正文
你是否经常觉得世界似乎变得越来越愚蠢？经合组织（一个主要由富裕国家组成的俱乐部）于12月10日发布的数据显示，这可能并非只是你的错觉。大约每十年，经合组织会要求数十个地区的成年人参加数学和读写能力测试。
The questions it poses are not abstract brainteasers, spelling tests or mental arithmetic. They aim to
mimic
problems people aged 16-65 face in daily life, whether they are working in a factory or an office, or simply trying to make sense of the news.
这些测试题目并非抽象的智力难题、拼写测试或心算题，而是旨在模拟16至65岁人群在日常生活中可能遇到的问题，无论他们是在工厂还是办公室工作，或者仅仅只是试图理解新闻内容。
The latest tests were carried out in 31 rich countries,
and their findings are unnerving. They suggest that a fifth of adults do no
better in maths and reading than might be expected of a primary-school child.
The direction of travel is even less encouraging.
最新的测试在31个富裕国家进行，结果令人担忧。数据显示，五分之一的成年人在数学和阅读方面的表现，与小学生的预期水平相当。更令人担忧的是，整体趋势也不容乐观。
In maths, average scores have risen in a few places over the past ten years, but fallen in almost as many. In literacy, a lot more countries have seen scores decline than advance, despite the fact that adults hold more and higher educational qualifications than ever before.
过去十年里，在数学方面，少数几个地区的平均分有所提高，但下降的地区几乎同样多。在读写能力方面，尽管成年人的教育资历比以往任何时候都更多且更高，但得分下降的国家远比得分上升的国家多。
Demographic
change
offers
some explanation. New immigrants often struggle with a new language. The
native-born have ageing brains. But even after adjusting for this, trends
remain gloomy, especially in literacy. Some speculate that Netflix, video games
and social media are sapping
acuity
. It is just as likely that education and
training systems have misfired.
人口结构的变化提供了一些解释。新移民往往难以掌握新语言，而本土出生者的脑力也在衰退。但即使考虑到这些因素，趋势仍然不容乐观，尤其是读写能力方面。有人推测，Netflix、电子游戏和社交媒体正在削弱人们的敏锐度。同样可能的是，教育和培训体系出了问题。
These disappointing results deserve more attention than
they are likely to get. Basic numeracy and literacy are oddly unfashionable
causes—especially when adults lack them. Students of education prefer to debate
how to teach fashionable “soft skills”. Hype around generative artificial
intelligence does not help:
harping
