別再反思應(yīng)試教育了，其實(shí)中國(guó)學(xué)生最具批判性思維.

　　Chinese primary and secondary schools are often derided as grueling, test-driven institutions that churn out students who can recite basic facts but have little capacity for deep reasoning.

　　人們常嘲笑中國(guó)的中小學(xué)是魔鬼訓(xùn)練式的應(yīng)試教育機(jī)構(gòu)，大批量生產(chǎn)那些只會(huì)死記硬背基本事實(shí)卻不擅長(zhǎng)深度推理的學(xué)生。

　　A new study, though, suggests that China is producing students with some of the strongest critical thinking skills in the world.

　　然而，一項(xiàng)新的研究顯示，中國(guó)培養(yǎng)的學(xué)生具備世界上最強(qiáng)大的若干項(xiàng)批判性思維技能。

　　But the new study, by researchers at Stanford University, also found that Chinese students lose their advantage in critical thinking in college. That is a sign of trouble inside China’s rapidly expanding university system, which the government is betting on to promote growth as the economy weakens.

　　但這項(xiàng)由斯坦福大學(xué)研究人員所做的新研究同時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)，中國(guó)學(xué)生在大學(xué)階段失去了批判性思維方面的優(yōu)勢(shì)。這表明中國(guó)迅速擴(kuò)張的高校系統(tǒng)內(nèi)部存在問(wèn)題。隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)增速放緩，政府對(duì)高等教育寄予厚望，希望以此促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)增長(zhǎng)。

　　The study, to be published next year, found that Chinese freshmen in computer science and engineering programs began college with critical thinking skills about two to three years ahead of their peers in the United States and Russia. Those skills included the ability to identify assumptions, test hypotheses and draw relationships between variables.

　　預(yù)計(jì)于明年發(fā)表的這項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，計(jì)算機(jī)科學(xué)和工程學(xué)專(zhuān)業(yè)的中國(guó)大一新生入學(xué)時(shí)，批判性思維技能領(lǐng)先他們?cè)诿绹?guó)和俄羅斯的同齡人兩到三年。這些技能包括識(shí)別假定、驗(yàn)證假設(shè)和找到變量之間關(guān)系的能力。

　　Yet Chinese students showed virtually no improvement in critical thinking after two years of college, even as their American and Russian counterparts made significant strides, according to the study.

　　然而，研究表明，讀了兩年大學(xué)之后，中國(guó)學(xué)生在批判性思維方面幾乎沒(méi)有表現(xiàn)出任何長(zhǎng)進(jìn)，而與此同時(shí)，和他們同年級(jí)的美國(guó)和俄羅斯學(xué)生卻進(jìn)步飛快。

　　The Chinese government has built hundreds of universities in recent years to meet soaring demand for higher education, which many families consider a pathway into the growing middle class. Enrollment last year reached 26.2 million students, up from 3.4 million in 1998, with much of the increase in three-year polytechnic programs.

　　為滿(mǎn)足人們對(duì)高等教育迅速增長(zhǎng)的需求，中國(guó)政府近年來(lái)建立了數(shù)百所高校。許多家庭將高校視為通往日益壯大的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的階梯。去年的高校招生人數(shù)由1998年的340萬(wàn)增加到2620萬(wàn)，新增的學(xué)生中許多來(lái)自三年制的專(zhuān)科高校。

　　But many universities, mired in bureaucracy and lax academic standards, have struggled. Students say the energetic and demanding teaching they are accustomed to in primary and secondary schools all but disappears when they reach college.

　　但是，很多高校陷在官僚體制和松散學(xué)術(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的泥潭中苦苦掙扎。學(xué)生們說(shuō)，他們?cè)谥行W(xué)已經(jīng)習(xí)慣了的那種充滿(mǎn)活力并且要求嚴(yán)格的教學(xué)方式在他們進(jìn)入大學(xué)時(shí)幾乎消失了。

　　Others blame a lack of motivation among students. Chinese children spend years preparing for the gaokao, the all-powerful national exam that determines admission to universities in China. For many students, a few points on the test can mean the difference between a good and a bad university, and a life of wealth or poverty.

　　還有些人將問(wèn)題歸咎于學(xué)生們動(dòng)力的缺失。中國(guó)的孩子們?yōu)榱藗鋺?zhàn)高考寒窗苦讀數(shù)年。在中國(guó)，高考是決定大學(xué)錄取的最強(qiáng)大的全國(guó)性考試。對(duì)很多學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō)，這次考試中的幾分之差意味著好大學(xué)和壞大學(xué)的差別，意味著富足和貧窮人生的差別。

　　When students reach college, the pressure vanishes.

　　但學(xué)生們一旦進(jìn)入大學(xué)，這種壓力就消失了。

　　The Stanford researchers suspect the poor quality of teaching at many Chinese universities is one of the most important factors in the results. Chinese universities tend to reward professors for achievements in research, not their teaching abilities. In addition, almost all students graduate within four years, according to official statistics, reducing the incentive to work hard.

　　斯坦福大學(xué)的研究人員推測(cè)，許多中國(guó)高校的教學(xué)質(zhì)量低下是導(dǎo)致這種結(jié)果的最重要原因之一。中國(guó)高校往往會(huì)因?yàn)檠芯砍晒墙虒W(xué)能力來(lái)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)教授。此外，根據(jù)官方的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)，幾乎所有學(xué)生都能在四年之內(nèi)畢業(yè)，這降低了他們努力學(xué)習(xí)的動(dòng)力。