你與雅思寫作7分，其實還差一本經濟學人

節選自2018.3.31 經濟學人【文末有福利，不要輕易走開】

1

PARENTS in England are faced with a choice when their children are old enough to attend secondary school. They can pay to send their offspring to a private school, which usually involves sitting an entrance exam. Alternatively, in some parts of the country, the child can sit an eleven-plus exam and, provided they pass, attend a grammar school. Grammar schools are publicly funded and tend to excel in league tables of academic performance. The overwhelming majority (about 90%) of British pupils, however, attend non-selective state schools.

1. sit an entrance exam 參加入學考試；其中的sit的意思是：參加考試(刷新了多數人對sit意思的認知)

2. Eleven-plus exam （11+）考試；背景知識：英國部分城鎮實行的小學畢業考（身兼小升初）自1944年因《Butler教育法案》而問世。

3. Grammar school 英國的文法學校；背景知識：(1)文法學校（Grammar school）是英國歷史上傳承下來的學校分類中的一種。最開始的時候，文法學校是指那些教授拉丁文的學校，現在，是指以學生學術成績為第一位的英國中學。(2)文法學校就是英國的公立「重點中學」。他們的教育水平和優秀的私校不分上下，但又不用繳納私校高昂的學費。進入文法學校需要經過嚴苛的考試。這些考試在11歲（小學六年級）進行，所以也稱「11+考試」。如果不參加考試或是落選，就直接按學區就近入學讀普通高中(印證最後了一句話: majority attend non-selective state schools). 要進入文法學校，要麼之前接受過英國的私校教育，要麼請家教。

4. provided conj. 假設，如果 ，文中句子可以改成：If children pass the eleven-plus exam，they can attend a grammar school.

5. excel in league tables of academic performance 在學術成績排行榜上成績突出；excel in 意思是：在...表現優秀；league tables 比賽成績表

我們把這個短語進行適當的仿寫，便可運用到雅思寫作教育類話題：對於孩子們來說，競爭or合作？有的人認為，競爭能夠讓孩子們更有動力去學習，努力在考試中取得好的成績，成為班級中的翹楚。some people think that proper competition may motivate children to excel in league tables of exams.

6. state schools 公立學校，國立學校 ；美國的公立學校習慣稱之為：public schools

7. The overwhelming majority (about 90%) of British pupils, however, attend non-selective state schools. 然而，絕大多數（約90%）的英國學生在非選擇性的公立學校上學。

2

Debate has raged for years over whether most selective schools do well because they provide a better education than state schools, or merely because they cream off the brightest and most privileged. According to research led by Robert Plomin and Emily Smith-Woolley, both of Kings College London, the educational benefits of selective schools largely disappear once the innate ability and socio-economic background of pupils at selective schools are taken into account.

開頭句：Debate has raged for years over whether... or...可運用到雅思寫作引入話題

開頭句大意：多年來，人們一直在爭論，大多數精選學校之所以表現出色，是因為它們提供了比公立學校更好的教育，還是僅僅是因為它們從最聰明、最有特權的學校中脫穎而出。

1. Cream off

(1) 選取(精英); 提取精華

e.g.：The private schools cream off many of the best pupils. 私立學校招走了很多優秀的學生。

(2)取走(一大筆錢)

e.g.:This means smaller banks can cream off big profits during lending booms...這意味著在貸款業務劇增時小銀行能夠獲得大筆利潤

2.倫敦國王學院（Kings College London) ，簡稱Kings或KCL，倫敦大學的創校學院，世界頂尖的綜合研究型大學，享有極高美譽。英國金三角名校，羅素集團成員，SES-5成員。國王學院由英國國王喬治四世建於1829年，同年授予皇家特許狀，為歷史最悠久的英國大學之一。

3. innate ability 天生能力

4. socio-economic 社會經濟學的

e.g.：Suicide is often connected with socio-economic deprivation. 自殺經常與社會經濟權利的喪失有關。

3

At first the researchers calculated a genetic score taken for each child by adding up contributions from thousands of minor variations in their DNA that past studies (including data from 300,000 individuals) have linked to educational attainment. Pupils attending grammar and private schools had significantly higher genetic scores than those in comprehensives. But when those scores were adjusted to reflect each childs test results at 11, as well as the education and occupations of their parents the differences vanished. That makes sense. Previous research has shown that many of the traits that selective schools are screening for are, in part, inherited from their parents. The tests being used by schools appear to be inadvertently picking up some of these genetic differences.

