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My Teacher: Jozsef Oveges

by Tamas Isoldos

    Physicist, science book writer, TV personality, Professor Oveges was a wonderful teacher of science with a charming and humorous personality. His enthusiasm for education, his ability to inspire learning and his effective teaching methods have made a lasting impression on many people. How did Oveges encourage his students to learn? What can we learn from him? After reading the text you will know the answers.

    I was seven years old when I first saw Jozsef Oveges. Our primary school class in Marcali, Hungary, knew that the slight man was a famous physics professor from Budapest¹, so we were surprised when he took a balloon from his pocket and blew it up. The usually noisy class watched silently.
    "Here it goes!" the professor exclaimed as he let go of the balloon, which soared with a screech over our heads. "So, what do you think of that?" he asked. "The air flowing backward pushes the balloon forward. And now you understand how they launch rockets."

    Then he asked, "What do you like to do, children, when you don't have to study?"
    "Listen to the radio," I said.

    "What is your favorite program?"

    "The one that explains how the radio works," I answered.

    "Now that's something!" he exclaimed with surprise. "Can you repeat what you heard?"

    "Sound is changed into electromagnetic waves for broadcasting," I said confidently. "The signals sent from the broadcast tower are picked up by the receiver at home and changed back into sound." It was not that common, then or now, to find girls keen about science. My correct answer interested the professor.

    "Well, Bea," he said, "visit men the next time you are in Budapest, and I will show you one or two interesting things."

    I felt very excited when my parents brought me to the professor's flat six months later. I was ushered into a book-lined study. While he arranged things on his desk, I sat on chair and fidgeted with anticipation. Finally the professor asked me to approach. When I got up, I cried sharply as I felt the sting of an electric spark. He laughed at my surprise and urged me to sit back down, then get up and touch the chair. Sure enough, another big spark was produced.

    "You rubbed the seat of the chair with a piece of cloth, so it gained a negative charge," the professor explained. "But since your feet were touching the floor, you conducted the electric charge in an unbroken flow. When you stood up, you left the chair charged. When you touched its metal leg, it produced sparks as the charged jumped from it, and your hands conducted them into the ground."

    On a table was the professor's "laboratory equipment": a sour-cream cup, odd pieces of glass and Ping-pong balls. "Now we'll do something new," he announced. "We'll draw with a common nail."

    I watched skeptically as he wrapped a tin can with a piece of drawing paper dampened with a special liquid, then linked the can to the positive pole of a battery. He attached a nail to the negative pole, then handed it to me and said, "Go ahead, draw something."

    I was amazed as the rusty nail left a string of blood-red letters on the damp paper. "When the nail came into contact with the liquid, a caustic chemical reaction resulted," the professor explained. "This caused the color change."

    I felt thrilled and proud. I now understood a serious scientific phenomenon.

    From that moment, this wonderful teacher and scientist ─ who again and again proved that the most complicated theories could be demonstrated with ordinary objects ─ became my model. His enthusiasm inspired many students to explore the basic knowledge of science.

    The Oveges's method of teaching made science and mathematics fun instead of a chore. Today, inspired by this great man, I teach my students the secrets of nature at a technical high school.

    Over several decades Professor Oveges's charm, dialect and sense of humor made him a favorite IB personality for millions of Hungarians. His joyous exclamation as he completed an experiment ─ "Isn't it amazing!" ─ gained household currency.

    One of my favorite memories of the professor happened a few years after I first met him. One day my dad yelled from the next room, "Professor Oveges is on TV. Come, quick."

    The professor was standing beside a little paper dog kennel8 with a tiny wooden dog inside the door. "Heki!" "Heki!" he shouted, and the dog jumped out of the kennel. How did he do that? I wondered. The professor showed the simple circuit inside the kennel, whose breaker9 was attached to its wall. He put his hand against the wall, and when he shouted at a certain pitch, the paper wall vibrated.

    I watched with my mouth open as he explained the phenomenon: When the paper wall vibrated, the electrical circuit was interrupted, and an electromagnet released the spring that forced Heki out of his kennel. I was so fascinated that the next day I bought the professor's book, Let's Experiment and Think! and decided to become a physicist.

    Jozsef Oveges was born on November 10, 1895, in Hungary. Coming from a family of educators, he showed an early liking for teaching. After his father's death, the family moved to the city of Gyor, where the young Oveges went to school.

　   At age 16, he chose to study mathematics and physics. He had spent his childhood in the natural environment of the countryside, constantly questioning the whys of natural phenomena, so he was by instinct attracted to objective, demonstrable truths.　

