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Susan Jacoby laments the intellectual crisis now gripping America and says that the torrent of digital infotainment is threatening basic literacy and news knowledge.

One of Senator Barack Obama's persistent themes，since the drawn-out US presidential campaign began in the snows of 2007，has been the need for parents to turn off the television，put away video games，and spend more time reading to and talking with their children.Although no candidate would be dumb enough to call potential voters dumb，Obama is in fact referring to the dumbing down of American culture over the past three decades—a phenomenon that can be measured by everything from a sharp decline in book and newspaper reading to the mediocre performance of American students on international assessments of proficiency in science and mathematics.

Obama's approach is notable and novel because he is connecting the dots between the failings of formal education and a more general level of public ignorance，anti-rationalism and anti-intellectualism.Obama，the Internet-savvy candidate，is making a point which Senator John McCain(who doesn't even know how to use email)is ill-placed to raise:that Americans are frittering away too much time in the land of digital infotainment.This is not an easy assertion to make—it carries a political risk.Anyone seen as a critic of the public's intellectual laziness will inevitably be charged with what has beCome the most powerful pejorative in American culture—elitism.

But it's a crucial point.The triumph of video over print is eroding the quality of American public life.Since the early days of the republic，it has been an article of faith that expansion of educational opportunity is essential to American democracy.Daniel Webster of Massachusetts delivered a eulogy for John Adams and Thomas Jefferson(who，in one of the more poignant coincidences of US history，both died on 4 July 1826，the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence)，in which he asserted that the young nation was already distinguished by free inquiry and a“diffusion of knowledge through the community，such as has been before altogether unknown and unheard of.”Webster，a future senator and already a famous political orator，went on to declare that the fate of America was“inseparably connected，fast bound up，in fortune and by fate，with these great interests.If they fall，we fall with them；if they stand it will be because we have upholden them.”

For anyone looking honestly at the American intellectual landscape today，it is impossible to escape the fear that something has gone badly wrong with“diffusion of knowledge throughout the community”—even though，ironically，the internet offers the most powerful tool ever invented for the spread of education.And everything that has gone wrong has gone particularly wrong among the young.

Consider just a few facts and statistics.In 2006 the US and the United Kingdom vied for the mediocrity award in science in the most recent international assessment of 15-year-olds，conducted by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD).The US finished 17th out of 30 countries，while the UK finished 14th，but the UK acquired the dubious distinction of dropping from fourth to 14th place in just eight years.US students，by contrast，held their own—that is to say，they did just as poorly as they had on an OECD assessment in 2003.

The standard political approach from both Democrats and Republicans has been to blame undeniable educational deficiencies on bad schools and bad teachers.The“No Child Left Behind Act，”a centrepiece of President George W.Bush's domestic agenda，mandates standardized tests and evaluates teachers and schools based on the test scores.But the chief effectseemstohavebeentoforceteacherstodevote disproportionate time to stuffing students with soon-to-be-forgotten facts for the state-approved quizzes.The same teenagers falter when confronted with an international examination designed，as the OECD test is，to assess their ability to apply scientific facts to real-life problems.

Among Americans aged 18 to 24，four out of ten never read any books—fiction or non-fiction—unless required for work or school.As for news，the majority of people under 30 are not paying attention at all.According to a study conducted by the journal Television Quarterly，only one in 12 adults under 30 reads a daily newspaper.Television newscasts are watched by one in six.Those figures are no surprise，but the study also explodes the myth that the young have simply shifted their newsgathering to the web.In fact，only one out of eight Americans under 30 regularly reads news on the Internet.Approximately half of men from 18 to 34，by contrast，spend nearly three hours a day playing video games.

It is hardly surprising that in 2006，three years into the Iraq war，nearly two thirds of adults aged between 18 and 24 were unable to find Iraq on a map marked with the names of countries—meaning that they did not have the slightest idea of where in the world to look.Even more ominous was another finding from the same poll，conducted by National Geographic-Roper.Nearly half of young Americans do not think it necessary to know the location of other countries in which important news is being made.It is ignorant not to know where your country is fighting a war，but it is arrogant and anti-rational to insist that such ignorance does not matter.

One of the more heated debates in the US today is whether“reading”on the Internet bears any resemblance to reading in the traditional sense.A horde of technophile writers and scholars(most of whom owe their living to the“new media”)predictably promotes the notion that worries about the decline of reading are confined to fuddy-duddy Luddites.A recent article in the New York Times(coyly headlined，“Literacy Debate: Online，R U Really Reading?”)quoted Donna E.Alverman，a professor of language and literacy education at the University of Georgia，who said that young people“are using sound and images so that they have a world of ideas to put together that aren't necessarily language oriented.”What codswallop!

