12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析.docx

12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析.docx

《12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《12大学英语四级长篇阅读解析.docx（4页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

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