研究生英語翻譯

1、Unit4 The Last Chapter“I love you, Bob.”“我愛你，鮑勃?！薄癐 love you, too, Nancy”“我也愛你，南希?！盜t was 2 a.m. and I was hearing my parents' voices through the thin wall separating my bedroom from theirs. Their loving reassurances were sweet, touching-and surprising.凌晨兩點，我聽到與我一墻之隔的臥室中傳出了父母的對話，他們對愛的表達(dá)令人愉悅，令人感動

2、，卻也著實令人吃驚。My parents married on September 14, 1940, after a brief courtship. She was nearing 30 and knew it was time to start a family. The handsome, well-educated man who came by the office where she worked looked like a good bet. He was captivated by her figure, her blue eyes. The romance didn'

3、;t last long.我的父母在一個簡短的戀愛期后，與1940年9月14日結(jié)婚。那時我母親已經(jīng)快30歲了，她覺得是到了該建立家庭的時候了。當(dāng)那個英俊、受過良好教育的那字經(jīng)過她的辦公室時，她覺得他應(yīng)該是一個不錯的人選，而那個男子也被她美妙的身體和那雙藍(lán)色的眼睛所吸引。但這段羅曼史并沒有持續(xù)太長時間。Seeds of difference sprouted almost immediately. She liked to travel; he hated the thought He loved golf; she did not. He was a Republican; she an ar

4、dent Democrat. They fought at the bridge table, at the dinner table, over money, over the perceived failings of their respective in-laws. To make matters worse, they owned a business together, and the everyday frustrations of life at the office came to roost at home.很快，他們的分歧就顯現(xiàn)出來。她酷愛旅游，他不喜歡外出，他喜歡打高爾

5、夫球，她卻不感興趣：他是共和黨派，而她支持民主黨。他們總是不停地吵架，從橋牌桌上吵到飯桌上，為錢吵，互相埋怨對方的親戚。更糟糕的是，他們共同經(jīng)營了一份生意，每天工作上的不如意同樣會被帶回家吵。There was a hope that they would change once they retired, and the furious winds did calm somewhat, but what remained steeled itself into bright, hard bitterness. “I always thought wed” my mother would be

6、gin, before launching into a precise listing of my fathers faults. The litany was recited so often, I can reel it off by heart today. As he listened, my father would mutter angry threats and curses. It was a miserable duet.原來以為退休后的情況會有所改變，不錯，怒火是稍稍平息了一些，但余怒卻結(jié)成了強(qiáng)烈的怨恨?！拔铱偸怯X得我要是”我母親總愛以這句話開始，然后細(xì)數(shù)父親的種種不是。

7、她反復(fù)絮叨，以至于我至今還能背誦出來。而父親則氣咻咻地一邊威脅，一邊嘟嚷著難聽的罵人話。那可真是最糟糕的二重奏。It wasnt the happiest marriage, but as their 60th anniversary approached, my sister and I decided to throw a party. Sixty years was a long time, after all; why not try to make the best of things? We'd provide the cake, the balloons, the toa

8、sts, and theyd abide by one rule: no fighting. 雖然父母的婚姻并不是最幸福的，但我們姐妹倆還是決定在他們結(jié)婚60年時舉辦一 個派對。畢竟，60年夠長了，為什么不好好改善一下關(guān)系呢？我們?yōu)槎蠝?zhǔn)備了蛋糕、氣球、祝酒辭，只求他們信守一個承諾：不再吵架。The truce was honored. We had a wonderful day. In hindsight it was an important celebration, because soon after, things began to change for my parents. A

9、s debilitating dementia settled in, their marriage was about the only thing they wouldnt lose.停戰(zhàn)協(xié)定兌現(xiàn)了，60周年紀(jì)念日那天，大家都過得非常愉快?，F(xiàn)在肴來，那次派對真的很重要，因為從那之后，事情開始慢慢地起了變化。老年癡呆癥的各種癥狀在二老 身上逐漸顯現(xiàn)出來，到后來，除了對方，他們什么都不記得了。It began when their memories started to fade. Added to the frequent house-wide hunts for glasses and c