A more revealing comment in the same article Come from a high-school student，Hunter Gaudet，who observed that he never read books unless forced to do so and said that“they go through a lot of details that aren't really needed.”He added，“Online just gives you what you need，nothing more or less.”

American foundations and businesses are now spending huge amounts of money to develop more“educational”video games，so that schools will not have to depend on pesky books with“details that aren't really needed.”The Federation of American Scientists，an organisation best known for advising the government on national security issues，issued a widely publicized report titled“Harnessing the Power of Video Games for Learning.”The doComent was released in conjunction with the Entertainment Software Corporation，a public relations group promoting video games that has cornered roughly 90 percent of the$7 billion gaming market worldwide.

Of course，the empire of infotainment knows no national boundaries，and neither do the knowledge deficits promoted by the decline of reading.But there are several reasons why the dumbing down of American culture ought to worry people in parts of the world that are still behind the US on the ignorance curve.First and most obvious，there is the elephant-inthe-room factor.If the US turns to video games to address classroom problems created，in significant measure，by children's addiction to video，only a nanosecond will pass before education establishment Pooh Bahs，in the UK and elsewhere，start pushing school-sponsored video games，in the absence of any evidence of their utility，as a way to improve student performance.

A more subtle factor is the impossibility of conducting informed discourse，nationally or internationally，when most of the public has lost its ability to follow a narrative.As I write，the war in Iraq has all but disappeared as a presidential campaign issue in the US—partly because of the shaky state of the economy but also because even those who ordinarily pay attention to news lose interest when they are not seeing daily videos of dramatic suicide bombings.According to a recent poll by the Washington-based Pew Center for the People and the Press，only 28 percent of Americans—down from 54 percent in August 2007—know that some 4，000 US soldiers have died in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.In our culture of distraction，more and more people cannot remember what they knew only a year ago—much less what happened five years ago.

This intellectual crisis—it is not too strong a word—clearly transcends politics.Ralph Waldo Emerson，in a prescient 1 837 speech at Harvard known as the“American Scholar”oration，declared that“the mind of this country，taught to aim at low objects，eats upon itself.”This line resonates even more strongly today，when the low objects are purveyed along an infotainment highway that fragments memory and encourages confusion between information and the genuine framework of knowledge essential to turning isolated facts(and errors)into a reasoned civic dialogue.

Susan Jacoby，who lives in New York，is the author of The Age of American Unreason，to be issued in September by Old Street Publishing.

1.What is the intellectual crisis that Susan Jacoby talks about in this article?

2.What is the problem with George W.Bush's“No Child Left Behind Act”in its implementation?

3.What is wrong with today's“diffusion of knowledge throughout the community”asserted long ago by Daniel Webster?

4.How can this“dumbing down of America”be solved according to the author?

5.How relevant is this perceived phenomenon here in China?How valid or otherwise?

Dumbing down:A pejorative term for a perceived over-simplification of，amongst other things，education，news and television，or as a statement of truth about real Cultural trends in education and culture.It can point to a variety of different things but the concept always involves a claim about the simplification of culture，education，and thought，a decline in creativity and innovation，a standard，and the trivialization of Cultural，artistic，and academic creations.

Infotainment:A television program with a mixture of news and entertainment features，such as interviews，commentaries，and reviews.Also called docutainment.

Article of faith:An unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence.Articles of faith are sets of beliefs usually found in creeds，sometimesnumbered，andoftenbeginningwith“We believe...，”which attempt to more or less define the fundamental theology of a given religion，and especially in the Christian Church.

Pooh-Bah:A pompous ostentatious official，especially one who，holding many offices，fulfills none of them.It originated from Pooh-Bah，Lord-High-Everything-Else，a character in The Mikado by W.S.Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.

Daniel Webster:(Born Jan.18，1782，Salisbury，N.H.，U.S.and died Oct.24，1852，Marshfield，Mass.)U.S.lawyer and politician.He served in the U.S.House of Representatives(1813-1817).After moving to Boston(1816)，he built a prosperous law practice and represented Massachusetts in the House(1823-1827).He argued several precedent-setting cases before the U.S.Supreme Court，including the Dartmouth College case，McCulloch v.Maryland，and Gibbons v.Ogden.Elected to the U.S.Senate(1827-1841，1845-1850)，he beCome famous as an orator for his speeches supporting the Union and opposing the nullification movement and its advocates，John C.Calhoun and Robert Y.Hayne.As U.S.secretary of state(1841-1843，1850-1852)he negotiated the Webster-Ashburton Treaty to settle the Canada-Maine border dispute.

