教科书循环使用好不好？

今春始，教育部在部分省市建立教科书的循环使用制度，这一举措对于节约能源具有十分重大的意义，却遭遇了不少家长和老师的质疑。卫生问题首当其冲，而学生不得在教科书上乱写乱画的规定也与中国学生长期的学习习惯相冲突。

Chinese parents may have to stop urging* their children to read not only with their eyes but also their hands.

That’s because many provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong and Fujian, have started a textbook recycling* program in the new term that aims to cut paper use and raise students’ awareness of preservation*.

If all the textbooks in China are re-used for five years, the country can save an estimated* 225 billion yuan (US$31 billion).

Under the program, primary and secondary schools distribute* textbooks to students free of charge. The books will be collected at the end of the term for use by future students, so the books need to be kept in good condition.

For decades, most Chinese students have been used to receiving new textbooks each term. Many grandmothers have followed the tradition of making book covers for their grandchildren, who come home with their school bags full of new textbooks on the first day of a new term.

Some students welcomed the program. “I like the idea of recycling my textbooks and I will do my best to keep my books as new as possible,” said Zhang Muge, a Grade Two student in Tianjin.

But parents were less enthusiastic, with some raising concerns over cleanliness. “Recycled books may carry harmful germs* from previous users,” said a father in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. “I prefer to pay for the new textbooks since they are not that expensive.”

Teachers also complained that recycling could deprive* students of the chance to write down thoughts in the margins* of textbooks, which is a habit of many Chinese students. (SD-Agencies)

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urge v. 督促

recycle v. 循环使用

preservation n. 环保

estimate v. 估计

distribute v. 分派

germ n. 细菌

deprive v. 剥夺

margin n. 空白