17.他们那时候多有趣啊（2131）

17.他们那时候多有趣啊

1．那天晚上，玛琪甚至把这件事记在日记里了。

2．在 2155 年5 月17 日这一页，她写道：“今 天，托米发现了一本真正的书！”

3．这是一本很旧的书。

4．玛琪的爷爷有一次告诉她，当他还是一个小孩子的时候，他的爷爷对他讲，有那么一个时候，所有的故事都是印在纸上的。

5．  玛琪和托米翻着这本书，书页已经发黄，皱皱巴巴的。

6．他们读到的字全都静立不动，不像他们通常在荧光屏上看到的那样，顺序移动。真是有趣极了，你说是不是?

7．读到后面，再翻回来看前面的一页，刚刚读过的那些字仍然停留在原地。

8． 玛琪问：“你在哪儿找到这本书的？”

9．“在我们家，”托米指了一下，可没有抬起头，因为他正在全神贯注地看书。“在顶楼上。”

10． 他又说。“书里写的什么？”

11．“学校。”

12．玛琪脸上露出鄙夷不屑的神情：“学校？学校有什么好写的？

13．我讨厌学校。”

14．玛琪一向 讨厌学校，而且现在比以往任何时候都更憎恶它。

15．那个机器老师一次又一次地给她做地理测验题，她一次比一次答得糟。

16．最后她的妈妈发愁地摇了摇头，把教学视察员找了来。

17．视察员把机器调好以后，拍拍她的脑袋，笑着对她妈妈说：“这不是小姑娘的错，琼斯太太。

18．我认为是这个机器里的地理部分调得太快了些，这种事是常有的。

19．我把它调慢了，已经适合于十岁孩子的水平了。说实在的，她总的学习情况够令人满意的了。”

20．说着，他又拍了拍玛琪的脑袋。

21．玛琪失望极了，她本来希望他们会把这个机器老师拿走。

22．他们有一次就把托米的老师搬走了将近一个月之久，因为历史那部分的装置完全显示不出图像了。

23．所以她对托米说：“怎么会有人写学校呢？”

24．托米非常高傲地瞧了她一眼：“因为那不是我们这种类型的学校，傻瓜，那是几百年前的那种老式学校。”

25．接着他一字一顿说：“几世纪前。”

26．玛琪很难过。

27．“嗯，我不知道古时候他们上有什么样的学校。”

28．她从他肩膀后面看了一会儿那本书，开口说：“不管怎么说，他们得有一个老师吧？”

29．“当然，他们有个老师，可不是我们这样的老师。

30．是一个真人！”

31．“一个真人？真人怎么会是老师呢？”

32．“是这样的，他只不过给孩子们讲讲课，留些作业，提提问题。”

33． “真人可没那么聪明。”

34． “当然聪明啦，我爸爸就和我的机器老师知道得一样多。”

35． 玛琪不打算争吵下去，便说：“我可不想让一个陌生人到家里来教我功课。”

36．托米大声尖笑。“你不知道的事太多了，玛琪。那些老师才不到你家里上课呢。

37．他们有一个专门的地方，所有的孩子都到那儿去上学。”

38．“所有的孩子都学一样的功课吗？”

39．“那当然，如果他们年龄一样的话。”

40．“可我妈妈说，一个老师是需要调整的，这样才好适合他所教的每个孩子的智力。

41．另外，对每个孩子的教法也应该是不同的。”

42．“他们那时候恰好不是那么做的。

43．如果你不喜欢书里说的这些事，你就干脆别读这本书。”

44． “我没说我不喜欢。”

45．玛琪急忙说。

46．她很想知道那些有趣的学校是怎么回事。

47． 他们还没看完一半，玛琪的妈妈就喊了起来：“玛琪！该上课了！”

