The Answer Sheet - Dogs: An unusual guide to school reform
狗狗们给教育改革的启示
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/guest-bloggers/dogs-an-unusual-guide-to-schoo.html#more
By Marion Brady
Driving the country roads of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, I have sometimes been lucky enough to be blocked by sheep being moved from one pasture to another. I say ‘lucky’ because it allows me to watch an impressive performance by a dog – usually a Border Collie.
驱车行驶在苏格兰、爱尔兰和威尔士的乡间小道上，有时会幸运地被从一个牧场被赶往另一个牧场的羊群拦住去路。我说‘幸运’，是因为这让我有机会好好观察一条狗（通常是博德牧羊犬）的精彩表现。
What a show! A single, mid-sized dog herding two or three hundred sheep, keeping them moving in the right direction, rounding up strays, knowing how to intimidate but not cause panic, funneling them all through a gate, and obviously enjoying the challenge.
多么精彩的表现！一条中型犬孤身作战，把两、三百只羊赶在一起，使它们保持正确的前进方向，使掉队的羊跟上大部队，知道如何去威慑又不造成恐慌，让羊儿们依次通过一扇门，显然这牧羊犬还很享受这种挑战。
Why a Border Collie? Why not an Akita or Xoloitzcuintli or another of about 400 breeds listed on the Internet?
Because, among the people for whom herding sheep is serious business, there is general agreement that Border Collies are better at doing what needs to be done than any other dog. They have ‘the knack.’
为什么是博德牧羊犬，为什么不是秋田犬，也不是Xoloitzcuintli犬，或是网上列出的400个犬中的其它任何一种？因为在将放养当成正经事业来做的人之中有一个共识，即博德牧羊犬在做这项工作上比其它任何犬种都强。它们有‘诀窍’。
That knack is so important that those who care most about Border Collies even oppose their being entered in dog shows. That, they say, would lead to the Border Collie being bred to look good, and looking good isn’t the point. Brains, innate ability, performance – that’s the point.
那种特定的诀窍对博德牧羊犬来说非常重要，因此最在乎它们的人甚至反对博德牧羊犬参与狗狗选秀。他们说，那样会导致博得牧羊犬被打扮得花枝招展，而光鲜的外表对它们来说不是重点。头脑、天赋和表现才是重点。
Other breeds are no less impressive in other ways. If you’re lost in a snowstorm in the Alps, you don’t need a Border Collie. You need a big, strong dog with a really good nose, lots of fur, wide feet that don’t sink too deeply into snow, and an unerring sense of direction for returning with help. You need a Saint Bernard.
其它犬种在另外一些方面毫不逊色。如果你迷失在阿尔卑斯山的雪暴中，你所需要的不是博德牧羊犬，而是一条嗅觉极端灵敏、毛发浓密、爪子宽大不易深陷积雪的大型犬，还要有精准的方向感能领着你顺利走出迷茫。你需要一条圣伯纳犬。
If varmints are sneaking into your hen house, killing your chickens, and escaping down holes in a nearby field, you don’t need a Border Collie or a Saint Bernard, you need a Fox Terrier.
如果有狐狸潜入你家鸡窝杀死你的鸡后从附近田里的地道逃走，你不需要博德牧羊犬，也不需要圣伯纳犬，你需要一条猎狐犬。
It isn’t that many different breeds can’t be taught to herd, lead high-altitude rescue efforts, or kill foxes. They can. It’s just that teaching all dogs to do things which one particular breed can do better than any other doesn’t make much sense.
并不是说我们无法训练多种不同的犬去牧羊、去进行高海拔救援或是去猎杀狐狸。它们能被训练成那样。只是训练所有的犬种去做一件某个犬种最擅长的事情并不太合理。
We accept the reasonableness of that argument for dogs. We reject it for kids.
我们接受有关狗的此种论点的合理性，却拒绝承认它在孩子身上的合理性。
The non-educators now running the education show say American kids are lagging ever-farther behind in science and math, and that the consequences of that for America’s economic well-being could be catastrophic.
那些制作教育类节目的非教育工作者声称美国的孩子的科学和数学大拖后腿，而这方面的不足会给美国经济的良性发展造成灾难性的后果。
So, what is this rich, advantaged country of ours doing to try to beat out the competition?
那么，我们这个富有的强势国家用何种策略来击退竞争者呢？
Mainly, we put in place the No Child Left Behind program, now replaced by Race to the Top and theCommon Core State Standards Initiative. If that fact makes you optimistic about the future of education in America, think again about dogs.
大体上来说，我们推出了‘不让一个孩子掉队’(No Child Left Behind)计划，现已被‘力争上游’(Race to the Top)和‘公共课程国家标准倡议’(the Common Core State Standards Initiative)取代。如果这项事实让你对美国教育的未来信心满满，你不妨再想想上文所述的各种犬类。
There are all kinds of things they can do besides herd, rescue, and engage foxes. They can sniff luggage for bombs. Chase felons. Stand guard duty. Retrieve downed game birds. Guide the blind. Detect certain diseases. Locate earthquake survivors. Entertain audiences. Play nice with little kids. Go for help if Little Nell falls down a well.
除了牧羊、救援和猎狐之外，他们还能做其它各种事情。他们能利用敏感的嗅觉发现行李中的爆炸物、能追捕罪犯、能担当保卫工作、能衔回被击中的鸟儿、能为盲人引路、能发现特定疾病、能搜索定位地震幸存者、能娱乐观众、能跟小朋友们玩乐、能在小耐尔落井后及时求救。
So, with No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top as models, let’s set performance standards for these and all other canine capabilities and train all dogs to meet them. All 400 breeds. All skills. Leave No Dog Behind!
