四级阅读冲刺Word格式.docx

四级阅读冲刺Word格式.docx

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stopuniversities.ThatmakesShapirooptimistic,butalso__44__."

Ibelievethingsaregettingbetter,"

shesays,"

butthey'

renotgettingbetteras__45__asIwouldlike."

IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?

A）Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?

Andwhyarewesounhappyaboutit?

Weallseemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangelyweworrywhenweseefamiliesinvestingsomuchinthissupposedlyessentialgood.Maybeit'

stimetoaskaquestionthatseemsalmostsacrilegious（大不敬的）:

isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducationreallyworthit?

B）Theanswer,Ifear,isno.Foranincreasingnumberofkids,theextratimeandmoneyspentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworseoffthantheywerebeforetheysetfootoncampus.

C）Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthingformiddle-classhouseholds.Myparentsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandmethantheyspentontheirhouse,andthey'

renottheonlyones...and,ofcourse,foranincreasingnumberoffamilies,mostofthecostoftheirhouseisactuallythecostoflivinginagoodschooldistrict.Questioningthevalueofacollegeeducationseemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,orfun.

D）Theaveragepriceofallgoodsandserviceshasrisenabout50percent.Butthepriceofacollegeeducationhasnearlydoubledinthattime.Istheeducationthattoday'

sstudentsaregettingtwiceasgood?

Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?

Havetheybecomesomehowmassivelymoreexpensivetoeducate?

E）Perhapsabit.RichardVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,"

Ilookatthedata,andIseecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationuptothemid-1980sby1percentayear.NowIseethemrising3to4percentayearoverinflation.Whathashappened?

Thefederalgovernmenthasstarteddroppingmoneyoutofairplanes."

Aidhasincreased,subsidized（补贴的）loanshavebecomeavailable,and"

theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney."

EconomistBryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees:

"

It'

sagiantwasteofresourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue."

F）Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasan"

investmentinyourself."

Butaninvestmentissupposedtogenerateincometopayofftheloans.Morethanhalfofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedorinjobsthatdonotrequireadegree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarriedbyhouseholdshasincreasedmorethanfivetimessince1999.Thesegraduatesweretoldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,butitwon'

tevengetthemoutofthesparebedroomatMomandDad'

s.Formany,themostvisibleresultoftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollarsamonthonloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.

G）It'

strueaboutthemoney-sortof.Collegegraduatesnowmake80percentmorethanpeoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreciseestimates,thewagepremium（高出的部分）foranoutstandingschoolseemstobeevenhigher.Butthat'

snottrueofeverystudent.It'

sveryeasytospendfouryearsmajoringinEnglishliteratureandcomeoutnomoreemployablethanyouwerebeforeyouwentin.Conversely,chemicalengineersstraightoutofschoolcaneasilymakealmostfourtimesthewagesofanentry-levelhigh-schoolgraduate.

H）JamesHeckman,theNobelPrize-winningeconomist,hasexaminedhowthereturnsoneducationbreakdownforindividualswithdifferentbackgroundsandlevelsofability."

Evenwiththesehighprices,you'

restillfindingahighreturnforindividualswhoarebrightandmotivated,"

hesays.Ontheotherhand,"

ifyou'

renotcollegeready,thentheanswerisno,it'

snotworthit."

Expertstendtoagreethatfortheaveragestudent,collegeisstillworthittoday,buttheyalsoagreethattherapidincreaseinpriceiseatingupmoreandmoreofthepotentialreturn.Forborderlinestudents,tuition（学费）risecanpushthosereturnsintonegativeterritory.

I）Everyoneseemstoagreethatthegovernment,andparents,shouldberethinkinghowweinvestinhighereducationandthatemployersneedtorethinktheincreasinguseofcollegedegreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon'

treallyrequirecollegeskills."

Employersseeingasurplusofcollegegraduatesandlookingtofilljobsarejustaddingthatrequirement."

saysVedder."

