1. Americans today don’t place a very high value on intellect . Our heroes are athletes , entertainers , and entrepreneurs , not scholars .
结构：
Americans [主] today don’t place [谓] a very high value on intellect [宾] .
Our heroes [主] are [系] athletes , entertainers , and entrepreneurs , not scholars [表]
单词：
Athlete n.运动员
Entrepreneur n.企业家
Entertainer n.娱乐人员 明星
Scholar n.学者
直译：今天的美国人，没有把才智放在一个高价值上。我们的英雄是运动员，娱乐明星和企业家，而不是学者
译文：美国人现在不太重视才智了，我们杰出的人物是运动员，演员和企业家，而不是学者
重点：
Athlete n.运动员
Entrepreneur n.企业家
Entertainer n.娱乐人员 明星
Scholar n.学者
2. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education —— not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge .
结构：
Even our schools [主] are [系]
表语从句：where we [主] send [为] our children [宾] to get a practical education [状] —— not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge [状]
单词：
Practical n.顾客
pursue vt.追求
Sake n.目的 利益 理由
词组：
For the sake of 为了 为...的利益
解析：
where引导表语从句，做are的表语
单个破折号表示补充说明
直译：甚至我们的学校也是我们送孩子去接受技能教育的地方，而不是为了知识而去学习知识的地方
译文：甚至，我们的学校也是一个我们送孩子去接受实用教育的场所，而不是为了获取知识而去学习知识的场所
重点：
For the sake of 为了 为...的利益
where引导表语从句，做are的表语
单个破折号表示补充说明
3. 1. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren’t difficult to find . “ Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual , ” says education writer Diane Ravitch
结构：
Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools [主] aren’t difficult to [谓] find [宾]
“ Schools [主] have always been [谓] in a society [状]
表语从句：where practical [主] is [系] more important than intellectual [表], ” says education writer Diane Ravitch
4. “ Schools could be a counterbalance . ” Ravitch’s latest book , Left Back : A Century of Failed School Reforms , traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools , concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits .
结构：
“ Schools could be a counterbalance . ”
Ravitch’s latest book [主]
插入语：, Left Back : A Century of Failed School Reforms ,
traces [谓] the roots of anti-intellectualism [宾] in our schools [状] , concluding
宾语从句：they [主] are [系] anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits [表]
5. But they could and should be . Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control . Without the ability to think critically , to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others , they cannot fully participate in our democracy .
结构：
But they could and should be .
Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind [主] leaves [谓] them vulnerable to exploitation and control [谓] .
Without the ability to think critically [状]
插入语：, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others ,
they [主] cannot fully participate in [谓] our democracy [宾]