1. Educational attainment 受教育程度

2. inadvertently 無意地

e.g.：The government has said it was an inadvertent error.政府聲稱那是因疏忽造成的過失。

段落大意：首先，研究人員計算了每個孩子的基因分數，把他們的DNA中數千個微小的變異（包括30萬個個體的數據）加起來，就可以得出他們的遺傳分數與受教育程度相關的結論。上文法學校和私立學校的學生的基因分數明顯高於綜合學校的學生。但是，當這些分數被調整以反映每個孩子在11歲時的考試成績，以及他們父母的教育和職業時，差異就消失了。那就說得通了。先前的研究表明，被選擇性學校篩選的許多特質，在一定程度上都是從他們父母那裡繼承來的。學校正在使用的測試似乎無意中發現了其中的一些基因差異。

4

The researchers then scored each child based on the results of science, maths and English GCSE exams, typically taken by all school children in England and Wales at the age of 16. On average, the results of children at private or grammar schools were a full GCSE grade higher than those at state schools. That suggests attending a selective school gives children a boost. Without correcting for any other factors the researchers calculated the boost to be worth about 7.1% of the difference in GCSE results.

1. General Certificate of Secondary Education，簡稱為GCSE，中文譯為普通中等教育證書，是英國學生完成第一階段中等教育會考所頒發的證書。

2. On average 平均而言

3. Gives children a boost 對孩子們有很大幫助

段落大意：然後，研究人員根據科學、數學和英語普通中等教育證書考試的結果對每個孩子進行評分，這些考試通常由英格蘭和威爾士所有16歲的學生進行。平均而言，私立學校或文法學校的學生成績高於公立學校的學生。這表明上選擇性學校對孩子有很大的幫助。在沒有糾正其他因素的情況下，研究人員計算出GCSE結果差異值在7.1%左右。

5

The research comes with important caveats. First, the thousands of genetic variations so far linked to educational attainment are not well understood. Many of these variations may not be linked to intelligence at all. If, for instance, a weak bladder leads a child to perform poorly in timed exams or protuberant ears means bullying blighted their education, genetic variants for these traits will show up as disadvantageous. (對比論證) Stronger bladders and flatter ears will therefore confer advantages and better genetic scores. Second, had the study also been conducted in a nation, such as Denmark, where wealth is more evenly spread it is possible that genetics would appear to play a bigger role in educational outcomes, because socio-economic disparities would have a lesser impact.

本段落典型的雅思寫作展開邏輯。主旨句後寫了兩個分論點，每個論點後運用舉例或解釋的手法論證

1. caveat 警告 bladder 膀胱

2. protuberant 隆起的，突起的

e.g.:...a high-beaked nose and large protuberant eyes.

高鼻樑，又大又凸出的眼睛

3. educational outcomes 教育成果

4. socio-economic disparity 社會經濟差距

段落大意：這項研究附帶了重要的警告。首先，至今與教育程度相關的數千個基因變異還沒有得到很好的理解。其中許多變化可能根本與智力無關。例如，如果一個虛弱的膀胱讓一個孩子在規定的考試或突起的耳朵中表現不佳，這就意味著欺負他們的教育受到了影響，那麼這些特徵的基因變異就會顯得不利。 因此，強健的膀胱和圓潤的耳朵會帶來優勢和更好的基因分數。其次，如果這項研究也在一個國家進行，比如丹麥，那裡的財富分布更加平均，那麼遺傳因素在教育成果中可能會發揮更大的作用，因為社會經濟差距的影響會較小。

6

The research does not appear to support 「progressive eugenics」, as advanced by Toby Young, a journalist and a co-author of the study. MrYounghas argued that poor people should be able to screen embryos free on the basis of intelligence, if the technology becomes available. Setting aside ethical questions, many of the genetic differences that might appear to contribute to social mobility (think flatter ears, etc) may not be associated with actual intelligence. Overall, such an idea might shift educational attainment by a few percentage points at best. That is tiny compared with the advantages enjoyed by the children of the educated and wealthy.

段落大意：這項研究似乎並不支持「進步的優生學」，正如該研究報告的作者之一、記者托比·揚所提出的那樣。MrYounghas認為，如果技術可用，窮人就應該能夠根據智力對胚胎進行篩選。撇開倫理問題不談，許多似乎會導致社會流動性的遺傳差異（想想奉承的耳朵等等）可能與實際智力無關。總的來說，這樣的想法最多只能改變幾個百分點的教育程度。這與受過教育的有錢人的孩子所享有的優勢相比是微不足道的。

看完這麼長的文章，沒有福利怎能對得起各位，如果你跟Eric一樣，也喜歡閱讀經濟學人，那麼我為大家準備好了2017年全年讀的經濟學人合集，獲取方式如下：

關注公眾號：Ericlub

回復：經濟學人

即可獲取下載鏈接！

微博話題：#21天雅思寫作集訓營#

微博：Eric英語俱樂部

知乎：LIU Eric

堅持用心、原創有料

http://weixin.qq.com/r/oylNVVTEMwlMrRA293yx (二維碼自動識別)