It seems an appropriate moment to ask what lies ahead of students in Britain's rapidly changing universities. Will the experiences, the quality of education, and the job prospects of today's undergraduates be as good as those of their parents' generation?
现在似乎是询问英国快速变化的大学的学生将面临什么的合适时机。今天本科生的经历、教育质量和就业前景会和他们父母那一代人一样好吗？
Thirty years ago, just about 25 percent of young people received higher education. Today more than 50 percent do so. This does not mean that the quality of a degree is necessarily lower, but it does mean a university degree is no longer a qualification as distinctive as it once was. On the other hand, the economy has moved on, and the demand for graduates has grown at the same time as the supply has increased. In the 1960s, just around 200,000 to 400,000 students studied at British universities. Today the figure is over 2.5 million.
30 年前，只有大约 25% 的年轻人接受了高等教育。今天，超过 50% 的人这样做。这并不意味着学位的质量一定较低，但确实意味着大学学位不再像以前那样独特。另一方面，经济向前发展，对毕业生的需求在供应增加的同时也在增长。在 1960 年代，只有大约 200,000 到 400,000 名学生在英国大学学习。今天，这个数字已超过 250 万。
The British have seen a shift from a university system serving a small number of outstanding people to one that is now closer to the mass university systems of the USA and many European countries. At the same time, the university experience has gone from a five-star, luxury model to a mass-transit economy model. Nothing reveals this more obviously than the decreasing amount of public money spent on each student.
英国已经看到从服务于少数优秀人才的大学系统转变为现在更接近美国和许多欧洲国家的大众大学系统。与此同时，大学体验已经从五星级的豪华模式转变为公共交通经济模式。没有什么比花在每个学生身上的公共资金减少更能明显地说明这一点了。
The result is that most of today's students receive no grants to cover living costs, about half of them must pay for their tuition costs, and all face more crowded lecture theaters and less individual time with their teachers.
结果是，今天的大多数学生没有得到任何助学金来支付生活费用，他们中大约有一半必须支付学费，并且都面临着更拥挤的演讲厅和更少的与老师相处的个人时间。
Nevertheless, one effect of the growing cost of getting a degree has been boosting the popularity of vocational degree courses. According to a survey, the five most popular courses are business and management studies, computer science, law, psychology, and primary education. You have to go to sixth place to find the first purely academic subject, namely English.
尽管如此，获得学位的成本不断增长的一个影响是推动了职业学位课程的普及。根据一项调查，最受欢迎的五门课程是商业和管理研究、计算机科学、法律、心理学和小学教育。你必须去第六名才能找到第一个纯学术科目，即英语。
1. What do we learn about today's British universities?
1. 我们对今天的英国大学有什么了解？
A
They are getting better than before.
他们比以前更好了。
B
They are experiencing rapid changes.
他们正在经历快速的变化。
C
They are adopting lower academic standards.
他们正在采用较低的学术标准。
D
They are enrolling fewer students than before. 2. Why does the author say "a university degree is no longer a qualification as distinctive as it once was"?
他们招收的学生比以前少了。2. 为什么作者说“大学学位不再像以前那样独特”？
A
Now, having a university degree is quite common among young people.
现在，拥有大学学位在年轻人中很常见。
B
Now, having a university degree cannot prove that a person is outstanding.
现在，拥有大学学位并不能证明一个人很杰出。
C
In the past, the quality of higher education was much better than it is now.
过去，高等教育的质量比现在好得多。
D
In the past, having a university degree was a necessary qualification for people.
过去，拥有大学学位是人们的必要资格。
3. What can we infer about the university system of the USA?
3. 关于美国的大学制度，我们可以推断出什么？
A
It is different from those in European countries.
它与欧洲国家的不同。
B
It is experiencing a complete change in many aspects.
它在许多方面都发生了翻天覆地的变化。
C
It is of great benefit to outstanding students in particular.
它对优秀学生尤其有益。
D
It is somewhat different from what the UK university system was in the past.
