高考要不要取消英语考试？许渊冲的回答，太睿智了

高考结束了，但“是否取消英语高考”再次引发热议。

有全国人大代表提出：“取消英语”的主科地位，将英语“踢出高考”。

理由是，中国孩子每年有近1/5的时间花在学英语上，负担太大；国家也投入大量财力，但学习效果不理想，多数人离校后用不上英语，曾经为学英语而付出的时间、金钱和精力成为一种资源浪费。

对此，有网友反驳到：

首先，小孩子学习的负担绝对不是哪一个科目取消就能减轻的，这是治标不治本；其次，用不到英语就不学英语是一种短视行为。

有人统计，全世界互联网内容有60.7%都是英文，而且内容增长最快的语言也是英语。

在科研领域，英语更是“霸主”：1900-2015年间发表的三千万多篇SCI文章中，英文占比92.5%。不会英文，在学术界寸步难行。

英语不仅仅是一门学科，更是了解世界的窗口。

关于这个问题，我国北京大学教授、翻译家许渊冲先生也回应到：

人的知识是越广越好，我认为各种文字有各种文字的历史，也有其现在的作用。

The more you know, the better you become. Each language has its own history. Each has its own unique role.

你把英文科目取消，但英文思想是取消不了的。中国思想里面也包括一部分英文思想。

You can never eliminate English thought by removing English classes. Chinese philosophy also has integrated concepts from English thought.

中国思想之伟大，真的是无所不包。要是世界只有一种思想了，世界就单调了，也不会发展到今天了。

Chinese culture is great because it really is all-encompassing. A monotone world couldn't have gone this far, if there were only one culture or thought in the world.

许渊冲大师从事文学翻译长达六十余年，译作涵盖中、英、法等语种，出版著译六十本，包括《诗经》《楚辞》《李白诗选》《西厢记》《红与黑》《包法利夫人》等。

学贯中西的他，如此回应真是太睿智了。

BTW. 小宇很喜欢all-encompassing/ˌɔːl ɪnˈkʌmpəsɪŋ/这个词，它的意思是including everything or everyone，通常被译为“ 包罗万象的，涵盖一切的”，根据上下语境，还有“万全的”意思。

举个例子：

Removing English classes isn't an all-encompassing solution. The key is to reform China's exam-oriented education system so that English teaching will focus on improving students' language skills, not exam-taking ability.

取消英语科目不是一个万全的解决方案。关键是要改革应试教育体制，让英语教学专注于提升学生的语言水平，而不是考试能力。

老规矩，最后一起来读一篇四六级/考研难度的文章：

It helps to speak more than one language—even if the benefits areunquantifiable.

多掌握一门以上的语言是有帮助的——即便益处无法量化。

拓展词汇

unquantifiable/,ʌnkwɔnti'faiəbl/不可测量的，难以计算的

☞quantifiable/ˈkwɒn.tɪ.faɪ.ə.bl/可测量的able to be measured【例句】The benefits of the new policy are not easily quantifiable. 新政策所带来的好处不易量化。

Just a few generations ago,speaking two languages was supposed to be bad for you.Tests in America found that bilingual people had lower IQS, which seemed evidence enough. Later it became clear that those surveys were really measuring the material poverty of immigrants; members of such families were more likely to be undernourished and understimulated, not to mention the obvious fact that they often sat the tests in a language that was not their best.

就在几代人以前，多掌握一门外语还被认为是无益的。在美国，还经过测试发现，掌握两种语言的人智商比较低，这似乎是有力证据。后来人们才发现，这些调查实际旨在衡量移民的物质贫困程度；这些移民家庭的成员更有可能营养不良和缺乏鼓励，更不用说他们要用自己不擅长的语言参加考试这一明显的事实。

高考 CET4 考研 IELTS TOEFL

not to mention sth更不用说某事物了；除…之外（还），更不必说used to introduce an additional thing that makes a situation even more difficult, surprising, interesting etc【例句】 Pollution has a negative effect on the health of everyone living in the city, not to mention the damage to the environment.污染对生活在这个城市里的每一个人的健康都有害处，更不用说对环境的破坏了。【近义表达】 let alone，never mind，even less，to say nothing of，still less

How things have changed.In the past decade it has become almost common knowledge that bilingualism is good for you—witness articles such“Why Bilinguals are Smarter”and“The Amazing Benefits of Being Bilingual”by the New York Times and the BBC.Stacks of research papers have suggested that two-tongued people enjoy a variety of nonlinguistic advantages.