这样一来，我们可以以‘不让一个孩子掉队’和‘力争上游’计划为模板，给上述各种能力及犬类的其它能力制定‘工作标准’并训练所有400种犬在所有能力上都达到该标准。不让一条狗掉队！
Two-hundred-pound Mastiffs may have a little trouble with the chase-the-fox-down-the-hole standard, and Chihuahuas will probably have difficulty with the tackle-the-felon-and-pin-him-to-the-ground standard. But, hey, no excuses! Standards are standards! Leave No Dog Behind.
200磅重的獒犬在在地洞中追捕狐狸这项标准上遇到麻烦；吉娃娃在与罪犯对峙并将其制服这项上遭遇困难。但是，别找借口！标准就是标准！不让一条狗掉队！
Think there’s something wrong with a same-standards-and-tests-for-everybody approach to educating? Think a math whiz shouldn’t be held back just because he can’t write a good five-paragraph essay? Think a gifted writer shouldn’t be refused a diploma because she can’t solve a quadratic equation? Think a promising trumpet player shouldn’t be kept out of the school orchestra or pushed out on the street because he can’t remember the date of the Boxer Rebellion?
觉不觉得所有人统一标准、统一考试的教育方式有点不对劲儿？觉不觉得一个数学奇才不该因写不出一篇精彩的文章而无法继续发展？觉不觉得一个有天分的作家不该因解不出二次方程而被拒发学位？觉不觉得一个有前途的小号手不该因记不住义和团事件的日期而被学校管弦乐团拒之门外或是扫地出门？
If you think there’s something fundamentally, dangerously wrong with an educational reform effort that’s actually designed to standardize, designed to ignore human variation, designed to penalize individual differences, designed to produce a generation of clones, photocopy this column.
如果你也认为这个以标准化为目的，忽视人类多样性、不公平对待个体差异、最终将造就一代克隆人的危险的教育改革措施有根本性错误，请把这个专栏影印出来。
If you think it’s stupid to require every kid to read the same books, think the same thoughts, parrot the same answers, make several photocopies. And in the margin at the top of each, write, in longhand, something like, “Please explain why the standards and accountability fad isn’t a criminal waste of brains,” or, “Why are you trashing America’s hope for the future?” or just, “Does this make sense?”
如果你也认为要求每个孩子读同样的书、思考同样的内容还鹦鹉学舌是蠢到极点的政策，那多影印几份。在每份影印件的顶端空白处手写类此内容：“请解释一下为什么这些标准和问责制不是对才能的可耻浪费？”或者“你们为什么要破坏美国未来的希望？”或者就写“这说得过去吗？”。
Send the copies to your senators and representatives before they sell their vote to the publishing and testing corporations intent on getting an ever-bigger slice of that half-trillion dollars a year America spends on educating.
赶在参议员和众议院议员投票准予出版和测试公司分得美国每年投资在教育上的五亿美元中更大一杯羹之前，快把这些影印件寄给他们。
2010年8月26日星期四
2010年5月20日星期四
stay positive
I'm filled with hope and despair upon my future teaching job-hope that I might be an excellent teacher who is going to spend some quality time and happy time with the students; despair that I might not be the conventional kind of teacher the authorities expect.(I'm just borrowing the structure from Obama's preface to the 2004 edition of Dreams from My Father)
But I haven't started yet, why upset myself over this uncertainty now. Let's see how it goes, it might be a lot of fun. And the good thing is that I always have other options, I guess.
But I haven't started yet, why upset myself over this uncertainty now. Let's see how it goes, it might be a lot of fun. And the good thing is that I always have other options, I guess.
2010年5月18日星期二
China's School Killings and Social Despair-Part 2
两极分化的社会
C. Cindy Fan是加州大学洛杉矶分校社会科学副院长和地理学教授。她著有《行动中的中国》(China on the Move)一书，并发表了大量文章。
