作者：唐静

　　For more than 40 years, a controlling insight in my educational philosophy has been the recognition that no one has ever been-no one can be-educated in school or college.

　　46)That would be the case if our schools and colleges were at their very_ best, which they certainly are not, and even if the students were among the best and the brightest as well as conscientious in the application of their powers.

　　The reason is simply that youth itself-immaturity-is an unconquerable obstacle to becoming educated. Schooling is for the young. Education comes later, usually much later. 47)The very best thing for our schools to do is to prepare the young for continued learning in later life by giving them the skills of learning and the love of it. Our schools and colleges are not doing that now, but that is what they should be doing.

　　48) To speak of an educated young person or of a wise young person, rich in the understanding of basic ideas and issues, is as much a contradiction in terms as to speak of a round square. The young can be prepared for education in the years to come, but only mature men and women can become educated, beginning the process of their 40s and 50s and reaching some amount of genuine insight, sound judgment and practical wisdom after they have turned 60.

　　This is what no high school or college graduates know or can understand. As a matter of fact, most of their teachers do not seem to know it. 49)In their obsession with covering ground and in the way in which they test or examine their students, they certainly do not act as if they understood that they were only preparing their students for education in later life rather than trying to complete it within the realms of their institutions.

　　There is, of course, some truth in the ancient insight that awareness of ignorance is the beginning of wisdom. But, remember, it is just the beginning. From there on one has to do something about it. 50)And to do it intelligently one must know something of its causes and cures-why adults need education and what, if anything, they can do about it.

　　参考答案：

　　说明：

　　1.本题难度不小。

　　2.难点和分析我只简单指出来了，大概说明了我的翻译。因为太忙，所以，没有对任何同学的译文进行点评。

　　3.下一篇模拟题，我会在新年之后，稍微轻松一点了，继续进行。

　　4.祝福大家元旦快乐，考试通过！

　　46)That would be the case if our schools and colleges were at their very best, which they certainly are not, and even if the students were among the best and the brightest as well as conscientious in the application of their powers.

　　假如中小学和大学处于最佳状态(但事实并非如此)，假如学生是最优秀的、最聪明的，而且能自觉发挥它们的才能，那么情况也许会这样。

　　47)The very best thing for our schools to do is to prepare the young for continued learning in later life by giving them the skills of learning and the love of it. Our schools and colleges are not doing that now, but that is what they should be doing.

　　学校能做到的最有用的就是教给孩子们学习的本领，培养他们热爱学习的兴趣，为他们在以后的生活中不断学习做好准备。这正是当前一些学校或者大学应该做而没有做到的事情。

　　48) To speak of an educated young person or of a wise young person, rich in the understanding of basic ideas and issues, is as much a contradiction in terms as to speak of a round square.

　　说某个有知识的年轻人或某个聪明的年轻人善于理解一些基本概念和基本问题，如同把圆的说成方的一样，自相矛盾。

　　49)In their obsession with covering ground and in the way in which they test or examine their students, they certainly do not act as if they understood that they were only preparing their students for education in later life rather than trying to complete it within the realms of their institutions.

　　老师们执迷于出题考试，沉湎于研究测试学生的方法，由此观之，他们的行为的确不像是懂得了他们只应该为学生今后的教育做准备，而不是努力在学校就完成所有教育。(本句话最难，主要是由一个词组cover ground，意思是测试测验，同时还要翻译好最开始的介词in。)

　　50)And to do it intelligently one must know something of its causes and cures-why adults need education and what, if anything, they can do about it.

　　要明智地做到这件事(指意识到无知)，一个人必须对其原因和解决办法有所了解——成年人为什么需要教育，如果还有什么不同的话，要了解他们能做些什么努力。(if anything,有，也只有两种翻译，1.如果有区别的话；2.反之，相反。)

　　本文选自唐静的博客，点击此处查看原文。