異類之不一樣的成功啟示錄 第172期:瑪麗塔的契約

So, which places are at the top of both lists? The answer shouldn't surprise you.

那么哪幾個國家或地區(qū)將會出現在這兩個數據的前幾位呢？

Singapore, South Korea, China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, and Japan.

沒有任何懸念，他們分別是新加坡、韓國、中國臺灣、中國香港和日本。

What those five have in common, of course, is that they are all cultures shaped by the tradition of wet-rice agriculture and meaningful work.

當然，這五個地方都有共同的一點：

They are the kinds of places where, for hundreds of years, penniless peasants, slaving away in the rice paddies, three thousands hours a year,

幾百年來，貧窮的農民每天都在稻田里辛勤勞作十幾個小時，

with say things to each other like "No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich."

或許只有這樣，他們才可以對其他人說：“早起的鳥有食吃。”

Chapter NINEMarita's Bargain

第九章 瑪麗塔的契約

"ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FROM KIPP"

“現在我所有的朋友都畢業(yè)于KIPP。”

In the mid-1990s, an experimental public school called the KIPP Academy opened on the fourth floor of Lou Gehrig Junior High School in New York City.

20世紀90年代中期，試驗性公立學校KIPP在紐約的盧格里克中學的教學樓四層開辦。

Lou Gehrig in the seventh school district, otherwise known as the South Bronx, one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City.

盧格里克高中屬于第七校區(qū)，另外，它所在的布朗克斯南部，是紐約市最落魄的地方之一。

It's a squat, grey, 1960s-era building across the street from a bleak collection of high-rises.

在滿是白色高樓的街上，學校那些建造于20世紀60年代的低矮建筑穿插其間，灰灰的，毫不起眼。

A few blocks over is Grand Concourse, the borough's main thoroughfare.

幾個街區(qū)旁邊是格蘭特大街，它是這個自治市最主要的大街。

These are not streets that you'd happily work down, alone, after dark.

在天黑以后，你不會愿意獨自走在這幾條街上。

KIPP is a middle school. Classes are large: the fifth grade has two sections of thirty-five students each. There're no entrance exams or admissions requirements.

KIPP是一所中學。班級人數眾多：五年級有兩個班，每班35名學生。無須入學考試或申請入讀。

Students are chosen by lottery, with any fourth grader living in the Bronx eligible to apply.

孩子們被隨機抽選，任何住在布朗克斯四年級的孩子都可以申請。

Roughly half of the students are African American; the rest, Hispanic. Three-quarters of the students come from single-parent homes.

大概一半的申請學生是非洲裔美國人，其余的是拉丁美洲人；四分之三的孩子來自單親家庭；

Ninety percent qualify for "free or reduced lunch," which is to say that their families earn so little that the federal government chips in so they can eat properly at lunchtime.

有90%的孩子是“不吃午飯或午飯減量”的，這說明他們的家庭收入很低，依靠聯(lián)邦政府捐款，孩子們才能正常地吃午飯。