关于外语教材科学性的几个问题

摘 要：外语教材的质量源于科学性，它直接影响学习者的学习效果。文章比较了《21世纪大学英语读写教程》（第三版）第四册部分课文与原文，分析课文改编中词汇替换和篇章删节方面的具体问题，指出教材编写容不得疏忽和差错，应该对编者的语言能力、责任意识和职业操守提出更高要求。

关键词：外语教材；大学英语教材；《21世纪大学英语读写教程》

中图分类号：H319 文献标识码：A

一、引言

外语学习者在教材的引领下，以课文为范例，记忆模仿课文的语言现象，感受认知和运用目的语，这一过程始终是外语学习的范式。在信息技术日新月异的今天，教材对外语学习的重要性显得尤为突出。大数据、云计算对人们的工作、学习和生活产生着巨大的影响。教材的载体千变万化，纸质也好，数字化也罢，其主導外语学习的作用不仅无可替代，而且呈几何级放大。在强大的数字技术助推下，一部教材当下的影响力已大大超过其10年前、甚至5年前的影响力，任一瑕疵或错误的影响绝非限于一校、一地，而是足以误导千百万计的学习者，因此教材质量比以往任何时候都显得更为重要。

评价教材质量的重要指标是科学性。教材的科学性是个大概念，涉及教材编写的方方面面，归结到一点，就是语言规范性。在编写教材的过程中，根据教学目标编辑修改语料是常规步骤。语料处理不当会损害教材质量，降低甚至丧失教材功能。语言规范性问题涉及句子和篇章两个层次。句子层次包括语法结构和遣词造句，篇章层次包括谋篇布局和衔接连贯（缪学，2016）。

目前，数十种大学英语教材竞争于市场，质量参差不齐，其中列入普通高等教育国家级规划教材名录的几部在编排、选材等方面质量可圈可点，获得了较为普遍的好评。

《21世纪大学英语读写教程》在1999年正式出版，现为第三版。这套教材几经修订，力争与《大学英语课程教学要求》保持一致，具有一定的时代气息、人文精神和开放意识，它着力教材的信息量、趣味度、实用性，较好地融合了大学英语的工具性和人文性的特点。

《21世纪大学英语读写教程》共分四册，每册由8个单元24篇课文组成，配有多种语言技能练习。关于《21世纪大学英语读写教程》语法结构、遣词造句、谋篇布局和衔接连贯等语言规范性问题已作另述（缪学，2016）。本文拟比较《21世纪大学英语读写教程》（第三版）第四册部分课文与原文，并对课文改编提出一些想法。

二、关于词汇替换

词汇的替换不可随意任性，以不改变原意、不传递错误使用信息、不增加理解负担为原则。

例1：But he added a word of caution （原文：caveat）：“Sometimes great people dont make it into the history books. A lot of women achieved great things or were influential but went unrecognized.”（Unit 1，Text A：Who Is Great？）（例中粗体和下划线为笔者所加，下同。）

《剑桥高阶学习词典》（Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary）中caveat有两层含义，即“a warning to consider something before acting further or a statement which limits a more general statement”。当其表示“a warning to consider something before acting further”之意时，可以用“word of caution”替换。然而，课文中不存在与“acting further”相关联的义项。此句显然是对前文“Someone who has made a lasting contribution to human civilization is great”这一结论的限制性说明，并非警告。因此，课文中用word of caution替换表示“a statement which limits a more general statement”之意的caveat不妥。

例2：They listen to different interest groups（原文：constituencies）better and make the necessary compromises.（Unit 1，Text A：Who Is Great？）

根据《牛津高阶英语词典》（Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary），interest group意为“a group of people who work together to achieve sth that they are particularly interested in， especially by putting pressure on the government， etc.”，而constituency则是“the people who live in and vote in a particular district”。“利益集团”等同于“选民”？此处的改编不仅破坏了原文的意义，而且违背了英美人日常生活的常规。

例3：In the sciences， those with “genius level” IQs do have a better chance（原文：shot）at achieving recognition， added Simonton. （Unit 1，Text A：Who Is Great？）