3月23日，一所小学门口，早晨校门开启前的10分钟，42岁的郑民生用一把12英寸长的匕首刺死了八名小学生并刺伤了另外五名受害者。据一名目击者说，在被制服前，郑民生曾高喊：他们不让我活，把我逼疯了，我也不让大家活。
在接下来的八周里，中国又出现了另外四起类似袭击案。其中一部分可能是模仿作案，而观察员则强调精神疾病、压力和对一个急剧两极分化社会的怨恨才是这种暴力犯罪的起因。更令人发指的是案中的受害者都是无辜的、没有防御能力的孩子。
案件细节给了我们一些线索。郑民生2009年六月离开在医院的工作，在那之前做了18年外科医生。在美国，一个普通医生能够买得起一所房子并过上舒适的生活。而郑民生则是跟自己80岁的母亲和哥哥一家三口住在一所公寓里，睡在客厅。他的月收入不足2000块，这样的收入水平根本负担不起中国精英幼儿园的学费，也不够买一所公寓。
中国的内科医生群体普遍薪酬不高。自上世纪50年代起几十年的计划经济时期，医疗是由政府运营，而作为计划经济体制的遗留，现如今的大多数医疗实践都是非私人的。
尽管郑民生能养活自己，但他微薄的收入让他成为了婚姻市场上的无力竞争者。他的邻居说，郑民生曾谈过几个女朋友，但没人愿意跟他结婚，因为他没钱而且买不起自己的房子。在中国，拥有或至少租得起一处自己的住所的能力仍然是结婚的前提。
我们可能永远无法了解到底是什么使得郑民生走投无路（他已被判处死刑，并已于四月底执行）。另外四起袭击案的情况可能大不相同，但有一点是一样的，都是中年男性独自作案。
这些事件提供了什么我们还不了解的关于中国社会的信息吗？我深表怀疑。我们知道在中国，贫富差距很大，城市人口密集，生活在社会常模之外（比如单身或离异等）要面对很多压力，男人需要成功的压力很大，而精神疾病（还有很多生理疾病）被当成是一种羞耻。
但是我们还知道普通的中国人的生活要好得多，他们有更多的人身自由、受到更好的教育、更加自信、与外界的接触更广泛，并且比他们的父母和祖父母更长寿。在这种情况下，帮助平均水平以下群体、社会边缘人士和弱势群体必须成为政府以及整个社会的首要任务。
无辜者之死
Guobin Yang是伯纳德学院亚洲和中东文化研究系副教授，著有《中国互联网的力量：公民行动主义在线》。
此类袭击案件的高频率（不足两个月的时间内连发五起）似乎为这些是模仿作案的说法提供了佐证。也有人怀疑凶手有精神疾病。但也有人提到了在一个政府严格限制的社会中缺乏情绪疏导。
个人的作案动机可能不尽相同，但这其中有普遍的潜在诱因。这些袭击事件仅仅是一个日益愠怒和争议倍出的社会最猛烈、最残忍的征兆。还有一些其它征兆：
-公众抗议的数量持续增长（1993年的8700次，2005年87000次），其中大部分指向政府当局。
-针对政府当局的暴力袭击数量持续增长，比如焚烧警车和政府大楼。
-绝望的个人以自焚来抗议强行拆迁和缺少寻求正义的法律途径。
-政府官员猖獗的腐败在网络论坛和博客上不断被披露。
这个列表还可以继续。他们共同的主线正是官方、法律和管理所面临的危机。政府当局背离了法律和正义的管理者的角色，却成为冤屈和绝望的来源和目标。当公民没有合法途径去寻求正义时，暴力就成为了他们的选择。
这些暴力事件还有另一个深层的令人堪忧的元素。袭击者把目标指向了他们自己的共同体中最无辜也最受珍爱的成员。共同体常被看做是危机时期的缓冲器（如战争时期）。通过背叛自己的共同体，这些袭击者揭露了该共同体中重大危机，而这个共同体长期以来一直是中国社会稳定的根源。
C. Cindy Fan是加州大学洛杉矶分校社会科学副院长和地理学教授。她著有《行动中的中国》(China on the Move)一书，并发表了大量文章。
3月23日，一所小学门口，早晨校门开启前的10分钟，42岁的郑民生用一把12英寸长的匕首刺死了八名小学生并刺伤了另外五名受害者。据一名目击者说，在被制服前，郑民生曾高喊：他们不让我活，把我逼疯了，我也不让大家活。
在接下来的八周里，中国又出现了另外四起类似袭击案。其中一部分可能是模仿作案，而观察员则强调精神疾病、压力和对一个急剧两极分化社会的怨恨才是这种暴力犯罪的起因。更令人发指的是案中的受害者都是无辜的、没有防御能力的孩子。
案件细节给了我们一些线索。郑民生2009年六月离开在医院的工作，在那之前做了18年外科医生。在美国，一个普通医生能够买得起一所房子并过上舒适的生活。而郑民生则是跟自己80岁的母亲和哥哥一家三口住在一所公寓里，睡在客厅。他的月收入不足2000块，这样的收入水平根本负担不起中国精英幼儿园的学费，也不够买一所公寓。
中国的内科医生群体普遍薪酬不高。自上世纪50年代起几十年的计划经济时期，医疗是由政府运营，而作为计划经济体制的遗留，现如今的大多数医疗实践都是非私人的。
尽管郑民生能养活自己，但他微薄的收入让他成为了婚姻市场上的无力竞争者。他的邻居说，郑民生曾谈过几个女朋友，但没人愿意跟他结婚，因为他没钱而且买不起自己的房子。在中国，拥有或至少租得起一处自己的住所的能力仍然是结婚的前提。
我们可能永远无法了解到底是什么使得郑民生走投无路（他已被判处死刑，并已于四月底执行）。另外四起袭击案的情况可能大不相同，但有一点是一样的，都是中年男性独自作案。
这些事件提供了什么我们还不了解的关于中国社会的信息吗？我深表怀疑。我们知道在中国，贫富差距很大，城市人口密集，生活在社会常模之外（比如单身或离异等）要面对很多压力，男人需要成功的压力很大，而精神疾病（还有很多生理疾病）被当成是一种羞耻。
但是我们还知道普通的中国人的生活要好得多，他们有更多的人身自由、受到更好的教育、更加自信、与外界的接触更广泛，并且比他们的父母和祖父母更长寿。在这种情况下，帮助平均水平以下群体、社会边缘人士和弱势群体必须成为政府以及整个社会的首要任务。
无辜者之死
Guobin Yang是伯纳德学院亚洲和中东文化研究系副教授，著有《中国互联网的力量：公民行动主义在线》。
此类袭击案件的高频率（不足两个月的时间内连发五起）似乎为这些是模仿作案的说法提供了佐证。也有人怀疑凶手有精神疾病。但也有人提到了在一个政府严格限制的社会中缺乏情绪疏导。
个人的作案动机可能不尽相同，但这其中有普遍的潜在诱因。这些袭击事件仅仅是一个日益愠怒和争议倍出的社会最猛烈、最残忍的征兆。还有一些其它征兆：
-公众抗议的数量持续增长（1993年的8700次，2005年87000次），其中大部分指向政府当局。
-针对政府当局的暴力袭击数量持续增长，比如焚烧警车和政府大楼。
-绝望的个人以自焚来抗议强行拆迁和缺少寻求正义的法律途径。
-政府官员猖獗的腐败在网络论坛和博客上不断被披露。
这个列表还可以继续。他们共同的主线正是官方、法律和管理所面临的危机。政府当局背离了法律和正义的管理者的角色，却成为冤屈和绝望的来源和目标。当公民没有合法途径去寻求正义时，暴力就成为了他们的选择。
这些暴力事件还有另一个深层的令人堪忧的元素。袭击者把目标指向了他们自己的共同体中最无辜也最受珍爱的成员。共同体常被看做是危机时期的缓冲器（如战争时期）。通过背叛自己的共同体，这些袭击者揭露了该共同体中重大危机，而这个共同体长期以来一直是中国社会稳定的根源。
China's School Killings and Social Despair-Part 1
