Question

Is the “Go to College” Message Overdone?

Even in a weak job market, the old college try isn’t the answer for everyone. A briefing paper from the Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.

“We’ve been telling students and their families for years that college is the only way to succeed in the economy and of course there’s a lot of truth to that,” Ms. Sawhill said. “On average it does pay off… But if you load up on a whole lot of student debt and then you don’t graduate, that is a very bad situation.”

One comment that people often repeat among the years of slow job growth has been the value of education for landing a job and advancing in a career. April’s national unemployment rate stood at 7.5%, according to the Labor Department. The unemployment rate for high-school graduates over 25 years old who hadn’t attended college was 7.4%, compared with 3.9% for those with a bachelor’s degree or more education. The difference is even bigger among those aged 16—24. The jobless rate for those with only a high school diploma in that age group is about 20%. At the same time, recent research by Canadian economists warns that a college degree is no guarantee of promising employment.

Ms. Sawhill pointed out that among the aspects that affect the value of a college education is the field of one’s major: Students in engineering or other sciences end up earning more than ones who major in the arts or education. The cost of tuition (學(xué)費(fèi)) and the availability of financial aid are other considerations, with public institutions generally a better financial bargain than private ones.

She suggested two ways to improve the situation: increasing vocational (職業(yè)的)-technical training programs and taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning. “The European countries put a little more attention to getting people prepared in the primary grades,” she said. “Then they have a higher bar for whoever goes to college—but once you get into college, you’re more likely to be highly subsidized (資助).”

She also is a supporter of technical training—to teach students how to be plumbers, welders and computer programmers—because “employers are desperate” for workers with these skills.

1.People usually think that .

A. the cost of technical schooling is a problem

B. technical skills are most important for finding a job

C. one will not succeed without a college degree

D. there is an increased competition in getting into a college

2.What does the underlined part “taking a page from” (in Para.5) possibly mean?

A. Learning from. B. Changing from.

C. Differing from.D. Hearing from.

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Public institutions charge more for education.

B. European universities are stricter with students.

C. Canadian students prefer to major in engineering.

D. Students with certain skills are in great demand.

4.Ms. Sawhill may probably agree that .

A. technical training is more important than college education

B. too much stress has been put on the value of college degrees

C. a college degree will ensure promising employment

D. it’s easier for art students to find favorite jobs

 

Answer 1

1.C

2.A

3.D

4.B

【解析】

試題分析：這篇文章主要講了是不是“上大學(xué)”的消息過頭了，圍繞這一話題 Sawhill女士提出了兩種途徑改善現(xiàn)狀：越來越多的職業(yè)（職業(yè)的），技術(shù)培訓(xùn)計劃。

1.人們常常認(rèn)為沒有大學(xué)文憑就不會成功。故選C。

2.taking a page from Europe’s focus on early education rather than post-secondary learning..可知作者意思是建議向歐洲的關(guān)注早期教育學(xué)習(xí)，故選A。

3.雇主渴望招聘到有職業(yè)技能的員工，當(dāng)然有職業(yè)技能的學(xué)生炙手可熱，故選D。

4.Brookings Institution warns that “we may have overdone the message” on college, senior fellow Isabel Sawhill said.通過此段，可推測出Sawhill女士同樣認(rèn)為人們對大學(xué)學(xué)位給予太多壓力，故選B。

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