2009 考研英语 Text 3｜穷国脱贫：先提高生产率，教育随后跟上
主旨
经济学家和政客普遍误解了穷国正规教育与经济增长的关系：认为教育应是促进经济发展的首要任务，这种传统看法是错的；幸好是错的，因为建立新教育体系要两三代人，而研究一再表明，工人可以通过在职培训大幅提高生产率 → 讽刺的是，第一个证据来自美国：美国工人曾被嘲笑教育差，但日企在美工厂的生产率达到日本工厂的约 95%，靠的就是在职培训 → 休斯敦不识字、不会英语的墨西哥建筑工人也达到了最佳劳动生产率标准 → 真正的关系是：持续的经济增长推动教育发展，就像远古人类只有在更高效地获取食物后才有时间做别的 → 更高的教育水平是复杂政治体系的必要非充分条件；缺乏正规教育并不妨碍发展中国家大幅提高生产率，反倒是生产率受限解释了教育为何发展不快。
原文：2009 Text 3 · 话题：经济 / 教育 · 答案：31 D｜32 B｜33 C｜34 A｜35 C
一、核心词
| 词 | 本文义 | 原文搭配 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| misunderstood adj. | 被误解的 | is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike | mis- + understood |
| undoubtedly adv. | 无疑 | is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political, and intellectual development | un- + doubt |
| conventional adj. | 传统的 | the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities | convention 惯例 |
| priority n. | 优先事项 | the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities | prior 在前的 |
| consistently adv. | 一贯地 | have consistently shown | consistent |
| radically adv. | 大幅地，根本上 | can be trained on the job to achieve radically higher productivity | radic 根 |
| productivity n. | 生产率 | can be trained on the job to achieve radically higher productivity | productive |
| ironically adv. | 具有讽刺意味的是 | Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States | irony 讽刺 |
| recession n. | 经济衰退 | with the country entering a recession | recede 后退 |
| peak n. | 顶峰 | Japan at its pre-bubble peak | |
| workforce n. | 劳动力 | was derided as poorly educated | work + force |
| deride v. | 嘲笑 | was derided as poorly educated | de- + ride 笑 |
| primary adj. | 主要的 | one of the primary causes of the poor U.S. economic performance | prim 第一 |
| automotive adj. | 汽车的 | the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity | auto 自己 + motive 动 |
| assembly n. | 装配 | the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity | assemble 组装 |
| counterpart n. | 对应的人 / 物 | about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts | |
| illiterate adj. | 不识字的 | illiterate, non-English-speaking Mexican workers | il- 不 + liter 文字 |
| complexity n. | 复杂性 | despite the complexity of the building industry’s work | complex |
| ancestor n. | 祖先 | When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers | ante 前 + cest 走 |
| potential n. | 潜力 | humanity’s productivity potential increased as well | |
| competitive adj. | 竞争的 | When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential | compete |
| sufficient adj. | 充分的 | a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition | suf- + fic 做 |
| advanced adj. | 先进的 | the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance | advance |
| constrain v. | 限制 | doesn’t constrain the ability of the developing world’s workforce | con- + strain 拉紧 |
| substantially adv. | 大幅地 | to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future | substance |
| foreseeable adj. | 可预见的 | to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future | fore- + see + -able |
| constraint n. | 限制 | constraints on improving productivity | constrain |
二、搭配与写作迁移
| 原文表达 | 含义 | 写作迁移 |
|---|---|---|
| A and B alike | A 和 B 都 | Teachers and students alike welcomed the change. |
| be undoubtedly necessary for | 对……无疑是必要的 | |
| one of the very highest priorities | 最优先的事项之一 | Safety should be one of the very highest priorities. |
| put people through (education) | 让人接受（教育） | |
| be trained on the job | 接受在职培训 | on-the-job training |
| achieve higher productivity | 提高生产率 | |
| raise standards of living | 提高生活水平 | |
| enter a recession | 陷入衰退 | |
| be derided as | 被嘲笑为 | |
| one of the primary causes of | ……的主要原因之一 | Stress is one of the primary causes of poor sleep. |
| a result of | ……的结果 | |
| despite the complexity of | 尽管……很复杂 | |
| promote the development of | 促进……的发展 | |
| After all, that’s how A got started. | 毕竟 A 就是这样开始的 | |
| Only when … was there time for … | 只有……时才有时间做…… | |
| in turn | 反过来 | |
| a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for | ……的必要非充分条件 | Hard work is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for success. |
| escape the poverty trap | 摆脱贫困陷阱 | |
| for the foreseeable future | 在可预见的将来 | |
| on the contrary | 相反 |
三、熟词僻义
