学术英语写作基础完整版 (8).pdf

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1、Article with Chinese Guide and Exercises for Lecture 8 Equipping People to Stay ahead of Technological Change It is easy to say that people need to keep learning throughout their careers.The practicalities are daunting.Print edition|Leaders Jan 14th 2017 1 WHEN education fails to keep pace with tech

2、nology,the result is inequality.Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive,workers sufferand if enough of them fall behind,society starts to fall apart.That fundamental insight seized reformers in the Industrial Revolution,heralding1 state-funded universal schooling.Later,automation in

3、factories and offices called forth a surge in college graduates.The combination of education and innovation,spread over decades,led to a remarkable flowering of prosperity.2 Today robotics and artificial intelligence call for another education revolution.This time,however,working lives are so length

4、y and so fast-changing that simply cramming more schooling in at the start is not enough.People must also be able to acquire new skills throughout their careers.3 Unfortunately,the lifelong learning that exists today mainly benefits high achieversand is therefore more likely to exacerbate inequality

5、 than diminish it.If 21st-century economies are not to create a massive underclass,policymakers urgently need to work out how to help all their citizens learn while they earn.So far,their ambition has fallen pitifully short.4 Pushing people into ever-higher levels of formal education at the start of

6、 their lives is not the way to cope.Just 16%of Americans think that a four-year college degree prepares students very well for a good job.Although a vocational education promises that vital first hire,those with specialised training tend to withdraw from the labour force earlier than those with gene

7、ral educationperhaps because they are less adaptable.5At the same time on-the-job training is shrinking.In America and Britain it has fallen by roughly half in the past two decades.Self-employment is spreading,leaving more people to take responsibility for their 1 herald her()ld vt.预示的来临 own skills.

8、Taking time out later in life to pursue a formal qualification is an option,but it costs money and most colleges are geared towards youngsters.6The market is innovating to enable workers to learn and earn in new ways.Providers from General Assembly to Pluralsight are building businesses on the promi

9、se of boosting and rebooting careers.Massive open online courses(MOOCs)have veered away from lectures on Plato or black holes in favour of courses that make their students more employable.At Udacity and Coursera self-improvers pay for cheap,short programmes that bestow“microcredentials”2 and“nanodeg

10、rees”in,say,self-driving cars or the Android operating system.By offering degrees online,universities are making it easier for professionals to burnish their skills.A single masters programme from Georgia Tech could expand the annual output of computer-science masters degrees in America by close to

11、10%.7Such efforts demonstrate how to interleave careers and learning.But left to its own devices,this nascent market will mainly serve those who already have advantages.It is easier to learn later in life if you enjoyed the classroom first time around:about 80%of the learners on Coursera already hav

12、e degrees.Online learning requires some IT literacy,yet one in four adults in the OECD has no or limited experience of computers.Skills atrophy unless they are used,but many low-end jobs give workers little chance to practise them.8If new ways of learning are to help those who need them most,policym

13、akers should be aiming for something far more radical.Because education is a public good whose benefits spill over to all of society,governments have a vital role to playnot just by spending more,but also by spending wisely.9Lifelong learning starts at school.As a rule,education should not be narrow

14、ly vocational.The curriculum needs to teach children how to study and think.A focus on“metacognition”will make them better at picking up skills later in life.10But the biggest change is to make adult learning routinely accessible to all.One way is for citizens to receive vouchers that they can use t

15、o pay for training.Singapore has such“individual learning accounts”;it has given money to everyone over 25 to spend on courses from 500 approved providers.So far each citizen has only a few hundred dollars,but it is early days.2credentialkrden()l n.证书，这里 microcredential 指“小微证书”，完成一门，或者一个小系列课程而颁发的证书。

16、下文的 nanodegree，与此同理，“纳米学位”，或者“小微学位”。这是今年 MOOC 发展的新趋势。把一个学位拆分成很多技能和知识，然后颁发每个部分的证书，让用人单位一下就知道拥有这些证书或者某个学位的人具体都有哪些技能。11Courses paid for by taxpayers risk being wasteful.But industry can help by steering people towards the skills it wants and by working with MOOCs and colleges to design courses that are

