第一单元完整版.docx

1、第一单元完整版Article with Chinese Guide and Exercises for Lecture One (完整版)Whats the Purpose of College: A Job or an Education?By Jeffrey J. Selingo February 2, 2015 The Washington Post1As the price of college has skyrocketed and tens of thousands of recent graduates have found themselves on the unemploym

2、ent line or stuck in jobs that dont require a bachelors degree, higher education has come under attack for its failure to make students job-ready. Adding fuel to the debate is a series of what seem to be monthly surveys showing a wide gap between what employers want out of todays college graduates a

3、nd what schools are producing.2It all begs the question: Is it solely a colleges responsibility to make students job-ready?3College was once seen as a place where adolescents went to explore courses and majors before settling on a job and career, often well after graduating. In a recent piece in the

4、 Chronicle of Higher Education, Dan Berrett traced the history of when the purpose of college shifted from that idyllic1 vision to todays view that its all about getting a job. He pegged2 the origins to Feb. 28, 1967. Thats when Ronald Reagan, then the new Republican governor of California (which bo

5、asted the best system of public universities in the country), told reporters that taxpayers shouldnt be “subsidizing intellectual curiosity.”4Since then, in both their attitudes and in their choice of majors, college students have increasingly seen a bachelors degree as a means to an end: a job. Fre

6、shmen now list getting a better job as the most important reason to go to college in an annual UCLA survey of first-year students. Previously, the top reason was learning about things that interest them.5 The number of bachelors degrees awarded in traditional arts and sciences fields (English, math,

7、 and biology, for example) has tumbled from almost half of the undergraduate credentials awarded in 1968 to about a quarter now. The majority of credentials today are awarded in occupational or vocational areas such as education and communications or, more recently, sports management and computer-ga

8、me design. The most popular undergraduate major is business.6Students and their families, faced with big tuition bills, want to be sure to pick a major that leads to a job after graduation. Colleges worried about filling seats have accommodated them by rolling out3 a bevy4 of practical majors, some

9、in fields that didnt even exist five years ago (think of a bachelors degree in Social Media, or perhaps even a masters).1 idyllic dlk adj. 牧歌的; 田园诗的; 悠闲的2peg peg vt.钉住3rolling out 延伸；涨开4 bevy bev n. 一群7Such trends worry those who advocate liberal arts studies and the idea that college should be a pl

10、ace to develop a foundational knowledge that provides lifetime benefits.8Michael Roth president of Wesleyan University, a prominent liberal-arts college in Connecticut keeps a close eye on public opinion about this subject. He told me last week that he sometimes wonders how much of this disconnect b

11、etween employers and higher education is a “manufactured moment.” In his view, employers always have been unhappy with newly minted5 college graduates. The difference now is that we just survey them more frequently.9The erosion of the middle class,” he said, “has put a lot more pressure on parents a

12、nd students to make it big6 in the world or the consequences are dire7.” When Roth graduated from college, his father, who didnt go to college, wasnt concerned if his son ended up driving a cab for a while to figure things out. Now coffee shop baristas8 with a philosophy degree are subjects of mocke

13、ry9.10The confidence that the economy offers enough opportunities has eroded,” Roth said.11Even so, Roth believes universities like his, and higher education in general, can do better at preparing students for the job market without abandoning their traditional role to provide a broad education. Lik

14、e other liberal arts colleges, Wesleyan is investing more in its career services.12But Roth is interested in making more fundamental changes to what happens in the classroom so that students better retain10 what they learn on the spot, and most important, are able to translate that learning for pote

15、ntial employers. He wants more courses to be project-based, for example, so that students better learn to work in teams and apply their knowledge to real-world problems as theyre learning.13It doesnt matter what you take in college, it matters what you do,” Roth said. “You should be able to show you

16、r teachers, and then anyone else, how what youve made in a class, what you created, demonstrates your capacity to do other things and what youre going to do next.”14While hes rethinking his own university, Roth said others are not without blame for the perceived disconnect between college and the wo

17、rkforce. Employers are less willing to take chances on graduates without narrowly tailored majors. And while Roths father thought it was fine to drive a cab after college, parents these days especially from more affluent families have sometimes unreasonable expectations for what their children can d

18、o directly out of school.15Roth told me the story of a Wesleyan graduate who recently landed a sales position and had the chance to offer jobs to his classmates. “They didnt want a job like that, a sales job,” Roth said.5mint mnt vt.铸造，铸币6make it big 成功7 dire da adj. 可怕的；悲惨的8 barista brst n. 咖啡师；咖啡吧

19、员9 mockery mk()r n. 嘲弄；笑柄10retain rten vt.保持；雇；记住“That comes from a culture of entitlement11. They dont believe they should work in the same way that students worked 30 years ago.”16It seems everyone is nostalgic for an earlier era of higher education. But those were also the days when an entire tui

20、tion bill could be paid by working odd jobs during the summer. Thats no longer the case. Those tuition bills have gone way up, and so too have our expectations for how much we think colleges should do to prepare students for the job market.第一单元 What is the Purpose of College? A Job or an Education?导

