This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
这里是VOA特别英语教育报道。
This week in our Foreign Student Series, we continue our discussion about grades.
本周在我们的“外国学生系列”，我们将继续等级的讨论。
Would you want a doctor who got high marks in medical school just for trying really, really hard? Apparently many college students would have no problem with that. They believe students are owed a good grade simply because they put a lot of effort into a class. Or at least that is what they told researchers last year at the University of California, Irvine.
你希望一个医生只是因为在医学院时尝试相当相当努力而取得高分吗？显然很多大学生觉得这没什么。他们认为学生就凭他们对功课付出的努力也该获得一个好的等级。或者至少这是他们去年在加利福尼亚大学尔湾分校对研究员说的。
The researchers asked more than eight hundred undergraduates if they agreed or disagreed with some statements. For example: "If I have completed most of the reading for a class, I deserve a B in that course." And: "A professor should not be annoyed with me if I receive an important call during class."
研究员采访了800多名在校大学生关于他们认同或不认同以下这些说法。举个例子来说，“如果我已经完成了攻读课程的大部分，在那个课程上我就应得B。”还有：“在课堂上如果我接到一个重要的电话，教授也不该对我恼怒。”
Just sixteen percent thought it was OK to take that phone call. But sixty-six percent agreed that a professor should consider effort and not just the quality of a student's work when deciding grades. And forty percent thought they should get a B, the second highest mark, just because they did most of the reading for class.
只有16%的学生觉得接那样（情况）的电话没什么不行的。但是66%的学生认同在决定学生的等级时，教授应考虑学生对这门课付出的努力而不仅仅是他们功课完成的质量。还有40%认为他们应得B，第二高的等级，就因为他们完成了攻读课程的绝大部分。
The findings appeared in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The students were ages eighteen to twenty-five.
这些结果发表在【青少年期刊】上。学生的年龄在18到25岁之间。
Some experts are not surprised that students often see no difference between effort and results. Social critics like to say that in children's activities these days, everyone gets an award just for trying, so no one will feel rejected. Or so it may seem.
学生常常看不到努力和结果的关系，对这一现象一些专家并不感到诧异。社会评论家倾向于说目前在孩子们的活动中，每个人都会仅因为参与尝试过了而得到奖励，这样就没人会有被排斥感。或者看起来就是这样的。
Yet competition to get into the best colleges is fiercer than ever. Students may worry that low grades will keep them out of graduate school or a good job.
而且进入一流大学的竞争比以前更加激烈了。学生可能会担心低等级将会使研究院或好工作将他们拒之门外。
And there may be another explanation: pressure from parents to get a good return on the family's investment. These days, college can cost more than a house.
同时可能又有另一种解释：来自家长希望他们对家庭投资有良好回报的压力。目前，上大学会比一套房子的花费还大。
A former teaching assistant recently wrote to the New York Times about his experience with grade expectations. He would try to explain it this way when students asked for a top grade just for studying hard in chemistry class:
前任教学助理最近将他对等级期望的感受写信给纽约时报。他将会以这种方式试着解释当学生仅因为在化学课上努力学习就要求顶尖等级时的现象。
What if a baseball player came to spring training and worked harder than all the others, but still could not play well. Would the team accept him anyway, just because he tried so hard?
要是一位棒球手参加春季训练又比其他所有人都训练刻苦，但是仍然打不好球，这又怎么样呢。球队会无条件接受他，就因为他努力尝试吗？
The students would say no. But most of them would still ask for an A.
这些学生可能会说“不”。但是他们中的绝大多数仍然要求等级A。
And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Tell us what you think about grades, and read what others have to say, at www.unsv.com. Click on Foreign Student Series. I'm Steve Ember.
这就是VOA特别英语教育报道，本次报道由Nancy Steinbach撰稿。请在www.unsv.com 告诉我们你对等级的看法，并且理解别人说的看法。你可以点击“外国学生系列”。我是Steve Ember。
