每日英语练习 - 2026-06-15（星期一）

📌 今日主题

TED 演讲片段 — Sir Ken Robinson《学校扼杀创造力吗？》(Do Schools Kill Creativity?)

Sir Ken Robinson 是英国教育家、作家，2006 年的这场 TED 演讲是全球观看量最高的 TED 演讲之一，超过 8000 万次播放。他用幽默犀利的语言质疑现行教育体制对创造力的压制，主张重新定义教育的优先级。今天我们节选演讲核心段落，学习如何用犀利的观点和修辞手法说服听众。

📝 英文原文

I have a big interest in education, and I think we all do. We have a huge vested interest in it, partly because it’s education that’s meant to take us into this future that we can’t grasp. If you think of it, children starting school this year will be retiring in 2065. Nobody has a clue what the world will look like in five years’ time. And yet we’re meant to be educating them for it. So the unpredictability, I think, is extraordinary.

My contention is, all kids have tremendous talents. And we squander them, pretty ruthlessly. So I want to talk about education and I want to talk about creativity. My contention is that creativity now is as important in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.

Kids will take a chance. They’re not frightened of being wrong. I don’t mean to say that being wrong is the same thing as being creative. What we do know is, if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original. And by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong. And we run our companies like this. We stigmatize mistakes. And we’re now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities.

Picasso once said that all children are born artists. The problem is to remain an artist as we grow up. I believe this passionately, that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.

🔍 重点词汇

💡 实用表达

1. “My contention is that…” 表示”我的观点/论点是……”，比 “I think” 更有力、更正式，适合辩论和演讲。 例：My contention is that teamwork matters more than individual talent.

2. “We squander them, pretty ruthlessly.” “ruthlessly” 作副词修饰动词，表示”毫不留情地浪费”，语气非常强烈。 例：The company squandered its resources, pretty ruthlessly.

3. “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” 经典的条件句结构，表达”不愿意冒险就无法创新”。 例：If you’re not prepared to fail, you’ll never learn anything new.

4. “I believe this passionately that…” 强调信念的强度，“我坚信……”。 例：I believe this passionately that education needs reform.

5. “Or rather, we get educated out of it.” “Or rather” 用于自我修正或更精确地表述，非常地道。 例：He’s not lazy, or rather, he’s just unmotivated.

🎯 练习步骤

1. 通读全文：先完整读一遍英文原文，理解大意。注意这是一段充满批判性思维的演讲核心段落。

2. 精读标记：逐句阅读，标记不熟悉的词汇和表达。注意 Ken Robinson 如何用短句、重复和修辞手法增强说服力。

3. 跟读练习：大声朗读 3 遍，注意以下要点：

   • 重音位置：如 “tremendous talents”、“ruthlessly”、“stigmatize mistakes”
   • 断句节奏：在 “My contention is” 后稍作停顿，让听众消化
   • 情感投入：朗读 “we get educated out of it” 时带有感叹的语气

4. 脱稿复述：合上文本，用自己的话复述大意（中英文都可以）。

5. 结构化输出：用以下框架组织你的复述：

   • 这段话在说什么？（一句话概括）

     Ken Robinson 批评现行教育体制正在扼杀孩子的创造力。

   • 主要观点是什么？（列 2-3 个要点）
     1. 我们无法预测未来，但教育却在为不可预测的未来做准备
     2. 孩子天生不怕犯错，但教育让成年人害怕犯错
     3. 创造力不是后天培养的，而是被教育”抹杀”的
   • 我的感受/看法？（一句话）

     （用你自己的话说）

🗣️ 口才小贴士

用反直觉的观点开场，抓住听众注意力

Ken Robinson 的演讲开场非常巧妙——他没有说”今天我要讲教育”，而是说”孩子们今年入学，2065年退休，而我们根本不知道五年后的世界是什么样”。这种反直觉的观察立刻让听众产生好奇。

具体技巧：

1. 抛出一个”反常识”的事实或观点：比如”学校其实在扼杀创造力”——这和”教育是培养人才”的直觉相反
2. 用具体数字增强说服力：不说”很久以后”，而说”2065年退休”
3. 用 “My contention is…” 表明立场：让听众知道你要辩论什么

练习建议：下次做演讲或汇报时，试着用一个反直觉的事实或观点作为开场白（30秒以内），观察听众的反应。比如：“你知道吗？90%的新年计划都失败了。”