2017年12月四级第1套长篇阅读匹配原文翻译及答案

A) Research suggests they may study more broadly for the unexpected rather than search for answers. I have always been a poor test-taker. So it may seem rather strange that I have returned to college to finish the degree I left undone some four decades ago. I am making my way through Columbia University, surrounded by students who quickly supply the verbal answer while I am still processing the question.

研究表明，他们可能更广泛地学习以应对意外情况，而非仅仅寻求答案。我一直是个不擅长考试的人。因此，我重返大学完成大约四十年前未竟的学位，似乎颇为奇怪。我正在哥伦比亚大学求学，周围的学生能迅速给出口头答案，而我仍在思考问题。

B) Since there is no way for me to avoid exams, I am currently questioning what kind are the most taxing and ultimately beneficial. I have already sweated through numerous in-class midterms and finals, and now I have a professor who issues take-home ones. I was excited when I learned this, figuring I had a full week to do the research, read the texts, and write it all up. In fact, I was still rewriting my midterm the morning it was due. To say I had lost the thread is putting it mildly.

既然我无法避免考试，我目前正质疑哪种考试最费力且最终有益。我已经汗流浃背地经历了多次课堂期中和期末考试，现在有一位教授布置了带回家的考试。得知这个消息时我很兴奋，以为我有一整周时间做研究、阅读文本并完成所有写作。事实上，交作业的当天早上我还在重写期中考试。说我已经乱了阵脚还是轻描淡写。

C) As I was suffering through my week of anxiety, overthinking the material and guessing my grasp of it, I did some of my own polling among students and professors. David Eisenbach, who teaches a popular class on U.S. presidents at Columbia, prefers the in-class variety. He believes students ultimately learn more and encourages them to form study groups. "That way they socialize over history outside the class, which wouldn't happen without the pressure of an in-class exam," he explained, "Furthermore, in-class exams force students to learn how to perform under pressure, an essential work skill."

当我在焦虑的一周中煎熬，过度思考材料并猜测自己的掌握程度时，我进行了一些自己的调查，询问学生和教授。大卫·艾森巴赫在哥伦比亚大学教授一门关于美国总统的热门课程，他更喜欢课堂考试。他认为学生最终学得更多，并鼓励他们组建学习小组。他解释说：“这样他们在课外就历史进行社交，如果没有课堂考试的压力，这是不会发生的。”此外，课堂考试迫使学生学会在压力下表现，这是一种基本的工作技能。

D) He also says there is less chance of cheating with the in-class variety. In 2012, 125 students at Harvard were caught up in a scandal when it was discovered they had cheated on a take-home exam for a class entitled "Introduction To Congress." Some colleges have what they call an "honor code," though if you are smart enough to get into these schools, you are either smart enough to get around any codes or hopefully, too ethical to consider doing so. As I sat blocked and clueless for two solid days, I momentarily wondered if I couldn't just call an expert on the subject matter which I was tackling, or someone who took the class previously, to get me going.

他还说课堂考试作弊的机会较少。2012年，哈佛大学125名学生卷入一场丑闻，被发现他们在一门名为“国会导论”的带回家考试中作弊。一些大学有他们所谓的“荣誉准则”，不过如果你聪明到能进入这些学校，你要么聪明到足以绕过任何准则，要么希望有足够道德而不考虑这样做。当我呆坐了整整两天，毫无头绪时，我一时想是否可以打电话给该主题的专家或上过这门课的人来帮助我启动。

E) Following the Harvard scandal, Mary Miller, the former dean of students at Yale, made an impassioned appeal to her school's professors to refrain from take-home exams. "Students risk health and well being, as well as performance in other end-of-term work, when faculty offers take-home exams without clear, time-limited boundaries," she told me. "Research now shows that regular quizzes, short essays, and other assignments over the course of a term better enhance learning and retention."

继哈佛丑闻之后，耶鲁大学前学生事务院长玛丽·米勒向学校的教授们发出热情呼吁，要求他们避免带回家的考试。她告诉我：“当教师提供没有明确时间限制的带回家考试时，学生会冒着健康和福祉的风险，以及其他期末作业表现的风险。”现在研究表明，在学期中定期进行测验、短文和其他作业，能更好地增强学习和记忆。

F) Most college professors agree the kind of exam they choose largely depends on the subject. A quantitative-based one, for example, is unlikely to be sent home, where one could ask their older brothers and sisters to help. Vocational-type classes, such as computer science or journalism, on the other hand, are often more research-oriented and lend themselves to take-home testing. Chris Koch, who teaches "History of Broadcast Journalism" at Montgomery Community College in Rockville, Maryland, points out that reporting is about investigation rather than the memorization of minute details. "In my field, it's not what you know—it's what you know how to find out," says Koch. "There is way too much information, and more coming all the time, for anyone to remember. I want my students to search out the answers to questions by using all the resources available to them.