    Later, he taught in the secondary schools. He measured the success of his classes partly by the amount of laughter he was able to elicit. Typical was the way he once began a mathematics class: "Children, you are going to shout with pleasure because, by the end of the class, you will know how to square compound numbers in just seconds."

    He was, however, no pushover. He demanded regular study, and he continuously challenged his students. They never knew when he would take out the matchbox in which he kept numbered pieces of paper corresponding to the pupils' seat numbers. The student whose number came up would face an oral exam.

    "All right, time for a quiz. Who will it be today?" In silence they watched as he picked up the "lucky" winner. Then the questions came very quickly: What colors are in a rainbow? How do they form? Can you walk under them? Can you produce the colors yourself? How?

    After the 10─15 minute "game," the student sank down in his seat, exhausted.

    Because there were no scientific books Professor Oveges regarded suitable for his students, he wrote his own. His first was Weather Forecasting and Analysis. A publishing company offered to publish the book─on the condition that the author gather 2000 advance orders. When the object was to draw attention, Professor Oveges was never at a loss. He published an advertisement with the following text: "Sell your umbrella, and buy Oveges's weather-forecasting book!" It didn't take long to sign up the necessary subscribers. The book was published and quickly sold out.

    The professor soon wrote more books. One day the principal of the school wandered into his class. As usual, the class was like a stage play, with the participation of all the students. In the closing scene, Oveges asked, "Who wants a chance to get an ‘A' by taking an oral quiz?"

    All raised hands. The principal shook his head in disbelief and commented, "I never knew there were teachers like him."

    Impressed by Oveges's ability to inspire learning, the principal heartily recommended him to a publishing company. The professor was startled that a Budapest textbook publisher was coming to him. His classic textbook Little Physics was the result, becoming a standard text.

    Oveges's new methods─using different typefaces14 to add emphasis, including drawings to illustrate experiments and writing analytically─contributed to the unusual popularity of his books. The Physics of Modern Age was published 45 years ago, and is still around today.

    After the war, when most school labs were damaged or destroyed, there was a great need for the professor's ingenuity15. "Send me to the smallest village in the country, where there's only grass where the school lab once was," he wrote in a 1949 Council of Public Education publication. "With ordinary household odds and ends16, I can demonstrate anything."

    Using the simplest tools, Professor Oveges performed convincing experiments. This was his guiding principle when, in 1948, he began his highly popular radio programs, and when, ten years later, he launched his hugely successful television series, "My Favorite Experiments." Though he was often shy in social settings, science brought out the showman in him.

    Once Professor Oveges invited someone from a well-equipped research institute to his TV show to see who could measure more precisely the speed of sound. The researcher brought a digital timer, which started automatically as the sound reached the microphone17. The professor brought a tube made of three empty tin cans, a tape measure and a jar filled with water. Shouting into the tube, he moved it up and down in the water until the sound was the most resonant, indicating that the wavelength of his voice corresponded with the resonant wavelength of the column of air in the tube. Next he measured the length of the tube sticking out of the water, and from this calculated the speed of sound.

    His answer came closer to the value given in reference books than the number the institution's instrument showed.

  The television show made Professor Oveges famous throughout Hungary. One afternoon, as he was sitting beside a lake enjoying the sun, a sheep dog came toward him, stopped at a respectful distance and began to bark. Its owner, a shepherd18, walked up, tipped his hat and said to the dog, "Yes, it's him all right."

    "But how do you know me?" the professor asked.

    "From television," the shepherd said. Then, hanging his head toward the dog, he added, "We watch your show together."

    The professor's sense of humor helped sustain him even in difficult situations. Once, in a store in Budapest, he asked the clerk to wrap his sausage double so as not to make the manuscripts dirty in his briefcase. The clerk ignored his request. Dissatisfied, he asked for the "complaints register"─the official suggestion box in Hungary. A nervous chill settled over the shop as the frightened store manager handed over the register to the disgruntled customer.

    All eyes were on the professor as he seriously opened the book, tore out a couple of blank pages, wrapped his sausage in them and politely wished everyone a good day.

    Professor Oveges spent the summers of his retirement in his birthplace. There, at his home, he was demonstrating to friends the experiment of light when he suddenly collapsed on his desk. He suffered a brain hemorrhage and died three days later, on September 4, 1979.

    The professor's enthusiasm and energy continue to bear fruit today. George Olah, for example, was a dull student of physics when, as a 16-year-old, he first took a class with Oveges. It would change his outlook forever. "If anybody made me enthusiastic about science, it was him," says Olah. Recalling Oveges's practice of using tin cans and sour cream containers to perform his experiments, Olah adds, "We didn't have much to work with in those days, but using household objects─things we knew─made us feel comfortable."