10、ar keys were the groceries left behind on the counter, notices of bills left unpaid. Soon my parents couldnt remember names of friends，then of their grandchildren. Finally they didnt remember that they had grandchildren.最開始是他們的記憶力開始衰退，不僅經(jīng)常滿屋子找眼鏡和汽車鑰匙，把買好的東西 落在收銀臺，而且總是忘記支付賬單。很快他們連朋友和自己孫子的名字也忘了，最 后甚至不

11、記得自己有孫子。These crises would have at one time set them at each others throats，but now they acted as a team, helping each other with searches, consoling each other with “Everyone does that” or “Its nothing; youre just tired.” They found new rolesbolstering each other against the fear of loss. 在過去，這種危機(jī)早

12、就讓他們斗得你死我活了。可現(xiàn)在，他們卻像團(tuán)隊一樣緊密合作，幫對方找東西，互相安慰：“人人都健忘，”“沒關(guān)系，你可能就是有點累了?！彼麄冮_始扮演新的角色幫助對方戰(zhàn)勝失憶的恐懼。Financial control was the next thing to go. For all of their marriage, my parents stubbornly kept separate accounts. Sharing being unthinkable，theyd devised financial arrangements so elaborate they could trigger w

13、ar at any time. He, for example, was to pay for everything outside the house; she for whatever went on inside. The who-pays dilemma was so complex for one trip that they finally gave up traveling entirely.財務(wù)管理又是另一件麻煩事，因為他們一直頑固地分管各自的財產(chǎn)。不可思議的是，他們共同想出了很詳細(xì)的財務(wù)安排，這些安排精細(xì)到隨時可能觸發(fā)他倆之間的戰(zhàn)爭。比如，父親支付家里以外事務(wù)的賬目，而母親支

14、付家里一切開支。誰來付費這一難題 太復(fù)雜了，以至于他們一次旅行都難以實現(xiàn)，最終不得不徹底放棄。I took over the books. Now no one knew how things got paid; no one saw how the columns that spelled their fortunes compared. Next I hired a housekeeper. Cooking and cleaning, chores my mother had long complained about, were suddenly gone. Finally on doc

15、tors orderswe cleared the house of alcohol, the fuel that turned more than one quarrel into a raging fire.我接過了這項重任。從現(xiàn)在起他們誰也不知道賬單是怎么支付的，誰也看不到他們的名下分別還有多少財產(chǎn)。然后我雇了個管家給他們煮飯，幫他們打掃屋子。原來母親一直抱怨家務(wù)雜事太繁瑣累人，現(xiàn)在也不抱怨了。最后，在醫(yī)生的囑咐下，我們將屋里所有的酒都清理掉了，因為那曾經(jīng)多次將爭吵升級到火冒三丈的地步。You could say my parents lives had been whittled aw

16、ay, that they could no longer engage in the business of living. But at the same time, something that had been buried deep was coming up and taking shape. I saw it when my father came home after a brief hospital stay.可以說，我父母的生命慢慢衰弱了，他們甚至連生活都不能自理。但同時，一些在他 們心底埋藏很深的東西逐漸顯露廣出來。那還要從父親短暫住院后出院時說起。Wed tried t

17、o explain my fathers absence to my mother, but because of her memory, she could not keep it in her head why he had disappeared. She asked again and again where he was, and again and again we told her. And each day her anxiety grew.我們試圖向母親解釋父親為什么沒在她身邊，但她記性不好，總是忘記為什么他不見 了，于是一遍遍地問我們父親在哪兒，我們就一遍遍地回答她。她的牽

18、掛和擔(dān)憂與日俱增。When I finally brought him home, we opened the front door to see my mother sitting on the sofa. As he stepped in to the room, she rose with a cry. I stayed back as he slowly walked toward her and she toward him. As they approached each other on legs rickety with age, her hands fluttered ove

19、r his face. “Oh, there you are,” she said. “There you are.”當(dāng)我終于把父親從醫(yī)院接回家時，打開前門，看見母親正坐在沙發(fā)上。當(dāng)父親走進(jìn)屋 里時，母親哭著站了起來。我站在原地，看著他們慢慢走向?qū)Ψ?。?dāng)他倆搖搖晃晃走到一起時，母親顫巍巍的手滑過父親的臉龐，喃喃地說：“你在這兒啊，你在這兒啊”I dont doubt that if my mother and father magically regained their old vigor, theyd be back fighting. But I now see that somethi

