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UNITSEVENTEXTONEOnceuponatime—whentheU.S.dollarwasking—Americanstudentsblithelyflockedoverseastonibbleonaffordablesconesandcroissantsbetweenclasses.Howtimeshavechanged.Asthedollardipstoall-timelows,collegestudentsarefeelingthepinch.EspeciallyintheUnitedKingdomandcountriesthatusetheeuro—whichcurrentlyisat68centstothedollar—thecostoflivinghasskyrocketed.Yearsagowecouldsaystudyingabroadwasthesamepriceasstayingoncampus,saysDaeyaMalboeuf,anassociatedirectoratSyracuseUniversity.There'snowaywecansaythatanymore.Yetthisunfavorableeconomicenvironmenthasn'tstoppedstudentsfromscramblingoverseas.AccordingtotheInstituteofInternationalEducation,study-abroadprogramshavegrown144percentinthepastdecadeandcontinuetoincreasearound8percenteachyear.Consideringtherisingcosts,it'ssurprisinghowlittlethestudentshaven'tbeendeterred,saysNatalieBartush,whohandlesthestudy-abroadprogramattheUniversityofTexas.Wheretherealchangeappearstobehappeningasaresultofrisingpricesisinthelengthandlocationofstudents'foreignstudychoices.Thenumberofparticipantsinshort-termsummerprogramshasswelled,ashastheinterestincoursesatmoreexoticlocales.ForMiddleburyCollegestudents,forexample,ayearinFlorencecostsaround$37,000;atSantiago,Chile,it's$27,000.SuchpricedifferenceshavecontributedtomodestorflatgrowthattraditionallypopularprogramsinwesternEuropeandAustralia,whereasschoolsinChile,Argentina,SouthAfrica,andChina(particularlyHongKong)areaggressivelyexpandingtomeetrisingdemand.Programdirectorsarequicktopointoutthattheshiftisnotjustaboutmoney.Youcan'tunderstandtheUnitedStatestodaywithoutunderstandingwhat'sgoingonoutsideourborders,andthat'snotjustEuropeanymore,saysRebeccaHovey,deanofthestudy-abroadprogramattheSchoolforInternationalTraining.Interestinnontraditionallocalesspikedevenbeforethedollarbegandropping,andforeigncountriesaremarketingthemselvestoAmericanstudents.AsurgeofsupportfromeducationnonprofitsandtheStateDepartmentalsohasfueledthetrend.Study-abroadcostsalsovarywildlybasedonthewaycollegesstructuretheirprograms.Schoolsthateffectivelyswapstudentswithaforeigncollegearelessaffectedbythefallingdollar,butAmericanschoolsthatoperatetheirownstudentcentersoftenenduppayingmoreforrent,utilities,andfacultysalariesastheU.S.currencyfalters.Thedollar'sslidealsomeansthattryingtosetstudentfeesinadvanceisatiresomeguessinggameforcollegeofficials.Mostoftheseeducators'energy,however,isspentscroungingupextrafinancialaidforneedytravelers.Studentsalreadygettinghelpcanusuallytransfertheiraidtotuitionandfeesabroad,butbasicslikehousingandfoodareoftenatthemercyofthefluctuatingdollar.Airfare,whichcanexceed$1,000roundtrip,isnotgenerallyincludedinschoolfees,andwhirlwindtripsacrosscontinentsarerarelycheap.TheemphasisonstudentfinancialresponsibilityisespeciallyevidentatprivateschoolslikeSyracuse,whichchargesthesamepriceytuitionabroadasathome.EvenatmoreaffordablepublicuniversitiesandprivatecollegeslikeMiddlebury—whichchargesU.S.studentstheoftencheapertuitionoftheinternationalhostschools—counselorsarequicktopeddlethevirtueofthrift,alessonnolongerlostbetweenthoseonsafetyandcultureshock.参考译文：当美元还是老大的时候，美国学生都高高兴兴地成群跑到海外上学，课间可以品尝价格合适的烤饼和羊角面包。可是时代变化的真快啊。美元突然跌到空前的低点，学生们都感到了压力。特别是在英国和使用欧元的国家里（目前欧元对美元的汇率为68欧分兑1美元），生活的成本陡然增加。“几年前，我们可以说在国外学习和在国内大学学习花费差不多，”锡拉库扎大学的副院长DaeyaMalboeuf这样说，“但我们现在可不能这么说了。”但即使在这么不好的经济环境下，学生们还是争先恐后到海外去。国际教育学院认为，在过去十年内，海外学习项目增长了144%，而且还以每年4%的速度在继续增长。考虑到上升的成本问题，德克萨斯大学海外教育项目负责人NatalieBartush说，“奇怪的是有很少学生因此而不去上学的。”因为价格升高真正出现的变化是学生对于国外学习的时间长短和学习地点的选择。参加短期暑假学习项目的学生数量急剧增加，此外他们更有兴趣到那些和自己文化相异颇大的地方学习。比如，Middlebury学院的学生在佛罗伦萨一年的消费要3万7千美元；而在圣地亚哥和智利只要2万7千美元。价格的悬殊使得在西欧和澳大利亚较受欢迎的传统项目增长平平，而智利、阿根廷、南非和中国（尤其是香港）的学校却因需求急剧增加，也飞速扩大。项目主任指出这种变化不仅仅是因为费用。“现在如果你不知道美国之外其他地方的情况，就不能说你了解美国。美国之外的地方现在也不仅仅指欧洲了。”国家教育学校海外教育项目主任RebeccaHovey说道。在美元贬值前学生们对非传统地区的兴趣就已经开始增加了，而外国学校也在向美国学生宣传自己。而教育非盈利和美国国务院增加的扶持也推动了这种趋势。海外教育费用也因学校组织项目方式的不同方式而有很大差异。而那些与外国大学进行学生交换的学校因美元贬值受到的影响也较小。但是自己运营学生中心的美国学校却因为美元的波动，要在房租、设备、人员工资方面支付更多费用。而美元的贬值也意味着提前设定学费对于大学行政人员来说是个麻烦的估算工作。但是，大多数教育者的精力却花费在给那些贫困的旅客寻找额外的经济援助上面。已经获得援助的学生可以支付在国外学习的学费，但是其它的必需花费，如租房、伙食费就会受到美元波动的影响。超过1000美元的往返机票也一般不包括在学校费用中，而跨洲航班很少有便宜的。在像锡拉库扎这样的私立学校，学生需要自己负担经济费用的现象更是突出，这些私立学校对国内国外学生都收取同样昂贵的学费。公立大学或是像Middlebury这样的私立学院一般向美国学生收取的学费要比国际寄宿学校收取得少，相对比较便宜，但现在法律顾问也在提倡节约，这是安全与文化冲击之间不再会失去的一个教训。TEXTTWOThecompanythatrevolutionizedthedeliveryofinformationnowaimstodothesamewithelectricity.TechnologypowerhouseGoogletodayannounceditwouldspendtensofmillionsofdollarsnextyearinresearchanddevelopmentandinvestmentsinanefforttodrivedownthecostoflarge-scalerenewableenergytomakeitcheaperthancoal.NotonlywillGooglebehiringengineersandenergyexpertsforitsnewinitiative,knownasREC(renewableenergyatlesscostthancoal),butitalsowillmakeinvestmentsinfledglingcompanies—startingwiththosethatfocusonsolar-thermaltechnology,enhancedgeothermal,andhigh-altitudewindpower.Cheaprenewableenergyisnotonlycriticalfortheenvironmentbutalsovitalforeconomicdevelopmentinmanyplaceswherethereislimitedaffordableenergyofanykind,saidSergeyBrin,Googlecofounderandpresidentoftechnology,inapreparedstatement.Coalsupplies40percentoftheworld'sele