2017考研英語閱讀材料：不識(shí)字的人更容易犯罪和暴力

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雖然現(xiàn)在教育普及的越來越廣泛，國民平均文化水平也在不斷的提高，但是在全球的很多地方還是有不識(shí)字的人。下面我們大家一起來看一下跨考網(wǎng)的小編為大家整理的關(guān)于2017考研英語閱讀材料：不識(shí)字的人更容易犯罪和暴力的一些資料，幫助大家更好的做好考研英語的復(fù)習(xí)備考工作。

Earlier this month, I visited a hilly corner of NorthCarolina to spend time with family friends. As we sat around the kitchen table, a formermusician whom I shall call Dave revealed that he had recently started an entrepreneurialsideline to supplement his meagre family income. During part of the week, he works in a localpawnshop but he does not lend out cash. Instead, Dave fills out application forms for peoplewho want to buy firearms — but cannot read or write. He only charges a few dollars for this butthe service is so popular that it provides a steady income. “Lots of people round here can’tread and write,” Dave told me with a rueful laugh. “But they all want guns. So they pay me todo that — I use their driving licences to get all the details.”

本月早些時(shí)候，我去了美國北卡萊羅納州一個(gè)多山的地方探訪親友。就在我們圍坐在廚房桌子邊時(shí)，一位曾經(jīng)的音樂人(姑且叫他戴夫(Dave)吧)說，為了貼補(bǔ)微薄的家庭收入，他最近開創(chuàng)了一項(xiàng)副業(yè)。每周部分時(shí)間里，他在當(dāng)?shù)匾患耶?dāng)鋪工作，不過并不是在那出借現(xiàn)金，而是幫那些想購買槍支卻不能讀寫的人填寫申請表格。他每單只收幾美元，不過由于該服務(wù)大受歡迎，這項(xiàng)業(yè)務(wù)為他帶來了穩(wěn)定的收入。戴夫苦笑著對(duì)我說：“這里許多人都不會(huì)讀寫。不過他們都想買槍。因此，他們付錢給我讓我做這事——我用他們的駕照得到所需的所有具體信息。”

Welcome to an oft-ignored feature of America in 2015 — and I am not just talking aboutfirearms. These days, there is hand-wringing aplenty, particularly on the political left, aboutincome inequality. As a Financial Times series indicated last week, the gap between rich andpoor is yawning ever wider as the middle class shrinks.

歡迎您見識(shí)2015年美國一個(gè)時(shí)常被人忽視的特征——我說的并不僅僅是槍支。最近一段時(shí)間，人們對(duì)收入不平等簡直絕望了，尤其是在政治上偏左的人士當(dāng)中。正如不久前英國《金融時(shí)報(bào)》一個(gè)系列報(bào)道所指出的，在中產(chǎn)階級(jí)不斷萎縮之際，貧富差距正在越拉越大。

But what is often forgotten is that this income inequality reflects and reinforces otherpernicious cultural chasms. Today, millions of Americans are enjoying the bonanza of aninformation boom, with once unimaginable power at their fingertips or, more specifically, on thebuttons of their tablets and smartphones. They are “haves”, in the sense of having access tothe 21st-century economy. But there is also an underbelly of “have-nots”, who lack access tothis economic and information engine, sometimes for the most basic reason of not being able toread or write.

然而，人們往往忘記的是，這種收入不平等反映并強(qiáng)化了文化上的其他有害鴻溝。如今，數(shù)以百萬計(jì)的美國人正在享受信息爆炸的豐碩成果，他們的指尖——或者更具體地說，他們的平板電腦和智能手機(jī)屏幕上的按鈕——賦予他們一度無法想象的力量。他們可以觸摸到21世紀(jì)的經(jīng)濟(jì)，從這個(gè)意義上說，他們是“擁有者”。然而，整個(gè)社會(huì)還存在一個(gè)由“沒有者”構(gòu)成的薄弱環(huán)節(jié)，他們無法觸摸到這種推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展和信息傳播的動(dòng)力，這有的時(shí)候是出于一個(gè)最簡單的原因——他們沒有讀寫的能力。

Much of the time this underbelly is concealed; at least from people like me, fortunate to liveamong information-blessed urban elites who take reading skills for granted. But the issue issurprisingly widespread. And it is not just a problem of rural communities or non-whitegroups — indeed, many of Dave’s North Carolina clients are white.

多數(shù)時(shí)候，這個(gè)薄弱環(huán)節(jié)是隱藏起來的;至少對(duì)于像我這樣，生活在享有信息、將閱讀能力視為理所當(dāng)然的城市精英圈子中的幸運(yùn)兒而言是如此。然而，其實(shí)這個(gè)問題普遍得驚人。而且，這個(gè)問題并不僅僅存在于鄉(xiāng)村社區(qū)或非白人群體中——事實(shí)上，戴夫的許多北卡萊羅納客戶都是白人。

According to a 2013 survey by the US Department of Education and National Institute ofLiteracy, 14 per cent of the adult population (or 32 million people) cannot read properly, while21 per cent read below a level required in the fifth grade. And 19 per cent of high-schoolgraduates cannot read. In the north-east, illiteracy is lower; in some southern states, such asMississippi, it is higher. North Carolina is in the middle. This rate has been remarkably stable inrecent decades, and it puts the US in 12th place among major industrialised countries (the UKfares only slightly better).