《韦氏高阶英语学习词典》（Merriam-Websters Advanced Learner's Dictionary）关于shot的定义是“chance that something will happen or be achieved”，即“成功的几率”。此处用chance意义不符，且shot也非超纲词，没有替换的必要。endprint

As a child， Einstein became fascinated with the way magnets are drawn to metal （原文：draw iron filings）. （Unit 1，Text A：Who Is Great？）

此处用动词被动语态替换原文的动词主动语态，似乎仅仅为了避开filings一词。笔者以为：此举无异于画蛇添足，而且留下常识错误之嫌。试问：磁体的吸引作用是主动产生还是被动诱发？再问：metal等于iron filings吗？metal都能吸引magnet吗？退一步说，magnet都能吸引metal吗？

例4：So the cunning money-lender proposed that they let chance（原文：Pro-vidence）decide the matter.（Unit 3，Text B：Lateral and Vertical Thinking）

根据《柯林斯COBUILD英语词典》（Collins COBUILD Dictionary of English），Providence意为“God or fate thought of as the guide and protector of all human beings”。此处即使需要替换，也应是fate，而非chance。

例5：Since the remaining pebble is， of course black，（原文：is of course black，）it must be assumed that she has taken the white pebble， since the money-lender dare not admit his dishonesty.（Unit 3，Text B：Lateral and Vertical Thinking）

標点符号的使用受到语言使用习惯的约束，从一个侧面反映语言使用者对语言使用习惯的习得程度，或者说其语言的地道程度。按照插入语的实用习惯，此处的逗号只有两种符合英语习惯的用法，其一是原文的用法，其二是“Since the remaining pebble is， of course， black”。课文中标点符号的用法不符合英语使用习惯。

例6：A survey of the childrens parents and teachers found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control（原文：the fortitude）to hold out for the second marshmallow generally grew up to be better adjusted， more popular， adventurous， confident and dependable teenagers.（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

根据《剑桥高阶学习词典》（Cambridge Advanced Learners Dic-tionary），fortitude意为“bravery over a long period， courage”。纵观全文，self-control是情商的重要标志，fortitude只是self-control的一种表现形式。此处作者尚未讨论情商的构成部分，出现self-control为时尚早，且不适用于描述四岁儿童。

例7：They could not endure（原文：buckled under）stress and shied away from challenges.（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

原文两个并列谓语动词形式一致，意义贯通。没有必要替换成现在的否定结构，造成前后不一，且buckle也非超纲词。

例8：...why some people remain upbeat（原文：buoyant）in the face of troubles that would sink a less resilient soul...（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

根据《韦氏高阶英语学习词典》（Merriam-Websters Advanced Learner's Dictionary），buoyant意为“happy and confident”。此处可以用optimistic或happy and confident替换buoyant，编者为何选用了口语体的upbeat尚不得而知。

例9：His thesis： when it comes to predicting peoples success， brainpower as measured by IQ and standardized achievement tests may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character” before the word began to sound old-fashioned（原文：quaint）.（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

根据《牛津高阶英语词典》（Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary），quaint意为“attractive in an unusual or old-fashioned way”，与课文中的old-fashioned完全不是一回事，这样的替换对原意的歪曲显而易见。endprint

例10：Goleman admits the danger of suggesting that you can assign a numerical value（原文：yardstick）to a persons character as well as his intellect...（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

根据《牛津高阶英语词典》（Oxford Advanced Learners Dic-tionary），yardstick意为“a standard used for judging how good or successful sth is”，即“（好坏或成败的）衡量标准”。value只有“值；数值”之意，不足以表达原文“衡量标准”之意。

例11：But he did somewhat reluctantly approve（原文：（begrudgingly） approved）an “unscientific” EQ test in USA Today.（Unit 6，Text A：The EQ Factor）

