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Is College a Worthy Investment
A) Why are we spending so much money on college And why are we so unhappy about it We all seem to agree that a college education is wonderful, and yet strangely we worry when we see families investing so much in this supposedly essential good. Maybe it’s time to ask a question that seems almost sacrilegious (大不敬的): is all this investment in college education really worth it
B)The answer, I fear, is no. For an increasing number of kids, the extra time and money spent pursuing a college diploma will leave them worse off than they were before they set foot on campus.
C)For my entire adult life, a good education has been the most important thing for middle-class households. My parents spent more educating my sister and me than they spent on their house, and they’re not the only ones... and, of course, for an increasing number of families, most of the cost of their house is actually the cost of living in a good school district. Questioning the value of a college education seems a bit like questioning the value of happiness, or fun.
D)The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college education has nearly doubled in that time. Is the education that today’s students are getting twice as good Are new workers twice as smart Have they become somehow massively more expensive to educate
E)Perhaps a bit. Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economics professor, says, “I look at the data, and I see college costs rising faster than inflation up to the mid-1980s by 1 percent a year. Now I see them rising 3 to 4 percent a year over inflation. What has happened The federal government has started dropping money out of airplanes.” Aid has increased, subsidized (补贴的) loans have become available, and “the universities have gotten the money.” Economist Bryan Caplan, who is writing a book about education, agrees: “It’s a giant waste of resources that will continue as long as the subsidies continue.”
F)Promotional literature for colleges and student loans often speaks of debt as an “investment in yourself.” But an investment is supposed to generate income to pay off the loans. More than half of all recent graduates are unemployed or in jobs that do not require a degree, and the amount of student-loan debt carried by households has increased more than five times since 1999. These graduates were told that a diploma was all they needed to succeed, but it won’t even get them out of the spare bedroom at Mom and Dad’s. For many, the most visible result of their four years is the loan payments, which now average hundreds of dollars a month on loan balances in the tens of thousands.
G)It’s true about the money—sort of. College graduates now make 80 percent more than people who have only a high-school diploma, and though there are no precise estimates, the wage premium (高出的部分) for an outstanding school seems to be even higher. But that’s not true of every student. It’s very easy to spend four years majoring in English literature and come out no more employable than you were before you went in. Conversely, chemical engineers straight out of school can easily make almost four times the wages of an entry-level high-school graduate.
H)James Heckman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, has examined how the returns on education break down for individuals with different backgrounds and levels of ability. “Even with these high prices, you’re still finding a high return for individuals who are bright and motivated,” he says. On the other hand, “if you’re not college ready, then the answer is no, it’s not worth it.” Experts tend to agree that for the average student, college is still worth it today, but they also agree that the rapid increase in price is eating up more and more of the potential return. For borderline students, tuition (学费) rise can push those returns into negative territory.
I)Everyone seems to agree that the government, and parents, should be rethinking how we invest in higher education—and that employers need to rethink the increasing use of college degrees as crude screening tools for jobs that don’t really require college skills. “Employers seeing a surplus of college graduates and looking to fill jobs are just adding that requirement,” says Vedder. “In fact, a college degree becomes a job requirement for becoming a bar-tender.”
J)We have started to see some change on the finance side. A law passed in 2007 allows many students to cap their loan payment at 10 percent of their income and forgives any balance after 25 years. But of course, that doesn’t control the cost of education; it just shifts it to taxpayers. It also encourages graduates to choose lower-paying careers, which reduces the financial return to education still further. “You’re subsidizing people to become priests and poets and so forth,” says Heckman. “You may think that’s a good thing, or you may not.” Either way it will be expensive for the government.
K)What might be a lot cheaper is putting more kids to work. Caplan notes that work also builds valuable skills—probably more valuable for kids who don’t naturally love sitting in a classroom. Heckman agrees wholeheartedly:“People are different, and those abilities can be shaped. That’s what we’ve learned, and public policy should recognize that.”
L)Heckman would like to see more apprenticeship-style (学徒式) programs, where kids can learn in the workplace—learn not just specific job skills, but the kind of “soft skills,” like getting to work on time and getting along with a team, that are crucial for career success. “It’s about having mentors (指导者) and having workplace-based education,” he says. “Time and again I’ve seen examples of this kind of program working.”
M)Ah, but how do we get there from here With better public policy, hopefully, but also by making better individual decisions. “Historically markets have been able to handle these things,” says Vedder, “and I think eventually markets will handle this one. If it doesn’t improve soon, people are going to wake up and ask, ‘Why am I going to college’”

填空题

Many college students today own personal computer that cost anywhere from $1,000 to perhaps %5,000 or more. (26)_____, it is not uncommon for them to purchase (27)_____costing another several hundred dollars. Twenty years ago, computers were (28) _____, but they were very large and extremely expensive. Few, if any,(29) _____ purchased computers for home use. Over the years, the price ofthe “guts” of a computer---its memory—has declined to less than a thousandth of the price per unit of memory that prevailed twenty years ago. This is the main reason why computers cost so much less today than they used to. Moreover, (30) ______improvements have made it possible to (31) _____memory circuitry that is small enough to fit into the portable personal computers that many of us own and use. (32)_____, as the price of computation has declined the average consumer and business have spent more on purchasing computers. (33)_____,improved agricultural technology,hybrid(杂交)seeds,(34)______animal breeding, and so on have vastly increased the amount of output a typical farmer can produce. The prices of goods such as meats and grains have fallen sharply relative to the prices of most other goods and services. As agricultural prices have fallen, many households have decreased their total expenses on food. Even though the (35)_______of a product purchased generally increases when its price falls, total expenses on it may decline.

