There are lots and lots of tests of English.
各種各樣的英語測試。
And millions and millions of students take these tests every year.
每年成千上萬的學生參加這樣的考試。
Now you might think, you and me, "Those fees aren't bad, they're okay,"
你會覺得,你和我都這么認為,這些考試價格還是合理的,
but they are prohibitive to so many millions of poor people.
但是數百萬窮人卻望而卻步。
So immediately, we're rejecting them.
所以一開始我們就把他們擋在了外面。
It brings to mind a headline I saw recently: "Education: The Great Divide."
這讓我想到我最近看見的一條新聞:“教育:大鴻溝。”
Now I get it, I understand why people would want to focus on English.
現在我明白了為什么人們都關注英語。
They want to give their children the best chance in life.
他們希望給予他們的孩子最好的人生機遇。
And to do that, they need a Western education.
而要達到這個目的,他們需要西方教育。
Because, of course, the best jobs go to people out of the Western Universities, that I put on earlier.
因為,顯然最好的工作都讓西方大學的畢業生拿走了,就跟我之前說的一樣。
It's a circular thing. Okay.
這是個循環。是吧。
Let me tell you a story about two scientists, two English scientists.
讓我們告訴你們兩個科學家的故事,有關兩個英國科學家。
They were doing an experiment to do with genetics and the forelimbs and the hind limbs of animals.
他們在做一個實驗,跟遺傳學有關,以及研究動物的前后肢,
But they couldn't get the results they wanted.
但是他們無法得到他們想得到的結果。
They really didn't know what to do,
他們有點束手無策,
until along came a German scientist who realized that they were using two words for forelimb and hind limb,
直到一個德國科學家參與后,他發現他們在研究前肢和后肢時用的是兩個詞,
whereas genetics does not differentiate and neither does German.
而遺傳學上并不區分兩者,德語也不區分。
So bingo, problem solved.
所以,瞧,問題解決了。
If you can't think a thought, you are stuck.
如果你想不通,就卡住了。
But if another language can think that thought, then, by cooperating, we can achieve and learn so much more.
但是用另外一種語言就可以想通,那么通過合作,我們可以教學相長,受益頗多。