    Olah went on to get a Ph.D. from the University of Budapest and become associate director of the Central Chemical Research Institute at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences before moving to the United States. There he eventually was named director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California. It was for his research in chemistry that Olah's crowning achievement came in 1994, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

    Professor Oveges's picture still hangs in my room. But more than just his photo stays with me. In my job as a teacher, I feel his presence. In the enthusiasm of my pupils, I see his spell-binding personality and faith in the beauty of knowledge and nature. And I can almost hear his delighted exclamation, "Isn't it amazing!"

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课文一

我的老师：约瑟夫·奥弗格斯

塔玛斯·伊索德斯

约瑟夫·奥弗格斯是一位物理学家，科普作者和电视名人。他也是一位性格幽默，充满魅力的教师。他对教育的热情，激励学生的能力以及有效的教学方法给许多人留下了深刻的印象。奥弗格斯是如何鼓励学生的呢？我们从他那里能学到什么？在读完这篇课文后，你就能知道答案了。

第一次见到约瑟夫·奥弗格斯时，我只有七岁，还在匈牙利的马克利读小学。我们全班都知道这位个子瘦小的男人是从布达佩斯来的一位著名物理教授，因此当他从口袋里拿出一只汽球并把它吹涨的时候，我们都惊奇不已。平时喧闹的课堂刹时静了下来。

“看，它飞起来了”！教授大声说着，松开了汽球。汽球飞向我们头顶，发出尖细的声音。“嗯，你们觉得怎么样？”他问道。“朝后流动的空气将汽球向前推动。现在你们该明白火箭是如何发射的了吧！”

接着他又问：“孩子们，你们平时不上课的时候都喜欢干些什么？”
　　我说：“听收音机。”

“你喜欢的是什么节目？”

我回答说：“是一档介绍收音机工作原理的节目。”

“那太有意思了!”他惊奇地大声说道。“你能不能重复一下你收听过的东西？”　

“要广播先要把声音变成电磁波，”我很有信心地说。“从广播塔里发射出来的信号被家里的接收器接收，然后又转变成声音。”无论在当年还是现在，对科学这么喜欢的女孩子素来不多见，所以我的正确回答使教授很感兴趣。

他说“不错，比，下次你来布达佩斯时到我这儿来，我会给你看几样有趣的东西。”　

半年以后，我父母带我来到教授的寓所。我觉得十分兴奋。我被领进了一个摆满了一排排书的房间。教授往他书桌上摆排东西的时候，我就在椅子上挪来动去，不安地等待着。终于，教授让我走上前去。我刚站起身，就觉得被电了一下，不由地尖叫起来。教授笑起来，要我坐回到椅子上，然后再站起来并摸摸椅子。果然，又产生了一个很大的火花。

教授解释说：“你和椅子之间的摩擦产生了负电荷，但由于你的双脚挨着地板，电荷就以你为导体不间断地流动起来。当你站起来时，这把椅子还带着电。当你触摸金属制成的椅子腿时，电荷从椅子上释放出来并产生了火花，你的手又把它们引导到地上。”

教授的“实验室设备”摆满了一张台子：一台装着酸性乳膏的杯子，一些古怪的玻璃片和几只乒乓球。他宣布说：“我们来做件新的事情——用普通的钉子画画。”

我心怀疑虑地看着他用一张被特殊溶液浸湿的图画纸把一只锡罐包起来，然后将锡罐与电池的正极连接好。接着他又把一根钉子与电池的负极接起来，然后把钉子递给了我：“你来画些什么。”

当这只生了锈的钉子在潮湿的纸上留下一连串血红的字母时，我简直惊呆了。教授向我解释说：“当钉子与液体接触时，产生了一种具有腐蚀性的化学反应，而这种反应造成了颜色的变化。”

我觉得很激动同时又很自豪。我现在懂得了一个重大的化学现象。

从那时起，这位优秀的教师科学家——他一次次证明了用普通的器具能够演示最复杂的理论——成为了我的楷模。他的热情鼓舞了很多学生去探索科学的基本知识。

奥弗格斯的教学方法使科学和数学变得活泼有趣，不再乏味。现在，在这位伟人的激励下，我在一所技术高中任职，向学生揭示大自然的奥秘。

几十年来，奥弗格斯教授的魅力、口音和幽默感使他成为成千上万匈牙利人喜爱的电视名人。他每次结束实验时的那句欣喜的感叹——“这难道不奇妙吗？”——已经是家喻户晓了。

让我至今记忆犹新的一件事，发生在第一次见到教授的几年后。一天，我爸爸突然在隔壁房间大声喊道；“快来看，奥弗格斯教授上电视了。”