48． 玛琪叹了口气，去上课了。

49．她脑子里还在想着当她爷爷的爷爷是个小孩子的时候，他们上的那种老式学校。

50．附近所有的孩子都到一处去上学，他们在校园里笑呀、喊呀，他们一起坐在课堂里上课；上完一天的课，就一块儿回家。

51．他们学的功课都一样，这样，做作业的时候他们就可以互相帮助，有问题还可以互相讨论。

52．而且他们的老师是真人……

53．机器老师正在屏幕上显现出这样的字：“我们把½和¼ 这两个分数加在一起──”

54．玛琪在想，在过去的日子里，那些孩子一定非常热爱他们的学校。

55．她想，他们那时候多有趣啊！

How Fun They Must Have Been Back Then

1. That night, Margie even wrote about it in her diary.

2. On the page for May 17, 2155, she wrote, "Today, Tommy found a real book!"

3. It was a very old book.

4. Margie's grandfather once told her that when he was a little boy, his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.

5. Margie and Tommy were turning the pages of the book, which had turned yellow and crinkly.

6. The words they read were still, not moving as they usually saw on the screen. How interesting, don't you think?

7. When they turned back to the previous page, the words they had just read were still there.

8. Margie asked, "Where did you find this book?"

9. "In our house," Tommy pointed, but didn't look up because he was too engrossed in reading. "In the attic."

10. He added, "What's the book about?"

11. "School."

12. Margie showed a disdainful expression: "School? What's there to write about school?

13. I hate school."

14. Margie had always hated school, and now she hated it more than ever.

15. The mechanical teacher kept giving her geography tests, and she was doing worse and worse each time.

16. Finally, her mother shook her head worriedly and called the county inspector.

17. After adjusting the machine, the inspector patted her head and smiled at her mother, saying, "It's not the girl's fault, Mrs. Jones.

18. I think the geography section was set too fast. This happens sometimes.

19. I've slowed it down to fit the level of a ten-year-old. To be honest, her overall progress is quite satisfactory."

20. As he spoke, he patted Margie's head again.

21. Margie was very disappointed because she had hoped they would take the mechanical teacher away.

22. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month because the history section had completely malfunctioned.

23. So she said to Tommy, "Who would write about school?"

24. Tommy gave her a very superior look: "Because it's not our kind of school, silly. This is about old-fashioned schools from hundreds of years ago."

25. Then he added, "Centuries ago."

26. Margie was hurt.

27. "Well, I don't know what kind of schools they had back then."

28. She looked over his shoulder for a while and said, "Anyway, they had a teacher, right?"

29. "Sure, they had a teacher, but it wasn't a machine.

30. It was a human!"

31. "A human? How could a human be a teacher?"

32. "Well, he just taught kids, gave them homework, and asked them questions."

33. "A human couldn't be that smart."

34. "Sure they were. My father knows as much as my mechanical teacher."

35. Margie didn't want to argue, so she said, "I wouldn't want a strange man in my house teaching me."

36. Tommy laughed out loud. "You don't know much, Margie. The teachers didn't come to your house.

37. They had a special building, and all the kids went there to learn."

38. "All the kids learned the same thing?"

39. "Sure, if they were the same age."

40. "But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit each kid's mind.

41. And that each kid's learning should be different."

42. "They didn't do it that way then.

43. If you don't like the book, you don't have to read it."

44. "I didn't say I didn't like it."

45. Margie quickly said.

46. She was very curious about how those fun schools worked.

47. They hadn't read half of it when Margie's mother called, "Margie! It's time for school!"

48. Margie sighed and went to school.

49. She was still thinking about the old-fashioned schools when her grandfather's grandfather was a little boy.

50. All the kids went to school together, they laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, they sat together in class; after a day at school, they went home together.

51. They learned the same things, so they could help each other with homework and talk about problems together.

52. And their teacher was a human...

53. The mechanical teacher was displaying words on the screen: "We add ½ and ¼ together—"

54. Margie was thinking about how the kids in the past must have loved their school.

55. She thought, they had so much fun back then!