Today, tomorrow, learn English naturally. 天天自然学英语
“Past tense”
Politicians rarely need encouragement to tinker with the school curriculum. Over the past two years pressure to do just that has intensified. In 2020 campaigners energized by the Black Lives Matter movement called for the teaching of slavery and colonialism to be made compulsory in England’s classrooms. A year later a government report said that schools should teach more about the achievements of Britain’s minorities.
The government has begun promoting a plan to improve history lessons for all children aged 5-14. A panel of experts will cook up a new “model curriculum” for history in England, to be published in 2024. This document will not alter the national curriculum; instead the idea is to illustrate, in unusual detail, how a high-performing history department might set about meeting its requirements. In February Robin Walker, the schools minister, told the Times that this non-binding document would underline the breadth of material, from migration to world history, that can be taught under existing rules. He also offered that helping youngsters better understand the past would make them less likely to tear down statues.
The idea of using model curriculums to influence what happens in schools is a newish fad. The government’s first such effort—a model curriculum for England’s music teachers—was published last year. Its 100-odd pages include lists of pop songs and classical music that the government thinks children should hear (what the national curriculum requires of music teachers, by contrast, can be scribbled on only four sheets). The government seems to think that, though some schools are doing a good job of converting the national curriculum’s broad rules into zingy lessons, others need a lot more hand-holding.
Enthusiasm for model curriculums also reflects the fact that tweaking the national curriculum is no longer very appealing. The government needs Parliament’s approval to change that. And academies, which do not have to follow it, now make up nearly half of England’s schools. In theory model curriculums are also ignorable, but in practice they demand attention. Inspectors in England check to see whether teachers are using high-quality curriculums; where a detailed government model exists, schools may reasonably conclude that sticking to that is less risky than creating courses of their own. Model curriculums may influence the content that educational publishers put out. Primary-school teachers, in particular, may welcome help navigating sensitive topics concerning black and minority history.
Decisions about what goes into the new history curriculum are a way off, but the arguments have already begun. Some warn that the exercise risks capture by “woke” academics, who will pack lessons with somber moralizing. Others reckon the risk skews the other way: a model curriculum that aims to stoke patriotism among minorities while swerving uncomfortable questions. The government has yet to announce who it has recruited to its panel of experts. Perhaps the biggest danger is that it can tempt only the shrillest voices. Some good candidates have declined to participate, says one insider. “They are suspicious of getting sucked into a trap.”
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Past tense" (May 26th 2022)
注释：
Tinker：v
表示“调整；改进”，means “try to fix or mend”. 如：He's been tinkering with that engine for hours, but it still won't go. 他花了几个小时摆弄那个引擎,想修好它,但它还是不转。
Colonialism: n
表示“殖民主义”， means " exploitation by a stronger country of weaker one". 如：British colonialism led to the establishment of a large empire.英国的殖民主义成就了幅员辽阔的大英帝国。
Breadth: n.
表示“宽度，范围”， means " distance or measurement from side to side, wide extent; range".如：His breadth of experience makes him ideal for the job. 他经验丰富,最能胜任这项工作。
Fad: n
表示“ 时尚；一时流行的狂热", means "an interest followed with exaggerated zeal". 如：This can lead to thriftiness to the point of denying yourself pleasure, or embracing some health fad to ward of disease.也许这会导致你节俭到否定自我愉快感或拥抱某个健康时尚来避开疾病。
Scribble: v
表示”潦草地书写；乱写“， means " write down quickly without much attention to detail". 如：The speaker spoke so fast that he could only scribble down several broken words. 演讲者讲得太快了，他只能匆匆记下几个支离破碎的字。
Convert: v
表示“(使)转变；转化；”， means " make to change from one (form, use, etc.) into another". 如：A poet is one who can convert ordinary words into a meaningful and effective piece of writing. 诗人是能够用普通的文字写出寓意深刻、感人至深的作品的人。
Zingy: adj.
表示“愉快而激动的；非常漂亮的；极吸引人的”， means " very beautiful, quite interesting". 如：A zingy gown. 引人注目的晚礼服 Raw celery has a slight sparkle, a zingy taste that you don't get in cooked celery. 生芹菜微微发亮，味道与熟芹菜截然不同。
Tweak: v.
表示“微调”， means “adjust finely” . 如：Maybe you should tweak a few sentences before you send in the report. 也许在你递交报告之前应该稍微修改一下句子。
Somber: adj.
表示“ 微暗的；阴暗的；忧郁的；严肃的；严峻的” ,means " grave or even gloomy in character". 如：His eyes were somber, resentful and yet nervous. 他的眼睛显得阴沉、愤懑，然而又惶惶不安。
Moralize：v.
表示“教化；解说道德；用道德意义解释”， means "interpret the moral meaning of" . 如：He's always moralizing about the behavior of young people. 他总是就年轻人的行为进行说教。
Reckon: V
表示“ 猜想,估计”，means "guess; believe as a result of calculating roughly but not exactly". 如：I reckon this will be a hot summer. 我估计这将是一个炎热的夏天。
Skew: adj；n
表示”斜交的(不对称的；误解的)“, means "having an oblique or slanting direction or position“。如：You've got your hat on skew whiff. 你帽子戴歪了.
The delay difference between pairs is called delay skew. 在线对与对间的延迟差异被称为延迟歪斜.
Stoke: V
表示“激发,煽动；”， means "stir up or tend; of a fire". 如：She likes to stoke up quarrels between people. 她喜欢挑起人们之间的不和。
Swerve: v
表示”使突然转向；使转弯“， means " (cause to) change from a course or purpose". 如：Nothing will swerve him from his aims. 什么也改变不了他的目标。
Shrill: adj.
表示”尖锐的；刺耳的“， means " having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones; being sharply insistent on being heard; ". 如：Shrill protests about the new taxes filled the air. 广播中充斥着对新税法的尖锐抗议。