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NEWS AND COMMENTARY
| WORLD NEWS | COUNTRY NEWS |
COMMENTARY | MEDIA RELEASES |
Launch of new English proficiency test set this October
MCLEAN, Virginia (PRNewswire-USNewswire)—Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), a new English language test owned by Pearson and developed in collaboration with the Graduate Management Admission Council, will debut on October 26, 2009.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which owns and administers the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), began working with Pearson in
2006 to conceive and develop a test that would more accurately measure the
English language skills of students than existing exams. The computer-based
test includes speaking and voice recording capabilities; score reports sent to
schools will include a 30-second audio clip of the test taker's speech.
"We are delighted to be working with Pearson, the world-wide global leader in
publishing and assessment for education, on such an innovative exam, one that
will define world class. We consistently hear from universities that no test
today provides an accurate measure of a prospective student's speaking
ability," said David A. Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC. "Schools have a
real need for a language assessment that measures the skills needed for
successful class participation and group work, critical elements in graduate
management education programs around the world."
The test will be used by universities, higher education institutions, government departments and other organizations requiring English proficiency. More than 770 schools and programs worldwide have already indicated interest in recognizing the new test.
Best-selling Bible to undergo revision
By Eric Gorski, Associated Press
The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text. The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is scheduled to be completed late next year and published in 2011.
"We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to its readers in a language they can understand," said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Christian ministry that holds the NIV copyright.
But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.
The changes did not make all men "people" or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged that the original text didn't intend it. So in some verses, references to "sons of God" became "children of God," for example.COMMENTARY
King James to roll over again
A front-page article (the lead!) in yesterday’s daily doormat dealt with the New International Version of the Bible, about to undergo revision. This will involve a further dumbing-down, undoubtedly—although the revisory spokesmen didn’t come right out and say so—for the increasingly illiterate or aliterate populace.
The King James Bible is one of the glories of our language, but it’s tough sledding, I imagine, for the average dunderhead that Christ-inanity hopes to keep or bring into the fold. “(The New International Version) has sold more than 300 million copies worldwide, mainly to evangelicals,” the story reports, which is no surprise, for if there’s one thing the evangelical wants it’s his Bible plain and simple, and the NIV specializes in spoon-feeding it to him.
“And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed was in itself, after his kind…” That is the King James Version translation of an episode of Creation. And here is the NIV’s: “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’” Nothing fancy-schmancy about that.