教授站在一间纸糊的狗窝旁边，狗窝门内放着一只小木狗。“海基！”“海基！”他喊道，小狗则应声从窝里跳了出来。我有些不解，教授是怎么让木制的狗听话的呢？教授向人展示了装在狗窝内的一条简单线路，断路器固定在窝内的墙上。他把手放在墙上，当他用一定的音高叫喊时，纸墙就会振动。

我是张着嘴观看教授解释这一现象的：当纸墙振动时，电流就被断开，电磁铁所吸附的弹簧被松开，这就迫使小狗从窝里跳了出来。这一切深深吸引了我，以致于第二天我就去买了一本教授的书《让我们实验和思索》，并决心成为一名物理学家。

约瑟夫·奥弗格斯于1895年11月10日出生在匈牙利。由于出身于教育世家，他很早就显露出对教学的喜爱。他父亲去世后，全家搬到了吉尔市，年少的奥弗格斯上学读书了。

十六岁时，他决定学习数学和物理。他的童年是在农村的自然环境中度过的，那时他就不停地对自然现象提出为什么，所以他天然地对客观的、可论证的真理感兴趣。

后来，他曾在中学里教过书。他衡量自己教学成功与否的一个手段就是课堂上学生们的笑声。有一次他是这样开始一堂数学课的。他说：“孩子们，你们很快就会高兴地大叫起来。因为这堂课结束时，你们将知道如何在几秒的时间内求得复合数的平方值。”这就是他教学风格的一个典型例子。
　

然而，他并不是一个容易糊弄的老师。他要求学生持之以恒、踏踏实实地学习，并且不断地给他们提出挑战。他们从来都不知道什么时候他会拿出一只火柴盒，火柴盒里装有一些与学生座位号相对应的纸片。座位号被拿出来的学生将面临口试。

“好了，测验的时间到了。今天会轮到谁呢？”学生们静静地看着他挑出那位“幸运的”胜出者。然后问题接踵而至：彩虹有几种颜色？它们是怎么形成的？你能正好在彩虹下面走吗？你自己能制造这些颜色吗？怎样制造？

经历了15至20分钟的“游戏”之后，答题者疲倦地倒靠在自己的座位上。

奥格弗斯认为适合他学生用的科学书籍太少，于是就自己动手编写。他写的第一本书是《天气预报与分析》。一家出版公司同意出版该书，但条件是作者要包销2000册。激发公众兴趣，这可是奥格弗斯教授的拿手好戏。他刊登了以下这条广告：“卖掉你的雨伞，买一本奥格弗斯有关天气预报的书！”没过多久所要包销的书就被全数订购。书出版后也很快就销售一空。

教授随后又写了一些书。一天，校长走进了他的教室。跟往常一样，课堂活动就像是舞台演出，所有的学生都参与其中。快下课时奥格弗斯问道：“谁想参加口试来获得一次得‘优秀'的机会？”　

所有的手都举了起来。校长无法置信地摇摇头，说道：“我从来不知道竟有像他这样的教师。”　

奥格弗斯激励学生学习的能力给校长留下了深刻印象。他向一家出版社大力推荐了奥格弗斯。当布达佩斯的一位教材出版商来向教授约稿时，教授很是吃惊。他的优秀教材《简明物理学》就这样出版了，并成为一本通用教科书。

奥格弗斯启用的新方法，如利用不同的印刷字体来强调重点，插印图画来演示实验，文字讲解清晰透彻等等，都使得他的书受到不同寻常的欢迎。《现代物理学》出版于45年前，至今仍在广泛使用。

战后，大部分学校的实验室都遭到了不同程度的破坏，这时教授的独创性就显得格外的必要。1949年他在公共教育署的一份出版物中写道：“把我送到农村最小的村子里，哪怕原来曾是学校实验室的地方现在只有满地杂草，我也可以用日常生活中的零零碎碎来演示任何东西。”

利用最简单的东西，奥格弗斯教授进行了一个又一个令人信服的实验。无论是他1948年创办的那档收听率极高的电台节目，还是10年后他主持的获得了巨大成功的电视系列节目“我喜爱的实验”，这条指导原则一直贯穿始终。虽然在大庭广众面前他还常常感到害羞，但科学使他的表演天赋得以充分发挥。

有一次，奥格弗斯从一家设备先进的研究所邀请了一位嘉宾，到他的电视节目中来比试一下，看谁能更准确地测量出声音的速度。那位研究人员带来了一台数码计时器。声音一传到扩音器，计时器就会自动开始工作。而教授则带来一根由三只空锡罐做成的管子，一把卷尺和一只盛满水的罐子。他对着管子大声喊叫，同时把管子在水里上下移动直到喊叫的声音产生最大的共鸣。这说明他的声音的波长与管子中空气柱的共鸣波长相对应。接下来他测量了管子露出水面那部分的长度，并依此计算出声音的速度。