20、ng came of all those years of shared days-J days of sitting at the same table, waking to the same sun, working and raising children together. Even the very fury they lavished on each other was a brick in this unseen creation, a structure that reveals itself increasingly as the world around them fall

21、s apart我想，如果父母恢復(fù)了往日的活力，他們肯定會繼續(xù)打架的。但現(xiàn)在，正是因為么多年風(fēng)風(fēng)雨雨一同走過：同坐在這張餐桌旁，共同迎接朝霞，一起工作，養(yǎng)育子女他們之間，除了矛盾，還有別的東西。即使是兩人之間互相發(fā)泄的怒火，到頭來反倒成了促成他們關(guān)系穩(wěn)固的磚墻。在周圍世界土崩瓦解的時候，他們穩(wěn)固的關(guān)系卻日益顯露出來。In the early morning I once again heard the voices through the wall. “Where are we?” My father asked. “I dont know,” my mother replied softly.

22、第二天淸晨，隔著墻壁，我又聽到他們的聲音。父親問道：“我們在哪兒?”母親輕聲回答說：“我不知道。”How lucky they are, I thought, to have each other.我在想，他們多么幸運，因為他們擁有彼此。Unit7 The BumI had come to Vera Cruz from Mexico City to catch one of the Ward Company s white cool ships to Yucatan; and found to my dismay that, a dock strike having been declared

23、 over-night, my ship would not put in. I was stuck in Vera Cruz.我從墨西哥城來到維拉克魯斯，打算搭乘沃德公司的白色涼船去尤卡坦州，卻沮喪地發(fā)現(xiàn)一夜之間碼頭工人宣布罷工，我的船不能進(jìn)港靠岸，我被困在了維拉克魯斯。I took a room in the Hotel Diligencias overlooking the plaza and spent the morning looking at the sights of the town. Having seen all that was to be seen. 1 sat do

24、wn in the coolness of the arcade that surrounded the square and ordered a drink. I watched the people crossing the square; Negroes. Indians. Creoles, and Spanish, the motley people of the Spanish Main; and they varied in color from ebony to ivory.我在德里琴西亞旅館訂了一間俯瞰廣場的房間。整個上午就在城里觀光游覽?？赐炅怂性摽吹臇|西，我在廣場周圍陰涼

25、的拱廊下面坐下，要了一杯飲料。我看著人們在廣場上穿梭，黑人、印度人、克里奧耳人、西班牙人，還有來自美洲大陸加勒比海沿岸的混色人種；他們的膚色從黑色到象牙色，深淺不一。My attention was attracted by a beggar who had hair and beard of a red so vivid that it was startling. He wore only a pair of trousers and a cotton singlet, but they were tatters, grimy and foul, that barely held toge

26、ther. I have never seen anyone so thin; his legs, his naked arms were but skin and bone, and through the rents of his singlet you saw every rib of his wasted body ' you could count the bones of his dust-covered feet.我的注意力被一名乞丐吸引了。他有著一頭紅色的頭發(fā)和胡須，那種紅色生動得讓人驚訝。他只穿了一條褲子和一件棉質(zhì)汗衫，但這些破衣爛衫污穢不堪，發(fā)出一股惡臭，幾乎不能蔽

27、體。我還從未看到過如此消瘦的人，他的雙腿、他裸露的胳膊只剩下皮包骨頭，透過他汗衫的破縫，你看得見他瘦弱身體上的每一根肋骨，你可以數(shù)得清他沾滿塵土的雙腳上的骨頭。He was the only one of the beggars who did not speak. He did not even hold out his hand, he merely looked at you, but with such wretchedness in his eyes, such despair in his attitude, it was dreadful; he stood on and on,

28、 silent and immobile, gazing steadfastly, and then, if you took no notice of him, he moved slowly to the next table. I had nothing to give him and when he came to me, so that he should not wait in vain, I shook my head.他是乞丐中唯一一個不說話的人，他甚至不伸手，他只是看著你，雙眼透著不幸，神態(tài)如此絕望，令人感到可怕。他一直站著，一聲不吭，一動不動，眼神直勾勾的。如果沒有人理他，

29、他就慢慢地挪到鄰桌。我沒有東西可以給他，所以當(dāng)他來到我面前時，我搖搖頭，免得他白等一場。But he paid no attention. He stood in front of me, for as long as he stood at the other tables, looking at me with tragic eyes. I have never seen such a wreck of humanity. There was something terrifying in his appearance. He did not look quite sane. At len