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Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 　

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To get a sense of how women have progressed in science take a quick tour of the physics department at the University of California, Berkeley.This is a storied place the 36 of some of the most important discoveries in modern science-starting with Ernest Lawrence’s invention of the cvclotron(回旋加速器)in 1931.A generation ago female faces were 37 and,even today,visitors walking through the first floor of LeConte Hall will See a full corridor of exhibits 38 the many distinguished physicists who made history here, 39 all of there white males But climb up to the third floor and you’ll see a 40 display.There,among the photos of current facnlty members and students are portraits of the 41 head of the department,Marjorie Shapiro and four other women whose reseaich 42 everything from the mecheanics of the universe to the smallest particles of matter.A sixth woman was hired just two weeks ago.Although they’re Still only about 10 percent of the physics faculty,women are clearly a presence here.And the real 43 may be in the smaller photos to the right graduate and undergraduate students about 20 percent of them female.Every years Berkeley sends its fresh female physics PhDs to the country’s top universities.That makes Shapiro optimistic but also 44 "I believe things are getting bette "she says "but they’re not getting better as 45 as i would like."

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Passage One Questions 56 to 60 are based on the following passage.
A recent global survey of 2 000 high-net-worth individuals found that 60% were not planning on a traditional retirement. Among US participants, 75% expected to continue working in some capacity even after stepping away from full-time jobs. “Many of these people made their wealth by doing something they’re passionate (有激情的) about,” says Daniel Egan, head of behavioral finance for Barclays Wealth Americas. “Given the choice, they prefer to continue working.” Barclays calls these people “nevertirees.”Unlike many Americans compelled into early retirement by company restrictions, the average nevertiree often has no one forcing his hand. If 106-year-old investor Irving Kahn, head of his own family firm, wants to keep coming to work every day, who’s going to stop him Seventy-eight-year-old Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s job security is guaranteed in the Constitution.It may seem that these elderly people are trying to cheat death. In fact, they are. And it’s working. Howard Friedman, a professor at UC Riverside, found in his research that those who work hardest and are successful in their careers often live the longest lives. “People are generally being given bad advice to slow down, take it easy, stop worrying, and retire to Florida,” he says. He described one study participant, still working at the age of 100, who was recently disappointed to see his son retire.“We’re beginning to see a change in how people view retirement,” says George Leeson, co-director of the Institute of Population Ageing at Oxford. Where once retirement was seen as a brief reward after a long struggle through some miserable job, it is now akin (近似) to being cast aside. What Leeson terms “the Warren Buffett effect” is becoming more broadly appealing as individuals come to “view retirement as not simply being linked to economic productivity but also about contribution.”Observers are split on whether this is a wholly good thing. On the one hand, companies and financial firms can benefit from the wisdom of a resilient (坚韧的) chief. On the other, the new generation can find it more difficult to advance—an argument that typically holds little sway to a nevertiree.

填空题

Many college students today own personal computer that cost anywhere from $1,000 to perhaps %5,000 or more. (26)_____, it is not uncommon for them to purchase (27)_____costing another several hundred dollars. Twenty years ago, computers were (28) _____, but they were very large and extremely expensive. Few, if any,(29) _____ purchased computers for home use. Over the years, the price ofthe “guts” of a computer---its memory—has declined to less than a thousandth of the price per unit of memory that prevailed twenty years ago. This is the main reason why computers cost so much less today than they used to. Moreover, (30) ______improvements have made it possible to (31) _____memory circuitry that is small enough to fit into the portable personal computers that many of us own and use. (32)_____, as the price of computation has declined the average consumer and business have spent more on purchasing computers. (33)_____,improved agricultural technology,hybrid(杂交)seeds,(34)______animal breeding, and so on have vastly increased the amount of output a typical farmer can produce. The prices of goods such as meats and grains have fallen sharply relative to the prices of most other goods and services. As agricultural prices have fallen, many households have decreased their total expenses on food. Even though the (35)_______of a product purchased generally increases when its price falls, total expenses on it may decline.

单项选择题

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Passage One 　　 Questions 16 to 19 are based on the passage you have just heard. 　

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Passage Two 　　 Questions 20 to 22 are based on the passage you have just heard. 　

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Questions 12 to 15 are based on the conversation you have just heard. 　

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Passage Three 　　 Questions 23 to 25 are based on the passage you have just heard.