【英语时差8,16】摒弃严厉的「管教」方式

"'Stop Beating Kids!'" read the darkly inked headline. After studying the results of a survey it conducted among 250 schools and 1,550 students, the Humanistic Education Foundation (HEF) found as many as 88% of our junior high schools still use some form of corporal punishment. Nearly 15% of our students at that level describe themselves as "miserable¹" when at school. The emotions and ideas behind the teachers' behavior using those methods are flat out wrong. The argument I use in ethics² courses is that even young people are whole people. Teenagers may not be full adults, but they not only have minds, but also spiritual and psychological selves. Once we reduce people to a single attribute of their lives or personalities³, we've ceased to treat them as fully⁴ human. That is wrong. A student is more than a student, and academic performance should not make us blind to the contours of their interior selves. The principle of the dignity of the human person also applies to these situations. What disturbs me the most in the news report was the absence of any mention of parenting. Parents, I am told, often abdicate⁵ their responsibilities. Their feelings: Let the school handle discipline. But if we do that, look what happens. Is this the meaning of education? VOCABULARY

foundation (n.) 基金会 There are several foundations in Taiwan that were created with the intent of helping⁶ those in need.

miserable (adj.) 悲惨的；凄惨的 The dreary⁷ weather today made me feel miserable and sad.

ethics (n.) 伦理学；伦理观It is important for businesses to follow a code of ethics as they can be easily blinded by money.

spiritual (adj.) 精神上的 Some people seek spiritual guidance to find peace in their lives.

academic (adj.) 学术的 Academic success is viewed as being important in determining one's future.

dignity (n.) 尊敬 He will not sacrifice his dignity for financial gain.

to abdicate (v.) 正式放弃（权力等）；辞职；（国王）退位 King Edward the VII abdicated⁸ his throne for the love of Ms. Wallis Simpson.

corporal punishment 体罚 Corporal punishment, aside from causing physical harm, can also lead to psychological damage.

to be flat out wrong 大錯特錯 The claims that the 9/11 attacks were a hoax⁹ are flat out wrong.

to make us blind 蒙蔽我们；让我们看不见（事实或真相） Our preoccupation with our petty problems makes us blind to the bigger problems of hunger and poverty in the world.

1 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

2 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

3 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 abdicate   

v.让位，辞职，放弃

参考例句：

• The reason I wnat to abdicate is to try something different.我辞职是因为我想尝试些不一样的东西。
• Yuan Shikai forced emperor to abdicate and hand over power to him.袁世凯逼迫皇帝逊位，把政权交给了他。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

8 abdicated   

放弃（职责、权力等）( abdicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 退位，逊位

参考例句：

• He abdicated in favour of his son. 他把王位让给了儿子。
• King Edward Ⅷ abdicated in 1936 to marry a commoner. 国王爱德华八世于1936年退位与一个平民结婚。

9 hoax   

v.欺骗，哄骗，愚弄；n.愚弄人，恶作剧

参考例句：

• They were the victims of a cruel hoax.他们是一个残忍恶作剧的受害者。
• They hoax him out of his money.他们骗去他的钱。