Passage:

China’s education system

The development of education is of primary importance in china. Under the policy of “developing the country through science and education,” each child is offered free education for a compulsory nine years and the education system is constantly being improved. “oriented towards modernization, the world, and the future” is the guiding principle for the development of the Chinese education system, both in the long and the short term.

China’s education system can be divided into the following stages:

Pre-school education is for 3-5 year olds and takes place in kindergartens.

Primary education is from 6-11. Primary schools are usually run by local educational authorities and over free tuition, although there are some private schools owned by enterprises and individuals.

Secondary schooling is for children from 12-17 years of age. Education of this kind is run by local governments and various business authorities. State-run secondary schools include junior middle schools and senior middle schools, both with three grades or years. The first three years of secondary school are compulsory and tuition is free. Senior middle school is not compulsory and students must pay minimal tuition fees. Private secondary schools often offer specialized education and have a more vocational bent, but the qualifications they offer are considered to be on the same level as those of state-run middle schools. However, graduates from secondary professional schools are seen to have achieved a higher level in some ways akin to a university education. Students graduating from junior middle schools usually go on to senior middle schools, although some move to vocational high schools or secondary professional schools for 3-5 years of study.

For higher education there are vocational courses as well as undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees. Bachelor’s degrees usually require 4-5 years of study, master’s degrees need 2-3 years and Ph.D.s are granted after 3 years. Higher education is offered in universities, colleges, institutes, and vocational colleges. These institutes conduct academic and scientific research and provide social services as well as offering courses to students. To enter a university or college, students have to take the national entrance examination, which takes place every July and is now open to people of all ages. Selection is based on each student’s marks in this exam, and due to the number of people sitting the exam, getting into university is highly competitive. Those who fail to get selected have to go to private colleges if they want to continue their education. Tuition at such colleges is more expensive than at the state-run universities. Those who have missed out on higher education can continue their studies as adults in the workplace.

Dialogues /monologues:

1、I would have thought they'd be very useful for children without brothers and sisters.

would/should have +過去分詞，表示“應該做某事”，而實際沒有。

本句可以翻譯為：我應該想到它們對獨生子女是很有用的。

2、The reality is that people learn subjects such as languages and mathematics at different speeds.

Speed：【俚語】在這里應翻譯為： 嗜好，個性：適合某人的興趣、技能或性格的東西：

E.G. Living in a large city is not my speed.

住在大城市里不是我所喜歡的

1、 My parents recognized that the best learning is learning-by-doing, and they facilitated a lot of interesting experiences for me, whether it was driving me across town, paying for courses and lessons, or just including me in their lives.

我的父母認識到，最好的學習方法是邊干邊學。為此，他們讓我體會了許多有趣的經歷：或者開車帶我在鎮里轉轉，或者花錢讓我讓各種班，或者干脆將我直接納入他們的生活。

本句解析：My parents recognized that the best learning is learning-by-doing, and they facilitated a lot of interesting experiences for me, (前半部分是具有遞進意義的兩個并列分句)whether it was driving me across town, paying for courses and lessons, or just including me in their lives. (后半部分是樣態狀語從句，其中由三個現在分詞短語作表語)。

2、 interacting with a large group of people my own age was one of the joys I derived from school.

Derive sth from sth.

<1> 得到，獲得。如：

She derived no benefit from the course of drugs. 用藥療程后她并無好轉。

<2>對某事物窮本窮源。如：

We can derive the word ‘derelict’ from the Latin ‘derelictus’

derelict 一詞的起源可追溯到拉丁詞 derelictus。

參考譯文:

中國的教育制度

在中國，教育的發展是至關重要的。在“科教興國”的方針政策下，每個孩子都有權利享受9年義務教育并且教育體系也在不斷完善。無論是從長期還是從短期來說，“面向現代化、世界和未來”是中國教育體制的指導原則。

中國的教育體系可分為以下幾個階段。

3-5歲為幼兒園學前教育階段。

小學教育是從6歲到11歲。小學是由當地門開辦，實行免費。也有由企業和個人辦的私立學校。

中學教育時間為12-17歲。中學是由當地政府和各種商業機構辦的。公立的中學包括初中和高中兩個階段，各三年。初中是免費義務教育，高中不是義務教育，學生要交少量的學費。私立中學一般提供專業性的教育，學生的職業技能強一些，但是私立中學所發的文憑和公立中學所發的是同一水平。然而，在某些方面從專業學校畢業的學生與接受過大學教育的學生是差不多的。初中畢業生一般接著上高中，有些會去上職業高中或者是去技校學習3-5年。

高等教育包括高職、本科、碩士、博士。拿到學士學位一般需要4-5年時間，碩士學位需要2-3年，博士學位需要3年。提供高等教育的機構有大學，專科學院，研究所和職業學院。這些機構開展學術和科學研究，給學生提供學習課程和社會服務。要進大學，考生們必須參加每年平7月舉行的全國高考，現在高考面向所有年齡的人開放。大學對學生的挑選是看高考成績，由于參加高考的人數很多，所以競爭很激烈。那些沒考上的人如果想要進大學學習的話只能去私立大學，私立大學的學費比設立大學高的多。沒有接受高等教育的人可以在工作之后繼續學習。