大多数大学教授同意，他们选择的考试类型主要取决于学科。例如，基于数量的考试不太可能带回家，因为人们可以请哥哥姐姐帮忙。另一方面，职业型课程，如计算机科学或新闻学，往往更注重研究，适合带回家的考试。克里斯·科奇在马里兰州罗克维尔的蒙哥马利社区学院教授“广播新闻史”，他指出报道是关于调查，而不是记忆细节。科奇说：“在我的领域，重要的不是你知道什么——而是你知道如何去发现。信息太多了，而且不断更新，没有人能记住全部。我希望我的学生利用所有可用资源来搜寻问题的答案。

G) Students' test-form preferences vary, too, often depending on the subject and course difficulty. "I prefer take-home essays because it is then really about the writing, so you have time to edit and do more research," says Elizabeth Dresser, a junior at Barnard. Then there is the stress factor. Francesca Haass, a senior at Middlebury, says, "I find the in-class ones are more stressful in the short term, but there is immediate relief as you swallow information like mad, and then you get to forget it all. Take-homes require thoughtful engagement which can lead to longer term stress as there is never a moment when the time is up." Meanwhile, Olivia Rubin, a sophomore at Emory, says she hardly even considers take-homes true exams. "If you understand the material and have the ability to articulate (说出) your thoughts, they should be a breeze."

学生的考试形式偏好也各不相同，通常取决于学科和课程难度。巴纳德学院大三学生伊丽莎白·德雷瑟说：“我更喜欢带回家的论文，因为那时真正是关于写作，所以你有时间编辑和做更多研究。”然后是压力因素。明德学院大四学生弗朗西斯卡·哈斯说：“我发现课堂考试在短期内压力更大，但当你疯狂吞咽信息后立即得到解脱，然后你就可以全部忘记。带回家的考试需要深思熟虑的投入，这可能导致长期压力，因为时间永无止境。”与此同时，埃默里大学大二学生奥利维亚·鲁宾说，她几乎不认为带回家的考试是真正的考试。“如果你理解材料并有能力表达你的想法，它们应该轻而易举。

H) How students ultimately handle stress may depend on their personal test-taking abilities. There are people who always wait until the last minute, and make it much harder than it needs to be. And then there are those who, not knowing what questions are coming at them, and having no resources to refer to, can freeze. And then there are we rare folks who fit both those descriptions.

学生最终如何处理压力可能取决于他们的个人应试能力。有些人总是等到最后一刻，使得事情比需要的更难。然后还有一些人，不知道会遇到什么问题，没有资源可参考，会僵住。然后还有我们这些罕见的人，符合这两种描述。

I) Yes, my advanced age must factor into the equation (等式), in part because of my inability to access the information as quickly. As another returning student at Columbia, Kate Marber, told me, "We are learning not only all this information, but essentially how to learn again. Our fellow students have just come out of high school. A lot has changed since we were last in school."

是的，我的高龄必须考虑在内，部分原因是无法快速获取信息。正如哥伦比亚大学另一位返校学生凯特·马伯告诉我：“我们不仅在学习所有这些信息，本质上是在重新学习如何学习。我们的同学刚从高中毕业。自从我们上次上学以来，很多事情都变了。

J) If nothing else, the situation has given my college son and me something to share, When I asked his opinion on this matter, he responded, "I like in-class exams because the time is already reserved, as opposed to using my free time at home to work on a test," he responded. It seems to me that a compromise would be receiving the exam questions a day or two in advance, and then doing the actual test in class with the ticking clock overhead.

至少，这种情况让我和我的大学儿子有了共同话题。当我问他的意见时，他回答说：“我喜欢课堂考试，因为时间已经预留好了，而不是用我在家的空闲时间来准备考试。”在我看来，一个折中方案是提前一两天收到考试题目，然后在课堂上进行实际考试，头顶有时钟滴答作响。

K) Better yet, how about what one Hunter College professor reportedly did recently for her final exam: She encouraged the class not to stress or even study, promising that, "It is going to be a piece of cake." When the students came in, sharpened pencils in hand, there was not a bluebook in sight. Rather, they saw a large chocolate cake and they each were given a slice.

更好的是，据报道，亨特学院一位教授最近为她的期末考试做了什么：她鼓励班级不要紧张甚至不用学习，承诺说：“这会是小菜一碟。”当学生们拿着削好的铅笔进来时，没有看到蓝皮书（考试册）。相反，他们看到一个大巧克力蛋糕，每人分到了一片。