decisions.（A）_______________________________（要是你没考好，他们也不会通融。）Everything, countless years of sacrifice and hard work,boils down to^[1]this one test. Those who perform miserably have to wait another year to take the exam.

"I don't think it's a fair system," said Yao, wearing eyeglasses, a white T-shirt and a jacket wrapped around her waist. "It treats you like a number, not a person. As a Chinese saying goes, 'The winner becomes the king, the loser becomes theb________②.' "

Reformers have proposed alternatives over the years, arguing that （1）the exam and the education system built up around it place too much emphasis on rote memorization, in effect grinding creativity and individuality out of young minds.They alsofret over^[2]the years of stress that young Chinese must endure in this giant game of elimination.

Few see much hope ford_______③change anytime soon, however, in part because the system is so deeplyengrained^[3]:Rigorous exams have been a feature of Chinese life for more than 1,000 years, part of a Confucian system that saw official jobs allocated through awithering^[4]civil service exam.

（2）At the root of its endurance is the system's perceived fairness and the safeguards it provides against corruption and backroom dealing.China hasflirted^[5]with alternatives in the past. Midway through the tumultuous 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, education officials decided to break with the tradition by choosing candidates based on village and work unit recommendation, ana________④viewed as fairer and more democratic.

"It seemed like a good idea," said Tang Min, Beijing-based chief economist with the Asian Development Bank. "But the results were disastrous. Without ano________⑤standard, some got in through hanky-panky[6], making many people angry at the unfairness."（B） ______________________________（到文革结束时，中国恢复了成败在此一举的高考制度。）

China is not alone in questioning thevalueof its rigid Confucian education system. （3）Japan and South Korea have worried for years that their school systems are creating people with the wrong skills for a global economy.But China, by virtue of its size and latecomer status, is facing reform pressures more acutely than its counterparts did, economists say.

Enduring up to six hours of homework andcram^[7]school classes a day for years also threatens to heighten anxiety levels and rob students of theiry_______⑥,experts say. At Beijing's Sunshine Heart Mental Consulting Center, the number of calls to its hotline and face-to-face consultations exceeded 100 a day in the weeks before the exam. Among the common exam-related symptoms its workers see are irregular heartbeats, eating disorders, sleeplessness, short-term memory loss and shaking hands.

Nor are children the only ones feeling the heat. One survey found that 76% of parents suffered from their own version of pre-exama________⑦.

"Parents end up feeling it's their fault if their kids fail," said Wang Ying, a psychiatrist and head of the counseling hotline. "They can end up at least as nervous as the kids."

（4）In their quest to push the next generation along, no gesture is deemed too small.Parents rent expensive hotel rooms and hire chefs to make favorite dishes in a bid to eke[8] the very best out of the test takers.

In extreme cases, teensbuckle^[9]under the pressure. A survey in the state-run China Daily newspaper last year listed suicide as the fifth biggest killer in the nation after lung cancer, traffic accidents, heart disease and other illnesses, with exams_______⑧cited as a significant cause.

（C）_______________________________________（尽管几乎无人认为中国的考试制度很快会有重大变革，但一些人预计今后十年内将有渐进式[incremental]改变。）

The market economy has created more private colleges, which over time should spur competition to attract good students through moref________⑨enrollment systems, education specialists say. China is also developing a vocational training system that should further ease the pressure. And employers are beginning to demand more creative graduates.

NOTES:
[1]boil down to归结为
[2]fret （over） v.为……烦恼；焦虑
[3]engrained adj.根深蒂固的；彻底的
[4]withering adj..毁灭性的；摧毁性的
[5]flirt v.（with）对……稍加考虑；对……不在意
[6]hanky-panky n.诡计；邪门歪道
[7]cram v.&n.填塞；填鸭式地教学
[8]eke v.竭力维持；增加，弥补不足
[9]buckle v.屈服；崩溃

试一试：
1．根据首字母提示和译文，填入适当单词：
①Nor is this a f________ process.（招生程序也毫不容情）
②the winner becomes the king, the loser becomes the b________（胜者为王，败者为寇）
③Few see much hope for d_______ change anytime soon（几乎无人认为巨大的变革有望很快来临）
④an a________ viewed as fairer and more democratic（这种方法当时被认为更加公平和民主）
⑤Without an o________ standard（没有一个客观的标准）
⑥rob students of their y_______（使他们失去朝气）
⑦suffered from their own version of pre-exam a________（也患有考前焦虑症）
⑧with exam s_______ cited as a significant cause（而考试压力据称是自杀的一大原因）
⑨through more f________ enrollment systems（通过更灵活的录取制度）
参考答案：

