【英语语言学习】不再需要老师的课堂

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

 

A newly opened computer school in Paris has been overwhelmed by about 60,000 applicants¹. The school is called 42. It was founded by a telecom magnate who says the French education system is failing young people. And his aim is to reduce France's shortage of computer programmers, while giving those who've dropped out of school a second chance. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley sends this report.

 

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE²: Suitcases and sleeping bags are piled up in the hallways of 42, and people are stretched out on mattresses³ in some of the corners. There are showers and dozens of colorful bath towels. We're going up a staircase and there's towels on both sides on the railings. Living here for the next month are some of the 4,000 potential students who already made the first cut by passing cognitive⁴ skill tests online. Now, they have to clear another hurdle⁵. They're thrown together and challenged with computer problems for 15 hours a day. Only 800 students will get a place, says 42's director Nicolas Sadirac.

 

NICOLAS SADIRAC: It's very, very intensive. It's kind of selection, but on the long term. So, we don't just do an examination, we spend four weeks of choosing each student.

 

BEARDSLEY: The only criteria⁶ for applying, is to be between the ages of 18 and 30.You don't need money and you don't need a particular level of academic achievement. A third of the applicants don't even have high school diplomas. Sadirac says they're not looking for how much students know but how they think. One of the schools main goals is to unearth⁷ talent in poor areas where kids don't fit into the traditional French academic mold. Youth unemployment in France is at a 14-year high. At the same time, French companies cannot find enough IT specialists and thousands of young computer enthusiasts⁸ can't get training. That prompted 42's founder⁹ Xavier Niel to invest $90 million of his own money in the school. Niel, the creator of France's third largest telecommunications company, Free, says the social elevator in France is broken.

 

XAVIER NIEL: (Through Translator) If you're the son of a blue collar worker, you're going to be a blue collar worker. Children of elites¹¹ stay elite¹⁰. We have 200,000 kids a year who drop out of the French school system and have no hope. They become a drag on society. We want to help these young people take control of their lives.

 

BEARDSLEY: For example, there are no teachers. Students learn by solving problems.

 

SADIRAC: We don't want to teach them stuff we want them to find solutions on problem. Because we don't know the problem in the future. So, we are creating students able to learn by themselves.

 

BEARDSLEY: Sadirac says in the past 20 years the world will change at a staggering pace. 42 is looking for young people who can think outside the box. He says formal academic training can sometimes hinder that.

 

SADIRAC: Because when you go to academic you are trained to follow models, reproduce models and not try a new one. You are so much trained that you are not able anymore to create new. So, if we want to make people innovative¹² or creative, we need to get out of this system.

 

BEARDSLEY: During their final year, 42's students will work together on a huge project known as a masterpiece. Much like an apprenticeship¹³, they build their talents and learn from each other. Eighteen-year-old candidate Lloyd Cochet loves the schools philosophy.

 

LLOYD COCHET: (Through Translator) I had a hard time following in school. I can't concentrated and they forbid us to talk in class. And here, talking together and passing along tips is the key to succeeding.

 

BEARDSLEY: Outside on the sidewalk 27-year-old Omar Marzougi is taking a break. His parents emigrated from Tunisia. Many young people with North African roots say they face discrimination in France. It's a complicated issue, says Marzougi, but one thing's for sure...

 

OMAR MARZOUGI: (Foreign language spoken)

 

BEARDSLEY: There's no discrimination at this school, he says, because getting in isn't based on your education level or social status. It's a true melting pot. Even though 42 doesn't yet offer a recognized diploma, potential students feel sure it will prepare them to face the future better than any state-sanctioned school. Eleanor Beardsley, NPR news, Paris.

1 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 mattresses   

褥垫，床垫( mattress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The straw mattresses are airing there. 草垫子正在那里晾着。
• The researchers tested more than 20 mattresses of various materials. 研究人员试验了二十多个不同材料的床垫。

4 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。

5 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

6 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

7 unearth   

v.发掘，掘出，从洞中赶出

参考例句：

• Most of the unearth relics remain intact.大多数出土文物仍保持完整无损。
• More human remains have been unearthed in the north.北部又挖掘出了更多的人体遗骸。

8 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

11 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。

12 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

13 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。