17、 relevant.Companies can also encourage their staff to learn.AT&T,a telecoms firm which wants to equip its workforce with digital skills,spends$30m a year on reimbursing employees tuition costs.Trade unions can play a useful role as organisers of lifelong learning,particularly for thoseworkers in sma

18、ll firms or the self-employedfor whom company-provided training is unlikely.A union-run training programme in Britain has support from political parties on the right and left.12To make all this training worthwhile,governments need to slash the licensing requirements and other barriers that make it h

19、ard for newcomers to enter occupations.Rather than asking for 300 hours practice to qualify to wash hair,for instance,the state of Tennessee should let hairdressers decide for themselves who is the best person to hire.13Not everyone will successfully navigate the shifting jobs market.Those most at r

20、isk of technological disruption are men in blue-collar jobs,many of whom reject taking less“masculine”roles in fast-growing areas such as health care.But to keep the numbers of those left behind to a minimum,all adults must have access to flexible,affordable training.The 19th and 20th centuries saw

21、stunning advances in education.That should be the scale of the ambition today.第八单元第八单元 Equipping People to Stay ahead of Technological Change 导读导读 同学们好，今天我们一起来读第八单元的阅读课文，这篇文章的题目是：让劳动者赶上技术进步的步伐“Equipping People to Stay ahead of Technological Change”。这是经济学人17 年 1 月的一篇文章。这篇文章不长，但信息量却很丰富，有很多很有意思、也很有启发的点

22、。但文章有点发散，这便是信息时代的特点，需要我们有超强的信息处理、加工的能力，在纷乱的信息中找到有系统、有规律、可资利用的信息点，下面我们就来试试吧。这篇文章遵循的还是提出问题、分析问题和解决问题的思路。目前技术进步带来的教育变革很可能会加大社会阶层分化。我们一直知道财富两极分化会带来很糟糕的结果，这篇文章说知识的两极分化后果一样严重，所以作者认为各国政府应该采取一系列措施，利用正在兴起的 MOOC 这一新兴教育形式，为尽可能多的人提供终身教育以防止教育水平的两极分化以及由此带来的社会动荡。（题外话：学这篇文章我们有两点要思考。首先是，从个人角度，思考怎样避免被分化到底层；然后是从社会角度，如

23、何避免社会两极分化到影响社会安定，到不可收拾的地步。所以这个话题和我们每个人都有关系。那我们就来看看这篇文章都提出了哪些有价值的问题）:一、提出问题：当前人工智能的飞速发展使终身教育成为必须，做不好终身教育，可能会带来劳动者教育水平的两极分化，进而带来社会动荡。（第 1、2、3 段）第 1 段头两句话很重要：When education fails to keep pace with technology,the result is inequality.Without the skills to stay useful as innovations arrive,workers suffer

24、and if enough of them fall behind,society starts to fall apart.字面很好理解：教育跟不上技术发展的时候，社会不平等就出现了。可是为什么呢？当技术变革来临，那些不能够及时升级自己技能的劳动者就变得没用了，就会被时代抛弃，如果被抛弃的劳动者数量太多，社会就两极分化了，就出现了 inequality，大家注意 inequality 在英语里面指不平等，也指社会两极分化，贫富分化，所以社会 inequality 严重的话，那么整个社会都会遭殃。这里作者提出了教育水平、技术进步和社会平等三者之间的互动关系。教育进步和人类历史上几次技术进步的相

25、互作用促成了人类历史上几次飞跃性的进步。工业革命让初等教育得到普及，信息革命让高等教育得到普及。技术革新和教育普及给人类带来了极大的繁荣，并形成了一个良性的循环，技术发展需要更多受到良好教育的劳动者；更多受过良好教育的劳动者反过来推动技术进步和革新。整个人类社会因此而享受到了前所未有的繁荣 The combination of education and innovation,spread over decades,led to a remarkable flowering of prosperity。而目前正在进行的人工智能革命会怎么改变教育呢？作者说当前进行的人工智能革命需要职场劳动者的更

