The Economist March 21st 2020 Chaguan| This virus also kills dreams
動賓結構
參加一個決定一生的考試
sit a life-defining exam
永遠帶著新冠病毒的傷疤
bear the scars of covid-19 for ever
對某事物感慨萬千
have mixed feelings about sth
切斷某人上網課的途徑
cut one’s access to online classes
有機會成為醫生
have a shot at becoming doctors
額外加10分
grant ten bonus points
講課太快
move through lessons too fast
理解材料
make sense of the material
處在逆反期
go through a rebellious age
理解學習的重要性
see the point of study
控制了進入經營學校的途徑
control access to elite schools
誇大出生的重要性
play up accident of birth
不及物動詞
開展熱議
erupt in heated debate
被動語態
被...錄取
be admitted to
系表結構
時間壓力較輕
be under less time-pressure
處在寒假期間
be on winter break
全職在家
be home full time
介賓結構
缺點/優點
on the downside/on the upside
名詞詞組
簡單結構
一個嚴峻不平等的國家
a harshly unequal country
貧困學生
vulnerable students
體面的工作
prestigious jobs
嚴重打擊
a grave blow
痴迷於考試的中國
exam-obsessed China
複雜結構
中考
an examination for entrance to senior secondary school
質量不同的職業教育
vocational diplomas of varying quality
考試對於父母心思的支配力
the exam’s hold on parental imaginations
病毒爆發的中心地
seat of the virus outbreak
優異成績
brilliance at exams
一個無與倫比的社會流動性的渠道
an unrivalled ladder of social mobility
一個難以抓緊的階梯
a hard ladder-rung to grasp
一個普遍被認為是失敗的結果
an outcome widely seen as failure
受病毒影響而推行的在線教育
virus-imposed distance learning
要追趕的差距
the gap to catch up
Sentences
1. On the downside,the snow burned out the village’s electrical transformer, cutting her access to online classes that have replaced normal lessons sincecovid-19 closed schools across China weeks ago.
譯：好的一面是，大雪燒燬了村子的變壓器，切斷了她上網課的途徑，網課自數週前新冠病毒使得全國學校封閉後已經取代了正常課程。
析：主句表達主要事件A，cutting her access to online classes表達事件A的影響，that have replaced normal lessons告訴我們why online classes, since … 告訴我們網課取代線下課程的緣由。
簡：燒燬變壓器—切斷網課—線上課程取代傳統課程—這種取代產生的原因/背景。
想：我曾經多次主動逃課，高中的早自習，大學的西方簡史，語言學（想不到大學的年紀第一也會逃課吧？）；也曾被動的“逃課”，那是高中時腿骨折，不得不休息了幾天。還好那個時候，有個好心的叔叔，每天騎著摩托車，早上6:40多來我家，把我送去學校，他再去油庫上班。那個時候，我爸爸腦溢血住院，媽媽全天陪護。我的青春，有苦難，有荒唐，有逆反，有絕望，有令人失望後的不敢見面。
小主人公，因為大學斷電而不能繼續學習。現實的講，落下的課程進度，還是影響蠻大的。還有更廣泛的學生群體，每天買著流量包在上網課，我有的學生來自國家級貧困村縣，這樣的問題，還需要大家多多關注，盡一份力。這也是我之前在國外大批購買口罩，饋贈或低價送給朋友的原因（即便朋友出價，我給的也是遠低於成本的價格，我自己虧了幾千不止），還通過各種途徑捐款。我們總應該可以做些什麼。
希望真實，更有力量。
More
2. On the upside, when the internet dropped just after Chinese class, Sisi’s first lesson of the day, she could abandon her usual place of study—a rough wooden chair and desk in an outdoor courtyard, placed to catch the signal from a neighbour’s Wi-Fi—and shelter from the storm.
3. The zhongkao may not be as famous as the gaokao, the terrifying university entrance exam that has inspired books, documentaries and feature films. But the zhongkao shapes more lives.
4. In one sign of the exam’s hold on parental imaginations, Chinese social media erupted in heated debate when Hubei province, seat of the virus outbreak, announced that the children of medical workers would be granted ten bonus points on their zhongkao scores.
5. The idea that clever, hard-working villagers can make it to the best schools is not just an interesting question of public policy. It is a pillar of China’s social contract, with roots in ancient tales of poor students transformed into powerful scholar-officials by brilliance at exams.
6. In modern-day China, a harshly unequal country, education remains an unrivalled ladder ofsocial mobility. Even in a good year, success in the zhongkao is a hard ladder-rung to grasp. With schools still closed in most of China by covid-19, this is not a good year.
7. Some of the longest-lasting, but hardest to see, may involve months of schooling missed by vulnerable students, who risk doing worse in the zhongkao than theycould have done if face-to-face classes had not been disrupted.
8. One of its tutors, a chemistry teacher from the southern province of Guangdong, explains how the zhongkao controls access to elite schools with the teachers and resources that help students to reach good universities, and thus prestigious jobs.
9. If good schools promote equal opportunities, closed schools play up accidents of birth.
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