30、gth he passed on.但他卻無視這一點。他站在我面前，停留時間和在其他桌子前一樣長，他用悲傷的雙眼看著我，我從來沒有看到過如此衰敗的人。他的外表有種令人恐懼的東西，而且他看起來神志不清。最后他走開了。It was still very hot, towards evening a breath of air coming in through the windows tempted me into the plaza. I saw once more that strange, red-bearded fellow and watched him stand motionless,

31、 with the crushed and piteous air, before one table after another. He did not stop before mine. I supposed he remembered me from the morning and having failed to get anything from me then thought it useless to try again.天還是很熱，快到傍晚的時候，有一絲風(fēng)透過窗戶吹了進(jìn)來，誘使我來到了廣場。我再次看到了那個奇怪的紅胡子家伙，看著他一動不動地站在桌子面前，一桌接一桌地走，顯得頹喪

32、又可憐。他沒有在我的桌子前停留，我猜他從早晨開始就記住我了，因為沒有從我這里要到東西，便覺得再來也是無用。Since there was nothing else to do, I stayed on till the thinning crowd suggested it was bed-time.' I had suddenly a strange feeling that I had seen him before. I felt sure that I had come across him, but when and where I could not tell.既然無事可做

33、，我便在廣場待著，直到漸漸稀疏的人群暗示我就寢時間到了。我突然有一種奇怪的感覺我以前見過他。我確信我見過他，但我說不清是在什么時候和什么地方。I spent my second day at Vera Cruz as I had spent the first. But I watched for the coming of the red-haired beggar, and as he stood at the tables near mine I examined him with attention. I felt certain now that I had seen him som

34、ewhere. I even felt certain that I had known him and talked to him, but I still could recall none of the circumstances. Once more he passed my table without stopping and when his eyes met mine I looked in them for some gleam of recollection. Nothing. I racked my brains. I went over in my mind the po

35、ssible occasions when I might have met him. Not to be able to place him exasperated me as it does when you try to remember a name that is on the tip of your tongue and yet eludes you. The day wore on.我在維拉克魯斯度過的第二天和第一天差不多。但我留意著紅頭發(fā)乞丐的到來，而當(dāng)他站在我附近的桌邊時，我用心打量了他。我現(xiàn)在確信我在哪里見過他，我甚至確信我認(rèn)識他，還和他說過話，但是仍然想不出是在什么場合。

36、他再次經(jīng)過我的桌子，依然沒有停留。當(dāng)他的目光和我的相遇時，我在他的眼中尋找往事記憶的流露，但還是什么也沒有。我絞盡腦汁，在腦海里反復(fù)搜尋我可能遇見他的場合。因為想不起能和他對上號的任何場合，我非常惱火，這就和你竭力想記起一個就在嘴邊的姓名卻怎么也想不起的時候一樣。這一天在慢慢地過去。It was Sunday and the plaza was more crowded than ever. As usual the red-haired beggar came along, a terrifying figure in his silence. He was standing in fron

37、t of a table only two from mine, without a gesture. Then I saw the policeman who at intervals tried to protect the public from the importunities of all these beggars sneak round a column and give him a resounding whack with his thong. His thin body winced, but he made no protest and showed no resent

38、ment. The cruel stripe had whipped my memory and suddenly I remembered.這天是星期天，廣場上比往常擁擠。紅發(fā)乞丐像往常一樣走來，形象可怕，一言不發(fā)。他站在離我只有兩張桌子距離的另一張桌子前面，沒有任何手勢。接著我看到一名警察，他不時地出現(xiàn)以保護(hù)大家免受乞丐糾纏強(qiáng)乞之苦。這名警察從柱子后面溜出來，用他的皮鞭使勁抽了紅發(fā)乞丐一下，清脆而響亮。他瘦弱的身體退縮了一下，但是他沒有表示反抗，也沒有表現(xiàn)出怨恨。殘忍的鞭子打開了我的記憶之門，我突然想起來了。Not his name; that escaped me still, but

39、everything else. He must have recognized me, for I have not changed very much in twenty years, and that was why after that first morning he had never paused in front of my table. Yes, it was twenty years since I had known him. I was spending a winter in Rome and every evening I used to dine in a res