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/chinas-school-killings-and-social-despair/?ref=asia
中国的校园伤害案件和社会绝望
过去的两个月，中国政府正努力应对一系列边远地区伤害小学生的恶性伤害事件。他们已经以担心模仿案件的出现为由对新闻界施压，并呼吁加强学校安保工作。然而，5月12日，又有一名男性气势汹汹地冲入陕西省的一所农村学校，夺走了七名孩子和两名成人的生命。这是自三月份以来的第五起校园伤害案件，作案人均系持匕首、坎肉刀或其它作案工具的中年男性。在这几起伤害案中，共17人死亡、近100人受伤。
几位评论员说这些袭击案是一个急速发展社会中极端压力的征兆，是政府尚未意识到的一股暗涌。
袭击案的政治意义
Zhou Xueguang 是一位社会学教授、斯坦福大学弗里曼斯波利研究所国际问题研究所高级研究员，目前任教于斯坦福大学北京计划项目。
校园袭击案的种种细节还有待理清——这些校园袭击案是孤立事件还是模仿案件；是因精神疾病引起的还是基于恶意动机的。但是有一个问题是非常明确的：这些事件是当今中国社会中广泛、快速增长的社会焦虑、沮丧和紧张的反映。
从一个层面上来说，这样的紧张状态在任何一个急速变化的社会中都几乎是不可避免的。当今的中国正在经历一个广泛和快速的变革，而这种广度和深度在中国的漫长历史中都是甚少出现的。
大范围的城市化，很多情况下其实是强迫推进的城市化，通过农村和城市地区的迁移、土地占有和居民重置来实现。令人惊恐的社会不公已经是个人在日常生活中所经历的赤裸裸的现实。尤其是大城市飞涨的房价，近年来涨了三到四倍，给富人和穷人间划上了一道深不可测的分界线。
在北京或是其它大城市的街道上闲逛，你能看到那些大门有警卫守卫、需要刷卡进入而且有精心打理的小径和绿化的住宅区。住宅区的高墙将墙内的富人和墙外的噪音和人群分隔开来。
然而，对于一个大学毕业生来说，即便是在大城市有一份体面的工作，在暴涨的房价面前，也不敢奢望在其有生之年能拥有属于一处自己的房子。这与早前的改革时期大不相同，那时的改革政策，尤其是将土地包产到户的政策，引起了生产力的大幅提高并惠及了人口总数中的大多数。
传统的家庭自给自足及邻里间互相帮扶的传统的社会格局已无法应对社会错位、社会封闭和特定群体边缘化的增长。
现在，绝望和怨恨的根源很深。社会学家用“社会混乱”(anomie)来描述社会规范和价值的坍塌。而校园袭击事件很可能就是这些日益紧绷的紧张状态的爆发。
从另一个层面上说，真正令人不安的是中国政府处理这种冲突的方式。它一直非常努力去“压制”社会动乱的征兆，而不是建立和培养起一种缓和的机制。官僚机器——通常是高效、冷淡、不人性化且无情的——常常引发与它所消解的社会怨恨等量的怨恨。
中国的转型取决于这些紧张和冲突是如何解决的。像校园袭击这样的事件在中国这样一个政治化的国家有极其长远的政治意义。就算是孤立、偶然的，这些事件极易获取政治意义，给中央和地方政府以及原本就脆弱的政府和各社会构成间的信任关系带来了强大压力。
中国有句谚语，将人民比喻成水，统治者比喻成舟。它是这样说的：水能载舟亦能覆舟。中国的领导层应该都深谙此道，他们也正出台一些列社会保障计划，包括最低生活水平保障网络、养老计划和医疗保障等，旨在覆盖更大的贫困人民群体。
然后，在缺乏鼓励地方政府解决问题能力机制的情况下，这些公共项目在日益扩散的社会紧张局势中的实际功效还有待观察。
中国的校园伤害案件和社会绝望
过去的两个月，中国政府正努力应对一系列边远地区伤害小学生的恶性伤害事件。他们已经以担心模仿案件的出现为由对新闻界施压，并呼吁加强学校安保工作。然而，5月12日，又有一名男性气势汹汹地冲入陕西省的一所农村学校，夺走了七名孩子和两名成人的生命。这是自三月份以来的第五起校园伤害案件，作案人均系持匕首、坎肉刀或其它作案工具的中年男性。在这几起伤害案中，共17人死亡、近100人受伤。
几位评论员说这些袭击案是一个急速发展社会中极端压力的征兆，是政府尚未意识到的一股暗涌。
袭击案的政治意义
Zhou Xueguang 是一位社会学教授、斯坦福大学弗里曼斯波利研究所国际问题研究所高级研究员，目前任教于斯坦福大学北京计划项目。
校园袭击案的种种细节还有待理清——这些校园袭击案是孤立事件还是模仿案件；是因精神疾病引起的还是基于恶意动机的。但是有一个问题是非常明确的：这些事件是当今中国社会中广泛、快速增长的社会焦虑、沮丧和紧张的反映。
从一个层面上来说，这样的紧张状态在任何一个急速变化的社会中都几乎是不可避免的。当今的中国正在经历一个广泛和快速的变革，而这种广度和深度在中国的漫长历史中都是甚少出现的。
大范围的城市化，很多情况下其实是强迫推进的城市化，通过农村和城市地区的迁移、土地占有和居民重置来实现。令人惊恐的社会不公已经是个人在日常生活中所经历的赤裸裸的现实。尤其是大城市飞涨的房价，近年来涨了三到四倍，给富人和穷人间划上了一道深不可测的分界线。
在北京或是其它大城市的街道上闲逛，你能看到那些大门有警卫守卫、需要刷卡进入而且有精心打理的小径和绿化的住宅区。住宅区的高墙将墙内的富人和墙外的噪音和人群分隔开来。
然而，对于一个大学毕业生来说，即便是在大城市有一份体面的工作，在暴涨的房价面前，也不敢奢望在其有生之年能拥有属于一处自己的房子。这与早前的改革时期大不相同，那时的改革政策，尤其是将土地包产到户的政策，引起了生产力的大幅提高并惠及了人口总数中的大多数。
传统的家庭自给自足及邻里间互相帮扶的传统的社会格局已无法应对社会错位、社会封闭和特定群体边缘化的增长。
现在，绝望和怨恨的根源很深。社会学家用“社会混乱”(anomie)来描述社会规范和价值的坍塌。而校园袭击事件很可能就是这些日益紧绷的紧张状态的爆发。
从另一个层面上说，真正令人不安的是中国政府处理这种冲突的方式。它一直非常努力去“压制”社会动乱的征兆，而不是建立和培养起一种缓和的机制。官僚机器——通常是高效、冷淡、不人性化且无情的——常常引发与它所消解的社会怨恨等量的怨恨。
中国的转型取决于这些紧张和冲突是如何解决的。像校园袭击这样的事件在中国这样一个政治化的国家有极其长远的政治意义。就算是孤立、偶然的，这些事件极易获取政治意义，给中央和地方政府以及原本就脆弱的政府和各社会构成间的信任关系带来了强大压力。
中国有句谚语，将人民比喻成水，统治者比喻成舟。它是这样说的：水能载舟亦能覆舟。中国的领导层应该都深谙此道，他们也正出台一些列社会保障计划，包括最低生活水平保障网络、养老计划和医疗保障等，旨在覆盖更大的贫困人民群体。
然后，在缺乏鼓励地方政府解决问题能力机制的情况下，这些公共项目在日益扩散的社会紧张局势中的实际功效还有待观察。
2010年5月9日星期日
wish you happiness cathy
I just got back from a college classmate's wedding in Shanxi. It's such an exhausting experience, for everyone I guess.
I'd have a small and simple one when I'd be doing it.
I'd have a small and simple one when I'd be doing it.
2010年5月6日星期四
劉若英-12月3日，北京
12月3日 北京
December 3, Beijing