此處改为reluctantly approved足矣。强调结构的使用隐含着作者的某种不满情绪，但是在文章中找不到类似的或明或暗的依据。此外，大学生英语写作中使用强调结构已成为一种标配，似乎不用强调结构的文章就不是一篇地道的英语文章。从某种意义上说，现在的大学英语教学不得不面临一个矫枉过正的难题：告知学习者恰当使用倒装等强调结构。教材中出现不合时宜的强调结构在很大程度上抵消了教师在这方面所做的一切努力。

例12：Developing self-awareness requires tuning in to what emotions make our bodies feel like（原文：what neu-rologist Antonio Damasio， in his book DescartesError， calls “somatic markers”） — literally， gut feelings.（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

根据《剑桥高阶学习词典》（Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary），gut feeling意为“a strong belief about someone or something which cannot completely be explained and is not necessarily decided by reasoning”。此处，somatic markers的确是个陌生词语。但是，名词性分句what emotions make our bodies feel like的意义更令人费解，以晦涩难懂的词语替换生词，违背了改编篇章的初衷。

例13：Take someone who is annoyed by an（原文：a rude）encounter for hours after it occurred.（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

此处an encounter不足以支撑annoyed，而原文的a rude encounter与annoyed形成逻辑的上下文关系。编者删除rude的目的不明，且破坏了原来的语境。

例14：Positive motivation— the marshaling of feelings of enthusiasm， energy （原文：zeal）and confidence — is paramount for achievement.（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

此处的改编可能出于enthusiasm与zeal同义的考虑。根据《美国传统英语词典》（The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language），enthusiasm意为“great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause”，zeal意为“enthusiastic devotion to a cause， an ideal， or a goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance”。显然，enthusiasm与zeal虽同义，但存在差异。用energy替换zeal意义不通，且还涉及energy是否属emotion范畴的问题。

例15：...its been oddly（原文：strangely）satisfying...（Unit 7，Text A：My Fathers Son）

此处用oddly替换strangely显得过于随意，不知编者出于何意。一来，这两个副词意义上没有实质性差异；二来，strangely远非生词，词频上也许还略高于oddly。

例16：I knew this would push my fathers buttons（原文被删除部分：but felt it was necessary）. It worked.

正确理解push my fathers buttons的意义后就能理解为什么原文那部分不应该被删除。根据《韦氏高阶英语学习词典》（Merriam-Websters Advanced Learner's Dictionary），push ones buttons意为“to do or say something just to make one angry or upset”，即“惹恼”。endprint

例17：But I couldnt tell him， him of all people（原文：above all）.（Unit 7，Text B：An Open Letter to a Young Person with an Enemy）

根据笔者的教学经历，与原文相比，him of all people对学习者而言更难理解，与例12的问题相同。

三、关于篇章删节

出于教材篇幅考虑，篇章删节有时确为无奈之举，但是篇章删节应遵循保持原意、维持连贯、利于理解的原则。就《21世纪大学英语读写教程》第四册部分课文而言，篇章删节所造成的问题有下列三条：

1.内容不完整

例18：第一单元A篇课文“Who Is Great？”一文删除了原文最后章节“What price greatness？”，使流畅的讨论戛然而止，缺乏关于“伟大与人际关系”“伟大与性格特征”等问题的探讨，造成对篇章立论探讨不完整的缺憾。

例19：第三单元B篇课文“Lateral and Vertical Thinking”一文截取原作者论述两种思维方式语篇的开头部分，在作者展开讨论前结束。标题与文章不完全吻合，不如直接以“The Black Pebble”为题。

2.篇章不连贯

为了节省篇幅，编者对原文进行了大规模删减，致使课文上下文不连贯，逻辑关系紊乱，人为造成了理解障碍。

例20：Mood Management. Bad as well as good moods spice life and build character. The key is balance.