40、taurant in the Via Sistina where you got excellent macaroni and a good bottle of wine. It was frequented by a little band of English and American art students, and one or two writers; and we used to stay late into the night engaged in interminable arguments upon art and literature. He was only a boy

41、 then, he could not have been more than 22; and with his blue eyes, straight nose, and red hair he was pleasing to look at. I remembered that he spoke a great deal of Central America, he had had a job with the American Fruit Company, but had thrown it over because he wanted to be a writer. He was no

42、t popular among us because he was arrogant and we were none of us old enough to take the arrogance of youth with tolerance. He thought us poor fish and did not hesitate to tell us so. He would not show us his work, because our praise meant nothing to him and he despised our censure, his vanity was e

43、normous.不是他的名字，那名字我還是沒想起來，但除此之外我全想起來了。他肯定已經(jīng)認(rèn)出我了，因為這20年來我沒有太大的變化，而這正是第一個上午之后他再也沒有在我的桌子前停留原因。是的，我認(rèn)識他有20年了。那是個冬季，我在羅馬。每天晚上，我總在西斯蒂娜路上的一家餐館吃飯，在那里你可以品嘗到優(yōu)質(zhì)的通心粉和上好的葡萄酒。一群英國和美國的文科大學(xué)生，還有一兩位作家，經(jīng)常光顧這家飯店。我們經(jīng)常就藝術(shù)和文學(xué)話題展開無休止的爭論，直到深夜。他那時只是個大男孩，不超過22歲。他長得很好看，藍(lán)眼睛、高鼻梁、紅頭發(fā)。我記得他講過很多中美洲的事情，他在美國水果公司有一份工作，但放棄了，因為他想成為一名作家。他在

44、我們這群人中不太有人緣，因為他傲慢。而我們中間沒有一個人年長到有足夠的寬容來接受他的傲慢。他認(rèn)為我們是些愚蠢又可憐的人，而且還會毫無顧忌地告訴我們。他不愿意給我們看他的作品，因為我們的贊美對他毫無意義，他也蔑視我們的批評，非常自負(fù)。I recalled his high spirits, his vitality, his confidence in the future, and his disinterestedness. It was impossible that it was the same man, and yet I was sure of it. I stood up, pa

45、id for my drink, and went out into the plaza to find him. My thoughts were in a turmoil. I was aghast. I could never have imagined that he was reduced to this frightful misery. I asked myself what had happened. What hopes deferred had broken his spirit, what disappointments shattered him, and what l

46、ost illusions ground him to the dust? I asked myself if nothing could be done. I walked round the plaza. The light was waning and I was afraid I had lost him. Then I passed the church and saw him sitting on the steps. I went up to him.我回想起那時他高漲的情緒、他的活力、他對未來的信心，還有他的冷漠。這個紅發(fā)乞丐就是他，這怎么可能？然而我確信就是他。我起身付了賬，

47、走進(jìn)廣場去找他。我的思緒一片混亂。我感到驚恐。我真想不到他會淪落到這般可怕的悲慘境地。我問自己發(fā)生了什么事，是什么樣的希望遲遲不能實現(xiàn)摧毀了他的精神，是什么樣的失意將他擊垮，是什么樣的幻想破滅將他逼向屈辱?我問自己是否已經(jīng)無計可施。我繞著廣場走著。天色漸漸暗了下來，我擔(dān)心會找不到他。接著，我在經(jīng)過教堂時，看見他坐在教堂的臺階上，于是我向他走去。“Do you remember Rome?” I said.“你記得羅馬嗎?”我說道。He did not move. He did not answer. He took no more notice of me than if I were not

48、 standing before him. I did not know what to do. I took a yellow-backed note out of my pocket and pressed it in his hand, he did not give it a glance. But his hand moved a little, the thin claw-like fingers closed on the note and scrunched it up; ho made it into a little ball and then flicked it int

49、o the air so that it fell among the jangling buzzards I turned my head instinctively and saw one of them seize it in his beak and fly off followed by two others screaming behind it. When I looked back the man was gone.他一動不動，也不回答。他看都不看我，就好像我沒有站在他面前一樣。我不知道該怎么辦了。我從口袋里掏出一張黃色背面的鈔票，塞在他一只手里，他看也沒看。但他的那只手微微動

