2004年英语专八真题听力原文

　　SECTION B TALK?

　　W: Good evening, I'm Nancy Johnson. The guest onour radio talk this evening is Professor WangGongwu. Hello, Professor Wang.

　　M: Hello.?

　　W: Professor Wang, you're now professor emeritusof Australia National University, and in your longacademic career, you've worn many hats as tutor,lecturer, department head, dean, professor, andvice chancellor. However, as I know, you're still veryfond of your university days as a student.?

　　M: That's right. That was in 1949. The university that I went to was a brand?new universitythen, and the only one in the country at that time. When I look back, it was an amazingly smalluniversity, and we knew everybody.?

　　W: How did the students like you, for example, study then??

　　M: We didn't study very hard, because we didn't have to. We didn't have all this fantasticcompetition that you have today. Mmm. We were always made to feel that getting a firstdegree in the Arts faculty was not preparation for a profession. It was a general education. Wewere not under any pressure to decide on our careers, and we had such a good time. We wereleft very much on our own, and we were encouraged to make things happen. ?

　　W: What do you see as the most striking difference in university education since then??

　　M: University education has changed dramatically since those days. Things are very specializedtoday. ?

　　W: Yes, definitely so. And, in your subsequent career experience as an educator and lateradministrator in various institutions of higher education in Asia and elsewhere, ProfessorWang, you have repeatedly noted that one has to look at the development of education in oneparticular country in a broad context. What do you mean by that??

　　M: Well, the whole world has moved away from elite education in universities to meet the needsof mass education, and entering universities is no longer a privilege for the few. Anduniversities today are more concerned with providing jobs for their graduates in a way thatuniversities in our time never had to be bothered about. Therefore, the emphasis of universityprograms today is now on the practical and the utilitarian, rather than on a general education oron personal development.?

　　W: Do you think that is a welcome development??

　　M: Well, I personally regret this development. But the basic bachelor's education now has tocater to people who really need a piece of paper to find a decent job.?

　　W: So you're concerned about this development.?

　　M: Yes, I'm very concerned. With technical changes, many of the things that you learn aretechnical skills, which don't require you to become very well educated. Yet, if you can masterthose skills, you can get very good jobs. So the technical institutions are going to beincreasingly popular at the expense of traditional universitites.?

　　W: Professor Wang, let's look at a different issue. How do you comment on the currentphenomenon because of the fees they pay?

　　M: Well, once you accept students on financial grounds, one wonders whether you have to passthem as well. But this is the development in education that we have to contend with. Yet, if weare concerned about maintaining standards, what we can do is to concentrate on improvingthe quality of education.?

　　W: Yes, you're right. A university is judged by the quality of education it offers. ProfessorWang, let's turn to the future. What type of graduates, in your view, to universities of thefuture need to produce, if they are to remain relevant??

　　M: I think their graduates must be able to shift from one profession to another, because theyare trained in a very independent way. If you can do that, you raise the level of the flexibilityof the mind. Today's rapid changes in technology demand this adaptability. And you see thebest universities in the world are already trying to guarantee that their students will not onlybe technically trained, but will be the kind of people that can adapt to any changing situation.?

　　W: I guess many people would agree with you on that point. University education should focuson both personal and professional development of students. But still some might believe thereis a definite place for education in a broader sense - that is, in personal intellectualdevelopment. ?

　　M: No doubt about that. We need people who will think about the future, about the past, andalso people who will think about society. If a society doesn't have philosophers, or people whothink about the value of life, it's a very sad society indeed.

　　W: Professor Wang, my last question: do you see any common ground in education betweenyour generation and the young generation now??

　　M: Adapting to new challenges is perhaps the true cornerstone of our generation's legacy toeducation. And the future of education in a country rests not so much on the construction ofbetter buildings, labs, etc., but in the development of an ever?adaptable mind.?

　　W: That's true. The essence of education is the education of the mind. Okay, thank you verymuch, Professor Wang, for talking to us on the show about the changing trends in education.?

　　M: You're welcome??

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