John Adams:John Adams，(Born Oct.30，1735，Braintree，Mass.and died July 4，1826，Quincy，Mass.，U.S.)U.S.politician，first vice president(1789-1997)and second president(1797-1801)of the U.S.After graduating from Harvard College in 1755，he practiced law in Boston.In 1764 he married Abigail Smith(see Abigail Adams).Active in the American independence movement，he was elected to the Massachusetts legislature and served as a delegate to the Continental Congress(1774-1778)，where he was appointed to a committee with Thomas Jefferson and others to draft the Declaration of Independence.In 1776-1778 he was appointed to many congressional committees，including one to create a navy and another to review foreign affairs.He served as a diplomat in France，the Netherlands，and England(1778-1788).In the first U.S.presidential election，he received the second largest number of votes and beCome vice president under George Washington.Adams's term as president was marked by controversy over his signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 and by his alliance with the conservative Federalist Party.In 1800 he was defeated for reelection byJeffersonandretiredtoliveasecludedlifein Massachusetts.In 1812 he overCome his bitterness toward Jefferson，with whom he began an illuminating correspondence.Both men died on July 4，1826，the declaration's 50th anniversary.

Thomas Jefferson:Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States and one of the drafters of the Declaration of Independence.Biographer James Parton said Thomas Jefferson could“calculate an eclipse，survey an estate，tie an artery，plan an edifice，try a cause，break a horse，dance a minuet，and play the violin.”Besides serving two terms as president，Jefferson served as vice-president，secretary of state，minister to France，congressman，governor of Virginia；he also founded the University of Virginia and served as president of the American Philosophical Society.For all that，Jefferson is best remembered as a champion of human rights and the lead draftsman of the Declaration of Independence.High points of his presidency include the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon and the exploration of the west by Lewis and Clark.The third person to be president，Jefferson followed John Adams as president and was succeeded by James Madison.

Luddite:A member of organized groups of early 19th-century English craftsmen who surreptitiously destroyed the textile machinery that was replacing them.The movement began in Nottingham in 1811 and spread to other areas in 1812.The Luddites，or“Ludds，”were named after a probably mythical leader，Ned Ludd.They operated at night and often enjoyed local support.Harsh repressive measures by the government included a mass trial at York in 1813 that resulted in many hangings and banishments.The term Luddite was later used to describe anyone opposed to technological change.勒德分子是一个害怕或者厌恶技术的人，尤其是威胁现有工作的新技术的形式。在工业革命期间，英格兰的纺织工人主张模仿一个叫做Ned Ludd的人破坏工厂设备来抵制节省劳动力的技术带给工厂的改变。术语勒德分子来自于Ludd的姓。今天，术语勒德分子仍然指认为技术对社会产生的损害要多于益处的人。

Elephant in the room:“Elephant in the room”(also“elephant in the sitting room，”“elephant in the living room，”“elephant in the parlor，”“elephant in the corner，”“elephant on the dinner table，”“elephant in the kitchen，”“elephant on the coffee table，”and“horse in the corner”)is an English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed.It is based on the idea that an elephant in a room would be impossible to overlook；thus，people in the room who pretend the elephant is not there might be concerning themselves with relatively small and even irrelevant matters，compared to the looming big one.The Oxford English Dictionary gives the first-known use of the phrase as The New York Times in June 20，1959:“Financing schools has beCome a problem about equal to having an elephant in the living room.It's so big you just can't ignore it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson:爱默生。美国散文作家、思想家、诗人。(Born May 25，1803，Boston，Mass.，U.S.and died April 27，1882，Concord.)U.S.poet，essayist，and lecturer.Emerson graduated from Harvard University and was ordained a Unitarian minister in 1829.His questioning of traditional doctrine led him to resign the ministry three years later.He formulated his philosophy in Nature(1836)；the book helped initiate New England Transcendentalism，a movement of which he soon beCome the leading exponent.In 1834 he moved to Concord，Mass.，the home of his friend Henry David Thoreau.His lectures on the proper role of the scholar and the waning of the Christian tradition caused considerable controversy.In 1840，with Margaret Fuller，he helped launch The Dial，a journal that provided an outlet for Transcendentalist Ideas.He beCome internationally famous with his Essays(1841，1844)，including“Self-Reliance.”Representative Men(1850)consists of biographies of historical figures.The Conduct of Life(1860)，his most mature work，reveals a developed humanism and a full awareness of human limitations.His Poems(1847)and May-Day(1867) established his reputation as a major poet.

Infotainment:Infotainment is information-based media content or programming that also includes entertainment content in an effort to enhance popularity with audiences and consumers.It is a neologistic portmanteau of information and entertainment，referring to a type of media which provides a combination of information and entertainment.According to many dictionaries infotainment is always television，and the term is mainly disapproving.However，many self-described infotainment websites exist which provide a variety of functions and services.

