新奇事件簿 中国数学老师帮助英国提高水平

The British government is looking to China to try to improve the standard of maths in British schools. Students in the Chinese city of Shanghai have the highest international test results according to a global testing agency¹. There is a huge difference in numeracy levels between the UK and China. Britain's Times newspaper reports that: "The children of cleaners in Shanghai outperform those of UK doctors and lawyers in global maths tests." To attempt to rectify² this situation, the UK government will hire 60 of Shanghai's bestmaths teachers. It is part of a new initiative³ called the National Numeracy Challenge, which aims at improving the mathematics ability of one million British students.

英国政府正在效仿中国来提高本国的数学水平。根据全球检测机构的报告，上海学生的测试水平全球最高。中国和英国在数学方面有着明显的差距。英国泰晤士报的报告称：“上海清洁工孩子的数学水平要高于英国律师和医生孩子的水平。”为了转变这一情况，英国政府将聘请上海60名最优秀的老师。这也是英国全国数学水平计划的一部分，这一计划的目的是为了提高100万名英国学生的数学水平。

The UK government said it was shocked that Britain lagged⁴ far behind many countries in maths. It warned that poor numeracy is costing the country's economy up to $30 billion a year. Britain's education minister Elizabeth Truss, who recently returned from a fact-finding mission⁵ in China, stated: "We have some brilliant maths teachers in this country but what I saw in Shanghai and other Chinese cities has only strengthenedmy belief that we can learn from them." She added: "They have a can-do attitude to maths and I want us to match that, and their performance." She said: "Good maths qualifications have the greatest earnings⁶ potential and provide the strongest protection against unemployment.

英国政府说英国的数学水平落后许多国家，这太让人震惊了。政府还警告说数学能力的缺失将会导致每年300亿美金的经济损失。英国教育部长伊丽莎白·特鲁斯最近刚从中国回来，她在那里进行了实地考察，她说：“英国有许多优秀的老师，但是我在上海和其他城市所见到的更加坚定了我的想法，我们可以向他们学习。”她还说：“他们在数学上面有一种我能的态度，我希望我们也能够追上他们的水平。”她说：“良好的数学水平将会增加收入，并能够减少失业。”

1 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

2 rectify   

v.订正，矫正，改正

参考例句：

• The matter will rectify itself in a few days.那件事过几天就会变好。
• You can rectify this fault if you insert a slash.插人一条斜线便可以纠正此错误。

3 initiative   

n.主动性，首创精神，主动权（的行动），倡议

参考例句：

• He went to see the headmaster on his own initiative.他主动去看望校长。
• His employer had described him as lacking in initiative and drive.雇主说他缺乏进取心和干劲。

4 lagged   

v.走得极慢，落后( lag的过去式和过去分词 )；给（管道等）加防冻保暖层

参考例句：

• The little boy lagged behind his parents. 那小男孩落在了父母的后面。
• Take has lagged behind the increased outgo. 收入赶不上增加的支出。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 mission   

n.使命，任务，天职；代表团，使团

参考例句：

• He was charged with an important mission.他受委托承担一项重要使命。
• I'll leave you to undertake an important mission.我要让你承担一项重要使命。

6 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。