26、新技能的速度不断加快，以至于劳动者必须接受终身教育才能保证不被职场淘汰。所以实际上可以说，目前进行的人工智能革命会让终身教育得到普及 People must be able to acquire new skills throughout their careers（第 2 段最后一句）。二、分析问题 1.当前 MOOC 教育发展，反而有可能加剧教育水平的两极分化。MOOC 曾被认为是解决终身教育问题的万能良药，目前 MOOC 教育也正在蓬勃发展着。但几年实践下来，人们发现了一个问题，参加慕课学习的大都是已经受过良好的人士。比如第 7 段提到 about 80%of the learners

27、on Coursera already have degrees，参加 Coursera学习的 80%都是已经有各种学位的人。（Coursera 是一个慕课平台）。那么问题来了：这样循环下去教育水平会出现严重的两极分化。终身教育越发达，受过教育的人受到更多更好的教育，而没有受过教育的人则被越落越远。也就是说在教育水平方面出现了强者愈强，弱者愈弱的马太效应 Mathew effect。就目前来讲，社会两极分化不仅没有因为终身教育的普及而变得越来越好转，反而因为终身教育的普及而加剧 the lifelong learning that exists today mainly benefits hi

28、gh achieversand is therefore more likely to exacerbate inequality than diminish it。按照第 1 段的技术、教育与社会三者关系的核心观点，落下的人越来越多的话，最终要付出代价的是整个社会。（第 3 段）2.目前的高等教育体制没办法满足职场变化的需求。只有 16%的美国人认为大学四年出来能找个好工作 Just 16%of Americans think that a four-year college degree prepares students very well for a good job.既然普通大学教育

29、不能保证找到好工作，那么职业教育怎么样呢？经济学人说，虽然职业教育确实能保证学生找到第一份工作，但是这些人离开劳动力大军却比经过普通大学教育的人早，可能是缺乏适应能力之故。（第 4 段）Although a vocational education promises that vital first hire,those with specialised training tend to withdraw from the labour force earlier than those with general education-perhaps because they are less a

30、daptable.3.企业的在职培训萎缩，同时自我雇佣的劳动者越来越多。”On-the-job training is shrinking”and“self-employment is spreading”.过去两年，英美两国职工的在职培训缩减了大约 50%。In America and Britain,it has fallen by roughly half in the past two decades.（第 5 段）自我雇佣劳动者增多意味着继续教育要由个人来负责了。未来的职场需要劳动者对自己进行终身教育，而目前的大学体制都是针对年轻人的 most colleges are geared

31、 towards youngsters.三、解决问题：市场、用人单位、社会团体、政府、个人要一齐努力才可以。1.市场：MOOCs 开始转向职业教育。Providers are building businesses on the promise of boosting and rebooting careers.Providers 这里指 MOOCs 提供商。Reboot 这个词用得很形象，以后我们的职业要不断地充电并重新启动才能不被时代淘汰。那么市场转向职业教育有哪些具体的做法呢？首先，原来讲柏拉图讲黑洞的课程平台，现在更青睐那些能够提高学生就业技能的课程了。Massive open onl

32、ine courses have veered away from lectures on Plato or black holes in favour of courses that make their students more employable.（第 6 段）。其次，这些平台开始开设很短很实用的课程，然后为学生颁发“微证书”，“纳米学位”（比如，自动驾驶、安卓操作系统方向的纳米学位和微证书）。有创意吧？（第 6 段）2.政府：在线教育方案曾经被认为是普及高等教育和终身教育的万能药，可是现在发展了几年，遇到两大问题：首先，参加学习的大半是已经受过良好教育的人；其次，还有很多国家的劳动

33、者根本没有条件上网学习。大家能想象吗，在 OECD 的 35 个成员国中，居然 4 个成年人中就有一个电脑使用水平有限。（第 7 段）如果任由事态这样发展下去 left to its own devices，政府不加干涉，那么就会出现智识和能力的两极分化。作者认为政府应该有所作为，要多花钱还要花得聪明，governments have a vital role to playnot just by spending more,but also by spending wisely（第 8 段）。作者就此提了几点建议，也收集了一些国家的做法：2.1 终生学习始于学校教育，学校教育不应过于职业化

