#167. Should school buy computers or books?
There are many difficult decisions that school supervisors must make in order to ensure the success of their students. One of these decisions is how to spend money when it is available. Quite often, extra funds are spent on either computers or books. Given the choice, I believe that money is best spent on computers.
New technology is being created faster and faster. Each year, IBM develops a new"super computer" that is hundreds of times faster than the previous model. With this constantly changing technology, it is easy for schools to be left behind because they cannot afford new gear. Students deserve to learn on the best technology available, so schools should always upgrade their computers whenever possible.
Computers also offer students a wealth of information, perhaps more than books can provide. It is now possible to buy e-books, dictionaries and encyclopedias for a computer. These computer versions of popular research tools are much better than their hardcover predecessors. For example, a computer encyclopedia takes up no space in the library, it allows students to access the information instantly, and it is much more cost effective than buying the entire series on paper. Also, the Internet allows students to find information on anything their hearts desire.
Finally, spending school funds on computers is more beneficial than spending money on books because computers prepare the students for the working world. In today's society, to attain a high paying position in a company it is necessary to have basic computer skills. If students do not have the ability to learn such skills, they will be left behind while others succeed in their place.
Accordingly, I feel it is better for schools to spend money on computers rather than books. In addition to the reasons listed above, it is important to note that most major cities have extensive libraries that a local school would be hardpressed to match. However, libraries frequently do not house computers, and if they do, they are constantly in use by other patrons. In many cases, the only chance a young person has to use a computer is at his/her school.
167. 学校应该买电脑还是书籍？
学校管理人员们必须做出很多让他们为难的决定，来确保他们的学生们能够成功。这些决定之一就是在拥有资金的时候如何支配。通常，额外的资金会用来购买电脑或者图书。如果可以选择的话，我认为那笔资金最好用来购买电脑。
新技术正在越来越快地不断出现。每年IBM都会推出一款比以前的型号运行要快几百倍的新型“超级电脑”。因为科学技术如此持续不断地发展，学校很容易就会因为无力购买新的设备而落后。学生们应该学习现有的最好的技术，因此学校一旦有可能就应该更新他们的电脑。
电脑还能够给学生提供丰富的信息，可能比书本提供的还要多。现在为电脑购买电子书、电子词典和电子百科全书已经成为可能。这些常用研究工具的电脑版本比它们的精装本前辈要好得多。例如，电脑上的百科全书不会占用图书馆里的任何空间，它能让学生们立即得到信息，并且比购买一整套纸质书要划算得多。而且，学生们通过互联网能够找到他们想要的任何信息。
最后，把学校的资金用于购买电脑比用于购买书籍更为有利，是因为电脑能够让学生们为将来的工作环境做准备。在如今的社会中，要在公司里找到一个高收入的职位就必须掌握基本的电脑技巧。如果学生们不能学习这些技巧，他们就会在别人成功的同时，落在人家后面。
从而，我认为学校花钱购买电脑比购买书籍更好。除了上面列出的原因之外，值得注意的是绝大多数主要城市里，都有不少让学校难以企及的大型图书馆。然而，这些图书馆里并不总是配有电脑，即使有电脑，也总是被别的顾客使用着。在很多情况下，年轻人使用电脑的惟一机会就是在他或她的学校里。
- supervisor ［ˈsju:pəˌvaizə］ n. 管理人
- hardcover ［ˈha:dˌkʌvə］ adj. 精装的
- extra ［ˈekstrə］ adj. 额外的
- predecessor ［ˈprediˌsesə］ n. 前辈；前任
- gear ［giə］ n. 设备
- access ［ˈækses］ v. 访问；存取
- accordingly ［əˈkɔ:diŋli］ adv. 从而；因此
- upgrade ［ˈʌpˌgreid］ v. 使升级；提升
- patron ［ˈpeitrən］ n. 顾客
- encyclopedia ［enˌsaikləˈpi:diə］ n. 百科全书