考研英语阅读理解:大学毕业生的担忧
Angst for the educated
大学毕业生的担忧
MILLIONS of school-leavers in the rich world are about to bid a tearful goodbye to their parentsand start a new life at university. Some are inspired by a pure love of learning. But most alsobelieve that spending three or four years at universityand accumulating huge debts in theprocesswill boost their chances of landing a well-paid and secure job.
发达国家数百万的高中毕业生将要含泪告别他们的.父母,开始新的大学生活。有些人被纯粹热爱学习鼓舞着。但是大部分人同样相信在大学待三、四年,虽然在这个过程中累积了大量的债务,但他们获得高薪稳定工作的几率将会大大增加。
Their elders have always told them that education is the best way to equip themselves to thrivein a globalised world. Blue-collar workers will see their jobs offshored and automated, thefamiliar argument goes. School dropouts will have to cope with a life of cash-strappedinsecurity. But the graduate elite will have the world at its feet. There is some evidence tosupport this view. A recent study from Georgetown Universitys Centre on Education and theWorkforce argues that obtaining a post-secondary credential is almost always worth it.Educational qualifications are tightly correlated with earnings: an American with a professionaldegree can expect to pocket $3.6m over a lifetime; one with merely a high-school diploma canexpect only $1.3m. The gap between more- and less-educated earners may be widening. Astudy in 2002 found that someone with a bachelors degree could expect to earn 75% moreover a lifetime than someone with only a high-school diploma. Today the premium is evenhigher.