34、education should not be narrowly vocational。注重元认知能力的培养，提高学生学习能力。（第 9 段）2.2 让劳动者可以随时随地获得成人教育 make adult learning routinely accessible to all。举了新加坡的例子，国家出钱为国民设立学习账户。（第 10 段）（你的观点呢？）2.3 政府应该降低一些职业的准入门槛 governments need to slash the licensing requirements and other barriers that make it hard for newcome

35、rs to enter occupations，比如洗头工不是一定要有 300 小时洗头经验才能录用。（第 12 段）（你觉得这样做对吗？）3.用人单位 employers：用人单位应该鼓励员工参加终身学习。比如报销学费 reimbursing employees tuition costs。（第 11 段）4.社会团体 social organizations such as trade unions：工会也应该组织工人参加继续教育。（第 11 段）（你觉得可行吗？）作者提的这些方案，你觉得哪个最可行？为什么？5.个人 everyone：我们每个人都要想办法在变化的就业市场成功存活 ever

36、yone should manage to“successfully navigate the shifting jobs market.”原来从事蓝领工作的男性工作者是老大难。这些人不肯在新兴劳动密集型行业就业，比如从事护理工作，因为他们认为这些工作不够“男人”。文章认为，给这些人更多继续教育的机会才能最大程度上减少被就业市场新形势落下来的总人数。Those most at risk of technological disruption are men in blue-collar jobs,many of whom reject taking less“masculine”roles i

37、n fast growing areas such as health care.（第 11 段）四、结论：在未来职场生存不容易，让劳动者可以获得廉价而方便的终身教育是既有利于个人也有利于社会的事情。To keep the numbers of those left behind to a minimum,all adults must have access to flexible,affordable training.五、小结 5.1 当技术变革来临，那些不能够及时升级自己技能的劳动者就变得没用了，就会被时代抛弃；如果被抛弃的劳动者数量太多，整个社会都会遭殃。5.2 工业革命普及了初等教

38、育，信息革命极大促进了高等教育，人工智能革命普及终身教育。5.3 避免在终身教育这场教育变革中劳动者的两极分化，市场、政府、用人单位、社会团体和个人都应该努力。5.4 让劳动力随时随地接受终身教育是有利于个人和社会的大事。I.Task 1 Useful Expressions While reading the passage,try to find out the useful expressions that are equivalent to the Chinese expressions given in the exercise.1.跟上的步伐/发展 _ 2.在创新的时代，工人们会因

39、缺乏有用技能而付出代价，如落后于技术创新的人足够多，社会将会分崩离析。_ 3.导致激增 _ 4.目前的终身学习项目主要使那些已经取得成就的人获益，因此,更有可能加剧不平等现象而不是减少。_ 5.多数院校都是面向年轻人的 _ 6.市场正在创新,以使工人们能以新的方式工作和赚钱。_ 7.幕课商向人们允诺提供职业充电和重启的机会，并在这方面找到商机。_ 8.从转向；脱离 _ 9.提高技能 _ 10.这些尝试体现了职业如何与学习相结合。_ 11.任其发展 _ 12.教育属于公共利益，会使全社会受益。_ 13.最大的改变是使成年人能经常得到学习机会。_ 14.把人们往引导 _ 15.不是所有人都能避免在

40、多变的就业市场中迷失方向。_ II.Task 2 Comprehension Questions In this exercise,you are to ask five questions and then answer them in your own words(i.e.,paraphrase)based on the original ideas from the text.Try to ask more questions of what,why,and how,which may help cultivate your critical thinking skills.Here a

41、re our sample questions.1.Why do people today need to“acquire new skills through their careers”?_ 2.Which people do the current lifelong learning programs benefit most?_ 3.Compared to those people who received general education in college,which group of workers are more likely to withdraw from their

42、 jobs earlier?_ 4.What innovations do providers of MOOCs offer to worker to have more ways to learn skills?_ 5.According to the article,why should school education focus on“metacognition”?_ III.Task 3 Writing Write a paragraph that begins with the following topic sentence“Education can keep pace with technology with combined efforts.”Support the topic sentence with selectively summarized details you find in the passage._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _(Sample answers to the three tasks have been provided for you in the Video of Article Analysis.)