它与过去的英国大学系统有些不同。
4. What are British college students experiencing now?
4. 英国大学生现在经历了什么？
A
They have to work part-time very hard to earn money for their tuition fees.
他们必须非常努力地兼职工作才能赚到学费。
B
They have more crowded classrooms and less time to spend with teachers alone.
他们的教室更拥挤，单独与老师在一起的时间更少。
C
They don't have enough time to study English because of other important courses.
由于其他重要的课程，他们没有足够的时间学习英语。
D
They can enjoy the five-star, luxury design of classrooms and various after-class activities.
他们可以享受五星级、豪华的教室设计和各种课后活动。
5. What can we infer from the last paragraph of the passage?
5. 我们可以从这段经文的最后一段推断出什么？
A
Students don't want to choose purely academic courses at all.
学生根本不想选择纯粹的学术课程。
B
Tuition fees have a great influence on students' choices of courses.
学费对学生的课程选择有很大影响。
C
English is not favored by students compared with other academic courses.
与其他学术课程相比，英语不受学生的青睐。
D
Primary education is the least popular purely academic course among students.
初等教育是最不受学生欢迎的纯学术课程。
Indian parents who want to get a college education for their children are considering a variety of expensive alternatives, including sending them to a local branch of a British or an Australian university. Across India, education is the key to being part of the story of economic growth. But competition for state-funded college places is now so intense that many families are considering the choice of paying for an expensive degree abroad.
想要让孩子接受大学教育的印度父母正在考虑各种昂贵的选择，包括将他们送到英国或澳大利亚大学的当地分校。在印度，教育是成为经济增长故事的一部分的关键。但现在对公立大学名额的竞争如此激烈，以至于许多家庭都在考虑选择支付昂贵的海外学位。
In India, technical subjects, especially engineering, are the most competitive. There are only around 10,000 places at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), but almost half a million people try to get in. The option is now so popular, with many families raising expensive loans or spending their life savings, that a new profession has sprung up to help them – the education consultant.
在印度，技术学科，尤其是工程学科，竞争最激烈。著名的印度理工学院 （IIT） 只有大约 10,000 个名额，但有近五十万人试图进入。这种选择现在非常流行，许多家庭筹集昂贵的贷款或花掉他们毕生的积蓄，以至于一个新的职业如雨后春笋般涌现来帮助他们——教育顾问。
Some education consultants charge schools fees to provide their services to students, and others charge students fees directly. Victoria is from a global education consultancy, which has plenty of offices across India. She advises that India offers the best value for undergraduate programs because the cost is relatively low.
一些教育顾问向学校收取费用以为学生提供服务，而另一些则直接向学生收取费用。Victoria 来自一家全球教育咨询公司，该公司在印度设有多个办事处。她建议印度为本科课程提供最佳价值，因为成本相对较低。
Those who get into the best Indian colleges on merit alone will be able to get a world-class education with a relatively small amount of money per year, she says, which explains the crushing competition for these places. Some colleges tend to reserve places for students from low-income families, but even at inexpensive state colleges, tuition fees have risen in recent years.
她说，那些仅凭成绩进入印度最好的大学的人将能够用每年相对较少的钱获得世界一流的教育，这解释了这些地方的激烈竞争。一些大学倾向于为来自低收入家庭的学生保留名额，但即使是在廉价的州立大学，近年来学费也有所上涨。
For families elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia, there is a halfway option. Jonathan has spent the last three years studying engineering at a British institution, the University of Nottingham, without ever leaving his hometown of Kuala Lumpur. Across the region, branch campuses of European, American, and Australian universities are springing up, often charging lower fees than they would if you study at their main campuses.
对于南亚和东南亚其他地方的家庭，有一个折衷的选择。Jonathan 在过去的三年里一直在英国诺丁汉大学学习工程学，从未离开过他的家乡吉隆坡。在整个地区，欧洲、美国和澳大利亚大学的分校如雨后春笋般涌现，其收费通常比在主校区学习的费用要低。
1. Why are many Indian parents considering paying for an expensive degree abroad for their children?
1. 为什么许多印度父母考虑为他们的孩子支付昂贵的海外学位费用？
A
Going abroad offers their children a variety of choices.