根據(jù)美國教育部(Department of Education)和美國國家識(shí)字研究所(National Institute of Literacy) 2013年開展的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，14%的成年人口(也就是3200萬人)不怎么識(shí)字，21%的人閱讀能力低于5年級(jí)要求的水平。19%的高中畢業(yè)生不識(shí)字。美國東北部文盲率較低，而在密西西比州等南部一些州，文盲率則較高。北卡萊羅納州的文盲率處于中間水平。最近幾十年，這一比例一直非常穩(wěn)定，它令美國在主要發(fā)達(dá)國家中排第12位(英國的成績也只是略好一點(diǎn))。

But what is truly startling — and tragic — is the degree to which “the link between academicfailure and delinquency, violence and crime is welded to reading failure”, as a report from theDepartment of Justice states. Apparently 85 per cent of juvenile delinquents and 70 per cent ofthe prison population struggles to read. Indeed, the link is so well established that pro-literacy groups claim that some states can predict their need for future prison beds bylooking at the literacy rates in schools. And, unsurprisingly, half of adults with poor literacylive in poverty, shut out of most 21st-century jobs. As Juli Willeman, head of the Pi Beta Phigroup, which runs literacy campaigns, observes: “Reading proficiency predicts futuresuccess.” Or the lack of it.

但正如美國司法部的一份報(bào)告所指出，真正令人震驚(且可悲)的是，“學(xué)業(yè)失敗與青少年犯罪、暴力和犯罪之間的關(guān)聯(lián)(很大程度上)要?dú)w咎于不識(shí)字”。據(jù)稱，85%的少年犯以及70%的在押犯不怎么識(shí)字。事實(shí)上，這種關(guān)聯(lián)如此明確，以至于掃盲團(tuán)體宣稱，一些州可以通過觀察學(xué)校學(xué)生的識(shí)字率來預(yù)測未來監(jiān)獄所需的床位數(shù)。不意外的是，不怎么識(shí)字的成年人中，有一半生活窘迫，被21世紀(jì)的大部分工作拒之門外。開展掃盲活動(dòng)的Pi Beta Phi組織負(fù)責(zé)人朱莉維勒曼(Juli Willeman)指出：“讀寫流利預(yù)示著未來的成功。”不會(huì)讀寫則預(yù)示著未來的失敗。

The good news is that these statistics are so shocking that they are provoking some policyresponse. A host of philanthropic ventures, such as Pi Beta Phi, are waging pro-literacycampaigns for adults and children. Most prisons now feature intensive literacy courses, notleast because prisoners who can read are far less likely to reoffend. The public education systemis also (somewhat belatedly) getting involved. In North Carolina, for example, a “retention”policy was launched three years ago that keeps any third-grade child who cannot read properlyin that class until they have mastered the basics. In October, North Carolina education officialsrevealed that 14 per cent of pupils were “retained” last year.

好消息是，這些統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)如此令人震驚，以至于激起了一些政策回應(yīng)。Pi Beta Phi等許多慈善機(jī)構(gòu)正在開展面向成人和兒童的識(shí)字活動(dòng)。如今，大多數(shù)監(jiān)獄都開辦了密集的識(shí)字課程，主要原因是識(shí)字的囚犯重新犯罪的可能性會(huì)大大降低。公共教育體系(雖然行動(dòng)得有些遲)也在參與進(jìn)來。例如，北卡羅來納州3年前啟動(dòng)了一項(xiàng)“留級(jí)”政策，讓所有沒有真正掌握識(shí)字能力的三年級(jí)兒童留級(jí)，直至他們掌握基本讀寫能力。十月，北卡羅萊那州的教育官員透露，去年有14%的學(xué)生被要求“留級(jí)”。

But while these initiatives are laudable, they remain piecemeal compared with the scale of theproblem. The chance of America changing that dismal ratio anytime soon, in other words, lookslow; indeed, almost as low as changing the gun culture. So I would bet that my friend Dave willbe peddling his services for a long while yet. Call it, if you like, a paradox of America’s moderneconomy; and a nasty rebuke to anyone who thinks we all live in the innovative, internet age.

雖然這些舉措值得稱贊，但相對(duì)這一問題的普遍程度，這些舉措仍不夠系統(tǒng)。換句話說，美國能很快改變這種可悲識(shí)字率的機(jī)會(huì)看起來很渺茫;實(shí)際上，其可能性與改變槍械文化的可能性一樣低。因此，我敢打賭，我朋友戴夫還將在很長時(shí)間里繼續(xù)兜售他的服務(wù)。如果喜歡，你可以稱之為美國現(xiàn)代經(jīng)濟(jì)的一種悖論;或是對(duì)任何認(rèn)為我們都生活在創(chuàng)新互聯(lián)網(wǎng)時(shí)代的人的有力駁斥。

通過上面跨考網(wǎng)的小編為大家整理的關(guān)于2017考研英語閱讀材料：不識(shí)字的人更容易犯罪和暴力的一些資料，大家應(yīng)該清醒地認(rèn)識(shí)到教育的重要性。