Infact,acollegedegreebecomesajobrequirementforbecomingabar-tender."

J）Wehavestartedtoseesomechangeonthefinanceside.Alawpassedin2007allowsmanystudentstocaptheirloanpaymentat10percentoftheirincomeandforgivesanybalanceafter25years.Butofcourse,thatdoesn'

tcontrolthecostofeducation!

itjustshiftsittotaxpayers.Italsoencouragesgraduatestochooselower-payingcareers,whichreducesthefinancialreturntoeducationstillfurther."

You'

resubsidizingpeopletobecomepriestsandpoetsandsoforth,"

saysHeckman."

Youmaythinkthat'

sagoodthing,oryoumaynot."

Eitherwayitwillbeexpensiveforthegovernment.

K）Whatmightbealotcheaperisputtingmorekidstowork.Caplannotesthatworkalsobuildsvaluableskills-probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon'

tnaturallylovesittinginaclassroom.Heckmanagreeswholeheartedly:

Peoplearedifferent,andthoseabilitiescanbeshaped.That'

swhatwe'

velearned,andpublicpolicyshouldrecognizethat."

L）Heckmanwouldliketoseemoreapprenticeship-style（学徒式）programs,wherekidscanlearnintheworkplace-learnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekindof"

softskills,"

likegettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam-thatarecrucialforcareersuccess."

sabouthavingmentors（指导者）andhavingworkplace-basededucation,"

hesays."

TimeandagainI'

veseenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking."

M）Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?

Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions."

Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethesethings,"

andIthinkeventuallymarketswillhandlethisone.Ifitdoesn'

timprovesoon,peoplearegoingtowakeupandask,'

WhyamIgoingtocollege?

'

"

注意：

此部分试题请在答题卡2上作答。

46.Caplansuggeststhatkidswhodon'

tloveschoolgotowork.

47.Anincreasingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousesinagoodschooldistrict.

48.Subsidizedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingtooneeconomist.

49.Moreandmorekidsfindtheyfareworsewithacollegediploma.

50.Forthosewhoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtocollegeisnotworthit.

51.Overtheyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreasedalmostby100%.

52.Alawpassedrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheirincomefortheircollegeloans.

53.Middle-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.

54.Morekidsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearnnotonlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.

55.Overfiftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunabletofindasuitablejob.

PassageOne

Questions56to60arebasedonthefollowingpassage.

Arecentglobalsurveyof2000high-net-worthindividualsfoundthat60%werenotplanningonatraditionalretirement.AmongUSparticipants,75%expectedtocontinueworkinginsomecapacityevenaftersteppingawayfromfull-timejobs."

Manyofthesepeoplemadetheirwealthbydoingsomethingthey'

repassionate（有激情的）about."

saysDanielEgan,headofbehavioralfinanceforBarclaysWealthAmericas."

Giventhechoice,theyprefertocontinueworking."

Barclayscallsthesepeople"

nevertirees."

UnlikemanyAmericanscompelledintoearlyretirementbycompanyrestrictions,theaveragenevertireeoftenhasnooneforcinghishand.If106-year-oldinvestorIrvingKahn,headofhisownfamilyfirm,wantstokeepcomingtoworkeveryday.who'

sgoingtostophim?

Seventy-eight-year-oldSupremeCourtJusticeRuthBaderGinsburg'

sjobsecurityisguaranteedintheConstitution.

Itmayseemthattheseelderlypeoplearetryingtocheatdeath.Infact,theyare.Andit'

sworking.HowardFriedman,aprofessoratUCRiverside,foundinhisresearchthatthosewhoworkhardestandaresuccessfulintheircareersoftenlivethelongestlives."

Peoplearegenerallybeinggivenbadadvicetoslowdown,takeiteasy,stopworrying,andretiretoFlorida,"

hesays.Hedescribedonestudyparticipant,stillworkin