出国为他们的孩子提供了多种选择。
B
Their children face a fierce competition to study at home.
他们的孩子面临着在家学习的激烈竞争。
C
The local branches of foreign universities are attractive to them.
外国大学的当地分校对他们很有吸引力。
D
Studying abroad can guarantee their children a promising future.
出国留学可以保证他们的孩子有一个充满希望的未来。
2. What do Indian families probably do in order to help their children get into prestigious institutes?
2. 印度家庭可能会怎么做才能帮助他们的孩子进入名牌大学？
A
Select as many institutes as possible.
选择尽可能多的机构。
B
Turn to education consultants for advice.
向教育顾问寻求建议。
C
Pay more to the institutes they want to get into.
向他们想进入的机构支付更多费用。
D
Spend their life savings on consulting services. 3. What can we learn about the global education consultancy mentioned in the passage?
将毕生积蓄花在咨询服务上。3. 关于文中提到的全球教育咨询公司，我们可以学到什么？
A
It has plenty of branches across India.
它在印度有很多分支机构。
B
It offers free services to students from Asia.
它为来自亚洲的学生提供免费服务。
C
It charges a small amount of money for its services.
它对其服务收取少量费用。
D
It gives advice to students from high-income families. 4. What do we learn about Indian colleges, according to Victoria?
它为来自高收入家庭的学生提供建议。4. 根据 Victoria 的说法，我们对印度大学有什么了解？
A
Educational costs have dropped at some prestigious Indian state colleges in recent years.
近年来，一些著名的印度州立大学的教育成本有所下降。
B
Students from low-income families struggle to afford Indian colleges due to high tuition fees.
由于学费高昂，来自低收入家庭的学生难以负担印度大学的费用。
C
Indian colleges are a good choice for postgraduate programs due to relatively low tuition fees.
由于学费相对较低，印度大学是研究生课程的不错选择。
D
Students who get admitted to the best Indian colleges based on merit alone don't have to pay high tuition fees.
仅凭成绩被印度最好的大学录取的学生不必支付高昂的学费。
5. Why can Jonathan study at a British university without leaving his hometown?
5. 为什么乔纳森可以不离开家乡就在英国大学学习？
A
The university offers online classes.
该大学提供在线课程。
B
The university sends teachers to his hometown.
大学派老师到他的家乡。
C
The university has opened a campus in his hometown.
该大学在他的家乡开设了一个校区。
D
The university has some special programs for Asian students.
该大学为亚洲学生提供了一些特殊课程。
In June every year, China's provincial-level regions release students' scores in the national college entrance exam and unveil their undergraduate admissions policies for students to fill out their college application forms. According to the 2021 undergraduate major catalog published by the Ministry of Education, a total of 37 new majors have been added by 43 Chinese universities for the first time.
每年 6 月，中国各省级地区都会公布学生在全国高考中的成绩，并公布本科招生政策，供学生填写大学申请表。根据教育部公布的 2021 年本科专业目录，中国 43 所高校首次共新增 37 个专业。
About one-third of these newly approved majors are related to electronic information technology and artificial intelligence. These majors include intelligent mining engineering, smart transportation, energy Internet engineering, flexible electronics, and intelligent aircraft technology.
这些新获批的专业中约有三分之一与电子信息技术和人工智能有关。这些专业包括智能采矿工程、智能交通、能源互联网工程、柔性电子和智能飞机技术。
In China, college students have gained access to university programs that encourage a broad base of study, and after one or two years of studying basic courses, they can decide on a more specific major, observers note.
观察人士指出，在中国，大学生已经获得了鼓励广泛学习基础的大学课程，在学习基础课程一两年后，他们可以决定更具体的专业。
Out of the 37 new majors, only 12 are in the humanities, arts, and social sciences – a much smaller number compared to the additional majors in science and technology. This has triggered concern among some students and netizens. But experts point out that the decision is in line with China's job market as well as the country's urgent need for talent in related fields. Institutions of higher education in China are working hard to train more high-tech-related interdisciplinary talent in order to promote the development of the country's core technologies and solve bottleneck problems.
