第一部分

Only a few years ago an education in differences of references fulfilled a specific if limited need. That was at a time when we thought of other places and peoples largely out of curiosity or in terms of unusual vacations. It was the mark of a rounded man to be well traveled and to know about the amazing variations of human culture and behavior. But it wasn't the type of knowledge you had to live by and build on.

Then overnight came the great compression. Far-flung areas which had been secure in their remoteness suddenly became crowded together in a single arena. And all at once a new type of education became necessary, an education in liberation from tribalism. For tribalism had persisted from earliest times, though it had taken refined forms. The new education had to teach man the most difficult lesson of all: to look at someone anywhere in the world and be able to recognize the image of himself. It had to be an education in self-recognition. The old emphasis upon superficial differences had to give way to education for mutuality and for citizenship in the human community.

In such an education we begin with the fact that the universe itself does not hold life cheaply. Life is a rare occurrence among the millions of galaxies and solar systems that occupy space. And in this particular solar system life occurs on only one planet. And on that one planet life takes millions of forms. Of all these countless forms of life, only one, the human species, possesses certain faculties in combination that give it supreme advantages over all the others. Among those faculties or gifts is a creative intelligence that enables man to reflect and foresee, to take in past experience, and also to visualize future needs. There are endless other wonderful faculties, the workings of which are not yet within our understanding — the faculties of hope, conscience, appreciation of beauty, kinship, love, faith.

Viewed in global perspective, what counts is not that the thoughts of people lead them in different directions but that all men possess the capacity to think; not that they pursue different faiths but that they are capable of spiritual belief; not that they write and read different books but that they are capable of creating print and communicating in it across time and space; not that they enjoy different art and music but that something in them enables them to respond deeply to forms and colors and ordered sounds.

These basic lessons, then, would seek to provide a proper respect for humanity in the universe. Next in order would be instruction in the unity of human needs. However friendly the universe may be, it has left the conditions of human existence precariously balanced. All people need oxygen, water, land, warmth, food. Remove any one of these and the unity of human needs is attacked and the human race with it. The next lesson would concern the human situation itself — how to use self-understanding in the cause of human welfare; how to control the engines we have created that threaten to alter the precarious balance on which life depends; how to create a peaceful society of the whole.

With such an education, it is possible that some nation or people may come forward not only with vital understanding but with the vital inspiration that people need no less than food. Leadership on this higher level does not require mountains of gold or thundering propaganda. It is concerned with human destiny; human destiny is the issue; people will respond.

第二部分

几年前，注重差异的教育尚能满足某个特定而有限的需求。那个时候，我们大都是出于好奇或是为了过不寻常的假期才会想到外面的地方和人们。到过很多地方，了解人类文化和行为上的惊人的细微差别成为知识全面的标志。但那并不是你赖以生存和发展的知识。

然后，世界在一夜之间变的很小。原先那些以偏僻而自安的边远地区突然间都挤到同一个竞争舞台上来。一种新型教育，一种从部落制解放出来的教育马上变得很有必要，因为部落制从伊始一直存在至今，尽管形式上进行了改良。这种新型教育必须要教会人类最难的课程：能够明白世界上所有的人都和我们自己一样。必须是关于自我认识的教育。过去，教育重视表面差异；现在，教育必须重视人类社会成员之间的平等关系和相互理解，相互尊重的关系。

在这样的教育中，我们首先应该认识到宇宙中人类生命的宝贵性。在宇宙数以百万计的星系和太阳系中，生命是稀有的事物。在这些无数的生命形式中，只有人类拥有大大优于所有其他物种的综合能力。创造力就是其中的一种，它使人类能够反思过去，预测未来；能够吸取过去的经验教训，预见未来的需求。另外还有许多神奇的能力，我们尚不能明白它们是怎么起作用的--像希望、良知、审美、亲情、爱及忠诚等能力。

从全球的角度来看，重要的不是人们的思想引领他们走向不同的方向，而是所有的人都有思考的能力，不是他们追求不同的信仰，而是他们都有精神追求，不是他们读写不同的书本，而是他们都能够发明印刷术，并用它穿越时空进行交流，不是他们欣赏不同的艺术和音乐，而是他们内在的素质使他们能够对形式、色彩和有序的声音做出深刻的反应。

这些基本课程应该首先教会人们恰当地尊重宇宙中的人性。第二要教会人们懂得人类需求的统一性。无论宇宙对人类多么友好，它已经使人类的生存条件变得随时可能失去平衡。

所有的人都需要氧气、水、土地、温暖和食物；拿走其中任何一项，人类的需求都无法得到统一，人类也就灭亡了。下一课要讲人类自身的处境--如何从自己的角度理解人类福利事业，如何控制我们发明的机器，它们威胁到生命赖以存在的岌岌可危的平衡，如何创造一个和平的人类社会。

有了这样的教育，某个民族或人民才有可能挺身而出，给出人们像需要食物一样需要的很重要的理解和启发。这种高层次上的领导艺术不需要成座的金山，也不需要振聋发聩的宣传，因为它关系到人类的命运，而人类的命运是备受关注的话题，人们会响应的。

词汇释义

1.remoteness n.远离, 遥远

例句：

The remoteness of this beautiful temple only makes it more appealing.
这座美丽的庙宇地处偏远，恰恰使它更具吸引力。

2.tribalism n.部族制; 部族文化, 部族组织[生活]

例句：

Kenya itself has long been beset by bad governance, corruption and tribalism.
肯尼亚也曾长时间的被无能的政府、腐败和部落制度所困扰。

3.possess v. 持有,克制,为...著迷

例句：

The police asked me if I possessed a gun.
警察问我是否有枪。

4.spiritual adj. 精神的,心灵的

例句：

I care more about the spiritual life than the substantial life.
和物质生活相比，我更注重精神生活。

5.propaganda n. 宣传

例句：

Art may be used as a vehicle for propaganda.
艺术可用作宣传工具.