2018年翻譯資格考試三級筆譯模擬題：標準化教育
漢譯英
標準化教育測試或心理同在廣泛應用于協(xié)助選拔、委派或提拔學生、雇員和軍事人員;這些測試一直是某些人近年來在書本、雜志、日報，甚至國會中進行抨擊的目標。把標準化測試作為抨擊目標是錯誤的，因為在抨擊這類測試時，批評者沒有注意到其弊病來自測試使用者對測試不解或使用不當。這些測試本身只是一種工具。它的各種特性可以在規(guī)定條件下用適當?shù)木葋頊y定。測試的結果是在有價值的、無意義的、還是誤導的，部分取決于這種工具本身，但主要取決于測試使用者。
所有對未來表現(xiàn)的有見識地的預測都是以在某種程度上了解有關過去的表現(xiàn)為基礎的:學校學習成績、研究效益、銷售記錄或任何符合需要的信息。這些預測在多大程度上為的后來的表現(xiàn)所證實，這取決于所采用信息的數(shù)量、可靠性和適宜性，以及解釋這些信息的技能和才智。任何仔細記分的人都知道，所得到的信息總是不完全的，而且這些預測也總是會有錯誤的。
應該根據這種觀點去考察標準化測試。標準化測試提供了快速、客觀地得到某些信息的方法，這些信息是有關一個人所學到的知識、他所獲得的技能，或者他是屬于哪一類型的人。這樣得到的信息，從性質上講，與其它種類的信息一樣具有優(yōu)點或缺點。因此，在某一特定情況下，究竟是采用測試還是其他種類的信息，或是兩者兼用，須憑有關相對效度的經驗依據而定，也取決于諸如費用和有無來源等因素。
一般來說，當所要測定的特征能很精確界定時，測試最為有效;而當所要測定或預測的東西不能明確地界定時，測試的效果則最差。這些測試如能恰當使用，就能提供一種快速的方法來獲得有關許多人的可比性信息。有時這些測試能鑒別出一些學生，他們很高的潛在能力過去一直沒有被承認。但是也有入場多事情這些測試是不能勝任的。例如，測試并不彌補明顯的社會不公;因此，它們不能說明一個物質條件差的年輕人，如果在較好的環(huán)境下成長的話，會有多大才干。
參考譯文
The standardized educational or psychological test that are widely used to aid in selecting, classifying, assigning, or promoting students, employees, and military personnel have been the target of recent attacks in books, magazines, the daily press, and even in congress. The target is wrong, for in attacking the tests, critics divert attention form the fault that lies with ill-informed or incompetent users. The tests themselves are merely tools , with characteristics that can be measured with reasonable precision under specified conditions. Whether the results will be valuable , meaningless, or even misleading depends partly upon the tool itself but largely upon the user .
All informed predictions of future performance are based upon some knowledge of relevant past performance: school grades, research productivity, sales records, or whatever is appropriate. How well the predictions will be validated by later performance depends upon the amount , reliability , and appropriateness of the information used and on the skill and wisdom with which it is interpreted. Anyone who keeps careful score knows that the information available is always incomplete and that the predictions are always subject to error.
Standardized tests should be considered in this context. They provide a quick, objective method of getting some kinds of information about what a person learned , the skills he has developed, or the kind of person he is. The information so obtained has, qualitatively, the same advantages and shortcomings as other kinds of information. Whether to use tests. other kinds of information, or both in a particular situation depends, therefore, upon the evidence from experience concerning comparative validity and upon such factors as cost and availability.
In general, the tests work most effectively when the qualities to be measured can be most precisely defined and least effectively when what is to be measured or predicted cannot be well defined. Properly used, they provide a rapid means of getting comparable information about many people Sometimes they identify students whose high potential has not been previously recognized, but there are many things they do not do.For example, they do not compensate for gross social inequality, and thus do not tell how able an underprivileged youngster might have been had he grown up under more favorable circumstances.