The label“infotainment”is emblematic of concern and criticism that journalism is devolving from a medium which conveys serious information about issues that affect the public interest，into a form of entertainment which happens to have fresh“facts”in the mix.The criteria by which reporters and editors judge news value—whether something is worth putting on the front page，the bottom of the hour，or is worth commenting on at all—are integral parts of this debate.Some blame the media for this perceived phenomenon，for failing to live up to ideals of civic journalistic responsibility.Others blame the commercial nature of many media organizations，the need for higher ratings，combined with a preference among the public for feel-good content and“unimportant”topics(like celebrity gossip or sports).

Anti-intellectualism:Anti-intellectualism describes a sentimentof hostility towards，or mistrust of，intellectuals and intellectual pursuits.This may be expressed in various ways，such as attacks on the merits of science，education，art，or literature.Anti-intellectuals often perceive themselves as champions of the ordinary people and populism against elitism，especially academic elitism.These critics argue that highly educated people from an isolated social group tend to dominate political discourse and higher education(academia).Anti-intellectualism can also be used as a term to criticize an educational system if it seems to place minimal emphasis on academic and intellectual accomplishment，or if a government has a tendency to formulate policies without consulting academic and scholarly study.

Susan Jacoby:Susan Jacoby(1945-)is an American author，most recently of the New York Times best seller，The Age of American Unreason about American Anti-intellectualism.She is an atheist and secularist.Jacoby graduated from Michigan State University in 1965.She lives in New York City and is director of the New York Branch of the Center for Inquiry.

Jacoby，who began her career as a reporter for The Washington Post，has been a contributor to a wide variety of national publications，including The New York Times，The Los Angeles Times，The American Prospect，Mother Jones，The Nation，Glamour，and The AARP Bulletin and AARP Magazine.She is currently a panelist for“On Faith，”a Washington Post-Newsweek blog on religion.As a young reporter she lived for two years in the USSR.

Her book Freethinkers:A History of American Secularism was named a notable book of 2004 by The Washington Post and The New York Times.It was also named an Outstanding International Book of the Year by The Times Literary Supplement(London)and The Guardian.Wild Justice: The Evolution of Revenge(1984)was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Her book Half-Jew:A Daughter's Search for Her Family's Buried Past(2000)explores her partial Jewish roots.Raised in a Roman Catholic home，Jacoby did not learn of her father's Jewish roots until she was in her early 20s.

Jacoby has argued that the idea of anti-Catholicism being a significant force in American life today is a complete canard，perpetrated by theologically and politically right-wing Roman Catholics and aimed at anyone who stands up to the Church's continuing attempts to impose its values on all Americans.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/15/AR2008021502901.html

新闻标题与正文。从句法上说，每个英语新闻标题都是完整的，但往往只呈现实义词而略去虚词。而省略最多的是冠词和be动词。“and”一词常被逗号取代，如“Thailand，Malaysia Ink Sea Treaty”。动词say常被冒号或引号替代。如“Wen:This Year Goal Achievable”。从时态看，英语标题基本都用现在时，即便刚发生、正在发生的事件都可用现在时，也许是为了显示是新闻，而非旧闻。对于即将发生的事件，标题则常用动词不定式，如“Mayor to leave office under pressure”。而过去分词则较灵活，既可表示现在，也可表示过去，还可以表示进行或完成状态。而这方面的确定，一方面标题随后的导语，另一方面是读者长期读新闻而形成的语感。其实，标题有时完全可以搁置一边，先不妨读正文，待文章要义明白后，标题也常迎刃而解了。

1.Though Obama does not call American general public dumb，he does call for attention to the dumbing down of American culture.

2.Elitism is not a favorable term in American culture.

3.Obama is Internet-savvy while John McCain doesn't know how to use email.

4.Danial Webster died before Thomas Jefferson.

5.The writer is not against the report by The Federation of American Scientists.

1.Who said“diffusion of knowledge throughout the community，”

A.Daniel Webster.

B.John Adams.

C.Thomas Jefferson.

D.Ralph Waldo Emerson.

2.Though both American and British students perform poorly on the OECD assessments，onedifferencebetweenthemis that_______.

A.Americans are poor at mathematics while British are poor at science

B.British students are poor at maths and science

C.American students have been consistently poor over the years

D.none of the above

3.About young Americans'reading habits，_______.

A.nearly half never read any fiction or non-fiction unless required for school work

B.most don't read news on the internet regularly；even less read a daily newspaper

C.nearly half spend about three hours a day playing video games

D.all of the above

4.The term“new media”in this article refers to_______.

A.the Internet

B.e-reader

C.iPod and iPhone

D.video games

5.About young Americans in general，_______.

A.few of them are ignorant about other countries

B.the writer thinks they are both ignorant and arrogant

C.most of them can however locate Iraq on a map

D.all of them think it unnecessary to know about other countries where major news occurs