By Rene Liu
十二月三号凌晨第一场雪 December 3, at daybreak, the first snow visits Beijing,
北京的天空落下白色的眼泪 where the sky is dropping white tears.
突然间想起过去的画面 It suddenly reminds me of old memories.
如今谁也不在谁的身边 Now, we are not by each other’s side.
缩著身却挡不住陌生的寒冷 I huddle myself up but still unable to shield the unfamiliar coldness
风陪我站在北四环的路边 The wind accompanies me on the North 4th Ring Road.
刹那间爱与恨冻结了周围 All of a sudden, love and hatred freeze up the surroundings.
街上的号志灯亮了又灭 Lights on the street keep going on and off.
是我离不开你 I cannot live without you.
是我不能没有你 I cannot live without you
爱在这时候结成了冰 At this moment, love has frozen up,
淹没在喧闹人群 and been drowned in the exciting crowd.
是我没什么勇气 I don’t have the nerve.
是我选择了逃避 I chose to escape.
是你穿著我送的新衣 You are wearing the new outfit I bought for you,
牵著别人的手离去 but left me holding another woman’s hand.
December 3, Beijing
By Rene Liu
十二月三号凌晨第一场雪 December 3, at daybreak, the first snow visits Beijing,
北京的天空落下白色的眼泪 where the sky is dropping white tears.
突然间想起过去的画面 It suddenly reminds me of old memories.
如今谁也不在谁的身边 Now, we are not by each other’s side.
缩著身却挡不住陌生的寒冷 I huddle myself up but still unable to shield the unfamiliar coldness
风陪我站在北四环的路边 The wind accompanies me on the North 4th Ring Road.
刹那间爱与恨冻结了周围 All of a sudden, love and hatred freeze up the surroundings.
街上的号志灯亮了又灭 Lights on the street keep going on and off.
是我离不开你 I cannot live without you.
是我不能没有你 I cannot live without you
爱在这时候结成了冰 At this moment, love has frozen up,
淹没在喧闹人群 and been drowned in the exciting crowd.
是我没什么勇气 I don’t have the nerve.
是我选择了逃避 I chose to escape.
是你穿著我送的新衣 You are wearing the new outfit I bought for you,
牵著别人的手离去 but left me holding another woman’s hand.
2010年5月5日星期三
世博志願者-閭丘露薇
I was a volunteer at the National Stadium during Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. It is truly precious experience in my life. But as is pointed out in Lvqiu Luwei's article, volunteers in general do not get respected as they deserve.
Drawing on my own experience, volunteers at those big events are a group of powerless people assigned with some tedious work by the operational team, but for example, what's the point standing at the escalator while there are securities at the entrance already? The only explanation is that they are not doing their job properly. That's typical here, there could be three people doing a one person's job and they couldn't do it right.
The disrespect not only comes from the audience but the paid staff as well. Some Chinese audience called one of the volunteers 'waiter'. What the hell did he think he's doing there? And the paid staff told you what the rules were in the zone, but they would take people in without any accreditations. (This is more of a big issue with the general system in China.) And they would ask you to save several lines of seats for some 'guests'. god, how could we tell other people when we couldn't defend ourselves with a right argument?
Volunteers are not taken seriously; they are not trusted with the responsibilities they are capable to take on; but when something goes wrong, they are the ones to blame.
