評(píng)論
打印
Angels on a Pin
大頭針上的天使
Alexander Calandra
亞歷山大·卡蘭德拉
Some time ago, I received a call from a colleague who asked if I would be the referee on the grading of an examination question. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed he should receive a perfect score and would if the system were not set up against the student. The instructor and the student agreed to submit this to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.
前些時(shí)候，我接到一個(gè)同事的電話，問我可否就一道考題的打分作一下仲裁。他打算給一個(gè)學(xué)生的物理考題答案打零分，而那位學(xué)生卻聲稱，如果現(xiàn)行的教育制度不是專門要和學(xué)生作對(duì)，他就該得滿分，也一定會(huì)得到滿分。師生倆同意把這事交給一個(gè)不帶偏見的仲裁人來處理，于是我就被選中了。
I went to my colleague's office and read the examination question: "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer （氣壓表）."
我來到同事的辦公室，讀了考題：“證明如何借助氣壓表測定出大樓的高度。”
The student had answered: "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower the barometer to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."
學(xué)生答道：“把氣壓表帶至樓頂，在氣壓表上系一根長繩，將表下垂至地面，然后將其收回，量一下繩子的長度。繩子的長度即為大樓的高度。”
I pointed out that the student really had a strong case （強(qiáng)有力的論據(jù)） for full credit（滿分）,since he had answered the question completely and correctly. On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade for the student in his physics course. A high grade is supposed to certify （證明）competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm （證實(shí)） this. I suggested that the student have another try at answering the question. I was not surprised that my colleague agreed, but I was surprised that the student did.
我指出，該生確實(shí)有充分的理由得滿分，因?yàn)樗麍A滿而正確地回答了這道考題。話又得說回來，要是給滿分的話，這位學(xué)生的物理課成績就能得高分。高分應(yīng)證明學(xué)生在物理學(xué)方面的能力，而這一解答并不能證實(shí)這一點(diǎn)。于是我建議再給該生一次機(jī)會(huì)，讓他再解答一遍。我同事答應(yīng)了，這我不覺得奇怪，但我沒料到那學(xué)生居然也答應(yīng)了。
I gave the student six minutes to answer the question, with the warning that his answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said no. He had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him, and asked him to please go on. In the next minute, he dashed off （匆匆寫出）his answer which read:
我給這學(xué)生6分鐘時(shí)間答題，并提醒他答案必須顯示出物理學(xué)方面的某些知識(shí)。5分鐘過去了，他仍一字未著，我問他是不是想放棄，他說不。對(duì)這問題他有好幾個(gè)答案；他只是在考慮選取最佳的一種。我抱歉打攪了他，請(qǐng)他接著思考。在最后一分鐘，他匆匆寫出了如下答案：
Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch （跑表）.Then, using the formula S=(1/2)at^2, calculate the height of the building.
“將氣壓表帶上樓頂，在頂沿俯身拋下氣壓表，同時(shí)用秒表測定氣壓表的下落時(shí)間。隨后用S=(1/2)at^2的公式，即可求出大樓的高度。”
