异类之不一样的成功启示录 第176期:补救透支危机的方法

 　　But in western agriculture, the opposite is true. Unless the field is that left fallow every few years, the soil becomes exhausted¹. Every winter, fields are empty.

　　但是在西方的农作习惯中，情况刚好相反。每隔几年土地就得闲置一下，否则就认为会被透支，所以每个冬天，土地都被空置着。

　　The hard labor² of spring planting and fall harvesting is followed, like clockwork, by the slower pace of summer and winter.

　　春天的播种和接下来的秋收是劳动强度最大的时候，人们像是在和时间赛跑，但到了夏天和冬天就可以放慢速度。

　　This is the logic³ the reformers applied⁴ to the cultivation⁵ of young minds.

　　这个逻辑被改革家应用于年轻思想的改造。

　　We formulate⁶ new ideas by analogy, working from what we know towards where we don't, and what the reformers knew were the reasons of the agricultural seasons.

　　我们用同理可证的方式来阐述新观点，从我们已知的事情推测我们未知的。

　　A mind must be cultivated. But not too much, lest it be exhausted. And what was the remedy for the dangers of exhaustion⁷?

　　改革家们知道可以依照农作季节的节奏来改进，那么补救透支危机的方法又是什么呢？

　　The long summer vacation—a peculiar⁸ and distinctive⁹ American legacy¹⁰ that has had profound consequences for the learning patterns of the students of the present day.

　　长的暑假——一个与众不同的美国传统，这个传统已经在现代学生的学习模式上得到意义深远的证实。

　　Summer vacation is a topic seldom mentioned in American educational debates.

　　在美国教育界的争论中，暑假很少被提及，

　　It is considered a permanent and inviolate¹¹ feature of school life, like highschool football or the senior prom.

　　它被认为是学校生活中永不改变的特色，就像高中的足球比赛以及毕业舞会一样。

　　But let's consider a set of elementary school test-score results, and see if our faith in the value of long summer holidays isn't profoundly shaken.

　　但是我们研究一下小学每个年级的考试成绩，之后再看看你对暑期长假的信心是否还在。

　　These test-scores come from research led by the Johns Hopkins University sociologist¹² Karl Alexander.

　　约翰·霍普金斯大学的社会学家卡尔·亚历山大研究得出以下这些数据。

　　Alexander tracked the progress of 650 first graders from the Baltimore public school system, looking at how they scored on a widely used math and reading skills exam called the California Achievement Test.

　　亚历山大对650名首批从巴尔的摩公立学校毕业的学生进行跟踪调查，着重分析他们在数学和阅读技能测试中的成绩，这个测试使用的是加利福尼亚的试卷。

　　The scores we're going to consider are for the first five years of elementary school, broken down by social economic class—lower, middle, and high.

　　如下是小学前5个年级的学生阅读成绩，引用的是社会经济学中的分类方法——低，中，高三个级别。

　　If you look at the test-score results, what you find is that students from all three social economic classes start in first grade with meaningful, but not overwhelming, differences in their knowledge and ability.

　　看第一列学生。学生满腹热情地开始了一年级的学习，但这不足以改变他们在知识和能力上的不同。

1 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

4 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

5 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

6 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

7 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

8 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

9 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

10 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

11 inviolate   

adj.未亵渎的，未受侵犯的

参考例句：

• The constitution proclaims that public property shall be inviolate.宪法宣告公共财产不可侵犯。
• They considered themselves inviolate from attack.他们认为自己是不可侵犯的。

12 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。