VOA慢速英语2016 全球经济下6种重要技能

Six Critical Skills for Today's Global Economy 全球经济下6种重要技能

Children and adults need to develop six important skills to succeed in the modern global economy.

在当代全球经济形势下，孩子和成人要想成功需要培养6种重要的技能。

This idea comes from two professors in the U.S. who study how people learn.

美国2名研究人类学习方式的教授提出了这个观点。

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Golinkoff recently published a book called "Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children."

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek和Roberta Golinkoff最近出版一本书：《做一个出色的人:科学告诉我们怎么培养成功的孩子》

The authors advocate for changing the education systems of many countries around the world, including the United States. They say modern schools need to help people develop a broader set of skills than just reading and math. Those skills all begin with the letter C.

作者呼吁包括美国在内的全球很多国家改革教育体系。他们表示现代学校需要帮助学生培养更加广泛的技能，而不仅仅是阅读和数学。这些技能都以字母C开头。

They are:

这些技能分别是：

Collaboration 1: the ability to work with others, to have social-emotional control, and to form communities.

合作：与他人合作、控制社交情绪和形成社区的能力。

Communication: the ability to develop strong reading, writing, listening and language skills.

交流：培养较强阅读、写作、听力等语言技能的能力。

Content: competencies in subject areas, but also in learning 2 to learn.

内容：在主题范围以及学会学习方面的能力。

Critical thinking: the ability to gather information intelligently and to weigh evidence.

批判性思维：明智地收集信息并分析例证的能力。

Creative innovation 3: the ability to use information in new ways and to solve problems.Confidence: the ability to learn from failure and to persist 4 in a problem.

创新改革：以新的方式使用信息和解决问题的能力。信心：从失败中学习的能力，并坚持一个问题。

With these skills, children and adults can better function in the 21st century, say the authors.

作者们表示，孩子和成年人具备这些技能能够在21世纪更好的发挥作用。

As a first step, Hirsh-Pasek suggests that we reconsider what success in education means. She says that most education currently 5 focuses on reading, writing and basic math. As a result, she says, many people view educational success in a narrow way: a good score on a reading or math test.

第一步，Hirsh-Pasek表示我们应当重新审视什么才是教育中的成功。她表示，目前大部分教育都专注于阅读、写作和基础数学。结果，很多人对教育成功的见解都很狭隘，即教育成功就是阅读和数学考试中取得高分。

One problem with this view is that children learn to be parrots rather than human beings. In other words, people learn to memorize and repeat, but do not learn to think creatively, find information, or collaborate 6.

这种观点的一个问题在于，孩子成为鹦鹉，而非人类。换句话说，人们学习识记或者重复所学习内容，而不是学习创造性地思考、发现信息以及合作。

Instead, Hirsh-Pasek wants to define 7 educational success in a broader way. She says education should aim to develop people who will be the creators, collaborators and citizens of the future.

相反，Hirsh-Pasek希望能够拓宽对教育成功的定义。她表示教育的目的应当是培养人们成为未来的创造者、合作者和公民。

Hirsh-Pasek and her co-author, Roberta Golinkoff, say they were inspired by education changes in Canada and a few other countries. They decided 8 to study the science of learning.

Hirsh-Pasek及其合著者Roberta Golinkoff表示受到加拿大以及其他一些国家教育改革的启发。他们决定对学习科学进行研究。

In other words, instead of thinking about how teachers teach best, they tried to think about how people learn best.

换句话，他们不再研究老师如何教好，而是试着研究人们如何学好。

Hirsh-Pasek describes what they found.

Hirsh-Pasek讲述了他们的发现。

The very most important thing in learning, especially in language, but even broadly, is to have a relationship with the person that you are learning from. We are human beings, and our calling card as human beings is to be social creatures...

“人们在广泛的学习过程，尤其是语言学习过程中，至关重要的一点是要与老师建立关系。我们是人，而人的‘名片’就是社交生物。”

The idea, Hirsh-Pasek says, is this: Human beings will never be able to memorize information as well as a computer.

Hirsh-Pasek表示，这种观点是，人类永远不能像电脑那样识记信息。

What humans do well is work together in teams, or collaborate. After all, we are social creatures.

人类擅长的是团队协作。毕竟，我们都是社交生物。

Hirsh-Pasek says that collaboration is the starting point for human learning. Collaboration is also a highly 9 desired skill in both public and private sector 10 jobs.

Hirsh-Pasek表示合作是人类学习的起点。合作还是公共部门和私营部门工作非常期望的一种技能。

Some good news is that people can build their collaboration skills – as well as the other skills the authors recommend – throughout their lives.

好消息是，人类在生活中，可以培养自己的合作技能，同样也可以培养作者推荐的其他技能。

Hirsh-Pasek recommends that students evaluate themselves to understand what skills they have. Ask yourself: how well can I work with others? How well do I communicate? Do I think critically? How willing am I to make mistakes?

Hirsh-Pasek建议学生们评估自己具备哪些技能。问问自己：我与他人共同工作的能力怎么样？我的沟通交流能力怎么样？我是否能够批判性地思考？我是否愿意犯错误？

If you need to strengthen a skill, the most important thing you need to do is practice, says Hirsh-Pasek.

Hirsh-Pasek表示，如果你需要巩固某项技能，最重要的事就是练习。

“You will never get better at speech-making if you don’t give speeches. You will never get better at French, you will never get better at Chinese, if you don’t practice it! And if you don’t have another person to practice it with.”

“如果不练习演讲，你永远不可能擅长演讲。如果不练习，永远都不会学好法语和汉语。如果没有跟你一起练习的人，（也永远无法取得进步。）”

So, if you want to improve your English skills, think about ways you can develop relationships with your English teacher or with English-speaking friends.

因此，如果想提高自己的英语技能，那么就要想想方法，建立与英语老师或者说英语的朋友之间的关系。

Hirsh-Pasek adds that students need to learn to look for experiences that will help them learn. She recommends being creative, and above all, not being afraid to mess up. Learning happens when people make mistakes.

Hirsh-Pasek补充道，学生们应当学习寻找那些有助于学习的经历。她建议学生首先要敢于创新，而不是害怕搞糟。犯错的过程其实也是学习过程。

Words in This Story

advocate – v. to support or argue for (a cause, policy, etc.)

function – v. to work or operate

narrow – adj. including or involving a small number of things: limited

parrot – n. a bright-colored tropical 11 bird that has a curved 12 bill and the ability to imitate speech

collaborate – v. to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something

broad – adj. including or involving many things: wide

inspire – v. to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

calling card – n. something that identifies a particular person or group