众所周知，教育为社会提供人才，人才为社会创造财富。但是教育的目的到底是什么，不同的人对于教育的理解又会对整个社会有着什么样的影响？
Education
Education is not an end, but a means to an end. In other words, we do not educate children only for educating them. Our purpose is to fit them for life.①
In some modern countries it has been fashionable to think that free education for all can solve all the problems of society and build a perfect nation. But we can already see that free education for all is not enough. We find in such countries a far larger number of people with university degrees refusing to do what they think is“low”work, and, in fact, working with one’s hands is thought to be dirty and shameful in such countries. But we have only to think a moment to understand that the work of a completely uneducated farmer is far more important than that of a professor; we can live without education, but we die if we have no food. If no one cleaned our streets and took the rubbish away from our houses, we should get terrible diseases in our towns.
In fact, when we say that all of us must be educated to fit us for life,② it means that we must be educated in such a way that, firstly, each of us can do whatever work is suited to his brains and ability and, secondly, that we can realize that all jobs are necessary to society, and that it is very bad to be ashamed of one’s work.③ Only such a type of education can be considered valuable to society.
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行文点评
总分总结构。首段首句用词巧妙，直接点题，并在第二句中进行了通俗的解释，从而引出论点：教育不是目的，而是手段(Education is not an end, but a means to an end)。第二段分析现状，指出问题，通过具体的事例使分析更具有说服力。这一段的说明丝丝入扣，既合情合理，又出乎意料。第三段总结收拢全文。
全文用词精准，句式精巧。例如首句用not…but…直奔主题简洁有力。第二段中连续使用but, 层层深入，段末的can live without...表面上显示出相比教育而言食物对于我们更加不可或缺，而深层意思则是表达自己对于社会上“低等”工作鄙视现象的不满以及揭露了人们对教育的理解误区。整篇文章行文流畅，观点的得出水到渠成。最后两个教育方向的提出，进一步深化了主题。
好文妙译
教育
教育不是目的，而是达到目的的手段。换句话说，我们教育孩子不仅仅是为了使他们受到教育。我们的目的是让他们适应生活。
在有些现代国家中有种流行的观点，那就是全民义务教育可以解决一切社会问题，建立起完美的国家。但我们也能看到，仅有全民义务教育是远远不够的。我们发现在这些国家中，很多拥有大学学位的人拒绝从事他们眼中所谓的“低等”工作，实际上，在这些国家里，体力劳动被认为是肮脏、丢人的。但只要我们想一下就能明白，其实那些完全没受过教育的农民的工作要比教授的工作重要得多；没有教育我们可以生活，但是没有食物我们只有死路一条。如果没有人每天清扫街道，把垃圾从我们家中运走，我们的城镇就会感染可怕的疾病。
事实上，当我们说所有的人都必须接受教育以适应生活的时候，意思是我们必须受到这样的教育：第一，每个人都可以做任何适合自己智力和能力的工作；第二，我们应该意识到所有的工作都是社会的必要组成，为某人的工作感到羞耻是很不正确的。只有这样的教育才能被认为是真正对社会有益的。
词汇斟酌
means n. 手段，方法
fashionable a. 流行的，时髦的
ashamed n. 惭愧的，羞耻的
佳句临摹
①【注释】in other words换句话说
【临摹】In other words, when the wind is blowing at 120 kilometers per hour, most waves will be about twelve meters.换句话说,当风速为每小时一百二十公里时大部分浪高将达十二米左右。
②【注释】fit sb. for使某人适合…
【临摹】Her height fitted her for basketball.她身材高，适合打篮球。
③【注释】be ashamed of耻于…，对…感到惭愧
【临摹】I behaved badly yesterday and I am ashamed of myself now.我昨天表现不好，现在感到很惭愧。
思如泉涌
The primary purpose of education is not to teach you to earn your bread, but to make every mouthful sweeter.教育最主要的目的不是教你如何挣得面包，而是使每一口都更加香甜。
As what sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the soul.教育之于心灵，犹如雕刻之于大理石。