他测出的结果比研究所仪器所探测到的数据更接近参考书中给出的数值。

《我喜爱的实验》这档电视节目使奥格弗斯教授在整个匈牙利家喻户晓。一天下午，他正坐在湖边晒太阳，一只牧羊狗朝他走过来，在离他有一段距离时有礼貌地停了下来并且叫了起来。它的主人——一位牧羊人——走上前来，触帽致礼后对那只狗说：“不错，正是他！”　

　　教授问道：“你怎么会认识我？”

牧羊人回答道：“从电视里。”然后他把头凑近自己的狗，补充说：“我们一起看你的电视节目。”　

教授的幽默感使他即便身处困境也能从容应对。有一次，在布达佩斯的一家商店里，他让店员把他买的香肠用双层纸来包以防弄脏公文包里的手稿。店员没有理睬他的请求。不满之余，他向商店索要“意见薄”——也就是匈牙利官方的建议箱。当忐忑不安的商店经理把意见簿递给这位不开心的顾客时，一股令人紧张的寒意布满了整个店堂。

教授认真地翻开簿子时，所有的眼睛都盯住了他，他却撕下了两张白纸，把香肠包了起来，然后有礼貌地向每个人打招呼告别。

奥格弗斯教授退休后总是在他出生的地方度过夏季。一天他正在自己的家中给朋友演示光的实验时，突然倒在书桌上。突发脑溢血后的第三天，即1979年11月4日， 教授与世长辞。

今天，教授投入事业的热情和努力仍在结出累累硕果。乔治·奥莱就是一个例子。他16岁第一次听到奥格弗斯讲课时，还是一位物理方面十分迟钝的学生。教授的课永远地改变了他的世界观。奥莱说：“如果说有谁使我对科学变得热情，那就是奥弗格斯教授。” 回忆起奥格弗斯用锡罐和酸奶容器做实验的情形时，奥莱补充道：“在那些日子里，我们并没有很多器具来开展实验，就用一些日常生活中的我们所知道的东西，这让我们觉得非常愉快。”

奥莱毕业后继续深造，在布达佩斯大学获得了博士学位。移居美国前，他曾担任匈牙利科学院中心化学研究所的副所长。在美国他被任命为南加利福尼亚大学洛克碳氢化工研究所所长。正是在化学领域的研究带给了奥莱至高的荣誉——1994年他获得了诺贝尔化学奖。

奥弗格斯教授的照片至今仍挂在我的房间里，但他留给我的远远不止一张照片。在我的教学工作中，我感到了他的存在。在学生的学习热情中，我又看到了他那令人着迷的个性和对知识与大自然之美的深信不疑。我仿佛又听到了他那快乐的感叹声：“这难道不奇妙吗？”

（王  勇译）          返回

Text 2

   Going to lectures was a popular activity in 1847 and Louis Agassiz was becoming a popular speaker. Very few people studied natural science at the time. What Agassiz had to say, especially about fish and glaciers20, was news to practically everyone. And despite his accent, he had an interesting way of presenting information! He was the talk of the town and many newspapers printed his lectures. As more and more people learned about the world around them, Agassiz's fame spread.

    One day after Louis Agassiz had been in America about a year, he was approached by a rich Bostonian.

    "What can I do for you, Mr. Lawrence?" Agassiz invited him into the house.

    "It occurs to me, Mr. Agassiz, that almost nowhere in this country can American boys learn about natural science. I am prepared to give fifty thousand dollars to Harvard University. With this money they will start to build the Lawrence Scientific School. I would like you to come and teach there."

    "I'm deeply honored, Mr. Lawrence. It would be a fine opportunity for American boys. I was planning to return to Switzerland shortly, but I promise you I'll think it over."

    Louis Agassiz's answer was a firm "Yes." Soon he was to be the first foreign-born and foreign-educated teacher at Harvard. And as his students soon found out, his method of teaching seemed foreign, too.

    In those days there were no entrance tests given to determine whether or not a student would be able to do the work. When a young man wanted to enter the school, he would go there, look up the teacher in whose classes he was interested, and be asked some questions. The teacher would decide whether or not the young man could stay. One such student who approached Louis Agassiz was Nathaniel Shaler.

　　Shaler, who had grown up in Kentucky, had read an article by Agassiz on turtles. This article had inspired Shaler to become a naturalist. When he arrived at Harvard he went to a wooden shed-like building where Agassiz had his laboratory.