21、读各位同学，大家好。这是本学期的第一篇阅读课文，题目是 What is the Purpose of College? A Job or an Education? 想必大家也一直在思考这个问题吧？读大学是为了什么？大学到底是干什么的？Okay, 那我们就以这篇文章开始本单元的讨论，来梳理一下这些问题吧。文章的表达和逻辑都不难，基本遵循提出问题、分析问题和解决问题的思路。不过，文章叙述呈非线型，很多细节需按此思路厘清。一、提出问题学生毕业找不到工作，用人单位找不到可以胜任的毕业生。学生、家长、用人单位都认为学校没有培养好学生的工作技能。本文认为目前出现了两个 wide gaps， 一 个 是

22、a wide gap between students expectation of their college education and the reality of the job market；另一个是 a wide gap between what employers want out oftodays college graduates and what schools are producing（第 1 段）。 其实这些问题并非只出现在美国，中国也有，对吧？那我们来看下作者是如何分析此问题并提出相应的解决方案，也看看我们能否从中获得启发。二、分析问题：大家都不满意的原因1.学生现

23、在上大学最主要的目的是找到好工作，而不是追求个人兴趣。College students have increasingly seen a bachelors degree as a means to an end: a job（第 4 段）. 文章的第 3、4、5 段都在讨论这个问题。其中，作者用了三个 supporting details 来阐述这个论断。Supporting details 就是论据，我们将在之后的写作技巧讲解中详细讨论它。那文章涉及哪三个 supporting details 呢？1.1里根以来的实用主义教育导向。作者认为本来美国的大学是个学生自由探索兴趣，然后再确定自己

24、职业走向的地方。College was once seen as a place where adolescents went to explore courses and majors before settling on a job and career.11If someone has a sense of entitlement, that means the person believes he deserves certain privileges and hes arrogant about it. The term culture of entitlement suggests

25、 that many people now have highly unreasonable expectations about what they are entitled to.但从 1967 年 2 月 28 开始，大学转而以实用为导向。那一天，作为加州州长的里根在采访时提到纳税人的钱不该被拿来支持一小部分学者出于好奇钻研没有用 的东西。Taxpayers shouldnt be “subsidizing intellectual curiosities”. 我们都知道， 里根在 80 年代当上了美国总统，他自然会推行自己的想法，所以美国大学的全面转向也是情理之中。在此，我想提个问题。

26、任何思想的产生都离不开当时的时代环境，那么美国在60 年代发生了什么事情，让大学不再是象牙塔，而更像是职业培训所了呢？感兴趣的同学可以去找点资料，把这个问题搞搞清楚。1.2对 UCLA 新生的年度问卷调查表明，UCLA 的学生把找个好工作作为上大学的第一目的。Freshmen now list getting a better job as the most important reason to go to college。而之前他们的第一目的是学习自己感兴趣的东西。Previously, the top reason was learning about things that inter

27、est them.这边我还想提醒大家一句，即新闻写作和学术写作的一处区别。这里作者提到的调查没有写明数据的年限；而且 previously 这个表达也很模糊，较不严谨。不过， 这就是报刊的东西，大家就是参考。如果想真正搞清楚问题还是需要查阅学术期刊。（第 4 段）1.3大学里面纯文纯理学位毕业生锐减，就业为导向的学科增加。纯文纯理专业包括文学、历史、生物等学科。（第 5 段）The number of bachelors degrees awarded in traditional arts and sciences fields (English, math, and biology, fo

28、r example) has tumbled from almost half of the undergraduate credentials awarded in 1968 to about a quarter now.2.学费上涨，对大学教育的期望值随之高涨。Students and their families, faced with big tuition bills, want to be sure to pick a major that leads to a job after graduation.（第 6、16 段）3.但是美国经济状况不好，市场很难充分就业。The con

29、fidence that the economy offers enough opportunities has eroded.”（第 9 段）4.对用人单位过于频繁的调查，使问题看起来更夸张。Wesleyan University 校长Michael Roth 在接受采访时认为，用人单位向来对应届毕业的大学生不满意，而当前这个问题显得很严峻是因为媒体对用人单位的调查过于频繁。In his view, employers always have been unhappy with newly minted college graduates. The difference now is tha

30、t we just survey them more frequently.他认为这个问题是“manufactured moment”，也就是说是媒体制造出来的问题。（第 8 段）你同意这位校长的看法吗？当然，就这个问题，你也可以保留你自己的意见，你不同意的话，提出你的看法，但最重要的是要论证你的看法。5.用人单位过于追求毕业生专业对口。Employers are less willing to take chances on graduates without narrowly tailored majors.（第 13 段）narrowly tailored 指严格裁剪的，这里指专业严格对

31、口的。三、解决问题1.大学完全可以既注重培养学生的就业技能，也进行通识教育。Wesleyan 大学校长 Roth 认为：Roth believes universities like his, and higher education in general, can do better at preparing students for the job market without abandoning their traditional role to provide a broad education.这里面 Roth 特意提到了 project-based teaching and le

32、arning。这也是我们这门课需要做的，大家重视起来哦！He wants more courses to be project-based, for example, so that students better learn to work in teams and apply their knowledge to real-world problems as theyre learning.（第 11、12、13 段）2.家长降低预期，要能接受诸如哲学系毕业去酒吧做服务员此类的事件。Parents these days especially from more affluent families have some timesunreasonable expectations for what their children can do directly out of school（.段）第 143.学生降低预期，不要有特权意识。“That comes from a culture of entitlement.Th