2015考研英语阅读教育与种族

　　Education and race

　　教育与种族

　　IN APRIL Kumon, a Japanese firm, opened a tuition centre in Small Heath, a poor district ofBirmingham. Its lessons are fairly cheap: about ￡55 a month for twice-weekly Englishand maths classes and homework. As in many of Kumons 680 British outfits, its clients arediverse. Many are south Asian; a few are eastern European; none is white and British.

　　4月，日本公司Kumon在伯明翰市的贫困地区小希思开设了一家讲学中心。它的课程非常便宜：只需大约55英镑就能获得2周英文和数学的课程，还包括了家庭作业。Kumon在英国有680家机构，它们的顾客构成非常丰富。很多都是来自南亚的人，少部分是来自东欧的;而几乎没有白人和英国人。

　　In much ofEurope, pupils from many ethnic minorities linger at the bottom of the heap, saysChris Hamnett of Kings College London. That used to be true inBritaintoobut not any more.Every ethnic-minority group that trails white Britons in GCSE exams, normally taken at 16,is catching up. Bangladeshis used to perform worse than whites; now they do better. Indianshave maintained a huge lead. All this despite the fact that ethnic minorities are poorer thanaverage. Control for that, by looking at pupils who are entitled to free school meals, and allethnic-minority groups now do well.

　　伦敦国王学院的克丽丝 哈姆尼特说，在很多欧洲国家，少数名族学生一般在底层扎堆。过去在英国也是这样但现在完全不同了。每一个在普通中等教育证书考试中输给英国白人的少数民族学生通常在他们16岁的时候就能赶上英国人。孟加拉裔过去曾不如白人;但现在他们更加优秀。印度人则一直保持着巨大的领先。所有这些都说明了少数民族学生并不比平均水平差。而且通过观察获得免费校园午餐的学生我们不难看出几乎所有的少数民族学生都表现出色。

　　But some fare better than others. One difference is imported social capital: Indians, whowere middle-class when they arrived inBritain, have lots. Bangladeshis and Pakistanis, whooften came from rural parts of their homelands, have less. Tenure inBritainmatters too.Newcomers have immigrant aspirations but suffer from not understanding the system.Better-established folk know how things work, but may have lost some of their ambition. Afew are in a sweet spot in between.

　　但是有些学生的遭遇比其它人更好一些。其中一个差异就是外来人员的社会阶级：大部分来到英国的印度人都是中产阶级，他们拥有更多福利。而孟加拉人和巴基斯坦人则多半是来自农村，他们则明显无法享受那么多福利。在英国的居住时间同样有影响。新来者有强烈的移民愿望但苦于不能理解整个体系。有些人已经较好地了解了事情如何运转，但他们中的很多人已经失去了自己梦想。极少一部分人能够很好地平衡这些问题，让自己处在一个很完美的状态。

　　Bangladeshis certainly seem to be. They arrived in large numbers from the 1970s and arenow settled, largely inLondon. Plenty are still poor: half fall into the lowest income quintile.But the parents of many children now in school grew up speaking English and attended Britishschools. They not only understand the system but are shaping it. In 1987 the Collective ofBangladeshi School Governors was set up in theLondonborough of Tower Hamlets, where afifth ofBritains Bangladeshis live. Shahanur Khan, its chairman, encourages parents to getinvolved in local schools. Parents are increasingly pushy: one mother recently complained tohim that her children were not getting enough homework.

　　孟加拉人明显就是这种类型。他们于上世纪70年代大量来到伦敦，而且现在已经站稳了脚跟。他们中的大多数依然很穷：几乎半数人都是收入最低的群体。但是很多孩子的父母都开始学习说英语并且开始在英国学校求学。他们不但理解了整个体系并且在让自己适应这个体系。1987年孟加拉人学校管理者集团在伦敦哈姆雷特镇成立了，在英国五分之一的孟加拉人生活在那。它的主席莎哈雅 可汗鼓励父母们去加入当地的学校。父母们越来越有进取心：最近一个月来对他的抱怨就是她孩子的家庭作业不够多。

　　Somalis arrived much more recently: just 9% of Somali pupils were born inBritaincomparedwith 83% of Bangladeshis. And they struggle. Many parents came as asylum-seekers andspeak little English. Just one in ten Somalis is in full-time work. But their children are faringbetter, along with other black Africans. In Lambeth, a borough ofLondon, 61% of Somalipupils got five good GCSEs last year, up from 11% in 2007. Schools employ Somali teachingassistants to help parents and children with their English. The council organises an awardsceremony for outstanding students. And, increasingly, parents pay for extra tuition.

