精美英文欣赏:我最好的老师

编者按：

如果有人问我如何解决学校面临的危机时，那就是惠特森先生的教学方法。我没有任何伟大的科学发现，但是惠特森先生的课给我和同学们一样重要的启示：我们要正视别人的眼睛，勇敢地告诉他们，他们错了。他也同样指出我们的不足，这会获得无穷的乐趣。

The Best Teacher I Ever Had

Mr.Whitson taught sixth-grade science. On the first day of class, he gave us a lecture about an animal called the Cattywampus, an ill-adapted nocturnal animal that was wiped out during the Ice Age, he passed around a skull¹ as he talked. We all took notes and later had a quiz.

When he returned my paper, I was shocked. There was a big red “X” through each of my answers. I had failed. There had to be some mistakes! I had written down exactly what Mr.Whitson said.

Then I realized that everyone in the class had failed. What had happened? Very simple, Mr.Whitson explained. He had made up all that story about the Cattywampus. There had never been any such animal. The information in our notes was, therefore, incorrect. Did we expect credit for incorrect answers?

Needless to say, we were outraged². What kind of text was this? And what kind of teacher is?

We should have figured it out, Mr.Whitson said. After all, at the very moment he was passing around the Cattywampus skull (in truth, a cat’s), hadn’t he been telling us that no trace of the animal remained? He had described its amazing night vision, the color of its fur and any number of other facts he couldn’t have known, he had given the animal a ridiculous name, and we still hadn’t been suspicious. The zeroes on our papers would be recorded in his grade book, he said. And they were.

Mr.Whitson said he hoped we would learn something from this experience. Teachers and textbooks are not always right. In fact, no one is. He told us not to let our minds go to sleep, and to speak up if we ever thought he or the textbook was wrong.

Every class was an adventure with Mr.Whitson I can still remember some science periods almost from beginning to end. One day he told us that his Volkswagen was a living organism. It took us two full days to put together a refutation he would accept. He didn’t let us off the hook until we had proved not only that we knew what an organism was but also that we had the fortitude³ to stand up for the truth.

We carded our brand-new skepticism into all our classes. This caused problems for the other teachers, who weren’t used to being challenged. Our history teacher would be lecturing about something, and then there would be clearings of the throat and someone would say “Cattywampus”.

If I’m ever asked to propose a solution to the crisis in our schools, it will be Mr.Whitson. I haven’t made any great scientific discoveries, but Mr.Whitson’s class gave me and my classmates something just as important: the courage to look people in the eye and tell them they are wrong. He also showed us that you ca have fun doing it.

我最好的老师

惠特森先生教六年级自然科学。第一天上课时，他给我们讲了一种叫卡蒂万波斯的动物，这种动物夜间活动，在冰河时期，因不适应自然环境而灭绝了。他边说边递过一个头颅让我们传看。我们做了笔记，而后进行了测试。

试卷发下来时，我震惊了，我的每个答案后面都打了一个大大的红“X”，我没及格。一定是弄错了！我写的明明都是惠特森先生讲的。

后来我发现班上同学都没及格。怎么回事？很简单，惠特森先生解释说，所有这些有关卡蒂万波斯的事都是他编造的。这种动物根本就不存在。我们笔记本上记录的当然是错误的。错误的答案难道还想得分吗？

不必说，我们都很愤怒。这是什么测试？什么老师呀？

我们应该想到这一点，惠特森先生说，毕竟，在他拿出卡蒂万波斯的颅骨（实际上是猫的颅骨）让我们传看时，不是说这种动物一点儿遗迹都没留下吗？他描绘了它夜间惊人的视觉，皮毛的颜色，和他不可能知道的许多情况。他还给这只动物取了个可笑的名字，我们仍未察觉。他说我们测试得零分会记在记分册上，他真的这样做了。

惠特森先生说，他希望我们能从这件事中汲取教训：老师和书本并还一定绝对正确。事实上，谁都不可能绝对正确。他让我们开动脑筋，认为他或书本错了，就大胆地说出来。

惠特森先生的每堂课都像是一次历险，他的几堂自然科学课我现在仍记忆犹新。一天，他对我们说，他的大众汽车是一种有生命的生物体。我们花了整整两天的时间，整理他认为可以接受的材料进行反驳，直到我们证明自己不仅懂得什么是生物体，还能不屈不挠地坚持真理时，他才善罢甘休。

我们持怀疑的态度走入课堂，这给其他老师带来了许多麻烦，他们不习惯受到这样的质疑。历史老师讲课时，下面就会有同学故意咳嗽，然后有人说：“卡帝万波斯。”

如果有人问我如何解决学校面临的危机时，那就是惠特森先生的教学方法。我没有任何伟大的科学发现，但是惠特森先生的课给我和同学们一样重要的启示：我们要正视别人的眼睛，勇敢地告诉他们，他们错了。他也同样指出我们的不足，这会获得无穷的乐趣。

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 outraged   

a.震惊的，义愤填膺的

参考例句：

• Members of Parliament were outraged by the news of the assassination. 议会议员们被这暗杀的消息激怒了。
• He was outraged by their behavior. 他们的行为使他感到愤慨。

3 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。