（原文被删除部分：We often have little control over when we are swept by emotion. But we can have some say in how long that emotion will last. Psychologist Dianne Tice of Case Western Reserve University asked more than 400 men and women about their strategies for escaping foul moods. Her research， along with that of other psychologists， provides valuable information on how to change a bad mood.）

Of all the moods that people want to escape， rage seems o be the hardest to deal with.（原文被删除部分：When someone in another car cuts you off on the highway， your reflexive thought may be， That jerk！ He could have hit me！ I cant let him get away with that！ The more you stew， the angrier you get. Such is the stuff of hypertension and reckless driving.）

What should you do to relieve rage？ One myth is that ventilating will make you feel better. In fact， researchers have found that's one of the worst strategies. Outbursts of rage pump up the brain's arousal system， leaving you more angry， not less. A more effective technique is “reframing”， which means consciously reinterpreting a situation in a more positive light.（原文被刪除部分：In the case of the driver who cuts you off， you might tell yourself： Maybe he had some emergency. This is one of the most potent ways， Tice found， to put anger to rest.）（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

不难看出，没有被删除部分的话，这段课文支离破碎，连贯性很差。课文第二段中的rage缺乏上文关照，出现得很唐突，而且也没有展开论述“Of all the moods that people want to escape， rage seems o be the hardest to deal with”这一观点。课文第三段围绕如何克服“rage”，大部分篇幅放在否定人们普遍的认知上，重点部分应该是“reframing”，但是这部分却一句话匆匆带过，给人本末倒置的感觉。根据“A more effective technique”的措辞，逻辑上还应该提供另一个方法，原文有进一步的阐述，课文却停留在此，给人欲言又止的印象。

例21：To motivate yourself for any achievement requires clear goals and an optimistic， can-do attitude. Psychologist Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania advised the MetLife insurance company to hire a special group of job applicants who tested high on optimism， although they had failed the normal aptitude test. Compared with salesmen who passed the aptitude test but scored high in pessimism， this group made 21 percent more sales in their first year and 57 percent more in their second.endprint

（原文被刪除部分：A pessimist is likely to interpret rejection as meaning Im a failure； Ill never make a sale. Optimists tell themselves， Im using the wrong approach， or That customer was in a bad mood. By blaming failure on the situation， not themselves， optimists are motivated to make that next call.）

（原文被删除部分：Your pre-disposition to a positive or negative outlook may be inborn， but with effort and practice， pessimists can learn to think more hopefully. Psychologists have documented that if you can catch negative， self-defeating thoughts as they occur， you can reframe the situation in less catastrophic terms.）（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

在此段中，作者以情商中的“乐观”和“悲观”心态为切入点阐述情商对于人们工作的影响。按照连贯性规律，有必要在下文中展开进一步的讨论，而课文删除的两段正是不可或缺的内容。

例22：Children were told that they could have a single treat， such as a marshmallow， right now. However， if they would wait while the experimenter ran an errand， they could have two marshmallow. Some preschoolers grabbed the marshmallow immediately， but others were able to wait what， for them， must have seemed an endless 20 minutes.（原文被删除部分：To sustain themselves in their struggle， they covered their eyes so they wouldnt see the temptation， rested their heads on their arms， talked to themselves， sang，even tried to sleep. These plucky kids got the two-marshmallow reward.）（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

此段被删除部分正是 “marshmallow”实验的重要部分，即使在A篇课文中已涉及，B篇课文作为一个独立篇章应该具有信息的完整性。

例23：People skills. The capacity to know how another feels is important on the job， in romance and friendship， and in the family.（原文被删除部分：We transmit and catch moods from each other on a subtle， almost imperceptible level. The way someone says thank you， for instance， can leave us feeling dismissed， patronized or genuinely appreciated. The more adroit we are at discerning the feelings behind other peoples signals， the better we control the signals we send.）（Unit 6，Text B：Whats Your Emotional IQ）

课文的这个段落以一句话解释“people skills”，对于“people skills” 的作用机理以及产生何种作用则避而不谈，完全失去了提出“people skills”这一概念的意义。

例24：Without even thinking about it， I froze him out of my life， speaking only when spoken to. I learned to use silence like a knife. My one communiqué for an entire dinner was usually a sarcastic “May I be excused now？ I have homework.” I lay awake at night imagining him being transferred by the gas company he worked for to an oil rig in the North Sea. But it didnt happen， and soon all that remained was the contest of wills.（Unit 7，Text A：My Fathers Son）endprint