　　索马里人则是最近一段时间内较多的移民者：相比于83%的孟加拉学生出生在英国，只有9%的索马里学生是这样的。并且他们在抗争。很多父母都是为了寻求避难所而来并且几乎不会说英语。只有十分之一的索马里人有全职工作。但是他们的孩子和其它非洲黑人相比表现得优秀得多。在伦敦市的兰贝斯镇，索马里学生在普通中等教育证书考试中获得了5A成绩的人数从2007年的11%上涨到了去年的61%。学校雇佣索马里裔老师去帮助家长和孩子学习英语。当地居委会为杰出的学生举办授奖仪式。同时的，父母们因为请课外辅导也需要支付额外的学费。

　　That is another reason black and Asian children are doing better. Saturday schools have longbeen common, but parents are increasingly turning to private tutors. In a survey of 11- to16-year-olds by the Sutton Trust, an education charity, 45% of Asian children said theyreceived some kind of private tuition compared with 20% of white pupils. Another studysuggests that Somalis are more likely to receive tuition than average, too. Supply hasincreased along with demand. Karamat Iqbal, director of Forward Partnership, an educationconsultancy in Birmingham, sees growing numbers of Pakistani graduates, who themselvesattended British schools, working as tutors.

　　周末学校课程已经变得很常见，但是父母渐渐得更倾向于私人教师。那也是黑人和亚洲学生表现更出色的一个原因。一个教育爱心组织萨顿托管会关于11到16岁学生的调查显示，相比20%接受私人辅导的白人学生，45%的亚洲学生有私人教师。另外一个研究显示，相比平均水平索马里的学生更可能得到私人辅导。供给也随着需求的上升而上涨。伯明翰教育机构前程伙伴的主席卡马特 伊克巴尔表示随着越来越多的巴基斯坦人毕业，他们开始进入英国学校开始作为一个助教工作。

　　Black Caribbeans, a long-established group, are doing better but not dramatically so. Theyhave mostly lost immigrant zeal: many doubt that education will make much difference totheir chances in life, suggests Steve Strand, a professor of education atOxfordUniversity. Andsome teachers may be conflating bad behaviour with a lack ofaptitude. Afro-Caribbeans are less likely to be entered into higher tiers for exams wherethey could obtain the best grades.

　　而很早就站稳脚跟的加勒比黑人最近也表现得更加出色了但却不是那么引人注目。牛津大学教授斯蒂文 斯特兰德表示：他们中的大多数已经失去了移民的热情，很多人怀疑教育是否会让他们的人生有更多地机会。而且一些老师可能将恶劣的行为与缺乏学习天赋混为一谈加勒比黑人很难去参加那些能取得好成绩的考试。

　　Job prospects for ethnic minorities are not yet improving commensurately with their schoolresults. Despite their success in exams, Mr Khan worries that Bangladeshi students arechoosing easy A-levels, such as sociology and psychology, which limit their options.Pakistani pupils inBirminghamare doing better, says Mr Iqbal, but too many are still drivingtaxis and running corner shops or cheap restaurants.

　　为少数名族学生准备的工作却没有随着他们学校成绩的提高而增多。除开他们在考试中的成功不谈，可汗担心孟加拉学生去选择一些容易拿A的科目，例如社会学和心理学，这可能会限制他们将来的发展。伊克巴尔表示伯明翰的巴基斯坦学生则做的好一些，但是有太多人依然在开出租车 经营街角商店和低端餐馆。

　　Still, blacks and especially Asians are edging their way into the professions. Fully 2,087 BritishPakistanis started studying law at university in 2011, up from 478 in 2000. Some of thoselong-held ambitions are now being realised.

　　黑人尤其是亚裔人仍然在让他们求职的路上缓慢前行。学习法律的巴基斯坦裔的从2000年的478人增加到了2011年的2087人。他们中一些曾有远大理想的人现在也已经实现了。