英国大学生的专业选择 | 外刊精读

学英语,总会有好事发生的。
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The Economist有一个数据分析栏目:Graphic detail,该栏目会选取近期热点趋势,并对其中涉及到的数据进行分析。比如近期的Graphic detail栏目分析了奥斯卡奖影响力变化情况,英国脱欧议案的支持率变化,以及比特币价格与挖矿耗电量的关系等。该栏目文章水平都很不错,值得重点精读。备考雅思小作文的同学也可以重点读一读该栏目,从中可以学到不少与图表分析相关的表达。


最近该栏目上有一篇分析英国学生学习文科和理科不同“钱景”的文章:The cost of studying the arts at Oxbridge 其中出现了不少值得学习积累的短语和句型。我选取了几个重点段落在这里进行分析:




这一段主要分析了目前大学存在的一个现象:在知名大学有更多学生选择纯学术类的专业,比如哲学和古典文化,而在普通大学则有更多人选择偏实用类的专业,比如商业或者护理。



Sceptics of higher education often complain that universities offer too manyfrivolous degrees with little value in the workplace.


Frivolous含义是“不重要的,无用的”(describes an activity or object which is silly or not important rather than useful or serious),frivolous degrees在这里是指“没有实用价值的学位”。这一句也提供了一个很好的句型:Sceptics of XX often complain that…(对XX的怀疑者经常抱怨说……),在描述有争议性的话题时可以用上它,比如:


(1) Sceptics of online education often complain that the drop-out rate of online courses is extremely high, and that staring at a computer screen is a poor substitute for a proper university experience.


(2) Sceptics of nuclear plants often complain that it is difficult to dispose of nuclear waste.



Since elite universities tend to produce higher-earning graduates than less selective institutions do, you might expect them to teach more practical courses. Yet data from Britain’s department for education show the opposite.


这篇文章中出现了不少关于“好大学”的说法,比如elite/prestigious/top/leading universities,第一句Since elite universities tend to…less selective institutions do 其中selective institutions是elite universities的同义替换词,放在这里用于避免用词重复。higher-earning graduates也是一个值得积累的表达,它可以用来替换graduates who earn a higher salary.


同时,我们也可以从中学到一个句型:Yet data from…show the opposite(但来自XX的数据表明事实正好相反)。举个例子,很多人认为国际援助能够改善贫困国家人民的生活,但数据事实正好相反。我们可以说:


Many people believe that international aid can improve people's lives in poor countries. Yet data from the United Nations show the opposite. Countries that receive the most aid are not making great strides forward and in some cases actually go backwards. 



Undergraduate students at prestigious universities are more likely to study purely academic fields such as philosophy and classics, whereas those at less choosy ones tend to pick vocational topics such as business or nursing.


这是一个很完美的对比句,充分体现了英文用词多样性的特点:prestigious universities对应less choosy ones,are more likely to对应tend to,study purely academic fields对应pick vocational topics


从这一句中我们也可以提取一个常见的对比句型:...are more likely to…whereas those...tend to… 举个例子,在应试作文中经常有这样的题目:应该选择自己感兴趣的工作还是选择高薪但自己不感兴趣的工作?如果你认为应该选择自己感兴趣的工作,可以这样说:


Graduates choosing a job that interests them are more likely to be successful in their career, whereas those who accept a high-paying but tedious position tend to end up feeling discouraged and empty.




这一段对前面提到的现象进行了解释:雇主们认为好学校出来的学生更聪明。即使名校生学习的是比较学术性的专业,他们毕业后往往也能拿到比较高的薪水。



What could explain this seeming contradiction? One reason is that employers treat a degree from a top university as a proxy for intelligence.


a proxy for something是一个固定搭配,含义是“衡量……的指标”,employers treat a degree from a top university as a proxy for intelligence 即“雇主们将顶级大学的学位作为衡量智力的指标”。


从这一句可以学到的句型是:What could explain…One reason is that…(如何解释……一个原因是……),举个例子:


What could explain the falling birth rate in rich countries? One reason is that as the cost of raising a child rises, people are inclined to have a smaller family.



This means that students at elite institutions can study bookish subjects and still squeak by financially.


This指代上一句employers treat…as a proxy for intelligence这部分内容,这是一个很常见的句间连接手段。举个例子,人口老龄化的一大影响就是消费放缓,因为老年人一般消费欲望没有年轻人强。这对经济会有负面影响。我们可以说:


Population ageing can have a negative impact on the economy. Elderly people tend to be less active consumers. This means that in an ageing society businesses will be hit hard.


Bookish是指“喜欢读书的,书呆子气的”,比如形容一个人书生气就可以用bookish。squeak by也是一个固定短语,意思是“勉强成功”(to succeed, win, or pass a test by a very small amount so that you only just avoid failure),students at elite institutions can study bookish subjects and still squeak by financially 即:名校学生能够学习理论型专业并且还勉强能拿到不错的薪水。




这一段提到虽然名校生学习文科专业仍然可以拿到高薪,但他们事实上付出了机会成本:如果他们选择的是名校热门专业,他们本来可以赚得更多。为了证明这一点,文中将剑桥大学毕业生的薪资与其他大学同专业毕业生的薪资进行了对比。



Yet even though Oxbridge students can pretend to read “Ulysses” for years and still expect a decent salary, they end up paying a large opportunity cost by pursuing the arts.


Ulysses是指《尤利西斯》,这是爱尔兰现代主义作家詹姆斯·乔伊斯于1922年出版的长篇小说。小说以时间为顺序,描述了主人公利奥波德·布卢姆(Leopold Bloom)于1904年6月16日一昼夜之内在都柏林的种种日常经历。


opportunity cost是一个常见的经济学概念,即“机会成本”。名校生学习文科专业毕业后薪水没有理工科的人多,这其中损失的钱就称为“机会成本”。


句子中the arts并不是专指“艺术学科”,而是指“文科”,与之对应的“理科”则是sciences



That is because employers reserve the highest starting wages for students who both attended a leading university and also studied a marketable subject.


Starting wages即我们常说的“起薪”,要表达“学习有市场前景的专业”,可以说study a marketable subject,此外,要形容某产品受市场欢迎还可以说a marketable product,符合市场需求的技能则是marketable skills



Cambridge creative-arts graduates earn £11,000 more at age 26 than do those from Wrexham Glyndwr University, whose arts alumni are the lowest-earning in Britain. In contrast, Cambridge economics graduates make £44,000 more than do those from the University of Salford, where the economics course is the country’s least remunerative.


第一句是一个倒装句,还原后相当于Cambridge creative-arts graduates earn £11,000 more at age 26 than those from Wrexham Glyndwr University do,这里之所以要用倒装是因为考虑到后面的定语从句whose arts… 将do提到前面可以让先行词和关系词尽量靠近。…whose arts alumni are the lowest-earning in Britain 意思是“雷克斯汉姆格林多大学的文科校友在英国同类大学专业毕业生中赚得最少”,the lowest-earning 这一说法值得学习,它可以用来代替earn the least.



总结


今天我们学习了以下几个重点句型和表达:


(1) Sceptics of XX often complain that…


(2) Yet data from…show the opposite


(3) ...are more likely to…whereas those...tend to…


(4) What could explain…One reason is that…


(5) a proxy for something


(6) This means that...


(7) study a marketable subject


感兴趣的同学可以使用这些句型造句以加深印象。

发布于 2020-11-05 17:37:35
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