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2013年12月大学英语四级考试真题(二)SectionBIsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?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,andtheuniversitieshavegottenthemoney.EconomistBryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees：It’sagiantwasteofresourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue.F)Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasaninvestmentinyourself.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,shouldberethinkinghowweinvestinhighereducation—andthatemployersneedtorethinktheincreasinguseofcollegedegreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon’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一probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon’tnaturallylovesittinginaclassroom.Heckmanagreeswholeheartedly：**Peoplearedifferent,andthoseabilitiescanbeshaped.That’swhatwe’velearned,andpublicpolicyshouldrecognizethat.L)Heckmanwouldliketoseemoreapprenticeship-style(学徒式）programs,wherekidscanlearnintheworkplace—learnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekindofsoftskills，likegettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam,thatarecrucialforcareersuccess.It’sabouthavingmentors(指导者)andhavingworkplace-basededucation,”hesays.TimeandagainI’veseenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking.M)Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions.‘‘Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethesethings,”saysVedder,andIthinkeventuallymarketswillhandlethisone.Ifit