基础综合英语-1a.doc

In Praise of the F Word Mary Sherry 1. Tens of thousands of 18-year-olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas. These diplomas wont look any different from those awarded their luckier classmates. Their validity will be questioned only when their employers discover that these graduates are semiliterate. Note： semiliterate a. semi-educated; having only an elementary level of reading and writing ability. semi-: half or partly e.g. semi- skilled workers; semi-retirement; semi-conductor semi–urban; semi-professional n. 半职业性选手或运动员 adj. 半职业性的 semifinal. 半决赛 2. Eventually a fortunate few will find their way into educational-repair shops—adult-literacy programs, such as the one where I teach basic grammar and writing. There, high-school graduates and high-school dropouts pursuing graduate-equivalency certificates will learn the skills they should have learned in school. They will also discover they have been cheated by our educational system. Note： find the way into 设法赶到[进入] dropout n. a person who leaves school before finishing a course 辍学学生 e.g. Many schools in the region have appallingly high dropout rates. Because of poor economy and feudalist mind, the dropout of girls in this area has been high. 3. As I teach, I learn a lot about our schools. Early in each session I ask my students to write about an unpleasant experience they had in school. No writers block here ! “1 wish someone would have had made me stop doing drugs and made me study.” “I liked to party and no one seemed to care. ‘I was a good kid and didnt cause any trouble, so they just passed me along even though I didnt read well and couldnt write. And so on. Note： block v. To stop or impede the passage of or movement through; obstruct: 妨碍，封锁，阻塞：阻止或妨碍…穿越或移动；阻碍： e.g. block traffic. 妨碍交通 party v. 举行[参加]社交聚会 4. I am your basic do-gooder, and prior to teaching this class I blamed the poor academic skills our kids have today on drugs, divorce and other impediments to concentration necessary