1. The facilities and skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time. —— The facilities and skills of the teachers were perhaps much better than those in most schools in………学校的设施、教师的水平在当时的美国要远远高于平均水平。
well：adv. quite，rather
The work is well done. 这件工作干得很好。
It's well past midnight，I think it's more time you went home.早过了午夜，我想你该回家了。
above/below average高于或低于一般标准或水平
2. ………how much I don't yet know. ——how much I don't know up till now.我至今依然不了解的东西太多。
yet：at this point in time
3.Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matters.——I would be grateful today if I had learned more at high school about things that are really important.
有时候，我想那时要是能多学点真正重要的东西，那么今天我会多么地心存感激。
I would be ………if I had learned 虚拟语气，主句表示现在，从句表示过去
I would not be so sleepy if I had slept well last night.
back then：back in my high school days
what really matters：what is important matter is used as a verb——
eg：Does it matter much whether he will not pass the exams？ 他能否通过考试是否很重要？
4.in some respects……；the only thing I ever heard in school about Napoleon was that the U.S made the Louisiana Purchase from him.
In some respects在某些方面；in respect of就某方面
Louisiana Purchase路易斯安那购置
5.On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans，the only history that was thought worth teaching was American history.——The population of the US accounts for only about 5% of that of the world. But in my high school days taught American history only because it was thought that the history of other countries was not important for Americans to learn.
在一个约95%的居民不是美国人的星球上，学校当局认为只有美国历史才值得讲授。（此处作者也是委婉批评了美国教育部门的狭隘与偏见。）some：about；approximately
worth teaching——be worth doing值得做
6.Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified.——Perhaps schools have overcome all the shortcomings and improved greatly since I left school.
或许自那以后，该教而没有教的缺陷已经得到了纠正。
Deficiencies：不足，缺乏，缺少
This disease is caused by Vitamin D deficiency.
Since：从那以后（与完成时态连用）
He left home in 1980 and has not been heard of since.他于1980年离家，此后便音信全无。
7. ……often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple memorization of facts………——Students should not merely be taught facts to memorize，but they should also be taught to cultivate their ability to judge what is happening around them and take the right attitude towards this.
（该教的）与其说是简单的对事实的记忆问题，还不如说是态度问题。
more……more 与其说——不如说
For me，music is more a way of life than an interest.
对我来说，音乐与其说是一种爱好，还不如说是一种生活方式。
matter，n. （讨论、考虑的）问题
a matter of principle原则问题
a matter of time时间问题
a matter of opinion看法问题
a matter of life and death生死攸关问题
8.That's one of the few things that we do better than the other species on our planet. In most things man's fellow creatures on earth are better，but in learning man does better.
这是人类在这个星球上比其他物种做得好些的为数有限的几件事中的一件。
此处含有作者对人类所作所为的批评，意思是：人有种种恶习，优点不多，但喜欢学习却是一大优点。
9. Every student should regularly experience the “Aha！”when something you never understood，or something you never knew was a mystery，becomes clear.——Students should be constantly learning new things so that they can experience the joy of learning and of discovering things they didn't know or understand before.
每个学生都应该经常体验一下说出“啊，原来是这么一回事！”时的感受——也就是你以往不懂的事情，一下子变得豁然开朗时的感受。
Aha：Ah，I see！/Now I understand！
10. The Greek philosopher Socrates said this was one of the greatest of human joys，and it is.
of the greatest of human joys：“the+ 形容词最高级+名词”的用法：
the most beautiful of the places最美的地方
the greatest of scientists最伟大的科学家
the best of my friends我最要好的朋友
and it is：learning is still one of the greatest of human joys today