Class of 2014 Can't Write Cursive | 什么！美大学新鲜人不会草写？

If you're a college freshman this fall, the Beloit College Mindset List says you can't write cursive. That's OK because in the 1995 film, Billy Madison couldn't, either. He failed to correctly write "buzz" and "Rizzuto" in cursive. Those Zs will get you. Oh, wait! You don't know who Billy Madison is. That's understandable since you were only three years old when that movie came out.

The Beloit College Mindset List didn't even exist at that point. Since 1998, Beloit College professors Tom McBride and Ron Nief have annually released a 75-item list of cultural landmarks that have shaped the lives and perspectives of students entering this small Wisconsin college. Originally meant to be a reminder about dated references for the faculty, the professors' list "became a catalogue of the rapidly changing worldview of each generation," Beloit College says.

The class of 2014 considers Nirvana to be classic rock, has never played with a telephone cord while talking on the phone, and does not find Korean-made cars unusual. It also says that this year's two million US freshmen are more than just imbibers of all that's digital. For them, digital has always been part of their cultural DNA. They don't understand that tapping your left wrist means you'd like to know the time. They carry a cell phone, not a Casio.

Beloit says that this generation, which is so used to instant access, must learn to develop patience as well as how to research information in books and journals. It will be up to their professors to teach them the difference between information and knowledge.

1.  What is the Beloit College Mindset List?

(A) A listing of what the professors are going to teach at Beloit College.

(B) A list of items that shows how incoming college students think.

(C) A listing of all the cultural landmarks around the US.

(D) A list of all universities in and around Wisconsin.

2.  The general idea of the third paragraph is _____.

(A) technology is rapidly advancing

(B) examining college students' intelligence quotients

(C) explaining the differences between past and present students

(D) this year's college students can afford more hi-tech products

3.  Which of the following statements is supported by the article?

(A) Students don't like old movies anymore.

(B) Students are not familiar with cordless phones.

(C) Students don't know much about sign language.

(D) Students nowadays take in all things that are technology-based.

如果你在今年秋天成为大学新鲜人，那么贝洛伊特学院所制作的心态表指出你不会书写英文草写体。这无所谓，因为 1995 年上映的电影《阿呆闯学府》中的主角比利‧梅德森也不会。他无法用草写体正确地写出 buzz 和 Rizzuto。要连续写出 Z的草写体真够折腾人的。等等！你不知道谁是比利‧梅德森。这可以理解，因为电影推出时你才 3 岁。

　　贝洛伊特学院所制作的心态表在当时甚至尚未存在。从 1998年起，贝洛伊特学院的两位教授汤姆‧麦克布莱德和荣恩‧尼夫每一年针对即将就读位于威斯康星州这间小型学院的学生，制作了一份包含 75 项文化特点的清单，这些特点形塑了大学新生的生活和想法。贝洛伊特学院表示，这份心态表原本是用来提醒教职员勿用过时的参考数据，但后来『演变成一种文化型录，记载着各世代快速改变的世界观』。

　　预定于 2014 年毕业的大学新鲜人认为超脱乐团是经典的老摇滚乐团、他们从不曾讲电话时边玩电话线，也不觉得韩产汽车有什么不寻常之处。这份心态表还指出，今年两百万名美国大学新鲜人不仅仅是数字化产品的歌颂者。对他们而言，数字化一直存在于他们的文化基因里。他们不明白轻拍左手腕表示你想问时间。因为他们只携带手机，而不戴卡西欧手表。

　　贝洛伊特学院表示，这个习惯快速便捷的世代，必须学习培养耐心和如何研究书籍和期刊里的资料。而教导他们信息和知识的差别将有赖于教授们的努力。

答案：1. (B)2. (C)3. (D)

For Your Information

根据贝洛伊特学院（Beloit College）今年制作的『心态表』，今年多数大学新鲜人不用电子邮件，因为他们嫌电子邮件太慢了，手机简讯比较方便，而且几乎从未寄过『蜗牛邮件』（由邮差送的邮件）。他们只知道『米开兰基罗计算机病毒』，却不知道这位大画家；他们甚至认为贝多芬是狗狗的名字，因为电影《我家也有贝多芬》里面那只名叫贝多芬的狗实在太红了。这份心态表让人觉得数字时代变化实在太快了，有些 25、26 岁的人看过这心态表后，也觉得自己已经老了。（数据源：联合新闻网）