英语沙龙：Examination-a Necessary Evil

Examination — a Necessary Evil

In spite of the fact that examinations have been hated by most of the students

as well as some teachers for decades,

they still survive and show no signs of fading away.

In our system of education today,

examinations are a common feature.

Our present education system has often been criticized

as too examination-oriented.

However, one must remember that in offices and other areas of work,

examinations still feature clearly.

There is no doubt that the fear and influence of examination

cause much preparation work.

So it therefore appears that examinations,

whether considered good or bad,

would stay for a while as a test of human knowledge.

Examinations are meant to test the intellect of a person,

how much he knows or how he has learnt from a particular course.

It is designed to make students study,

which should be their immediate¹ mission in life.

In our competitive world of today,

examinations have a highly selecting role.

In the university, students have to pass annual examinations

before they are allowed to continue,

or study a harder syllabus².

Moreover, for entrance into a university,

the results of the examination that they take previous to their entrance

would provide a guide as to

whether a student has the minimum qualifications necessary.

In offices whether government or private ones,

examination results show clearly whether a person is fit for promotion³.

The results indicate how much he knows about the work

and in what areas he has to be improved for his future accomplishments⁴.

In all these cases,

examinations inculcate a spirit of hard work and competition.

Students and office workers alike can refresh their mind again and again

on what they have learnt as far as their studies or work are concerned.

This maintains a certain individual and overall standard of knowledge.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 syllabus   

n.教学大纲，课程大纲

参考例句：

• Have you got next year's syllabus?你拿到明年的教学大纲了吗？
• We must try to diversify the syllabus to attract more students.我们应该使教学大纲内容多样化，可以多吸引学生。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》