“我只是想让你们留下一个深刻印象，尽管你们学完了四年工程学，仍然有很多这个专业的东西你们还不懂。你们回答不了的这些问题在日常应用中是相当普遍的。”接着，他微笑着说：“你们都将通过这门课，但是要记住——即使你已经大学毕业，你的教育也只不过是刚刚开始。”

 

So Much to Learn

 

It was the last day of final examination in a large Eastern university. On the steps of one building, a group of engineering seniors students wait it together, talking about the exam due to begin in a few minutes. On their faces was confidence. This was their last exam — then they'll fond the jobs.

 

Some talked of jobs they already had; others of jobs they would get. With all this learning of four years of college, they felt ready and able to conquer the world.

 

The coming exam, they knew, would be a easy. The professor had said they could bring any books or notes they wanted. Asking only that they did not talk to each other during the test.

 

Happyly they crouded into the classroom. The professor passed out the papers. And smiles began biger as the students found there were only five questions.

 

Three hours passed. Then the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. On their faces was a frightened expression. No one spoke as, papers in hand, the professor faced the class.

 

He looked the worried faces before him, then asked: “How many completed all five questions?”

 

Not a hand was raised.

 

“How many answered four?”

 

Still no hands.

 

“Three? Two?”

 

The students moved restlessly in their seats.

 

“One, then? Certainly somebody finished one.”

 

But the class kept silent. The professor put down the papers. “That is exactly what I expected,” he said.

 

“I just want to impress upon you that, even though you have completed four years of engineering, there are still many things about the subject you don’t know. These questions you could not answer are very common in everyday practice.” Then, smiling, he added: “You will all pass this course, but remember — even though you are now college graduates, your education has just begun.”

 

The years have made the name of this professor unclear, but not the lesson he taught.