眾所周知，教育為社會(huì)提供人才，人才為社會(huì)創(chuàng)造財(cái)富。但是教育的目的到底是什么，不同的人對(duì)于教育的理解又會(huì)對(duì)整個(gè)社會(huì)有著什么樣的影響？
　　Education
　　Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.①
　　In some modern countries it has been fashionable to think that free education for all can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough. We find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees refusing to do what they think is“low”work, and, in fact, working with one’s hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns.
　　In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life,② it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work is suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work.③ Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.
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　　行文點(diǎn)評(píng)
　　總分總結(jié)構(gòu)。首段首句用詞巧妙，直接點(diǎn)題，并在第二句中進(jìn)行了通俗的解釋，從而引出論點(diǎn)：教育不是目的，而是手段(Education is not an end, but a means to an end)。第二段分析現(xiàn)狀，指出問題，通過具體的事例使分析更具有說服力。這一段的說明絲絲入扣，既合情合理，又出乎意料。第三段總結(jié)收攏全文。
　　全文用詞精準(zhǔn)，句式精巧。例如首句用not…but…直奔主題簡(jiǎn)潔有力。第二段中連續(xù)使用but, 層層深入，段末的can live without...表面上顯示出相比教育而言食物對(duì)于我們更加不可或缺，而深層意思則是表達(dá)自己對(duì)于社會(huì)上“低等”工作鄙視現(xiàn)象的不滿以及揭露了人們對(duì)教育的理解誤區(qū)。整篇文章行文流暢，觀點(diǎn)的得出水到渠成。最后兩個(gè)教育方向的提出，進(jìn)一步深化了主題。
　　好文妙譯
　　教育
　　教育不是目的，而是達(dá)到目的的手段。換句話說，我們教育孩子不僅僅是為了使他們受到教育。我們的目的是讓他們適應(yīng)生活。
　　在有些現(xiàn)代國(guó)家中有種流行的觀點(diǎn)，那就是全民義務(wù)教育可以解決一切社會(huì)問題，建立起完美的國(guó)家。但我們也能看到，僅有全民義務(wù)教育是遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不夠的。我們發(fā)現(xiàn)在這些國(guó)家中，很多擁有大學(xué)學(xué)位的人拒絕從事他們眼中所謂的“低等”工作，實(shí)際上，在這些國(guó)家里，體力勞動(dòng)被認(rèn)為是骯臟、丟人的。但只要我們想一下就能明白，其實(shí)那些完全沒受過教育的農(nóng)民的工作要比教授的工作重要得多；沒有教育我們可以生活，但是沒有食物我們只有死路一條。如果沒有人每天清掃街道，把垃圾從我們家中運(yùn)走，我們的城鎮(zhèn)就會(huì)感染可怕的疾病。
　　事實(shí)上，當(dāng)我們說所有的人都必須接受教育以適應(yīng)生活的時(shí)候，意思是我們必須受到這樣的教育：第一，每個(gè)人都可以做任何適合自己智力和能力的工作；第二，我們應(yīng)該意識(shí)到所有的工作都是社會(huì)的必要組成，為某人的工作感到羞恥是很不正確的。只有這樣的教育才能被認(rèn)為是真正對(duì)社會(huì)有益的。
　　詞匯斟酌
　　?means n. 手段，方法
　　?fashionable a. 流行的，時(shí)髦的
　　?ashamed n. 慚愧的，羞恥的
　　佳句臨摹
　　①【注釋】in other words換句話說
　　【臨摹】In other words, when the wind is blowing at 120 kilometers per hour, most waves will be about twelve meters.換句話說,當(dāng)風(fēng)速為每小時(shí)一百二十公里時(shí)大部分浪高將達(dá)十二米左右。
　　②【注釋】fit sb. for使某人適合…
　　【臨摹】Her height fitted her for basketball.她身材高，適合打籃球。
　　③【注釋】be ashamed of恥于…，對(duì)…感到慚愧
　　【臨摹】I behaved badly yesterday and I am ashamed of myself now.我昨天表現(xiàn)不好，現(xiàn)在感到很慚愧。
　　思如泉涌
　　The primary purpose of education is not to teach you to earn your bread, but to make every mouthful sweeter.教育最主要的目的不是教你如何掙得面包，而是使每一口都更加香甜。
　　As what sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.教育之于心靈，猶如雕刻之于大理石。