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？Is Liberal Arts Still 'Useful'?
lǎo gōng老公 ，nǐ你kàn dào看到liú yǒng móu刘永谋jiào shòu教授de的fǎng tán访谈le了ma吗 ？tā他shuō说bù不shì yìng适应shí dài时代de的wén kē文科kě yǐ可以suō缩zhāo招 ，wǒ我jué de觉得zhè这huà话tài太 “jué绝 ”le了 。
Honey, did you see Professor 刘永谋's interview? He said that liberal arts that don't adapt to the times should cut enrollment. I think that's too extreme.
wǒ我dào倒jué de觉得tā他shuō说dé得yǒu dào lǐ有道理 。xiàn zài现在rén gōng zhì néng人工智能fā zhǎn发展zhè me这么kuài快 ，chuán tǒng传统de的wén kē文科què shí确实miàn lín面临tiǎo zhàn挑战 ，dé得zuò chū做出tiáo zhěng调整cái才xíng行 。
I actually think he makes a good point. With AI developing so rapidly, traditional liberal arts do face challenges and need to adjust.
kě可wǒ我jiào教yīng yǔ英语de的ya呀 ，yào shì要是yě也bèi被rèn wéi认为méi yòng没用le了 ，nà那wǒ men我们zhè xiē这些lǎo shī老师zěn me bàn怎么办 ？
But I teach English. If it's also considered 'useless,' what will teachers like me do?
bú shì不是shuō说wén kē文科méi yòng没用le了 ，ér shì而是yào要gǎi gé改革 ，yào要 ‘yǒu yòng有用de的dà大yòng用 ’ 。bǐ rú比如nǐ你de的yīng yǔ英语kè课 ，rú guǒ如果néng能jié hé结合 AIshí dài时代de的xīn新xū qiú需求 ，bǐ rú比如kuà wén huà跨文化gōu tōng沟通 、yǔ yán语言yǔ与jì shù技术jié hé结合 ，nà那jiù就gèng更yǒu有yì yì意义 。
It's not that liberal arts are useless; they just need to be reformed to be 'useful in a big way.' For example, your English class could focus on new needs in the AI era, like cross-cultural communication or integrating language with technology.
nǐ你zhè me这么yī一shuō说 ，wǒ我dào倒yě也rèn tóng认同le了 。qí shí其实wǒ我yě也fā xiàn发现 ，xiàn zài现在de的xué shēng学生gèng更guān zhù关注 ‘yòng dé shàng用得上 ’de的zhī shí知识 ，bú shì不是guāng光bèi shū背书le了 。
Now that you put it that way, I kind of agree. I've noticed that students now care more about 'practical' knowledge, not just memorizing content.
duì对ya呀 。liú yǒng móu刘永谋tí dào提到 ，wèi lái未来de的xué kē学科bù gāi不该zài再fēn分nà me那么qīng chǔ清楚 ，ér shì而是wéi rào围绕shí jì实际wèn tí问题lái来zǔ zhī组织 ，zhè yàng这样cái néng才能shì yìng适应biàn huà变化 。
Exactly. 刘永谋 mentioned that future disciplines shouldn't be so clearly divided but should be organized around real-world problems to better adapt to change.
kě shì可是wǒ men我们guó jiā国家chuán tǒng传统shàng上tài太zhòng shì重视wén kē文科le了 ，suō zhāo缩招yī一tí提jiù就bèi被pī批 ，shuō说dé得hǎo xiàng好像shì是zài在kǎn砍diào掉wén huà文化gēn jī根基shì de似的 。
But traditionally, our country has placed so much importance on liberal arts. As soon as you mention cutting enrollment, people criticize it as if you're destroying cultural roots.
wén huà文化dāng rán当然zhòng yào重要 ，kě可shí dài时代zài在biàn变 ，jiù就xiàng像tā他shuō说de的 ，bù néng不能zài再kào靠 ‘duō多dú读jǐ几běn本bié rén别人méi没dú读guò过de的shū书 ’dàng chéng当成jìng zhēng lì竞争力le了 。
Of course, culture is important, but times are changing. Like he said, you can't just rely on 'reading a few more books than others' as a competitive edge anymore.
tīng听nǐ你zhè me这么yī一fēn xī分析 ，wǒ我fǎn dào反倒jué de觉得wén kē文科gǎi gé改革shì是jī huì机会 ，bú shì不是wēi xiǎn危险 。zhǐ yào只要wǒ men我们kěn肯biàn变 ，jiù就hái yǒu还有 ‘kuò zhāo扩招 ’de的kě néng可能ne呢 。
Hearing your analysis, I actually feel that reforming liberal arts is an opportunity, not a threat. If we adapt, there might even be room to expand enrollment.
shì是a啊 ，zán men咱们jiào yù gōng zuò zhě教育工作者yě也yào要gǎn shàng赶上shí dài时代liè chē列车 ，bié别bèi被jì shù技术shuǎi甩zài在hòu tou后头 。tiáo zhěng调整zhī hòu之后de的wén kē文科 ，cái才shì是zhēn zhèng真正de的dà大yòng用 。
Exactly. We educators need to catch up with the times and not be left behind by technology. A reformed liberal arts program can truly serve a greater purpose.
