2016年英语二Text 1
2017-10-20 10:21阅读：
It's true that
high-school
coding classes
aren't essential
for learning
computer science
incollege.
诚然，高中的编程课对于大学学习计算机科学课程来说并不是必需的。
Students without
experience can
catch up
after a
few introductory
courses, said
Tom
Cortina,the
assistant dean
at Carnegie
Mellon's School
of Computer
Science.
卡耐基梅隆大学计算机科学学院副院长汤姆·科尔蒂纳这样说道，因为即使是没有编程经验，学生也能在上过一些入门编程课程后赶上来。
However, Cortina
said, early
exposure is
beneficial.
科尔蒂纳说，不过，较早地接触计算机科学是有益处的。
When younger
kids learn
computer science,
they learn
that it's
not just
a confusing,
endlessstring
of letters
and numbers —
but a
tool to
build apps,
or create
artwork, or
testhypotheses.
当年轻的学生学习计算机科学的时候，他们就会知道计算机科学并不是令人困惑、无穷尽的字母和数字串——而是一种工具，这种工具能编写应用程序、创造艺术作品或检验假设。
It's not as
hard for
them to
transform their
thought processes
as it
is for
older students.
相比于大一点的学生，这些学生在转变自己的思维过程方面的难度就小得多。
Breaking down
problems into
bite-sized
chunks and
using code
to solve
them
becomesnormal.
把问题分解为多个小的问题，然后用代码解决这些小问题，这种方式成了常态。
Giving more
children this
training could
increase the
number of
people interested
in the
field andhelp
fill the
jobs gap,
Cortina said.
给予更多孩子这样的训练会让更多的人对计算机这一领域感兴趣，同时还有助于弥补这一职业缺口。
Students also
benefit from
learning something
about coding
before they
get to
college,
whereintroductory
computer-science
classes are
packed to
the brim,
which can
drive the
less-experienced
or-determined
students away.
学生在上大学之前，学习编程的一些知识也是有益处的，因为大学里的计算科学入门课一向爆满，这就可能会使那些对计算机缺乏经验或者是还在犹豫的学生放弃这个专业。
The Flatiron
School, where
people pay
to learn
programming, started
as one
of the
many
codingbootcamps
that's become
popular for
adults looking
for a
career change.
熨斗学院是一所付费编程培训学校，它创建之前只是众多的编程训练营之一，如今这所学院很受那些考虑更换职业的人的欢迎。
The high-schoolers
get the
same curriculum,
but 'we
try to
gear lessons
toward
thingsthey're
interested in,'
said Victoria
Friedman, an
instructor.
编程讲师维多利亚·弗里德曼说道，高中生学的编程课程也是该校的那种，“他们尽量设置一些学生感兴趣的课程。”
For instance,
one of
the apps
the students
are developing
suggests movies
based on
yourmood.
例如，学生们正在开发一个根据用户心情推荐电影的应用。
The students
in the
Flatiron class
probably won't
drop out
of high
school and
build the
nextFacebook.
熨斗编程培训班的学生可能不会高中辍学，然后创建出下一个“脸书”公司。
Programming languages
have a
quick turnover,
so the
'Ruby on
Rails' language
they
learnedmay not
even be
relevant by
the time
they enter
the job
market.
编程语言的更新很快，因此等到他们进入劳动力市场时，他们所学的“Ruby
on
Rails”编程语言甚至与市场需求都不太相关。
But the skills
they learn —
how to
think logically
through a
problem and
organize the
results— apply
to any
coding language,
said Deborah
Seehorn, an
education consultant
for the
stateof North
Carolina.
北卡罗来纳州教育顾问黛博拉·希霍恩说道，如何运用逻辑思维思考问题和理清结果，这些他们学到的技能适用于各种编程语言。
Indeed, the
Flatiron students
might not
go into
IT at
all.
的确，熨斗学院的学生可能根本就不会进入IT行业。
But creating a
future army
of coders
is not
the sole
purpose of
the classes.
但培养一大批程序员并不是这些编程班的唯一目标。
These kids are
going to
be surrounded
by computers —
in their
pockets, in
their offices,
in theirhomes
— for the
rest of
their lives.
在这些学生日后生活中，他们所处的环境中处处都有计算机——他们的口袋里、办公室里和家里。
The younger
they learn
how computers
think, how
to coax
the machine
into producing
whatthey want
— the earlier
they learn
that they
have the
power to
do that —
the better.
他们越早知道计算机的工作原理，越早让计算机为他们所用，越早掌握这种技能，就越好。