（试比较原文：Without even thinking about it，I froze him out of my life with even less mercy，volunteering nothing，speaking only when spoken to，my one communiqué for an entire dinner eventually reduced to a sarcasm-drenched，“May I be excused now？ I have homework.” I lay awake at night imagining him being transferred by the gas company he worked for to an oil rig in the North Sea. But it didnt happen， and soon all that remained was the contest of wills，a reflex so conditioned that if hed told me I should try smoking dope，Id have been on the next bus to Utah to become a Mormon missionary. I learned how to use silence like a knife. It became a standing joke among my friends that if they called and didnt get me，it was no use asking when I would be home. Nobody at home would know.）

经过比较，课文与原文最明显的差异在于“I learned how to use silence like a knife”一句的位置。课文把此句前移略显轻率，既然已经“use silence like a knife”，为什么还会说话并出现“My one communiqué”呢？这样的处理方法造成文章叙述的漏洞。

例25：Maybe he wasnt the best father. Maybe I wasnt the best son， but I realize I will never be ready to cope with his leaving. I know that Im luckier than some of my friends， whose fathers died while they were still locked in the battle that neither really wanted.（Unit 7，Text A：My Fathers Son）

（试比较原文：Maybe he wasnt the best father. Maybe I wasnt the best son. But I could have done worse. And now I realize that there will be a day when he dies and leaves me behind. I know that Im luckier than some of my friends， whose fathers died while they were still locked in the battle that neither really wanted. But I will never be ready to cope with his leaving.）

同上例，编者把“I will never be ready to cope with his leaving”一句前移，显得唐突，上下文支撑不够，而原文的叙述方式更为饱满、合理，由于前文铺垫充分，这句话的出现恰到好处。

3.标题不贴切

标题是对篇章内容的高度概括，起着点睛的作用。通常说来，即使改动原文，对原标题的处理也应慎重。本册教材在标题处理上也出现较大瑕疵。

例26：第七单元A篇课文“My Fathers Son”，原文首刊于1995年6月18日华盛顿邮报，后于2014年收入作者的作品集Youre Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck： The Further Adventures of Americas Everyman Outdoorsman，标题始终是“TRUCE AND CONSEQUENCES”。或许由于原标题略显晦涩，但是从全文的内容不难看出作者旨在围绕父子关系，触及父子关系中最普遍的问题：貌似独断的父亲与叛逆的儿子间那割舍不断的亲情。“My Fathers Son”以儿子为主题，不能概括原文，且体现不出原标题的意韵。

例27：第七單元B篇课文“An Open Letter to a Young Person with an Enemy”取自美国黑人运动员杰西·欧文斯原作。原文含义深刻，超越种族肤色，从人性的角度阐述平等、和谐。编者改变原标题“Open Letter to a Young Negro”，给学习者带来的首要困难就是无法确定a young person with an enemy究竟是什么样的人。但是，难道a Young Person with an Enemy就是a Young Negro吗？

四、结语

质量关乎教材的影响力，关乎学习者的学习效果。教材的质量源于科学性，最终由编写者落实。教材编写者不仅要有扎实的语言功底，而且应该具备强烈的责任意识，坚守职业操守。教材编写不同于其他类型的著作，受众面宽，示范效应强，不容丝毫疏忽和差错。

参考文献：

[1]Goleman，Daniel.Whats Your Emotional IQ？[J].Readers Digest，1996（1）.

[2]Heavey，Bill.TRUCE AND CON-SEQUENCES[J]. Washington Post，1995（6）.

[3]Owens，Jesse.Open Letter to a Young Negro [EB/OL].www.myteacherpages.com/.

[4]Ryan，Michael.Who Is Great？[J].Toledo Blade，1996（6）.

[5]缪 学. 简析外语教材语言规范性问题——以《21世纪大学英语读写教程》第二册为例[J].教师，2016（26）.

[6]翟象俊. 21世纪大学英语读写教程（第四册）（第三版）[M].上海： 复旦大学出版社，2015.endprint