======================================
世博的志愿者
by 闾丘露薇
到现在为止,世博园內给我印象最深刻的,是那些志愿者.一来人数太多,在园区內走几步就会看到他们，二来他们的被依赖程度太高，来自求助的观众，甚至是管理方。
觉得他们太辛苦，烈日下暴晒，早出晚归，七点多就要出发，好几个晚上，快十二点了，吃完晚饭回酒店的路上，看到他们乘坐的世博巴士，那些年轻而疲惫不堪的脸，透过车窗，看得让人心疼。
观察了一个多星期，好像讲讲这些志愿者。
Up till now, what’s impressed me most in the World Expo Garden is the volunteers. For one, there are a considerably large number of them. You can see volunteers every other steps in the Garden; for another, they are over-relied on by audiences seeking help, and even the administrative staff. They have been working hard: exposed in the burning sun, coming out early and going back late, and leaving for work at as early as 7:00am. For a couple of nights in a row, on my way back to the hotel around midnight, I saw the volunteers’ bus. Through the bus window, those young and exhausted faces made my heart ache a little bit for them.
After my observation for over a week, I’d like to talk about these volunteers here.
园内採取的是人海战术，让观众隨时可以得到志愿者的帮助。但是有必要同一时间，这么多的志愿者出现吗？很多地方，每隔几米就是一个志愿者，就连新闻中心的入口，一边一个保安足够检查证件，结果却要各加一个志愿者。新闻中心的电梯转弯口，楼道内，也有志愿者值班，我不知道他们的功能到底是啥，安保还是提供问询服务？对我来说，更担心这样的消耗，还有一百八十多天，大家这样下去还能坚持多久。
A Huge-crowd strategy is adopted in the World Expo Garden so that visitors could seek for volunteers’ help at any time. But is it necessary to have so many volunteers present at the same time? At a lot of places, there are volunteers every several meters, even at the entrance of the press center, where there is a security guard on each side checking credentials, they place one volunteer there. There are also volunteers on duty at the turn of the escalator, inside the corridor in the press center. I have no idea what their functions are—for security or enquiry service? For me, I’m more worried about this kind of consumption. During more than 180 days left of World Expo, how could they hold on?
不过最让我关心还是志愿者的工作范围到底是哪些？
星期一早上在中国舘门口，香港的一个电视臺摄影师和一个志愿者发生衝突，结果摄影机被志愿者打坏了。事缘这名摄影师走到排队人群里面拍摄，中国舘的工作人员让志愿者去劝阻拍摄。见摄影师不聼，志愿者就动了手，拍了一下摄影机。爭执之中，其他香港记者赶来，这名志愿者情绪激动，又拍打了一下摄影机，而这个过程被完整的拍摄了下来。
However, what I’m most concerned with is the range of volunteers’ responsibilities.
On Monday morning, a cameraman from a HK TV network had a conflict with a volunteer at the entrance of the Chinese Pavilion, and the volunteer broke the video camera. The conflict happened when a volunteer was sent by one of the staff in the Chinese Pavilion to dissuade the camera man to stop filming in the queuing crowd. The volunteer tapped on the video camera after the cameraman refused to stop. During the dispute, other HK journalists rushed to the spot; and the volunteer became agitated and took another tap on the camera. The whole course of events was videotaped.
对错，大家自有评説，我要追问的是哪些负责中国舘安保的人员。维持秩序，本来就是安保人员的职责，而且这是专业，同时有一定风险的工作，推给没有接受过这方面训练的志愿者，对吗？在事情发生之后，把责任全部推到这个志愿者身上，公平吗？
从志愿者第二次拍打摄影机的行为可以看到，这是一个控制情绪能力不高的年轻人，事实上，在这样的情况下，面对几部摄影机，要求一个年轻人保持冷静也不现实。我现在担心的，是遭遇了这样的事情，这名志愿者不要遭到学校或者其他方面的处分，也不要因此而增加太大的心理负担，毕竟对於这名年轻学生来説，这只是一个教训，不应该让他付出太大的代价。
People would have their own judgments on the right and wrong. But I want to further question the security staff in charge of the Chinese Pavilion. To maintain order, which is a professional and risky job, is supposed to be the security personnel’s responsibility. Is it the right thing to do to shift the responsibility to volunteers without professional training in this aspect? Is it fair to scapegoat the volunteer?
Seen from the volunteer’s second tap on the video camera, that young person isn’t good at controlling his temper. As a matter of fact, it’s not realistic to ask a young person to stay calm under that circumstance when faced with several video cameras. I just hope that after what happened, this volunteer wouldn’t receive any sanctions from the university or other institutes; and that he wouldn’t feel too stressed out. After all, this is a lesson for this young student, which shouldn’t make him pay too high a price for it.
我也希望，透过这次事件，有人会反省一下，把这些毫无经验的年轻学生推到衝突的最前綫，是否是负责任的做法？所谓志愿者，只不过是愿意拿出自己的时间来无偿做一些服务別人的事情，他们不是廉价劳工，他们同样需要得到尊重，当出现问题的时候，他们同样需要保护，而不是让他们独力的承担责任。
I also hope that through this incidence, some people would reflect on their decisions to push these inexperienced young students to the frontier of conflicts. Is it a responsible at all? Volunteers are supposed to be a group of people who are willing to devote their time to providing free service to other people; they are not cheap laborers; they deserve to be respected. When issues occur, they also need to be protected, not to have to take on the responsibilities all by themselves.
北京奥运，志愿者不单单弥补了主办机构人手不足的问题，志愿者本身也有不少的收穫，对於年轻人来説，这些是宝贵的人生经验。同样的在上海世博，相信不少志愿者也希望，透过这样的经歷，丰富自己的人生经验。
During the Beijing Olympic Games, volunteers compensated for the problem of the organizer’s being understaffed; and meanwhile, they gained a lot as well. For young people, those are precious life experiences. Similarly on Shanghai World Expo, I believe that a great number of volunteers hope to enrich their life experience through this event.