　　Agassiz immediately began to question him to find out what he knew. He was pleased to learn that Shaler had read carefully the article on turtles, plus other books to which the article had referred. The young man could also read French and German. This was necessary because at the time many books on natural science were written in those language. He also knew enough Latin to understand scientific terms.

　　Agassiz was satisfied with Shaler's background knowledge, but this alone was not enough to admit him to the school. A young man must also be strong and healthy. This was especially important in natural science because students often took long, demanding field trips to obtain specimens. In Agassiz's day the sport was fencing, so he challenged Shaler to a bout. Shaler had been taught to fence in Kentucky and felt he was quite good at it. In fact, in his opinion, he won the bout. What Sahler didn't know was that Agasszi had never had any lessons in fencing. What the teacher knew he had taught himself.

    Agassiz now knew that Shaler was intelligent and physically capable of the work. There was one more test to pass, but at first Shaler did not know it was a test. This was the beginning of Agassiz's unusual teaching method.

　　The young man was seated at a table in Agassiz's laboratory. Around him many students were busily working. Agassiz placed in front of him a smelly fish.

    "What do you want me to do?" Shaler asked the teacher.

    "Oh, just look at the fish." Agassiz replied. "Don't read any books or talk to the other students. Learn what you can without damaging the specimen. Later I will ask you what you have seen."

    Shaler sat staring at the ugly fish. How was he to begin? He picked it up and turned it over. He looked at it from behind, beneath, above, and sideways. In half an hour he felt that he knew all there was to know about the horrible creature. The teacher paid no attention to him. Shaler looked some more time. Finally he decided it was time for lunch. For an hour he was free.

    When he returned he found that Agassiz had left the laboratory for several hours. Slowly the young man drew forth the loathsome fish. Perhaps he could write down the things he noticed. He counted the number of fins and scales. Then he saw that the scales had an odd shape and changed in size. They were larger near the head and grew smaller toward the tail. The tail─it was forked! He wrote that down, too. All afternoon he took notes on that little fish. Still Agassiz did not approach him.

    Another day passed and then a whole week. All he heard from Agassiz each day was a friendly "Good morning." At last Shaler began to draw the ugly creature. In doing so he discovered many new things. Finally on the seventh day came the question, "Well?"

    Shaler talked for an hour while Agassiz listened attentively. At the end of the hour's talking Agassiz turned away saying, "That's not right." Shaler was left to figure out just what had not been right.

    Angrily he tore up his notes. He was ready to quit right then and there. Then he noticed that Agassiz was watching him. He realized that here was another test. Wearily he began all over again.

    Late that afternoon Agassiz approached him again. "Do you see it yet?" the teacher asked.

    "No," replied Shaler, "but I see how much I missed before."

    "That is next best," Agassiz said seriously. And for another week Shaler was left alone with his fish.

    The next time the young man was asked what he had seen, Agassiz was pleased with his reply. But Shaler did not receive any praise. Instead, he was given a pail of fish bones and told to see what he could do with them. They were skeletons of six or seven different fish. Shaler began to try to sort them out like a jigsaw puzzle─a head here, a tail there, and now a piece of rib. Sometimes Agassiz would look over his shoulder and say, "That's not right." But even that was a help. Sorting all those little bones was the hardest task Shaler had ever tackled, but finally the job was finished. Now he could work on other animals, including turtles, for he had learned to observe and compare as he went along.

    Now, too, Shaler was allowed to read books and discuss his work with the other students. This he did eagerly. Agassiz cautioned him, though, that the books might not be right. He should be loath to take someone else's word as fact. First he should observe for himself, do his own research, and then see if his findings agreed with those in the books. He must always think for himself.

Shaler also attended Agassiz's lectures, and though he found them fascinating, they were a less important part of his work. He learned more from conversation with the teacher. They often talked together for hours.

    During the four years that Shaler studied under Agassiz he was never given a single test, but the teacher often questioned him as he went along. Shaler felt that he was now ready to graduate and begin his own work as a naturalist. When he approached Agassiz on the subject the teacher said in surprise, "Why, you haven't learned half enough!" Agassiz always felt a student could learn more. Nevertheless Shaler was determined to get his degree.

    To do this Shaler must be questioned by seven teachers, including the president of Harvard. Many of the teachers had criticized Agassiz's new method of teaching, saying it wasn't thorough. So of course Agassiz wanted his students, including Shaler, to perform well.

