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British students may soon study mathematics with Chinese textbooks after a“historic”deal between HarperCollins and a Shanghai publishing house in which books will be translated for use in UK schools.China's wealthy cities，including Shanghai and Beijing，produce some of the world's top-performing maths pupils，while British students rank far behind their counterparts （对应的人、事物）in Asia.
HarperCollins's education division signed an agreement to release a series of 36 maths books at the London Book Fair，the state-run China Daily reported，with Colin Hughes，managing director of Collins Learning，calling it“historic.”“To my knowledge this has never happened in history before，that textbooks created for students in Chinawill be translated exactly as they have been developed，and sold for use in British schools，”the China Daily quoted Hughes as saying.The textbook deal is part of wider cooperation between the UK and China，and the government hopes to boost British students'performance in maths，Hughes added.
Chinese schools，represented by those in the wealthier cities of Beijing，Shanghai and Guangzhou，as well as Jiangsu Province，ranked fifth in maths scores，according to a recent global study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The UK lagged far behind，ranking 27th and tied with Portugal and the Czech Republic in maths achievement.In addition，one-quarter of students in Shanghai demonstrated advanced mathematical thinking skills to solve complex problems，compared to an OECD average of just three per cent.The report also noted that one in four students in China，along with Singapore，Hong Kong and Taiwan，receive top marks in maths，a higher proportion than anywhere else.
Experts worry Britain's maths problem cannot be solved by textbooks alone.After all，the fundamentals of the two countries'education systems are too different.“Britain and China's education evaluation system is very different.In the required subjects，Chinese schools follow a high standard of uniform requirements because most of the Chinese students need to participate in the university entrance examination，so mathematics will be too difficult［for British students］，”said Xiong Bingqi，an education expert at Shanghai Jiaotong University and the vice-president of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.
Last year the British government announced it would spend￡41m to support half of England's primary schools in adopting maths teaching methods from Asia.The Department for Education has also flown in teachers from China，in an attempt to improve the UK's flagging （疲倦的，萎靡的）standards.Some experts have expressed reservations about adopting Chinese textbooks，arguing that it could undermine （逐渐削弱）some positive aspects of a British education.“A one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to improve children's learning，”wrote Ruth Merttens，in an essay for The Guardian “Why are we blindly following the Chinese approach to teaching maths.”She worries that it might even“undermines more important features of our culture and heritage，where we punch above our weight in creativity.”
China's own commentators （评论员）have also admitted and warned their system is not perfect.“Some uphold Chinese education as being better than that in western countries，it is also not without its problems，”said an opinion piece in The Beijing Youth Daily following the announcement of the textbook deal.“It lacks respect for children's creativity and is too exam-oriented.”
The book deal is not the first to bring south Asian-style maths to English classrooms.Oxford University Press already publishes Inspire Maths ，a primary maths programme based on the Singapore maths series My Pals are Here ！which is used in almost 100％ofSingapore's state primary schools.
The textbooks from Singapore，and now China，will help deliver the Department for Education's ambitions for half of all primary schools in England，i.e.，more than 8，000 in total，to adopt what is now known as the south Asian mastery approach to maths.The school's minister，Nick Gibb，has described it as one of the most valuable education initiatives undertaken by the British government over the past few years.The mastery approach involves a whole-class approach to teaching maths，with each lesson concentrating on a single mathematical concept.This single concept is covered in great depth，for the class does not move on until every child has mastered the lesson.
Pupils taught in Shanghai，for instance，might learn about the commutative （交换的，互换的）law of multiplication in an entire lesson.In England a class will teach students how to do the maths instead of showing them the law behind it.English pupils tend to move on quickly from one topic to another.Teachers give children different work to do according to their progress.It is not hard to see that the British education system attaches more importance to individuals and ignores problems of the collective.
English pupils may get the same books，but critics say the mathematical success of Shanghai and Singapore will be difficult to replicate，given the tremendous differences between schools in South Asia and in England.In a Shanghai school，if a pupil has not fully understood the lesson，some additional teaching on the same day will ensure they are ready to start the next day's lesson at the same point as the rest of the class.Resources are likely to be more limited in an English classroom.Another significant difference is that students in south Asian countries are always given far more homework，which consolidates the day's studies.Parents will also arrange private tutoring and in some cases weekend school.
There are also huge differences in teacher training and deployment.Primary school maths teachers in Shanghai are specialists，who will have spent five years at university studying primary maths teaching and teach only maths.They teach for perhaps two hours a day，and the rest of the day is spent debriefing and refining lessons.English primary teachers，on the contrary，are generalists （多面手），who teach all subjects，all of the time.
The government's￡41m funding over four years will be used to train 700 teachers to support schools in mastery of maths，to buy textbooks and pay for teacher release so teachers can be trained.Some experts have questioned whether the money might be spent more usefully，particularly given concerns about school funding.
The UK publisher's interest in Chinese textbooks has been a source of pride for China in the past.When HarperCollins published a supplementary maths text in 2015， The Global Times said：“Textbook's publication in UK validates（证实、确认）Chinese education.”