虽然他们任劳任怨，或者说他们根本没有选择的权利，但是应该有这样的常识，志愿者不应该成为站在最前沿的人，他们也不应该直接面对衝突，他们只是协助的角色。当观众进入世博园的时候，有问题其实不应该第一时间想到的是志愿者，而是应该是哪些拿工资的各类工作人员，因为这是他们的本职工作。
Even though they are fulfilling their duties devotedly and without complaints, or say, they don’t even have the right to choose, they should have the common knowledge that volunteers shouldn’t be the people at the forefront; they shouldn’t be made to directly face conflicts; they are just playing assisting roles. When the visitors enter the World Expo Garden, volunteers are not supposed to be the first one that comes to their mind when they have problems, instead, it should be the various kinds of paid staff, because that’s what they should do.
志愿者是非常可爱的，儘管他们不要求回报，但是不管是观众，还是管理他们的人，以及要求他们配合工作的人，都需要给他们最起码的尊重，这样，才能够让这些年轻人形成尊重他们的习惯，不然，在微笑的背后，是对於这个社会的失望还有沮丧，如果这样的话，未来，如果他们当中的不少人成为了公务员，他们又如何会想到，要去尊重別人？
Volunteers are lovable. Even though they don’t ask for anything in return, they deserve the minimum respect from the audiences, the people in charge of them and the ones who ask for their cooperation or the time. Only in this way, can we make these young people form a habit of respecting others; otherwise, what lie behind the smiles are their disappointments and frustrations with the society. If so, if some of them become civil servants in the future, how would they respect others?
我还记得第一天到上海去领记者证，过程当然一点也不顺利，当耐心耗完的时候，有的记者免不了要给那些负责发証的志愿者一些脸色。其实只要静下心来一想，问题到底出在那里，就会觉得，向这些年轻人发脾气其实很傻。
那天一名相熟的官员一直在现场，他说，他是来给大家骂的，不想大家把气撒在那些志愿者的身上，毕竟那些都只是学生。这些志愿者算是幸运，因为很多时候，志愿者变成了挡箭牌。
I still remember the other day when I went to Shanghai to get my journalist’s certificate. The procedure didn’t go well at all. Some journalists couldn’t help throwing displeasures upon those volunteers responsible after they ran out of their patience. As a matter of fact, if you calm down and think about how things go wrong, you’ll realize that it’s kind of silly to get into a temper with these young people.
On that particular day, an acquainted official was on the spot. He said he was there to be the target for criticism and didn’t want people to take it out on the volunteers and after all they were just students. Those volunteers were kind of lucky, since the group is being frequently taken as the shield.
Drawing on my own experience, volunteers at those big events are a group of powerless people assigned with some tedious work by the operational team, but for example, what's the point standing at the escalator while there are securities at the entrance already? The only explanation is that they are not doing their job properly. That's typical here, there could be three people doing a one person's job and they couldn't do it right.
The disrespect not only comes from the audience but the paid staff as well. Some Chinese audience called one of the volunteers 'waiter'. What the hell did he think he's doing there? And the paid staff told you what the rules were in the zone, but they would take people in without any accreditations. (This is more of a big issue with the general system in China.) And they would ask you to save several lines of seats for some 'guests'. god, how could we tell other people when we couldn't defend ourselves with a right argument?
Volunteers are not taken seriously; they are not trusted with the responsibilities they are capable to take on; but when something goes wrong, they are the ones to blame.
======================================
世博的志愿者
by 闾丘露薇
到现在为止,世博园內给我印象最深刻的,是那些志愿者.一来人数太多,在园区內走几步就会看到他们，二来他们的被依赖程度太高，来自求助的观众，甚至是管理方。
觉得他们太辛苦，烈日下暴晒，早出晚归，七点多就要出发，好几个晚上，快十二点了，吃完晚饭回酒店的路上，看到他们乘坐的世博巴士，那些年轻而疲惫不堪的脸，透过车窗，看得让人心疼。
观察了一个多星期，好像讲讲这些志愿者。
Up till now, what’s impressed me most in the World Expo Garden is the volunteers. For one, there are a considerably large number of them. You can see volunteers every other steps in the Garden; for another, they are over-relied on by audiences seeking help, and even the administrative staff. They have been working hard: exposed in the burning sun, coming out early and going back late, and leaving for work at as early as 7:00am. For a couple of nights in a row, on my way back to the hotel around midnight, I saw the volunteers’ bus. Through the bus window, those young and exhausted faces made my heart ache a little bit for them.
After my observation for over a week, I’d like to talk about these volunteers here.
园内採取的是人海战术，让观众隨时可以得到志愿者的帮助。但是有必要同一时间，这么多的志愿者出现吗？很多地方，每隔几米就是一个志愿者，就连新闻中心的入口，一边一个保安足够检查证件，结果却要各加一个志愿者。新闻中心的电梯转弯口，楼道内，也有志愿者值班，我不知道他们的功能到底是啥，安保还是提供问询服务？对我来说，更担心这样的消耗，还有一百八十多天，大家这样下去还能坚持多久。
A Huge-crowd strategy is adopted in the World Expo Garden so that visitors could seek for volunteers’ help at any time. But is it necessary to have so many volunteers present at the same time? At a lot of places, there are volunteers every several meters, even at the entrance of the press center, where there is a security guard on each side checking credentials, they place one volunteer there. There are also volunteers on duty at the turn of the escalator, inside the corridor in the press center. I have no idea what their functions are—for security or enquiry service? For me, I’m more worried about this kind of consumption. During more than 180 days left of World Expo, how could they hold on?
不过最让我关心还是志愿者的工作范围到底是哪些？
星期一早上在中国舘门口，香港的一个电视臺摄影师和一个志愿者发生衝突，结果摄影机被志愿者打坏了。事缘这名摄影师走到排队人群里面拍摄，中国舘的工作人员让志愿者去劝阻拍摄。见摄影师不聼，志愿者就动了手，拍了一下摄影机。爭执之中，其他香港记者赶来，这名志愿者情绪激动，又拍打了一下摄影机，而这个过程被完整的拍摄了下来。
However, what I’m most concerned with is the range of volunteers’ responsibilities.
