12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析.docx
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12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析
2013.12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析
窗体顶端
注意不是多选题
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."It'sabouthavingmentors(指导者)andhavingworkplace-basededucation,"hesays."TimeandagainI'veseenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking."
M)Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?
Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions."Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethesethings,"saysVedder."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