3-4 出国去

Learn English for the 2008 Olympics

——Going Abroad

 

Foreigner: I know it’s a good thing to go abroad, and you suffered for being a closed society for too long, but now I find this craze for going abroad a bit incomprehensible.Many people with neither need nor the means¹ are trying desperately¹ to go abroad. I’ve had many people whom I hardly knew coming to me asking me to help them.

 

Chinese: It’s only recently that people are free to go abroad either to study or just to travel. In the early days of Liberation, the only foreign country that took in Chinese students was the Soviet² Union. In the fifties of the last century, we sent over students by the thousands, and that lasted until around the middle of the sixties.

 

Foreigner: I know, and then you quarreled with them over the question of their revisionism². Was that the reason why you stopped sending over students?

 

Chinese: Not entirely³. Naturally political differences made any exchange difficult, if not impossible. We still had a few students studying in the Soviet Union, mostly science students, but they were all finally withdrawn⁴ during the so-called Great Cultural Revolution.

 

Foreigner: How were the students selected? Were people free to apply? Competition must have been very keen, and I suppose there must have been very stiff qualifying examinations.

 

Chinese: At that time only the government had the power to decide who could go abroad. Students were selected by their organizations. They might have to go through some sort of qualifying test before being officially approved, but the main criteria⁵³ for selection was political.

 

Foreigner: What exactly was the implication of political criteria? How was a man assessed⁴ politically?

 

Chinese: Political criteria varied⁶ according to different periods, but generally speaking a man is judged by his loyalty⁷ to the Communist Party and his dedication⁸ to the communist cause. And his class origin was also a very important factor in his assessment⁹, especially during ultra-leftist periods such as the so-called Great Cultural Revolution.

 

Foreigner: Now I take it there are no more political restrictions¹⁰ on people applying to go abroad. Does the government still send students to study abroad?

 

Chinese: The government still has a few students exchange programs with other countries and many universities also have their own exchange programs with foreign universities. But ever since we opened up to the outside world, more and more young people are seeking chances to study abroad on their own initiative and through their own efforts, which I think is a good thing.

 

Foreigner: As I’ve just said, I’m not against young people going abroad and broadening their horizon, but I think there is an over zealous¹¹⁵ tendency among the young people to leave the country. Many who did succeed in continuing their studies abroad do not come back, no matter whether they can find decent⁶ jobs or not.

 

Chinese: Yes, brain drain⁷ is a problem, but it’ s not as serious as it threatened to be. Our country is developing so fast that the gap between us and the developed countries has narrowed in many ways. Our students studying abroad are finding that coming home sometimes offers them brighter prospects¹² than staying in a developed country.

 

注释：

1. means [mi:nz] [复] n. 方法，手段；条件

2. revisionism [ri5vIVEniz(E)m] n. 修正主义

3. criteria [krai5tiEriE] n.（criterion的复数）标准，尺度，准则

4. assess [E5ses] vt. 对……进行估价，评价

5. zealous [5zelEs] adj. 积极的；狂热的

6. decent [5di:snt] adj. 合宜的；适当的

7. brain drain〈口〉人才流失，人才外流，智囊枯竭

 

备战奥运——出国去

 

外国人：我知道出国是一件好事，而且由于长期的封闭你们也吃了不少苦头，但我认为目前这种对出国的狂热有点不可思议。很多人既无需要又无条件也拼命地想出去。有不少我几乎不认识的人也来找我请我帮忙。

中国人：只是最近人们才能自由地出国学习或是旅游。解放初期，惟一接收中国留学生的国家只有苏联。上个世纪50年代，成千的留学生被送往苏联去学习，一直到60年代中期左右。

外：我知道，那时因为他们的修正主义你们和他们闹翻了。这就是为什么你们不再派留学生去了吧？

中：不完全是那样。当然政治分歧使任何交流变得非常困难，甚至几乎不可能。我们还是有少数留学生在苏联，主要是学科学的，但最终在所谓的文化大革命时期全部撤回。

外：留学生是如何选拔的？人们可以自由报名吗？竞争一定很激烈，想必当时有非常严格的考试。

中：那时候只有政府有权决定谁能出国。留学人员是由单位选拔。正式批准前可能要通过某种考核，但挑选的主要标准是政治。

外：政治标准的确切涵义是什么？是怎么样用政治来衡量一个人的？

中：政治条件在不同时期有所不同，但总的来说，衡量一个人，是看他对共产党的忠诚和对共产主义事业的献身精神。阶级出身也是一个重要的评判因素，尤其是在像所谓的文化大革命那样的极左时期。

外：我想现在对申请出国的人不再有政治方面的限制了，政府还选派留学生出国学习吗？

中：政府目前与其他国家仍有少量的留学生交流计划，不少大学也有它们自己与国外大学的交流计划。但自从我们对外开放以来，越来越多的年轻人采取主动，通过自己的努力寻求机会出国留学。我认为这是一件好事。

外：我刚才已经说过，我并不反对年轻人出国去开阔眼界，但我认为年轻人对出国过分地热衷。许多出去留学的人不管毕业后找没找到像样的工作都不回来了。

中：对，人才流失是一个问题，但并没有像原先想像的那样严重。我们国家发展很快，在许多方面和发达国家的差距缩小了。在国外的留学生发现，有时回国要比留在发达国家有更多的机遇。

 

 

 

 

1 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

2 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

5 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

6 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

8 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

9 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？

10 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

11 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

12 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。