事情是如何变化的。在过去十年里，多掌握一门语言是有益的已成为一种共识，比如《纽约时报》和BBC发过的《为什么双语者更聪明》和《双语的惊人好处》等文章。大量的研究论文表明，会说两种语言的人拥有各种非语言优势。

Most notably,they have shown that bilinguals get dementia on average four years later than monolinguals,and that they have an edge in“executive control”—a basket of abilities that aid people doing complex tasks,including focusing attention,ignoring irrelevant information and updating working memory.

最值得注意的是，研究还发现双语者患上痴呆症的平均时间比单语者晚了四年，他们在“执行控制”方面有优势——这是一种帮助人们完成复杂任务的能力，包括集中注意力、忽略无关信息和更新工作记忆。

拓展词汇

dementia/dɪˈmen.tʃə/ （尤指老年性）痴呆a medical condition that affects especially old people, causing the memory and other mental abilities to gradually become worse, and leading to confused behaviour【例句】The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer's disease. 最常见的痴呆病是阿尔茨海默症。

Why bilingualism would enhance these capabilities is unclear.Researchershypothesise that having two languages means suppressing one when speaking the other,a kind of constant mental exercise that makes the brain healthier.This in particular is thought to be behind the finding of a later onset of dementia.

双语可以提升这些能力的原因还尚不清楚。研究人员提出假设，掌握两种语言意味着在说另一种语言时会压制其中一种语言，这是一种持续的脑力锻炼，可以让大脑更健康。这尤其被认为是双语者晚发生痴呆的背后原因。

TOEFL

hypothesise美式英语写作 hypothesize/haɪˈpɒθəsaɪz/ /haɪˈpɑːθəsaɪz/v.假设；假定to suggest a way of explaining sth when you do not definitely know about it; to form a hypothesis【hypothesize sth/that... 】We can only hypothesize that the cases we know about are typical.我们只能假设我们知道的案例是典型的。【近义表达】suppose，presuppose

But as intellectual pendulums do,this one has begun to swing again,against the“bilingual advantage”.Though many papers have identified such a bonus,many more have tried and failed to replicate those studies.Roberto Filippi of University College London and his col leagues have spent five years testing more than 600 people,from seven to 80 years old and including some who oscillate between two languages.They could find no statistically significant advantage in any age cohort.

但就像智力的钟摆一样，这个论证“双语优势”的原因也是摇摆不定的。虽然许多论文已经发现了掌握多一门语言的好处，但更多的论文试图复制这些研究时都失败了。伦敦大学学院(University College London)的罗伯托•菲利皮(Roberto Filippi)和他的同事们花了5年时间测试了600多名年龄从7岁到80岁的人，其中包括一些在两种语言之间摇摆的人。他们没有发现任何年龄组在统计学上有显著优势。

SAT GRE

oscillate /ˈɒsəleɪt/ v.

①（在数量或限度之间剧烈地）波动，摇摆，变化（formal） to keep changing between two extreme amounts or limits【例句】 The stock market is oscillating wildly at the moment.股票市场现在正急剧波动。

②（情感或态度）摇摆不定，踌躇to keep changing between one feeling or attitude and another【例句】Zuijie’s attitude towards me oscillated between friendship and hostility.小宇对我的态度时而友好，时而敌对。

③（前后有规律的）来回摆动to move backwards and forwards in a regular way【例句】The needle on the dial began to oscillate.仪表盘上的指针开始来回摆动。