12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析Word格式.docx
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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?
'
"
46.Caplansuggeststhatkidswhodon'
tloveschoolgotowork.K
47.Anincreasingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousesinagoodschooldistrict.C
48.Subsidizedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingtooneeconomist.E
49.Moreandmorekidsfindtheyfareworsewithacollegediploma.B
50.Forthosewhoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtocollegeisnotworthit.H
51.Overtheyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreasedalmostby100%.D
52.Alawpassedrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheirincomefortheircollegeloans.J
53.Middle-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.C
54.Morekidsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearnnotonlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.L
55.Overfiftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunabletofindasuitablejob.F