Peking University Address硕博英语精读阅读课堂练习.docx

PekingUniversityAddress NeilL.Rudenstine Icometoyouinthespiritoffriendshipandlearning.Thisismyfirstvisitto China, so I am at the beginning of a voyage of discovery—one I have looked forward to for many years. Our universities, as well as our societies, have differentculturesandtraditions,andmuchstilltolearnaboutoneanother.Atthe sametime,weholdmanythingsincommon. One of them—perhaps the most important—is our belief in the power of education:abeliefthatallofus,throughadevotiontolearning,canleadlivesof valuetothesocietiesinwhichwelive. This brings me to the importance of what we might refer to as “humane” learning.Therehasbeengrowingpressure,intheUnitedStatesandelsewhere, to demonstrate the value of university education and research in terms of its direct,tangibleeconomicbenefits. It is certainly important that university research contribute to economic wellbeing.Anditiscertainlyimportantthatauniversityeducationhelpstudents topursueusefulandsatisfyingwork.Atthesametime,however,thereismuch moretoexcellenteducationthancanbemeasuredindollarsorRMB.Thebest education not only helps us to be more productive in our professions, it also makes us more reflective, more inquiring and insightful, more complete and fulfilled human beings. It helps scientists to appreciate the arts, and artists to appreciatethesciences.Ithelpsustoseeconnectionsacrossdifferentfieldsof learningthatweotherwisemightnotgrasp.Ithelpsustoleadmoreinteresting andvaluablelives:asindividuals,andasmembersofourcommunities. Andso,atHarvardweareworkingexceptionallyhard—undercomplicated conditions—tosustainatraditionofwhatwecalla“liberaleducation”inthearts andsciences.Ourundergraduatestudents,duringtheirfouryearsinresidence, do intensively pursue a major field of study, whether in chemistry, economics, political science, art, or some other discipline. But they are also expected to study broadly across several different subjects—from moral philosophy and ethics to mathematical reasoning, from the natural sciences to