The book is dead; long live the tablet computer.

傳統(tǒng)課本短命，平板電腦萬歲。

But wait a minute. Not so fast. Let's consider the evolution of learning. Thousands of years before books, man was depicting hunting scenes on the walls of caves.

但先等一下，別這么快！我們先回顧一下學(xué)習(xí)的演變過程。在書籍出現(xiàn)前的數(shù)千年里，人類一直都是在洞穴的墻壁上描繪捕獵場景。

As early as 2700 BC Egyptians were converting papyrus into thick forms of paper or parchment ready to receive markings from reed pens.

早在公元前2700年，埃及人便開始把紙莎草紙改進(jìn)為較厚的紙張或是羊皮紙，以便用蘆葦制成的筆記錄文字。

In the Middle Ages in Europe monasteries became centers of learning. While some monks ploughed and grew crops, brother monks laboriously copied and illustrated bibles by hand on vellum or parchment.

到了中世紀(jì)的歐洲，修道院成為學(xué)習(xí)中心。當(dāng)一些僧侶耕種農(nóng)作物時(shí)，另一些同伴賣力地在牛皮紙或羊皮紙上抄寫圣經(jīng)，并手繪插畫。

China developed printing, using signs cut into wooden blocks. Books were printed rather than written out by hand. Every candidate for the civil service boned up on Confucius' precepts in printed form.

之后，中國利用篆刻木塊制成字體模板發(fā)明了印刷術(shù)。至此書籍已可印刷出版而并非手工抄寫。所有文官的候選人都要用功研讀印刷成冊的孔子訓(xùn)詞。

In 1273 a handbook for Chinese farmers and growers of raw silk was printed, according to Geoffrey Blainey, writer of A Very Short History of the World. Soon 3,000 copies were in circulation, at a time when the same task would have called for a year's labor by a monastery full of Italian monks writing out the books by hand.

《世界簡史》的作者杰弗里?布萊尼表示，1273年，一本為中國農(nóng)民和養(yǎng)蠶者編寫的印刷手冊問世。不久，便有3000本書流通于世。當(dāng)時(shí)，若是同樣一本書，則需要一間修道院里所有意大利僧侶花費(fèi)一年時(shí)間才能抄寫完。

The great leap forward in learning came thanks to the printing press. Johannes Gutenberg of Mainz in Germany was perhaps the first European to print a book using not only a printing press but also metallic type.

人類學(xué)習(xí)歷史上的一大飛躍要多虧了印刷機(jī)的問世。來自德國美因茨市的約翰內(nèi)斯?古滕貝格可能是第一位不僅使用機(jī)器印刷，還使用金屬字塊來印刷書本的歐洲人。

His techniques were copied and adapted. Thanks to the printing press, cheap books were possible.

他的技術(shù)被廣泛采納應(yīng)用，因?yàn)橛辛擞∷C(jī)，書本才會(huì)變得這么便宜。

And the rest, as they say, is history. Will Apple revolutionize learning? That remains to be seen.

常言道，剩下的事情地球人都知道了。那么蘋果會(huì)引領(lǐng)一場學(xué)習(xí)的變革嗎？讓我們拭目以待吧！