The Economist [05] | Lifelong learning 终身学习 Part 4

If new ways of learning are to help those who need them most, policymakers should be aiming for something far more radical. Because education is a public good whose benefits spill over to all of society, governments have a vital role to play—not just by spending more, but also by spending wisely.

Lifelong learning starts at school. As a rule, education should not be narrowly vocational. The curriculum needs to teach children how to study and think. A focus on “metacognition” will make them better at picking up skills later in life.

But the biggest change is to make adult learning routinely accessible to all. One way is for citizens to receive vouchers that they can use to pay for training. Singapore has such “individual learning accounts”; it has given money to everyone over 25 to spend on any of 500 approved courses. So far each citizen has only a few hundred dollars, but it is early days.

Courses paid for by taxpayers risk being wasteful. But industry can help by steering people towards the skills it wants and by working with MOOCs and colleges to design courses that are relevant. Companies can also encourage their staff to learn. AT&T, a telecoms firm which wants to equip its workforce with digital skills, spends $30m a year on reimbursing employees’ tuition costs. Trade unions can play a useful role as organisers of lifelong learning, particularly for those—workers in small firms or the self-employed—for whom company-provided training is unlikely. A union-run training programme in Britain has support from political parties on the right and left.

To make all this training worthwhile, governments need to slash the licensing requirements and other barriers that make it hard for newcomers to enter occupations. Rather than asking for 300 hours’ practice to qualify to wash hair, for instance, the state of Tennessee should let hairdressers decide for themselves who is the best person to hire.

Not everyone will successfully navigate the shifting jobs market. Those most at risk of technological disruption are men in blue-collar jobs, many of whom reject taking less “masculine” roles in fast-growing areas such as health care. But to keep the numbers of those left behind to a minimum, all adults must have access to flexible, affordable training. The 19th and 20th centuries saw stunning advances in education. That should be the scale of the ambition today.

If new ways of learning are to help those who need them most, policymakers should be aiming for something far more radical[根本性的]. 如果新的学习方式是要帮助那些最需要帮助的人，那么政策制定者应该寻求远为根本性的举措。

【radical】

relating to the most important parts of something or someone; complete or extreme根本的；彻底的，完全的

We need to make some radical changes to our operating procedures.我们需要对操作规程进行一些根本性的变革。

I'm just having my hair trimmed - nothing radical.我只是修剪了一下头发，没有什么大的改变。

Because education is a public good[公益事业] whose benefits spill over to[延及] all of society, governments have a vital role to play[发挥重要作用]—not just by spending more, but also by spending wisely[花得明智]. 因为教育是一种公益事业，其益处会延及整个社会，各国政府要发挥重要作用——不仅要增加投入，还得把钱花得明智。

【spill over】

If an activity or situation spills over, it begins to affect another situation or group of people, especially in an unpleasant or unwanted way. （尤指令人不快地）波及，扩散，影响

I try not to let my work spill over into my life outside the office.我努力不让我的工作影响到办公室之外的生活。

The conflict threatens to spill over into neighbouring regions.冲突可能会波及到邻近地区。

Lifelong learning starts at school. 终身学习始于学校。

As a rule, education should not be narrowly vocational[职业的]. 一般来说，教育不应该有狭隘的职业性。

The curriculum needs to teach children how to study and think. 学生需要从课程中学会如何学习和思考。

A focus on[注重] “metacognition” will make them better at picking up skills[学习技能] later in life. 注重“元认知”将帮助学生日后更好地学习技能。

But the biggest change is to make adult learning routinely[常态化地] accessible to all. 但最大的改变是让所有人都能常态化地进行成人学习。

One way is for citizens to receive vouchers[抵用券] that they can use to pay for training. 一个方法是向国民发放抵用券，可用于支付培训费用。

Singapore has such “individual learning accounts”; 新加坡就有这样的“个人学习账户”。

it has given money to everyone over 25 to spend on any of 500 approved courses. 该国向所有25岁以上的国民提供资金，可用来选择学习500种经认可的课程。

So far each citizen has only a few hundred dollars, but it is early days. 到目前为止，每个国民只领取了几百美元，但这才刚刚开始。

【it is early days】

said when you think it is too soon to make a judgment about the likely result of something because a lot might still happen or change 言之过早；为时尚早

Our progress has been fairly slow so far, but it's early days.到目前为止我们的进度很缓慢，但来日方长，现在还不能说以后会怎么样。

Courses paid for by taxpayers risk being wasteful. 由纳税人付费的课程有可能被浪费。

But industry can help by steering[引导] people towards the skills it wants and by working with MOOCs and colleges to design courses that are relevant. 但企业界可以提供帮助，引导人们学习业界所需的技能，并和MOOC及大学院校合作设计有用的课程。

