2022年经济学人 语法学习之争（2）

In retrospect¹ it scarcely seems surprising that learning to underline a modal verb, such as "can", "should" and "may", does little to help students use them effectively in their own writing.

回过头来看，学会划出情态动词（如“can”，“should”和“may”）对学生在自己的写作中有效运用它们几乎没什么帮助这一点似乎并不令人惊讶。

These words are anyway grasped by tiny children without the need to know what they are called.

小孩子不管用什么方法其实都能掌握这些词，而且不需要知道它们被叫作什么。

This may tempt² the conclusion that the teaching of grammar should be shelved altogether.

这可能会引出语法教学应该被完全废除这样的结论。

But there are reasons to reform it rather than scrap³ it.

但相较于废除，我们更有理由对其进行改革。

Understanding of language is part of a wider education in what makes human beings human.

对语言的理解是更广泛的教育的一部分，即什么使人成为人。

How concepts are turned into sounds, and how those sounds combine to form propositions, commands or questions, are issues that have occupied many linguists⁴ in philosophy departments.

概念是如何转化成声音的，这些声音又是如何组合成观点、命令或问题的，这是哲学系的许多语言学家一直关注的问题。

What they reveal about the mind has exercised psychologists and cognitive⁵ scientists.

它们揭示了关于心灵的什么？这一问题一直困扰着心理学家和认知科学家。

There are practical reasons to ask children to grapple with grammar, too.

让孩子们努力学习语法也有实用方面的原因。

One is that an explicit⁶ knowledge of it will make learning a foreign language easier.

其中一点是明确了解语法会使学习一门外语变得更容易。

Even if you did intuit how to make subordinate clauses in your native languages as a toddler -- just without instruction -- getting to grips with them in German or Russian in later years is simpler if you know how to define and spot them.

即使你在很小的时候凭直觉就知道如何用母语造出从句——在完全没有指导的情况下——但如果你知道如何定义和辨别从句，那么在长大之后掌握德语或俄语里的从句就会更简单。

As it is, many English-speakers come to understand grammar by studying a foreign language, rather than the other way round.

事实上，许多说英语的人是通过学习一门外语来理解语法的，而不是反过来。

For grammarians keen on the jobs of the future, the field of natural-language processing is booming.

对于热衷于研究未来工作的语法学家来说，自然语言处理领域正在蓬勃发展。

After many years of poor results, technological⁷ wizards have devised programs for automated⁸ translation, speech recognition (as in dictation software) and other services that are actually usable, if far from perfect.

在多年的不理想的结果之后，技术奇才们已经设计出了提供自动翻译、语音识别（如听写软件）以及其他服务的程序，这些程序虽然远远算不上完美，但实际上是有用的。

These tools may rely more on knowledge of artificial intelligence than of the subjunctive, but linguistic⁹ expertise¹⁰ still matters, and may give budding programmers an edge over rivals whose best language is Python.

这些工具或许更多地依赖于人工智能的知识，而不是虚拟的知识，但语言专业知识仍然很重要，并且它可能会使新手程序员比那些只擅长编程语言而不懂其它语言（最擅长的语言是Python）的对手更具优势。

Grammar could still be taught better.

仍然有更好的教语法的方式。

One small study showed improvement in some students when concepts are linked concretely to writing tasks.

一项小规模的研究表明，当概念与写作任务被具体地联系起来时，一些学生的表现会有所提升。

Even so, it may never be easy to point to a widget-output increase that results directly from improved tuition.

即便如此，要说明一小部分的提升和教学的改善有直接关系可能从来都不是一件易事。

A cook does not need to know chemistry to make a delicious sauce.

厨师不需要懂化学就能做出美味的酱汁。

But the science of how words combine to make meaning is fascinating as well as fundamental.

但是，有关词汇如何组合在一起表达意义的科学既是令人着迷的，也是必不可少的。

1 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

2 tempt   

vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣

参考例句：

• Nothing could tempt him to such a course of action.什么都不能诱使他去那样做。
• The fact that she had become wealthy did not tempt her to alter her frugal way of life.她有钱了，可这丝毫没能让她改变节俭的生活习惯。

3 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

4 linguists   

n.通晓数国语言的人( linguist的名词复数 )；语言学家

参考例句：

• The linguists went to study tribal languages in the field. 语言学家们去实地研究部落语言了。 来自辞典例句
• The linguists' main interest has been to analyze and describe languages. 语言学家的主要兴趣一直在于分析并描述语言。 来自辞典例句

5 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

6 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

7 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

8 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

9 linguistic   

adj.语言的，语言学的

参考例句：

• She is pursuing her linguistic researches.她在从事语言学的研究。
• The ability to write is a supreme test of linguistic competence.写作能力是对语言能力的最高形式的测试。

10 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。