- alike adv. 同样地（≠相像的 adj.）：is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike
- put through 使经历（≠接通电话）：putting enough people through them
- on the job 在职（≠在工作中忙着）：can be trained on the job to achieve radically higher productivity
- bubble n. 经济泡沫（≠气泡）：Japan at its pre-bubble peak
- suspect v. 推测（≠怀疑）：We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education
- afford v. 负担得起（多指有余力）：they could in turn afford more education
四、题目与选项词
| 词 / 搭配 | 义 | 出处 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| be subject to | 受到 | Q31 [A] | |
| groundless adj. | 毫无根据的 | Q31 [A] | ground + -less |
| fall victim to | 成为……的受害者 | Q31 [B] | |
| bias n. | 偏见 | Q31 [B] | |
| downgrade v. | 贬低 | Q31 [C] | down + grade 等级 |
| overestimate v. | 高估 | Q31 [D] | |
| disciplined adj. | 有纪律的 | Q33 [A] | discipline |
| organized adj. | 有组织的 | Q33 [D] | |
| prior to | 在……之前 | Q34 [B] | |
| result from | 由……导致 | Q35 [A] |
五、同义替换：原文 → 正确项
| 题 | 原文 | 正确项 |
|---|---|---|
| 31 D | the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities | has been overestimated |
| 32 B | building new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations | takes efforts of generations |
| 33 C | a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job | the U.S. workforce has a better education（官方答案；此题有争议，B 看似更直接，但作者把在职培训视为一种教育） |
| 34 A | they didn’t have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food / Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. | when people had enough time |
| 35 C | We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education / constraints on improving productivity | follows improved productivity |
六、长难句
① 分号转折 + 同位语从句（Q31 出处）
Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political, and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong.
- 前半句：Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for …
- 分号 + however：转折
- 后半句主干：the conventional view is wrong；that 从句是 view 的同位语从句
- 译：两方面的进步无疑都是这些国家以及所有其他社会实现社会、政治和智识发展所必需的；然而，那种认为教育应当是促进穷国经济快速发展的首要任务之一的传统观点是错误的。
② 省略 + because 从句中两个动名词主语（Q32 出处）
We are fortunate that it is, because building new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations.
- 主干：We are fortunate that it is (wrong)，省略了 wrong
- because 从句：building … and putting … 两个动名词短语作主语，谓语 would require
- put sb through sth：让某人经历……；them 指 educational systems
- 译：幸好它是错的，因为在那些国家建立新的教育体系，并让足够多的人接受教育以改善经济表现，需要两三代人的时间。
③ with 复合结构 + be derided as（Q33 背景）
Not long ago, with the country entering a recession and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of the primary causes of the poor U.S. economic performance.
- 主干：the U.S. workforce was derided as A and B
- with the country entering … and Japan at …：两个 with 复合结构并列，交代背景
- A：poorly educated；B：one of the primary causes of …
- 译：不久前，在美国陷入经济衰退、日本正处于泡沫破裂前的巅峰之时，美国劳动力被嘲笑为教育水平低下，是美国经济表现不佳的主要原因之一。
七、句型
- The relationship between A and B is widely misunderstood by C and D alike.（开门见山批驳） 原句：The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. 套用：The relationship between money and happiness is widely misunderstood by young and old alike.
- Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in …（反讽引证） 原句：Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. 套用：Ironically, the first evidence for this idea came from the critics themselves.
- What is the real relationship between A and B?（设问转入正题） 原句：What is the real relationship between education and economic development? 套用：What is the real relationship between screen time and learning?
- After all, that’s how A got started.（追根溯源） 原句：After all, that’s how education got started. 套用：After all, that’s how most great companies got started.
- Only when … was there time for other things.（only 置首倒装） 原句：Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. 套用：Only when basic needs are met do people have time for art.
- A is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for B.（严谨限定） 原句：This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. 套用：Talent is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for success.
- On the contrary, constraints on A explain why …（因果倒置） 原句：On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn’t developing more quickly there than it is. 套用：On the contrary, a lack of time explains why people read less.