    On the day of the questioning, Shaler was seated on a platform. For five hours he talked, answering questions put to him by Agassiz and the other men. At the end of the time, Shaler was told that he had graduated with highest honors. Both he and the other teachers seemed to realize that the degree had been earned not only by Shaler, but also by his teacher.

    Nathaniel Shaler went on to become a teacher at Harvest and then Dean of the Lawrence Scientific School.

    Many students today would not find Agassiz's method of teaching foreign or unusual. This is because his students found it worth while and later used it themselves. For the next fifty years most of the outstanding natural science teachers in the United States were pupils of Agassiz or one of his students. Now this method of independent study is often used in all levels of education.

    Were Louis Agassiz alive today he would be pleased to see so many young people learning about natural science and then going out to use their eyes. He taught his students to observe, and in so doing opened many doors to the fascinating world of natural science.

(1,517 words)                           TOP

课文二　

路易斯·阿加西：科学老师

听讲座在1847年可谓是一项受欢迎的活动，路易斯·阿加西也日益成为一名受欢迎的演讲者。在那个年代学习自然科学的人很少。阿加西所讲的，特别是有关鱼和冰川的内容，对每个人来说都堪称新闻。尽管他说话带地方口音，但他却能用有趣的方式传达信息。他成为了这个城市的谈论话题，许多报纸刊登他的演讲内容。随着越来越多的人开始了解他们周围的世界，阿加西的名气也越来越响。

    路易斯·阿加西到美国一年后，一天，一位富有的波士顿人来拜访他。

阿加西邀请他进屋并问道：“我能为你做些什么吗，劳伦斯先生？”

“阿加西先生，我意识到，在美国孩子们几乎没有地方可以去学习自然科学。我准备给哈佛大学捐赠5万美元。他们将用这笔钱建立劳伦斯科学学院。我想请你去那里任教。”

“伦劳斯先生，我觉得很荣幸。这对美国的孩子们来说是个好机会。我本打算最近就回瑞士，但我向你保证，我会考虑你这一提议的。”

路易斯·阿加西的答复明确而坚定——“同意”。不久，他就成为哈佛大学第一位在国外出生并接受教育的教师。他的学生很快就发现他的教学方法似乎也是外国的。

那时的学校还没有入学考试来决定学生是否有资格上学。年轻人想进哪所学校，就可以直接去那里。对哪些课程感兴趣，就去找任课教师，回答一些问题，然后教师会决定他是否可以留下。有一位学生就是这样来见路易斯·阿加西的，他的名字叫纳撒尼尔·谢勒。

谢勒在肯塔基州长大，曾读过一篇阿加西写的有关海龟的文章。这篇文章激发了谢勒要成为一名自然科学家的愿望。到了哈佛后他就径直来到一座木棚般的建筑。阿加西的实验室就在这里。

阿加西当即向他开始提问，想了解他都知道些什么。他很高兴地得知，谢勒已经仔细地阅读过那篇有关海龟的文章，以及这篇文章参考过的一些书籍。这位年轻人还能用法语和德语来进行阅读。这是很必要的，因为那时许多有关自然科学的书籍都是用法文和德语写的。同时他的拉丁语知识也足以用来理解有关的科学术语。

阿加西对谢勒的背景情况很满意，但仅仅有这些还不足以录取他。一个年轻人还必须有健壮的体魄。这对于学习自然科学尤为重要，因为学生们经常要有耗时费力的野外活动来收集标本。在阿加西的年代，体育运动主要是击剑，于是他就向谢勒提出挑战，要和他进行较量。谢勒在肯塔基州时曾经学过击剑，他觉得自己在这方面功夫不错。他认为，他还赢了这场比赛。谢勒所不知道的是，阿加西从来就没学过击剑。这位教师所掌握的一点剑术都是自学而来的。

现在阿加西知道，谢勒不仅聪明而且体格健壮，能够承担未来的学习工作。还剩下一项测验谢勒必须通过，但他本人并不知道这是一项测验。这只是阿加西不同寻常的教学方法的开始。

　　谢勒坐在实验室里的一张桌子旁。他周围有许多学生忙着做实验。阿加西把一条腥臭难闻的鱼放在他面前。

谢勒问老师：“你想让我做什么？”

阿加西回答道：“噢，只是让你看着这条鱼。不要阅读任何书籍，也不要和其他学生交谈。尽量去观察它，但不能毁坏标本。待会儿我会问你看到了些什么。”　

谢勒坐着那里，眼睛盯着这条样子难看的鱼。他该如何着手呢？他把鱼拿了起来，给它翻了个身。他从后面，下面，上面和侧面等不同角度来观察这条鱼。半小时后，他觉得自己已完全了解这个讨厌的东西了。但是阿加西一直没再理他，谢勒就又观察了一些时间，最后他觉得该吃午饭了。饭后他休息了一小时。

