Experts have argued that this contradiction is at the heart of the problem of public education today. It is not, as business leaders claim, that the schools are failing to properly educate students, that they are turning out2 young people who are inadequately prepared to function in the workplace . The real problem is a dearth of economic opportunities for students who are not continuing on to college .

　　College graduates also are having difficulty finding jobs. Even when they do, the jobs may not be commensurate with3 their training and expectations. Part of the problem is that too many young Americans aspire to have professional jobs, making disappointment and frustration inevitable for some. Many students assumed that what was true of an individu-al — that the higher the education, the better the job opportunities —would also be true for an entire society4. But when the numbers of better-educated young people became too great, the economy could no longer absorb them

　　Another part of the problem is the assumption that greater educational attainment guarantees career advancement. In fact, employers do not routinely reward educational attainment; rather, they reward it only when they believe it will contribute to the employee ’s productivity.

　　We should not overlook the fact that there is still a strong correlation between education, occupation , and income . College graduates have a strong advantage over those with less education . But the payoff is neither as large nor as certain as it once was.

　　Unfortunately, Americans have focused so strongly on the economic payoff that many consider their college education useless if it does not yield a desirable, well-paying job. Only in this sense can we speak of an“ oversupply”of college graduates. 5 We could argue that all or at least the majority of Americans would profit by some degree because higher education can enable the individual to think more deeply, explore more widely, and enjoy a greater range of experiences.

　　閱讀自測(cè)

　　Ⅰ. Choose the be st answer to fill in the blanks :

　　1. In the eyes of the public , higher education can_______ in terms of obtaining a decent job.

　　A. pay back B. pay off C. pay out D. pay up

　　2. Things_______ to be exactly as the professor had foreseen.

　　A. turned up B. turned on C. turned out D. turned over

　　3. He was satisfied with the salary that was_________ with his abilities.

　　A. familiar B. proportional C. content D. commensurate

　　Ⅱ. Write these sentences in inverted order beginning ea ch one with the words in italics :

　　1. I realized what was happening only then. 2. There were piles of books, magazines and newspapers on the floor.

　　3. I have never heard such nonsense in all my life . 參考答案 Ⅰ. 1. B 2. C 3 . D Ⅱ. 1. Only then did I realize what was happening. 2. On the floor were piles of books, magazines and newspapers. 3. Never in all my life have I heard such nonsense .

　　參考譯文

　　教育是搶劫嗎?

　　我 們對(duì)教育的一個(gè)期望是它能幫我們?cè)诠ぷ髦蝎@得晉升。歷史上, 教育與收入的關(guān)系 十分密切。然而, 在20 世紀(jì)70 年代早期, 教育和經(jīng)濟(jì)之間產(chǎn)生了矛盾。我們對(duì)教育的重 視和平均受教育水平超過(guò)社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)吸納畢業(yè)生的能力水平。自20 世紀(jì)70 年代開(kāi)始, 高中 畢業(yè)生的收入大幅度下降, 致使他們成為自二戰(zhàn)以來(lái)生活水平比父輩低的第一代人。

　　專家們宣稱, 這種矛盾是當(dāng)今大眾教育的核心問(wèn)題所在。一些商界要人聲稱: 學(xué)校沒(méi) 能教育好學(xué)生, 學(xué)校培養(yǎng)的年輕人對(duì)工作還沒(méi)做好充分準(zhǔn)備, 但事實(shí)并不是這樣。真正的 問(wèn)題是: 對(duì)那些沒(méi)能繼續(xù)到大學(xué)里深造的學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō), 他們?nèi)鄙俟ぷ鳈C(jī)會(huì)。大學(xué)畢業(yè)生找工作也有困難。即使他們找到工作, 這份工作也可能與他們接受的培訓(xùn) 和工作期望值不相符。問(wèn)題部分出在有太多的美國(guó)年輕人渴望獲得一份專門職業(yè), 這使許多 人不可避免地會(huì)產(chǎn)生失落感和挫敗感。許多學(xué)生認(rèn)為適用于個(gè)人的道理( 教育程度越 高, 工作機(jī)會(huì)就越好) 同樣也適用于整個(gè)社會(huì)。但是, 如果獲得良好教育的年輕人的數(shù)量過(guò) 于龐大的話, 國(guó)家經(jīng)濟(jì)就不能吸納這么多人。

　　問(wèn)題的另一方面是, 人們總是認(rèn)為較高的教育程度能保證事業(yè)上的先進(jìn)。事實(shí)上, 雇 主不會(huì)總是對(duì)高學(xué)歷給予特殊關(guān)照。相反, 只有當(dāng)雇主認(rèn)為雇員所受的教育能幫助雇員提 高生產(chǎn)力的時(shí)候, 他們才會(huì)給予特別關(guān)照, 增加薪水。

　　我們不能忽視這樣一個(gè)事實(shí): 教育、職業(yè)和薪水之間仍然存在著密切的關(guān)系。大學(xué)畢 業(yè)生比起那些教育程度低的人還是有很強(qiáng)的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì), 但回報(bào)既不會(huì)像從前那樣豐厚, 也 不會(huì)像從前那樣確定無(wú)疑。

　　不幸的是, 美國(guó)人特別注重經(jīng)濟(jì)回報(bào), 以至于如果教育沒(méi)能使人得到一份令人滿意、薪 水豐厚的工作的話, 許多人就會(huì)認(rèn)為大學(xué)教育毫無(wú)用處。也只有從這個(gè)意義上看, 我們才 能說(shuō)大學(xué)畢業(yè)生“ 供過(guò)于求”。我們有理由認(rèn)為, 所有美國(guó)人或至少大部分美國(guó)人都能或 多或少?gòu)拇髮W(xué)教育中獲益, 因?yàn)楦叩冉逃苁谷烁钊氲厮伎? 進(jìn)行更廣泛的探索, 獲得更 全面的體驗(yàn)。