新视野大学英语视听说教程 3 Unit 2-11

V. Let’s Talk
Script¹
Hi, everybody. My topic today is “Problems with Our Educational System”.
There are a lot of things in our educational system that I don’t agree with. It seems that educators just want to give standardized² tests, which focus only on academic performance but neglect³ students’ abilities and interests in other areas. I think there’re a lot of people who are very intelligent, but haven’t had the opportunities they could’ve had, had they been educated in a broader-minded educational systems. I feel that a lot of courses that students are focused to take in high school are too academic, and, as a result, many kids lost their interest in learning⁴.
Educators have failed to recognize various kinds of intelligence. They often exert⁵ a lot of pressure on students to be as well-rounded as possible. I think being well-rounded isn’t really possible. And as a consequence some students who are believed to be intelligent can’t get into good colleges if they, for example, haven’t scored well on the math section, even if they ate brilliant writers.
Another thing that disturbs me is that the so-called⁶ “weak students” are separated from the rest of the school. Some kids are kept in a separate class id their grades are lower then others. And they’ve very aware of their social position, you know. I think it causes them to act in a way that is not really positive. They’re just acting⁷ in a way that they are expected to act. Often their grades go from bad to worse. And that’s pretty sad to me. I think that many of the kids in those classed are intelligent, but never actually realize their potential because of the way they are treated very early on in their education.
 

Problems	Results
Educators just want to give standardized tests. They only focus on academic performance but neglect students’ abilities and interests in other areas.	Kids lose interest in learning.
Educators often exert a lot of pressure on students to be as well-rounded as possible.	Some intelligent kids can’t enter good colleges.
“Weak” students are separated from the rest of the school.	Their grades go from bad to worse.

1 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

2 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

3 neglect   

vt.忽视，忽略；疏忽，玩忽；n.疏忽，玩忽

参考例句：

• Don't neglect to lock the door when you leave.你离开时别忘了锁门。
• Today's housing problems are the product of years of neglect.今天的住房困难是多年来忽视的结果。

4 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

5 exert   

vt.用（力），尽（力），运用，发挥，施加

参考例句：

• He likes to exert his authority.他喜欢行使自己的权力。
• We must exert ourselves to catch up with them,or it would be too late.我们要急起直追，否则就太晚了。

6 so-called   

adj.所谓的，号称的

参考例句：

• These were the so-called mainframe machines.它们被称为主机。
• Let's see what this so-called button does.让我们来看看为什么这个按钮叫这个名字。

7 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。