In recent years, online education sector has been developing rapidly in China. Online teaching spares students’ commutes from home to educational institutions and enables them to acquire knowledge at home, which benefits them, their parents and teachers as well. In January, COVID-19 suddenly broke out. With schools closed across the country to combat it, demands for online courses soar greatly.

近年来，中国在线教育行业可谓驶上了发展的快车道。线上授课模式使学生免于往返于家里与辅导机构，让他们足不出户就能获得知识，为学生、家长和老师都提供了便利。今年一月，疫情突然爆发。全国各地纷纷关闭学校以抗击疫情，从而使得在线课程需求激增。

During the epidemic, it is quite common that teachers sit at a computer and teach online. There is no doubt that more and more people embrace online education and gradually adapt to this new type of learning. Consequently, online education penetration and the number of users have skyrocketed. However, though aware of the dramatic change of teaching type, people are not sure whether online learning will maintain its popularity in the post-epidemic period.

疫情期间，老师坐在电脑前在线授课是一个很常见的现象。毋庸置疑，人们越来越多地接触到在线教育并逐渐习惯这种新型学习模式。在线教育的渗透率和用户数量也随之大幅直线上升。然而，尽管人们意识到授课模式发生了巨大的变化，但是仍然不确定在后疫情时期在线教育能否持续保持热度。

On one hand, online education has obvious advantages over traditional offline courses. Students study online without limitation of time or space. Both teachers and students can upload and download documents at any time. Meanwhile, as teachers do not stand nearby, students are more willing to raise questions.

一方面，与传统线下课程相比较，在线教育有明显的优势。学生在线学习不受时间、空间的限制。老师和学生随时可以上传和下载文件。同时，因为老师不在身边，学生更愿意提问。

On the other hand, however, online education has its disadvantages. In face-to-face classes, it’s always difficult for teachers to retain students’ interest and maintain their attention, which is undoubtedly more challenging now. Teachers are not sure whether students concentrate on studies and thus the effectiveness of the courses is controversial. Besides, the level of economic development and infrastructure construction are unbalanced across China. Not all students have personal computers, smartphones or reliable internet access. Thus, to some extent, online education may be thought of as a violation of educational equity.

然而，另一方面，在线教育也有它的缺点。对于老师而言，在面对面的课堂上保持学生的兴趣和注意力已经是一大难题。对在线教育来说，这无疑是更大的挑战。老师无法确认学生是否在集中精神学习，因此线上教学的有效性仍备受争议。此外，中国各地的经济发展水平和基础设施建设不平衡，不是所有学生都拥有属于自己的电脑、智能手机或稳定的网络。因此，在某种意义上，在线教育可能被认为违背了教育平等的原则。

soar v. 猛涨

penetration n. 渗透

obvious adj. 明显的

controversial adj. 有争议的

infrastructure n. 基础设施