50、了動。那瘦得像爪子一樣的手指收攏后握住鈔票把它揉成一團(tuán)，然后仍向空中，正好落在一群聒噪不安的禿鷹之中。我本能地一扭頭，看見一只禿鷹叼住鈔票飛走了，另外有兩只跟在后面尖叫著飛過。當(dāng)我回過頭來時，人已經(jīng)不見了。I stayed three more days in Vera Cruz. I never saw him again.我在維拉克魯斯又待了三天，但再也沒見到他。Unit 10 Americas Failure in Science EducationFor anyone concerned about strengthening Americas long-term leadership

51、 in science andtechnology, the nations schools are an obvious place to start. But brace yourself for what youll find. The depressing reality is that when it comes to educating the next generation in thesesubjects, America is no longer a world contender. In fact, US students have fallen far behind th

52、eir competitors in much of Western Europe and in Asian nations like Japan and the Republic of Korea.對于那些關(guān)注如何增強(qiáng)美國在科技方面長期領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力的人來說，教育無疑是首先要考慮的陣地。可是你要對結(jié)果做好心理準(zhǔn)備。顯示令人沮喪，在下一代理科教育方面，美國已經(jīng)不再領(lǐng)先于世界。事實上，美國學(xué)生遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)落后于大部分西歐國家和日本、韓國等發(fā)達(dá)亞洲國家的學(xué)生。This trend has disturbing implications not just for the future of the American

53、 technologicalleadership but for the broader economy. Already, “we have developed a shortage of highly skilled workers and a surplus of lesser-skilled workers,” warned Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan in a March 12 address at Boston College. And the problem is worsening. “Were graduatin

54、g too few skilled workers to address the apparent imbalance between the supply of such workers and die burgeoning demand for them,” Greenspan added對于美國未來科技領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力乃至美國整體經(jīng)濟(jì)而言，這均是一個令人堪憂的事實。美聯(lián)儲主席艾倫·格林斯潘3月12號再波士頓學(xué)院的演講中已經(jīng)提出警告：“目前高技能勞動力短缺，低技能勞動力已經(jīng)供過于求?！倍鴨栴}還在加劇。格林斯潘接著說：“高技能畢業(yè)生數(shù)量明顯不足以應(yīng)對高技能勞動力的需求，兩者之間呈現(xiàn)出顯著的不

55、平衡狀態(tài)?！盇s a result, “the future strength of the US science and engineering workforce is imperiled,” the National Science Board warned in a sweeping report issued last year.而結(jié)果呢,正如全國科學(xué)委員會去年一份總結(jié)報告說的那樣：美國 未來理工類人才實力將岌岌可危。Global competition全球競爭Until now, America has compensated for its failure to adequate

56、ly educate the next generation by importing brainpower. In 2000, a stunning 38% of US jobs requiring a Ph.D. in science ortechnology were filled by people who were born abroad, up from 24% in 1990, according to the NSB. Similarly, doctoral positions at the nations leading universities are often fill

57、ed with foreign students.至今，美國已經(jīng)通過輸入人才的方式來彌補其在下一代教育方面的失敗。據(jù)全國科學(xué)委員會報道：2000年，美國38%需要理工博士學(xué)位的工作是由外國人做的，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)高于1990年的24%，這是個令人震驚的事實。無獨有偶，美國名牌大學(xué)的波矢學(xué)位也通常是外國學(xué)生在讀。However, because the “the global competition for science and engineering talent is intensifying. the US may not be able to rely on the international m

58、arket to fill our unmet needs,” warns the NSB. Indeed, as globalization accelerates, bright young Indian or Chinese scientists may well have better opportunities at home than in the US.然而，正如全國科學(xué)委員會警告：由于全球?qū)砉と瞬诺母偁幵诩觿?，美國不能依賴國際市場來滿足國內(nèi)不足的需求。隨著全球化的加速，年輕聰慧的印度科學(xué)家和中國科學(xué)家在本國完全有更好的機(jī)會。The consequences of this c

59、ould be enormous. Because the quality of a nations workforce has such a huge influence on productivity, effective school reform could easily stimulate the economy more than conventional strategies, such as the Bush tax cuts. Consider what would happen if the US could raise the performance of its high school students on math and science to the levels of Western Europe within a decade. According to Eric A. Hunushek, a senior fe