自动拼写检查功能让人变傻

 　　Spellchecks are turning us into a nation of dunces with a third of adults failing to reach the expected spelling ability of an 11 year-old child, a shock study reveals.

　　拼写检查功能正将英国变成一个傻子的国度。一个研究惊人地发现，该国三分之一的成年人拼写水平达不到11岁儿童的标准。

　　Research involving 1,000 adults aged¹ between 16 and 77 found that only 67 per cent would reach Level 4 in Standard Assessment² Tests (SATs), while less than half (44 per cent) would achieve Level 5.

　　有1000名16到77岁的成年人参加了这次调查，结果显示仅有67%的人拼写水平能达到能力评估测试（Standard Assessment Tests ）的四级，能达到五级的更是不到一半（44%）。

　　Fifteen per cent of the adults tested failed to even reach Level 3, which is below the level expected of children at age 11.

　　甚至有15%的受访者未能达到三级，也就是11岁儿童的标准。

　　自动拼写检查功能让人变傻

　　Experts blamed the poor showing of adults on the prevalence of tools such as spellcheck and auto-correct, which both play a prominent role in modern-day living.

　　专家把成人们拼写能力下降归咎于现代生活中无处不有的拼写检查和自动纠错功能等工具。

　　The study asked adults to complete Key Stage 2 spelling tests designed to gauge³ the performance of children aged 10 and 11, as they reach the end of primary school.

　　Key Stage 2拼写测试本是面向10-11岁小学生的毕业能力测试，受访者参与了这次测试。

　　But the test spelled trouble for many of the adults tested.

　　结果令人忧心。

　　'Phenomenon', 'unnecessary' and 'broccoli⁴' were among the words spelled wrong by more than half of those who took part.

　　超过半数受访者不能正确拼写"Phenomenon","unnecessary"和"broccoil"这几个词。

　　Other words which few were able to spell included rhythmic⁵ and jewellery.

　　正确率较低的词还有"rhythmic"和"jewellery"。

　　Susie Dent⁶, lexicographer⁷ and resident word expert on TV show Countdown, believes the results were partly down to the prevalence of tools such as spellcheck and auto-correct.

　　辞典编撰学家，电视节目《倒计时》（Countdown）的常驻专家苏西?登特认为，这种现象源自于拼写检查和自动纠错等工具的流行。

　　'Modern tools like spellcheck and autocorrect encourage us to switch off from learning, leading to complacency or, at worst, indifference⁸.'

　　“拼写检查和自动纠错这些现代工具使得人们懒于学习，变得自满甚至冷漠。”

　　THE TOP FIVE MISSPELT WORDS

　　正确率最低的五个词语：

　　1. Phenomenon (25% correct)

　　2. Unnecessary (32% correct)

　　3. Disappearance⁹ (36% correct)

　　4. Correspondent (37% correct)

　　5. Synchronised (37% correct)

　　Vocabulary

　　spellcheck 自动拼写检查

　　dunce 傻瓜

　　lexicographer 词典编纂者

　　complacency 自满

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

4 broccoli   

n.绿菜花，花椰菜

参考例句：

• She grew all the broccoli plants from seed.这些花椰菜都是她用种子培育出来的。
• They think broccoli is only green and cauliflower is only white.他们认为西兰花只有绿色的，而菜花都是白色的。

5 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

6 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

7 lexicographer   

n.辞典编纂人

参考例句：

• A lexicographer's job is to describe the language.词典编纂者的工作就是对语言加以描述。
• The lexicographer knew that the English lexis was changing. 字典编纂者知道英语词汇在不断变化。

8 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

9 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。