School Then and Now

School then and now.

过去和现在的学校

Older children, please take out your horn books. Younger children, please recite your numbers. If you were a student in the early days of the United States, that is how your school day might have started.

大孩子们，请拿出你们的角帖书。 小孩子们，请背诵数字。 如果你是美国建国初期的学生， 你的校园日说不定就是这样开始的。

School was very different then. Not every child went to school. The children who went to school were all in the same room, no matter how old they were. They even shared the same teacher. The children sat in groups on wooden benches. They practiced reading and writing. They did math, too.

那时候的学校大不一样，不是每个孩子都能上学。 上学的孩子不管年龄多大，都待在同一个房间里。 他们甚至共用同一位老师。 孩子们成群坐在木长凳上，练习阅读和写字。 他们也会学数学。

Today, in the United States, all children must go to school. Children are in classrooms with other children who are about the same age. Now children learn how to read and write and do math, just like children in earlier times. Children today study many other subjects too. All school children are taught to respect others.

现在在美国，所有孩子都必须上学。 孩子们和年龄相近的其他孩子一起待在教室里。 现在的孩子们和早年的孩子一样，要学习阅读、写字和数学。 现在的孩子们还要学习很多其他科目。 所有上学的孩子都被教导要尊重他人。

Imagine schools with no books. Most students of long ago had only horn books. Horn books were not really books at all. A horn book looked like a wooden paddle. The alphabet and numbers were carved into one side. A sheet of paper was attached to the other side.

想象一下没有书的学校。 很久以前，大多数学生只有角帖书。 角帖书其实根本算不上真正的书。 角帖书看起来就像一把木桨。 它的一面刻着字母表和数字。 另一面贴着一张纸。

Most students today go to schools that are filled with things to help them learn and play. There are books and computers and maps. There are writing pads and pencils and crayons. There are playgrounds and gyms.

现在大多数学生的学校里摆满了帮助他们学习和玩耍的东西。 有书、电脑还有地图。 有书写本、铅笔还有蜡笔。 还有操场和体育馆。