Readerquestion:
Pleaseexplainthissentence,particularly“pickthemapart”:WithbothUnitedandEvertonstruggling,Liverpoolcaneasilypickthemapart.
Mycomments:
ManUnited,thatis,oneofthetwoPremierLeagueteamsinManchester,England,theotherbeingManchesterCity.
Everton,ontheotherhand,istheotherPremierLeaguesideinthecityofLiverpool.
Bothrivalsaretraditionalpowerhouses,butlately,theyhaven’tbeendoingwell.
Bothteamsarestruggling.
HencethenotionthatLiverpool,currentlytwopointsadriftofManchesterCityontopofthepointstable,canpickthemaparteasily.
Pickthemapart?
Well,likeatrainedbiologystudentpickingpartafrog.
Yeah,toobservehowanexpertdissectsafrogwillgiveyouanideaofhowsomethingisliterallypickedapart.
Literally,topicksomethingapartistopulldifferentpartsofitoffoneanother.Tousethefrogasexample,ifit’swelldissected,we’llbeabletoseeitsorgansclearlyspreadoutonthedissectingtableandwillbeabletoidentifythemeasily.
Inourexample,forLiverpooltobeabletopickapartbothManchesterUnitedandEvertonisforLiverpooltosystematicallydissectanddestroythelatterwitheaseandprecision.
Youknow,forLiverpooltoidentifyweaklinksintheirdefensivesetupandattackthoseweakspotsandfurthergofromthere.
Iwon’tsaytheactualworkwillbeeasy.Indeed,there’snoguaranteethatLiverpoolwillactuallywinthosetwogames,whicharescheduledforlateApril,butyougettheidea.
Yougettheidea,thatis,ofwhatitmeanstopicksomethingapart,i.e.toanalyze,dissect,criticize,kill,defeat:
Andherearerecentmediaexamples:
1.Acoupleofyearsago,fivefacultymembersatHarvardUniversitypublishedanintriguingstudy.Theyhadrunanexperimentinanintroductoryundergraduatephysicscoursetofigureoutwhyactivelearning,aformofteachingthathashadmeasurablesuccess,oftendiesaslowdeathintheclassroom.
Theauthorscomparedtheeffectsofatraditionallecturewiththeeffectsofactivelearning,inwhichstudentssolveproblemsinsmallgroups.Theyfound–tolittlesurprise–thatwhenstudentsweretaughtinanactiveformattheyperformedbetterontests.Thentheymadeanother,morestriking,discovery:Studentsfeltliketheywerelearningmorewhentheysatthroughalecture.Inotherwords,thoughtheywereveryengagedbythetalk,itdidn’tactuallyhelpthemunderstandphysicsbetter.
AcademicTwitterpraisedthestudyforitscleverdesignandforthewayitresonatedwithprofessorswhohadstruggledwithactivelearning.Butevenasitwaslaudedinsomequarters,thestudywaspickedapartinothers.Itmeasuredtheeffectsofsinglelessons,somecomplained.Couldyoureallyconclude,othersasked,thatonetestwasatruemeasureoflearning?Theexperimentsaidnothingaboutlong-termretention,stillothercriticspointedout.Wouldthosedifferencesinscoresstillbeapparentmonthslater?
Thatmixedreactionilluminatesacentralparadoxinhighereducation.Scholarshiponteachingandlearninghasgrownexponentiallyoverthedecades,encompassingthousandsofexperiments,stacksofbooksandjournalarticles,andmajorinitiativestobringthescienceoflearningintotheclassroom.Yetmanyfacultymembersareuntouchedbythiswork,unsurehowtoapplyittotheirteaching,orskepticalofitsvalue.
Tobesure,manyinstructorshaveparticipatedinworkshopsrunbytheircampusteachingcenters.Andtheuseofsomeevidence-basedteachingpractices,suchaspeerlearningortheuseofclickerstokeepstudentsengagedintheclassroom,arefarmoreprevalentthantheywereagenerationago.Butfacultydevelopers,educationresearchers,andlearningscientistssaytheyoftenfeelliketheyarespeakingtoaselectaudience:namely,eachother,orthesamesubsetofprofessorseagertotrynewpractices.Andwhatdoesgetthroughtomanyfacultymembersandstudentsisoftengarbled,orjustonepieceofthepuzzle.
Sowhat’sgoingon?Someofthebottlenecksareaproductofthestructuresandsystemsofhighereducation,inwhichfacultymembersaregivenfewincentivesfor,ifnotactivelydiscouragedfrom,improvingtheirteaching.Theycareabouttheirstudents,buttheydon’thavethetime,understanding,ormotivationtomaketheircoursesbetter.Andifhabitsandpreconceivednotionsaboutteachingremainunchallenged,sayteachingexperts,there’slittlereasontochange.
-WhytheScienceofTeachingIsOftenIgnored,Chronicle.com,January2,2022.
2.ThestartingpointforanydiscussionofHBO’snewseriesTheGildedAge,fromDowntonAbbeycreatorJulianFellowes,iswhethertheshowisDowntonAbbey:OnlyNowIt’sOnHBO.
Afterall,thisisanotherperiodpiece,thistimesetin1882,inaNewYorkCityawashinmoney.Itisstillfixatedontheetiquetteandconventionsoftheveryrich,itstillreliesheavilyontheswooshofadressandtherevealofagrandhomeoragrandroom,andthestyle–wefollowfrombehind,lookingoverhershoulder,asthewomanentershermassivefoyertothesoundofswellingmusic–willbefamiliartoDowntonviewers.