【steer】

to take someone or something or make someone or something go in the direction in which you want him, her, or it引导，带领

She steered her guests into the dining room.她把客人们领到餐厅。

I'd like to steer our discussion back to our original topic.我想请大家重新回到我们原来讨论的话题。

The main task of the new government will be to steer the country towards democracy.新政府的主要任务是将国家引向民主。

Companies can also encourage their staff to learn. 企业还可以鼓励员工学习。

AT&T, a telecoms firm which wants to equip its workforce with digital skills, spends $30m a year on reimbursing employees’ tuition costs. 电信公司AT&T希望员工具备数字技能，它每年支出3000万美元报销员工的学费。

【reimburse】

to pay back money to someone who has spent it for you or lost it because of you偿还；付还；补偿

The airline reimbursed me for the amount they had overcharged me.航空公司多收了我钱，他们后来退还给我了。

She was reimbursed by the gas company for the damage to her house.煤气公司对她房屋遭受的损失进行了赔偿。

Trade unions can play a useful role as[发挥作用] organisers of lifelong learning, particularly for those—workers in small firms or the self-employed—for whom company-provided training is unlikely. 工会也可以发挥作用，组织终身学习，尤其是帮助那些小公司的员工或自雇人士，因为这些人不大可能有公费培训的机会。

A union-run training programme in Britain has support from political parties on the right and left. 在英国，一个工会组织的培训项目同时得到了左右两派政党的支持。

To make all this training worthwhile[值得的], governments need to slash the licensing requirements and other barriers that make it hard for newcomers to enter occupations. 要让所有这些培训有价值，政府需要大力降低执业资格要求以及其他阻碍新人入行的门槛。

【slash】

to very much reduce something, such as money or jobs大幅削减，大幅减少（金钱、工作等）

Prices have been slashed by 50 percent!价格直降50%！

Rather than asking for 300 hours’ practice to qualify to wash hair, for instance, the state of Tennessee should let hairdressers decide for themselves who is the best person to hire.例如，与其要求有300小时的实习来获得做洗发工的资格，田纳西州应该让理发店自行决定雇谁最好。

Not everyone will successfully navigate the shifting[不断变化的] jobs market. 并非每个人都能成功应付正在变化的就业市场。

【navigate】

to direct the way that a ship, aircraft, etc. will travel, or to find a direction across, along, or over an areaof water or land, often by using a map（常指借助地图）导航，确定…的方向

Sailors have special equipment to help them navigate.船员们借助专门的仪器确定航向。

Even ancient ships were able to navigate large stretches of openwater.即便是古老的船只也能在宽阔的大片水域中航行。

Some migrating birds can navigate by the moon (= using the moon as a guide).有些迁徙的鸟类可以借助月亮确定方向。

There weren't any road signs to help us navigate through the maze of one-way streets.没有任何路标可以指引我们穿过像迷宫似的单行街道。

We had to navigate several flights of stairs to find his office.我们不得不攀上好几层楼梯才找到他的办公室。

Those most at risk of[受威胁] technological disruption[技术颠覆] are men in blue-collar jobs, many of whom reject taking less “masculine[男子汉的]” roles in fast-growing areas such as health care. 受技术颠覆威胁最大的是那些蓝领工人，其中很多人拒绝在医疗护理等快速发展的领域里承担不那么“男子汉”的工作。

【masculine】

adjective UK   /ˈmæs.kjə.lɪn/  US   /ˈmæs.kjə.lɪn/

having characteristics that are traditionally thought to be typical of or suitable for men男性的，男子气概的；适于男子的

a masculine appearance/voice男性外表／嗓音

But to keep the numbers of those left behind to a minimum, all adults must have access to flexible, affordable training. 但是，若要尽量减少因时代改变而落伍的人数，那么所有成年人都必须能够获得灵活而又实惠的培训。

The 19th and 20th centuries saw stunning[令人震惊的] advances in education. That should be the scale of the ambition today.在19和20世纪，教育有了令人震惊的进步。今天的抱负应当不逊当年。

If new ways of learning are to help those who need them most, policymakers should be aiming for something far more radical[根本性的]. Because education is a public good[公益事业] whose benefits spill over to[延及] all of society, governments have a vital role to play[发挥重要作用]—not just by spending more, but also by spending wisely[花得明智].

