【正文】 nts need to bee more mitted to their children?s education. Paraphrase: ? American parents should take on more responsibilities for their children?s education. can?t wait for sth./ to do sth. — be very excited about sth. and eager for sth./ to do sth. . ? He couldn’t wait to tell the good news to his parents. ? All kids couldn’t wait for the Spring Festival to e. . ? life span ? memory span ? span of knowledge 壽命 記憶力保持時(shí)間 知識(shí)面 span n. — the length of time between two dates or events or during which sth. exists or functions . ? industrial potential ? acting potential ? potential customer ? potential resources 工業(yè)潛力 表演潛力 潛在的顧客 potential a. amp。 the essential point . ? The bottom line is that we need another ten thousand dollars to plete the project. imbue with — fill … with …(a kind of idea, feeling, etc.) . ? She tries to imbue her husband with a sense of responsibility. ? She tries to imbue her children with sympathy. Key 丘吉爾努力地激起英國(guó)人的愛(ài)國(guó)心 。 poorlyeducated Cambodian refugee children, for instance, often need special help. And many AsianAmericans resent being labeled a ―model minority,‖ feeling that this is reverse discrimination by white Americans – a contrast to the laws that excluded most Asian immigrants from the US until 1965, but prejudice nevertheless. Intensive Study 7 The young Asians‘ achievements have led to a series of fascinating studies. Perhaps the most disturbing results e from the research carried out by a University of Michigan psychologist, Harold W. Stevenson, who has pared more than 7,000 students in kindergarten, first grade, third grade and fifth grade in Chicago and Minneapolis with counterparts in Beijing, Taipei and Sendai. On a battery of math tests, the Americans did worst at all grade levels. 8 Stevenson found no differences in IQ. But if the differences in performance are showing up in kindergarten, it suggests something is happening in the family, even before the children get to school. Intensive Study 9 It is here that various researchers‘ different studies converge: Asian parents are motivating their children better. ―The bottom line is, Asian kids work hard,‖ Stevenson says. 10 The real question, then, is how Asian parents imbue their offspring with this kind of motivation. Stevenson‘s study suggests a critical answer. When asked why they think their children do well, most Asian parents said ―hard work.‖ By contrast, American parents said ―talent.‖ Intensive Study 11 ―From what I can see,‖ criticizes Stevenson, ―we‘ve lost our faith in the idea that we can all get ahead in life through hard work. Instead, Americans now believe that some kids have what it takes and some don‘t. So we start dividing up classes into ?fast learners‘ and ?slow learners‘, whereas the Chinese and Japanese feel all children can succeed in the same curriculum.‖ Intensive Study 12 This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students‘ outstanding performance. It springs from Asians‘ mon heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5thcenturyBC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius‘s primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves. Intensive Study 13 Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians‘ success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role — an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family, not just for themselves. One can never repay one‘s parents, and there‘s a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West. Intensive Study 14 There‘s yet another major factor in this bond between Asian parents and their children. During the 15 years I lived in China, Japan, and Vietnam, I noticed that Asian parents establish a closer physical tie to their infants than most parents in the United States. When I let my baby daughter crawl on the floor, for example, my Chinese friends were horrified and rushed to pick her up. We think this constant attention is oldfashioned or even unhealthy, but for Asians, it‘s highly effective. 15 Can we learn anything from the Asians? ―I‘m not naive enough to think everything in Asia can be transplanted,‖ says Stevenson. But he offered three remendations. Intensive Study 16 ―To start with,‖ he says, ―we need to set higher standards for our kids. We wouldn‘t expect them to bee professional athletes without practicing hard.‖ 17 Second, American parents need to bee more mitted to their children‘s education, he declares. ―Being understanding when a child doesn‘t do well isn‘t enough.‖ Stevenson found th