Onmoney,newandold
ButwhereDowntonAbbeyturnedlargelyonthedynamicbetweentherichCrawleysandtheirstaff,TheGildedAgeisaboutthedynamicbetweenoldmoneyandnew.Here,oldmoneyisrepresentedbysistersAgnesvanRhijn(ChristineBaranski)andAdaBrook(CynthiaNixon).Agnesisawidow,andAdanevermarried,sothetwoarelivingtogetherwhenthey'rejoinedbytheiryoungnieceMarian(LouisaJacobson),whomovestoNewYorkfromPennsylvaniaafterthedeathofherfather,whowasestrangedfromheraunts.
...
Thecontinuingadventuresofmessed-uprichwhitepeople
Wecomeinevitablytoonefinalquestionthathas,really,nothingtodowithhowenjoyableandentertaining,howbrilliantlycastandbeautifullyshot,howaddictingandjuicythisshowis.Thequestionisthis:Howmanyshowsaboutmessed-uprichwhitepeopledoestelevision,andspecificallyHBO,need?
AsPeggy’sstoryunfolds,itshowsofffineworkfromfineactors,andBlackwomencontributetoboththewriting(whereSonjaWarfieldworkswithFellowes)andthedirecting(whereSalliRichardson-WhitfieldsharesthedirectingwithDowntonvetMichaelEngler).It’sasolidstorythateventuallydoesfindtimeforbothplotsthatspecificallyaddressrace(whetherMarianandPeggycanreallybefriends,howit’sdifferenttobearichwhitepersonandarichBlackpersoninthisversionofNewYork)andstoriesthatdon’t(Peggy’scareer,herstrainedrelationshipwithherfamily,herpotentiallovelife).Butit'salsoareminderthattheseriescouldhavejustbeenashowaboutPeggy’sfamily.IfHBOiscommittedtoperiodpieces,swirlydresses,familysagas,soapylovestories,changingtimes,andsoforth,noneofthatrequiredanothershowaboutmessed-uprichwhitepeople.
It’snotaknockonthequalityofthisshow,whichisreallygood,topointoutthatit’sachoicetokeepdoingthis—BigLittleLies,Succession,TheWhiteLotus,TheUndoing—ratherthanotherthings.Eventhoughalloftheseshowscritiqueorundercutwhitewealthinsomeway,andevenifyoubelievethey'reallgood,thesheervolumeofstoriesthatpickuptheselittleclumpsofpeopleandturnthemoverandpickthemaparttoseehowtheyworkcommunicatesacentralitytothemandadisproportionateinterestintheirhumanity(orlackthereof).
-‘TheGildedAge’givesoldNewYorkmoneytheHBOtreatment,NPR.org,January20,2022.
3.WhendowestartthrowingLukaDoncicintotheMVPconsideration?
There’sJoelEmbiidandhisdominance,NikolaJokicplayinglikehe’swantingarepeat,andevenDeMarDeRozanleadingtheBullstogreatness.IalsogetDevinBookerandChrisPaul.
Butinthelastfewweeks,DoncichassteamrolledintothatconversationafterleadingtheDallasMaverickstoarunwherethey’refifthintheWesternConferencewithplentyofroomtomoveintohome-courtstatus.NottomentionalotofthisplayhascomewithKristapsPorzingissidelinedduetoakneeinjury.
Andifthere’sanythingDonciclovesmorethanembarrassingfolks,hehasmorefuntormentingtheLosAngelesClippersmore.Eventhoughthelatterhasgottenthelastlaughthepasttwoyears,itfeelslikethisisDoncic’stimewithPaulGeorgeandKawhiLeonardontheshelfduetoinjury.
IliketheMaverickstosteamrollthroughtheshorthandedClippersandusetheirsuffocatingdefensetogooduseinthematchupThursdayatAmericanAirlinesCenter.TheMavsarelookingfortheirfourthconsecutivewinwhichwouldgivethem11inthelast15.
Inthelast14games,Doncichasbeenunrealinaveragingalmostatriple-doubleat29points,9.9reboundsand9.8assistsduringan11-3run.Doncichasrecordedsevenstraightgamesofdouble-digitassistsandhasatriple-doubleinthreeofthelastfive.
“We’retryingtomovehimaroundalittlebitonthecourt,puthiminsomedifferentspotsandseehowthedefenseisgoingtoreact,”MaverickscoachJasonKiddsaidafterDallas'116-86winovertheDetroitPistons.“Ithoughthetookwhattheygavehim.”
“Dallasisaverygoodteam,”PistonscoachDwaneCaseysaid.“TheyhaveanMVPcandidatethataffectseverything.Passing,hepickedusapartwhenwetriedtoblitzhim....Wejustcouldn’tstayonhim,nomatterwhoweputonhim.”
ThearcoftheMavericksinthisfirstyearunderKiddisthemostintriguingstorylineinmyeyes.Thekeyistoactuallygetoutofthefirstroundthisyear,andifDoncicisplayinglikethis,theMavericksaregoingtodothat.TheClippersaregoingtoplaytheirfirstgamesinceacquiringNormanPowellandRobertCovingtonfromPortland,andtheirdefensewillgiveDallasfits,buttheMavstendtofindaway.ItrustDoncichere.
-LosAngelesClippersvs.DallasMavericksPrediction,byChuckSommers,BigAl.com,February10,2022.
本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。
Abouttheauthor:
ZhangXinisTraineratchinadaily.com.cn.HehasbeenwithChinaDailysince1988,whenhegraduatedfromBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity.Writehimat:zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn,orraiseaquestionforpotentialuseinafuturecolumn.
（作者：张欣编辑：丹妮）
来源：中国日报网