如果新的学习方式是要帮助那些最需要帮助的人，那么政策制定者应该寻求远为根本性的举措。因为教育是一种公益事业，其益处会延及整个社会，各国政府要发挥重要作用——不仅要增加投入，还得把钱花得明智。

Lifelong learning starts at school. As a rule, education should not be narrowly vocational[职业的]. The curriculum needs to teach children how to study and think. A focus on[注重] “metacognition” will make them better at picking up skills[学习技能] later in life.

终身学习始于学校。一般来说，教育不应该有狭隘的职业性。学生需要从课程中学会如何学习和思考。注重“元认知”将帮助学生日后更好地学习技能。

But the biggest change is to make adult learning routinely[常态化地] accessible to all. One way is for citizens to receive vouchers[抵用券] that they can use to pay for training. Singapore has such “individual learning accounts”; it has given money to everyone over 25 to spend on any of 500 approved courses. So far each citizen has only a few hundred dollars, but it is early days.

但最大的改变是让所有人都能常态化地进行成人学习。一个方法是向国民发放抵用券，可用于支付培训费用。新加坡就有这样的“个人学习账户”。该国向所有25岁以上的国民提供资金，可用来选择学习500种经认可的课程。到目前为止，每个国民只领取了几百美元，但这才刚刚开始。

Courses paid for by taxpayers risk being wasteful. But industry can help by steering[引导] people towards the skills it wants and by working with MOOCs and colleges to design courses that are relevant. Companies can also encourage their staff to learn. AT&T, a telecoms firm which wants to equip its workforce with digital skills, spends $30m a year on reimbursing employees’ tuition costs. Trade unions can play a useful role as[发挥作用] organisers of lifelong learning, particularly for those—workers in small firms or the self-employed—for whom company-provided training is unlikely. A union-run training programme in Britain has support from political parties on the right and left.

由纳税人付费的课程有可能被浪费。但企业界可以提供帮助，引导人们学习业界所需的技能，并和MOOC及大学院校合作设计有用的课程。企业还可以鼓励员工学习。电信公司AT&T希望员工具备数字技能，它每年支出3000万美元报销员工的学费。工会也可以发挥作用，组织终身学习，尤其是帮助那些小公司的员工或自雇人士，因为这些人不大可能有公费培训的机会。在英国，一个工会组织的培训项目同时得到了左右两派政党的支持。

To make all this training worthwhile[值得的], governments need to slash the licensing requirements and other barriers that make it hard for newcomers to enter occupations. Rather than asking for 300 hours’ practice to qualify to wash hair, for instance, the state of Tennessee should let hairdressers decide for themselves who is the best person to hire.

要让所有这些培训有价值，政府需要大力降低执业资格要求以及其他阻碍新人入行的门槛。例如，与其要求有300小时的实习来获得做洗发工的资格，田纳西州应该让理发店自行决定雇谁最好。

Not everyone will successfully navigate the shifting[不断变化的] jobs market. Those most at risk of[受威胁] technological disruption[技术颠覆] are men in blue-collar jobs, many of whom reject taking less “masculine[男子汉的]” roles in fast-growing areas such as health care. But to keep the numbers of those left behind to a minimum, all adults must have access to flexible, affordable training. The 19th and 20th centuries saw stunning[令人震惊的] advances in education. That should be the scale of the ambition today.

并非每个人都能成功应付正在变化的就业市场。受技术颠覆威胁最大的是那些蓝领工人，其中很多人拒绝在医疗护理等快速发展的领域里承担不那么“男子汉”的工作。但是，若要尽量减少因时代改变而落伍的人数，那么所有成年人都必须能够获得灵活而又实惠的培训。在19和20世纪，教育有了令人震惊的进步。今天的抱负应当不逊当年。

【radical】根本的；彻底的，完全的

【spill over】波及，扩散，影响

【it is early days】言之过早；为时尚早

【steer】引导，带领

【reimburse】偿还；付还；补偿

【slash】大幅削减，大幅减少（金钱、工作等）

【navigate】导航，确定…的方向

【masculine】男性的，男子气概的；适于男子的

public good[公益事业]

have a vital role to play[发挥重要作用]

spending wisely[花得明智]

vocational[职业的]

picking up skills[学习技能]

routinely[常态化地]

vouchers[抵用券]

play a useful role[发挥作用]

at risk of[受威胁]

technological disruption[技术颠覆]

stunning[令人震惊的]

原文选自《经济学人》 2017年1月14日 Technology and education版块 Lifelong Learning文章

单词释义来源：剑桥字典网页版  https://dictionary.cambridge.org

原文链接：https://gbr.economist.com/articles/view/5878aaadffe2d6434a24290c/en_GB/zh_CN

翻译链接：https://gbr.economist.com/articles/view/5878aaadffe2d6434a24290c/zh_CN/en_GB

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