2018年06月四级第3套仔细阅读 Passage 1 原文翻译及答案解析

For thousands of years, people have known that the best way to understand a concept is to explain it to someone else. "While we teach, we learn," said Roman philosopher Seneca. Now scientists are bringing this ancient wisdom up-to-date. They're documenting why teaching is such a fruitful way to learn, and designing innovative ways for young people to engage in instruction.

数千年来，人们已经知道理解一个概念的最佳方式是向他人解释它。"我们在教的同时也在学，"罗马哲学家塞涅卡说道。如今，科学家们正在将这一古老智慧更新。他们正在记录为什么教学是如此富有成效的学习方式，并设计创新方式让年轻人参与教学。

Researchers have found that students who sign up to tutor others work harder to understand the material, recall it more accurately and apply it more effectively. Student teachers score higher on tests than pupils who're learning only for their own sake. But how can children, still learning themselves, teach others? One answer: They can tutor younger kids. Some studies have found that first-born children are more intelligent than their later-born siblings (兄弟姐妹). This suggests their higher IQs result from the time they spend teaching their siblings. Now educators are experimenting with ways to apply this model to academic subjects. They engage college undergraduates to teach computer science to high school students, who in turn instruct middle school students on the topic.

研究人员发现，报名辅导他人的学生在理解材料、更准确地回忆和更有效地应用方面更加努力。学生教师在测试中比那些仅为自身学习的学生得分更高。但孩子们自己还在学习，如何教导他人呢？一个答案是：他们可以辅导更小的孩子。一些研究发现，长子比他们的弟弟妹妹更聪明。这表明他们的更高智商源于他们花时间教导兄弟姐妹。现在，教育工作者正在试验将这一模式应用于学术科目。他们让大学本科生教授高中生计算机科学，而高中生又指导中学生学习该主题。

But the most cutting-edge tool under development is the "teachable agent"—a computerized character who learns, tries, makes mistakes and asks questions just like a real-world pupil. Computer scientists have created an animated (动画的) figure called Betty's Brain, who has been "taught" about environmental science by hundreds of middle school students. Student teachers are motivated to help Betty master certain materials. While preparing to teach, they organize their knowledge and improve their own understanding. And as they explain the information to it, they identify problems in their own thinking.

但正在开发的最前沿工具是"可教代理"——一个像真实世界的学生一样学习、尝试、犯错和提问的计算机化角色。计算机科学家创建了一个名为贝蒂的大脑的动画人物，她已被数百名中学生"教授"环境科学。学生教师被激励帮助贝蒂掌握某些材料。在准备教学时，他们组织自己的知识并提升自己的理解。当他们向她解释信息时，他们发现自己思维中的问题。

Feedback from the teachable agents further enhances the tutors' learning. The agents' questions compel student tutors to think and explain the materials in different ways, and watching the agent solve problems allows them to see their knowledge put into action.

来自可教代理的反馈进一步增强了辅导者的学习。代理的问题迫使学生辅导者以不同方式思考和解释材料，观看代理解决问题让他们看到自己的知识付诸行动。

Above all, it's the emotions one experiences in teaching that facilitate learning. Student tutors feel upset when their teachable agents fail, but happy when these virtual pupils succeed as they derive pride and satisfaction from someone else's accomplishment.

最重要的是，在教学中体验的情感促进了学习。当他们的可教代理失败时，学生辅导者感到沮丧，但当这些虚拟学生成功时，他们感到快乐，因为他们从他人的成就中获得自豪感和满足感。