在 37 个新专业中，只有 12 个是人文、艺术和社会科学——与额外的科学和技术专业相比，这个数字要小得多。这引发了一些学生和网友的关注。但专家指出，这一决定符合中国的就业市场以及该国对相关领域人才的迫切需求。中国的高等院校正在努力培养更多与高科技相关的交叉学科人才，以促进国家核心技术的发展，解决瓶颈问题。
The Ministry of Education suggests that universities should use various methods to keep teachers and students informed of college admissions policies and fully use information technology to provide candidates with multiple forms of guidance for their application.
教育部建议，高校应通过多种方式让师生了解大学招生政策，并充分利用信息技术为考生提供多种形式的申请指导。
All regions are required to carry out training programs to help students select majors appropriately when they are filling out application forms. Scholars have also pointed out that over the years, both teachers and students have become increasingly aware of the importance of choosing a suitable major and the crucial role it plays in students' future development.
各地区均需开展培训项目，帮助学生在填写申请表时适当选择专业。学者又指出，多年来，教师和学生都越来越意识到选择合适的专业的重要性，以及专业对学生未来发展的关键作用。
1. What does the author say about China's undergraduate admissions in 2021?
1. 笔者对 2021 年中国本科招生情况有何看法？
A
Forty-three new majors were added for the first time in China.
中国首次新增 43 个专业。
B
All universities in China added the 37 new undergraduate majors.
中国所有大学都增加了 37 个新的本科专业。
C
The Ministry of Education published a new undergraduate major catalog.
教育部发布了新的本科专业目录。
D
Some provincial-level regions didn't release their undergraduate admissions policies.
一些省级地区没有公布本科招生政策。
2. What can we learn about the newly approved majors?
2. 关于新获批的专业，我们可以学到什么？
A
They have aroused opposition from some students and netizens.
他们引起了一些学生和网友的反对。
B
About one-third of these new majors are related to the humanities.
这些新专业中约有三分之一与人文学科有关。
C
Majors related to science and technology occupy a large proportion.
理工科相关专业占据很大比重。
D
Majors related to social sciences are not welcomed by some parents. 3. Why shouldn't we be concerned about the larger proportion of new majors in science and technology, according to the experts?
与社会科学相关的专业不受一些家长的欢迎。3. 专家认为，为什么我们不应该关注科学和技术新专业比例较大？
A
Some majors related to arts are no longer popular.
一些与艺术相关的专业不再受欢迎。
B
Students prefer majors related to science and technology.
学生更喜欢与科学和技术相关的专业。
C
The authorities advise students to choose science-related majors.
当局建议学生选择与科学相关的专业。
D
It is in accord with the job market and the urgent need for talent in related fields.
它符合就业市场和相关领域对人才的迫切需求。
4. What is the suggestion of the Ministry of Education on undergraduate admissions?
4. 教育部对本科招生有什么建议？
A
Various forms of guidance should be given to university authorities.
应向大学当局提供各种形式的指导。
B
Information technology should be fully used to select outstanding students.
要充分利用信息技术来选拔优秀学生。
C
College admissions policies should be made available to teachers and students.
大学招生政策应该提供给教师和学生。
D
Students should use various methods to gather college admissions information. 5. What can we learn from the passage?
学生应该使用各种方法来收集大学录取信息。5.我们可以从这段经文学到什么？
A
Many students have a negative attitude toward technology-related majors.
许多学生对技术相关专业持消极态度。
B
Many students are still unaware of the significance of selecting their majors.
许多学生仍然没有意识到选择专业的重要性。
C
Students do not have training programs to help them choose appropriate majors.
学生没有帮助他们选择合适的专业的培训计划。
D
Students believe that selecting the most suitable major is crucial to their future development.
学生们认为，选择最合适的专业对他们未来的发展至关重要。