On Monday morning, a cameraman from a HK TV network had a conflict with a volunteer at the entrance of the Chinese Pavilion, and the volunteer broke the video camera. The conflict happened when a volunteer was sent by one of the staff in the Chinese Pavilion to dissuade the camera man to stop filming in the queuing crowd. The volunteer tapped on the video camera after the cameraman refused to stop. During the dispute, other HK journalists rushed to the spot; and the volunteer became agitated and took another tap on the camera. The whole course of events was videotaped.
对错，大家自有评説，我要追问的是哪些负责中国舘安保的人员。维持秩序，本来就是安保人员的职责，而且这是专业，同时有一定风险的工作，推给没有接受过这方面训练的志愿者，对吗？在事情发生之后，把责任全部推到这个志愿者身上，公平吗？
从志愿者第二次拍打摄影机的行为可以看到，这是一个控制情绪能力不高的年轻人，事实上，在这样的情况下，面对几部摄影机，要求一个年轻人保持冷静也不现实。我现在担心的，是遭遇了这样的事情，这名志愿者不要遭到学校或者其他方面的处分，也不要因此而增加太大的心理负担，毕竟对於这名年轻学生来説，这只是一个教训，不应该让他付出太大的代价。
People would have their own judgments on the right and wrong. But I want to further question the security staff in charge of the Chinese Pavilion. To maintain order, which is a professional and risky job, is supposed to be the security personnel’s responsibility. Is it the right thing to do to shift the responsibility to volunteers without professional training in this aspect? Is it fair to scapegoat the volunteer?
Seen from the volunteer’s second tap on the video camera, that young person isn’t good at controlling his temper. As a matter of fact, it’s not realistic to ask a young person to stay calm under that circumstance when faced with several video cameras. I just hope that after what happened, this volunteer wouldn’t receive any sanctions from the university or other institutes; and that he wouldn’t feel too stressed out. After all, this is a lesson for this young student, which shouldn’t make him pay too high a price for it.
我也希望，透过这次事件，有人会反省一下，把这些毫无经验的年轻学生推到衝突的最前綫，是否是负责任的做法？所谓志愿者，只不过是愿意拿出自己的时间来无偿做一些服务別人的事情，他们不是廉价劳工，他们同样需要得到尊重，当出现问题的时候，他们同样需要保护，而不是让他们独力的承担责任。
I also hope that through this incidence, some people would reflect on their decisions to push these inexperienced young students to the frontier of conflicts. Is it a responsible at all? Volunteers are supposed to be a group of people who are willing to devote their time to providing free service to other people; they are not cheap laborers; they deserve to be respected. When issues occur, they also need to be protected, not to have to take on the responsibilities all by themselves.
北京奥运，志愿者不单单弥补了主办机构人手不足的问题，志愿者本身也有不少的收穫，对於年轻人来説，这些是宝贵的人生经验。同样的在上海世博，相信不少志愿者也希望，透过这样的经歷，丰富自己的人生经验。
During the Beijing Olympic Games, volunteers compensated for the problem of the organizer’s being understaffed; and meanwhile, they gained a lot as well. For young people, those are precious life experiences. Similarly on Shanghai World Expo, I believe that a great number of volunteers hope to enrich their life experience through this event.
虽然他们任劳任怨，或者说他们根本没有选择的权利，但是应该有这样的常识，志愿者不应该成为站在最前沿的人，他们也不应该直接面对衝突，他们只是协助的角色。当观众进入世博园的时候，有问题其实不应该第一时间想到的是志愿者，而是应该是哪些拿工资的各类工作人员，因为这是他们的本职工作。
Even though they are fulfilling their duties devotedly and without complaints, or say, they don’t even have the right to choose, they should have the common knowledge that volunteers shouldn’t be the people at the forefront; they shouldn’t be made to directly face conflicts; they are just playing assisting roles. When the visitors enter the World Expo Garden, volunteers are not supposed to be the first one that comes to their mind when they have problems, instead, it should be the various kinds of paid staff, because that’s what they should do.
志愿者是非常可爱的，儘管他们不要求回报，但是不管是观众，还是管理他们的人，以及要求他们配合工作的人，都需要给他们最起码的尊重，这样，才能够让这些年轻人形成尊重他们的习惯，不然，在微笑的背后，是对於这个社会的失望还有沮丧，如果这样的话，未来，如果他们当中的不少人成为了公务员，他们又如何会想到，要去尊重別人？
Volunteers are lovable. Even though they don’t ask for anything in return, they deserve the minimum respect from the audiences, the people in charge of them and the ones who ask for their cooperation or the time. Only in this way, can we make these young people form a habit of respecting others; otherwise, what lie behind the smiles are their disappointments and frustrations with the society. If so, if some of them become civil servants in the future, how would they respect others?
我还记得第一天到上海去领记者证，过程当然一点也不顺利，当耐心耗完的时候，有的记者免不了要给那些负责发証的志愿者一些脸色。其实只要静下心来一想，问题到底出在那里，就会觉得，向这些年轻人发脾气其实很傻。
那天一名相熟的官员一直在现场，他说，他是来给大家骂的，不想大家把气撒在那些志愿者的身上，毕竟那些都只是学生。这些志愿者算是幸运，因为很多时候，志愿者变成了挡箭牌。
I still remember the other day when I went to Shanghai to get my journalist’s certificate. The procedure didn’t go well at all. Some journalists couldn’t help throwing displeasures upon those volunteers responsible after they ran out of their patience. As a matter of fact, if you calm down and think about how things go wrong, you’ll realize that it’s kind of silly to get into a temper with these young people.
On that particular day, an acquainted official was on the spot. He said he was there to be the target for criticism and didn’t want people to take it out on the volunteers and after all they were just students. Those volunteers were kind of lucky, since the group is being frequently taken as the shield.
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