①forgiving ②bandit ③dramatic ④approach ⑤objective ⑥youth ⑦anxiety ⑧stress ⑨flexible
2．翻译划线部分英文：

参考答案：
（1）高考以及围绕高考而建立起来的教育制度过于强调死记硬背，这事实上磨灭了年轻一代的创造力和个性。
（2）这种制度之所以能够持久，根本原因是人们认为它比较公平，并为防止腐败和幕后交易提供了保障措施。
（3）日本和韩国多年来一直担心，它们的教育制度培养出的人不适于全球经济。
（4）为了帮助下一代前进，任何事都不再是小事。

3．汉译英（根据译文提示写出空缺英文）：

参考答案：
A. They don't make allowances if you don't test well.
B. By the time the Cultural Revolution ended, China was back to an all-or-nothing exam system.
C. Although few see any dramatic shifts in China's exam system anytime soon, some expect incremental change over the next decade.

参考消息全篇译文（有删节）：
【美国《洛杉矶时报》6月1 8日报道】题：中国的高考使人们为升入大学作更好的准备
对中国880万名本月参加高考的高中毕业生来说，这次考试关系重大。中国的大学只有260万个本科招生名额。
招生程序毫不容情。中国大学的招生人员在作决定时不看你高中的学业成绩、面试的结果、推荐信或论文。要是你没考好，他们不会通融。一切的一切，多年来的牺牲和勤奋，都归结到这一次考试上。考砸了的人得等下一年再来。
在北京55中参加高考的18岁考生姚瑶音说：“我觉得这个制度不公平。它把你当作一个数字而不是人来看。就像中国的老话所说，胜者为王，败者为寇。”
多年来改革者提出过一些替代方案。他们指出，高考以及围绕高考而建立起来的教育制度过于强调死记硬背，这事实上磨灭了年轻一代的创造力和个性。他们还对考生必须为这场大型淘汰赛承受多年的压力感到不安。
但是，几乎无人认为巨大的变革有望很快来临，部分原因是这个制度已经如此根深蒂固：1000多年来，严格的考试一直是中国人生活的特征之一，是选拔官员的残酷的儒家科举制度的一部分。
这种制度之所以能够持久，根本原因是人们认为它比较公平，并为防止腐败和幕后交易提供了保障措施。中国过去尝试过一些改变。在文化大革命中期，教育官员们决定打破传统，通过村庄和工作单位的推荐来选拔大学生，这种方法当时被认为更加公平和民主。
亚洲开发银行驻北京首席经济学家汤敏说：“这看起来像是好主意，但结果是灾难性的。没有客观的标准，有些人通过歪门邪道进了大学，许多人对这种不公平的现象感到愤怒。”到文革结束时，中国恢复了成败在此一举的高考制度。
中国并不是惟一质疑其教育制度价值的国家。日本和韩国多年来一直担心，它们的教育制度培养出的人不适于全球经济。不过经济学家说，中国作为一个大国及后来者，面临着比日韩更大的改革压力。专家们说，持续多年的每天接受填鸭式授课和完成长达6小时的课后作业，还可能增加学生的焦虑程度，使他们失去朝气。
北京某心理咨询中心在高考前几周里每天受理的热线电话和面对面咨询都有上百个。工作人员说，高考造成的常见病症包括心律不齐、饮食失调、失眠、短期记忆丧失和双手发抖等。
孩子并不是惟一感到焦虑的人。一项调查发现，76%的父母也有考前焦虑症。
心理学家王英音说：“如果孩子失败了，家长就感觉是自己的错。最终他们可能至少和孩子一样紧张。”
为了帮助下一代前进，任何事都不再是小事。家长到昂贵的酒店开房间，请大厨烹制孩子喜欢的菜，以便孩子在高考中发挥最高水平。
在最极端的情况下，十七八岁的孩子们被压力压垮了。中国媒体去年一份调查报告将自杀列为继肺癌、交通事故、心脏病及其他疾病之后的第五大死因，而考试压力据称是自杀的一大原因。
尽管几乎无人认为中国的考试制度很快会有重大变革，但一些人预计今后10年内将有渐进式改变。
教育专家说，市场经济已催生出更多私立大学，随着时间推移，这应该加剧大学之间通过更灵活的录取制度来吸引优秀学生的竞争。中国正在形成的职业培训制度也应该能进一步缓解压力。此外，雇主们开始要求更有创造性的大学毕业生。