（Adapted from The Guardian ，March 20，2017）
标题翻译：英国中小学即将引进中国数学教材
2015年，英国广播公司（BBC）经过层层筛选，最终从中国不同城市邀请五位教学经验丰富的中学老师到英国实施中式课堂实验，地点选在英国南部汉普郡（County of Hampshire）的一所中学。最终，英国学生接受的为期四周的中国式教学被拍成纪录片，名为《我们的孩子足够坚强吗？中国学校》（ Are Our Kids Tough Enough ？ Chinese School ）。该纪录片聚焦中西方教育理念和方式的差异，播出期间备受两国网友关注并一度引起热议。时隔一年，英国教育部斥资4 100万英镑，在英格兰地区8 000余所中小学推广上海的基础教育教学模式，并同步引入中国数学教材。
Benjamin Haas is a China correspondent for The Guardian .
Sally Weale is an education correspondent for The Guardian .
英国对中式教育的重视，对中国教材的引入等举措获得了广泛的国际关注。继英国之后，美国、芬兰、南非等国的教育部和联合国教科文组织、联合国儿童基金会等纷纷到上海观摩中式教学。阿联酋、肯尼亚等国相关机构也提出希望效仿英国之举，引入上海教师代表团。中国教育悄然间走出国门，不仅赢得了国际声誉，而且为世界教育发展贡献出中国智慧，走出了一条有中国特色的教育国际化路径。
1.Would Chinese-style Education Work on British Kids？
（http：//www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33735517）
2.Pupils Taught by Chinese Outpace Their Peers in Experiment
（http：//www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/11811235/Take-note-Chinese-teachers-a-little-classroom-chaos-can-be-a-good-thing.html）
3.When Chinese-style Education System Meets British Teens
（http：//www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/china-watch/culture/chinese-education-style）
HarperCollins ：哈珀柯林斯出版集团 HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the world's largest publishing companies and is one of the“Big Five”English-language publishing companies，alongside Hachette，Macmillan，Penguin Random House，andSimon ＆Schuster.The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp.The company name is a combination of several publishing firm names：Harper ＆Row，an American publishing company acquired in 1987，whose own name was the result of an earlier merger of Harper ＆Brothers（founded 1817）and Row，Peterson＆Company；together with UK publishing company William Collins，Sons（founded 1819），acquired in 1990.
London Book Fair ：伦敦书展 The London Book Fair（LBF）is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually，usually in April，in London，England.LBF is the global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print，audio，TV，film and digital channels，having celebrated its 45-year anniversary in April 2016.
China Daily ：《中国日报》 China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China.Founded in 1981， China Daily is A Voice of China on the Global Stage，with a global circulation of 900，000 copies.As one of the most-frequently quoted Chinese media around the world，it now has 34 print sites overseas.
The 21st Century Education Research Institute ：21世纪教育研究院 Located in Beijing，the 21st Century Education Research Institute aims to promote China's education reform and development，in the pursuit of an educational ideal.
The Guardian ：《卫报》 The Guardian is a British daily newspaper，known from 1821 until 1959 as The Manchester Guardian .Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly ， The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group，owned by The Scott Trust Limited.The Trust was created in 1936“to secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of The Guardian free from commercial or political interference.”
The Beijing Youth Daily ：《北京青年报》 The Beijing Youth Daily is the official newspaper of the Communist Youth League committee in Beijing.It was established in March 1949，and is now published by the Beijing Youth Daily Publishing Company.It is Beijing's most widely circulated metropolitan newspaper. The Beijing Youth Daily has halted production three times in its history.
Inspire Maths ：Inspire Maths is a whole-school primary maths programme，based on Singapore Maths series My Pals are Here ，used in 100％of Singapore's state primary schools.
My Pals are Here ！： My Pals are Here ！is a series of Maths textbooks that encourages the collaborative learning of Mathematics in groups and provides a variety of hands-on activities and games to consolidate the Maths concepts learnt.
The Global Times ：《环球时报》 The Global Times is a daily Chinese newspaper under the auspices of the People's Daily newspaper.
Directions：Read the text and decide whether the following statements are true（T）or false （F）.
（ ）1.It's the first time in history that British students learn mathematics with Chinese textbooks.
（ ）2.British students are as good in maths as their counterparts in China.
（ ）3.In a recent global study by OECD，the majority of students in Singapore，Taiwan，and Hong Kong receive high marks in maths.
（ ）4.Experts have high expectations of Chinese textbooks in solving British student's maths problems.
（ ）5.Some commentators believe that the only problem with Chinese textbooks is that it might undermine students'creativity.
（ ）6.The book fair used to bring Singapore maths to English classrooms.
（ ）7.The adoption of the south Asian mastery approach to maths means that students won't move on quickly from one topic to another.
（ ）8.Compared with their counterparts in Shanghai，primary school maths teachers in UK cannot be called specialists.
（ ）9.The funding from the British government will be used to buy textbooks and invite more Chinese specialists to UK.
（ ）10.The UK publisher's interests in Chinese textbooks show that Chinese-style education has been fully validated in UK.