当谢勒回到实验室时，他发现阿加西已经离开实验室好几个小时了。年轻人慢吞吞地把那条讨厌的鱼弄过来。也许他可以把观察到的东西记录下来。他数了鱼的鳍和鳞，接着他注意到鱼鳞形状很奇特，大小也不一样。靠鱼头的鱼鳞大一些，越靠近鱼尾鱼鳞越小，而鱼的尾巴竟然是分叉的！他把这也记了下来。整个下午，他都在对这条小鱼做着记录。阿加西仍然没来见他。

又一天过去了，整个星期过去了。每天他从阿加西那里听到的，只是一句礼貌的“早上好”。最后谢勒开始画这条样子难看的鱼。在画鱼的过程中又发现了许多新的东西。到了第七天，终于等来了阿加西的问话，“怎么样？”　

谢勒谈了一个小时，阿加西只是认真地听着。一个小时的陈述结束后，阿加西只说了“不对”就转身离开了。谢勒则需要自己来琢磨清楚到底是哪里不对。

谢勒气愤地把笔记撕了。他准备当场放弃，然而他注意到阿加西正在看着他。他马上意识到这又是一场测验。疲倦不堪的他又全部从头开始了。　

那天下午很晚的时候，阿加西再次来到他的身旁问道：“你弄明白这条鱼了吗？”

“没有，但我知道了我前面遗漏了很多，”谢勒回答。

“那已经非常不错了，”阿加西很严肃地说。接着又是整个一个星期谢勒独自和他的那条鱼呆在一起。　

当阿加西第二次询问年轻人同一个问题时，他得到了颇为满意的回答。但谢勒并没有因此得到任何赞扬。相反，老师给了他一桶鱼骨头，让他看看能用这些鱼骨头做些什么。这是六、七种不同种类的鱼的骨骼。谢勒开始试着像做拼图游戏一样把这些骨骼分开来，这是头，那是尾，还有一根骨刺。有时候，阿加西会在他身后看上一眼，说上一句：“那不对了 ，”但这毕竟也是一种帮助。给这些小骨头分类是谢勒做过的最难的一件事，但任务最终还是完成了。不久他已能从事对海龟和其他动物的研究，因为他已学会边工作边进行观察和比较。

同时，谢勒也可以阅读书籍，与其他学生一起探讨他的工作。他很乐意做这些事情。不过，阿加西告诫过他，书上的东西也可能是不对的。他不应随便把别人的话当作事实。首先，他应该自己观察，做自己的研究，然后看自己的发现是是否与书上的说法一致。他必须要独立思考。

谢勒也去听阿加西的课，虽然他觉得这些课很引人入胜，但这是他的工作中不那么重要的部分。在与老师的交谈中，他能学到更多的东西。他们常常一谈就是好几个小时。

谢勒师从阿加西的四年中，老师从未给过他一次测验，但在学习过程中老师经常给他提问题。谢勒觉得自己可以毕业并且开始自己作为自然科学家的生涯了， 可是当他找到阿加西谈到这一想法时，老师惊奇地说：“为什么，你连一半都还没有学到呢！”阿加西总是觉得学生能够学习更多的东西。尽管如此，谢勒还是决定要毕业并拿到学位。

为此谢勒必须回答包括哈佛大学校长在内七位老师的轮流提问。许多老师都批评过阿加西的教学方法，认为他的方法不够深入。因此阿加西很希望自己的学生——包括谢勒——能表现出色。

答辩的这一天，谢勒坐在讲台上。他连续讲了五个小时，回答阿加西和其他人对他提出的问题。在答辩会结束时，谢勒得知自己以最高的荣誉毕业。谢勒和其他老师们似乎都认识到这个学位不仅仅是对学生本人努力的肯定，同时也是对他的老师的嘉许。

　
　　纳撒尼尔·谢勒后来成为了哈维斯特大学的一名教师，后来又担任了劳伦斯科学院的院长。

现在的学生大多不会觉得阿加西的教学方法是国外的或非同寻常。这是因为他的学生感到他的方法行之有效，后来自己也采用了这种教学方法。在以后的50年里，美国大多数杰出的自然科学教师都是阿加西的学生或是他学生的学生。今天这种独立学习的方法被广泛应用于各个层次的教育。

如果路易斯·阿加西今天还活着的话，他将高兴地看到有这么多的年轻人在学习自然科学，用自己的眼睛去看外面的世界。他教导自己的学生去观察，在观察的过程中许多扇通向自然科学迷人世界的大门也就随之而打开了。

（王 勇译）         返回