长篇阅读Passage2IsCollegeaWorthyInvestment?A)Whyarewespendingsomuchmoneyoncollege?Andwhyarewesounhappyaboutit?Weallseemtoagreethatacollegeeducationiswonderful,andyetstrangelyweworrywhenweseefamiliesinvestingsomuchinthissupposedlyessentialgood.Maybeit’stimetoaskaquestionthatseemsalmostsacrilegious(大不敬的):isallthisinvestmentincollegeeducationreallyworthit?B)Theanswer,Ifear,isno.Foranincreasingnumberofkids,theextratimeandmoneyspentpursuingacollegediplomawillleavethemworseoffthantheywerebeforetheysetfootoncampus.C)Formyentireadultlife,agoodeducationhasbeenthemostimportantthingformiddle-classhouseholds.Myparentsspentmoreeducatingmysisterandmethantheyspentontheirhouse,andthey’renottheonlyones...and,ofcourse,foranincreasingnumberoffamilies,mostofthecostoftheirhouseisactuallythecostoflivinginagoodschooldistrict.Questioningthevalueofacollegeeducationseemsabitlikequestioningthevalueofhappiness,orfun.D)Theaveragepriceofallgoodsandserviceshasrisenabout50percent.Butthepriceofacollegeeducationhasnearlydoubledinthattime.Istheeducationthattoday’sstudentsaregettingtwiceasgood?Arenewworkerstwiceassmart?Havetheybecomesomehowmassivelymoreexpensivetoeducate?E)Perhapsabit.RichardVedder,anOhioUniversityeconomicsprofessor,says,“Ilookatthedata,andIseecollegecostsrisingfasterthaninflationuptothemid-1980sby1percentayear.NowIseethemrising3to4percentayearoverinflation.Whathashappened?Thefederalgovernmenthasstarteddroppingmoneyoutofairplanes.”Aidhasincreased,subsidized(补贴的)loanshavebecomeavailable,and“theuniversitieshavegottenthemoney.”EconomistBryanCaplan,whoiswritingabookabouteducation,agrees:“It’sagiantwasteofresourcesthatwillcontinueaslongasthesubsidiescontinue.”F)Promotionalliteratureforcollegesandstudentloansoftenspeaksofdebtasan“investmentinyourself.”Butaninvestmentissupposedtogenerateincometopayofftheloans.Morethanhalfofallrecentgraduatesareunemployedorinjobsthatdonotrequireadegree,andtheamountofstudent-loandebtcarriedbyhouseholdshasincreasedmorethanfivetimessince1999.Thesegraduatesweretoldthatadiplomawasalltheyneededtosucceed,butitwon’tevengetthemoutofthesparebedroomatMomandDad’s.Formany,themostvisibleresultoftheirfouryearsistheloanpayments,whichnowaveragehundredsofdollarsamonthonloanbalancesinthetensofthousands.G)It’strueaboutthemoney—sortof.Collegegraduatesnowmake80percentmorethanpeoplewhohaveonlyahigh-schooldiploma,andthoughtherearenopreciseestimates,thewagepremium(高出的部分)foranoutstandingschoolseemstobeevenhigher.Butthat’snottrueofeverystudent.It’sveryeasytospendfouryearsmajoringinEnglishliteratureandcomeoutnomoreemployablethanyouwerebeforeyouwentin.Conversely,chemicalengineersstraightoutofschoolcaneasilymakealmostfourtimesthewagesofanentry-levelhigh-schoolgraduate.H)JamesHeckman,theNobelPrize-winningeconomist,hasexaminedhowthereturnsoneducationbreakdownforindividualswithdifferentbackgroundsandlevelsofability.“Evenwiththesehighprices,you’restillfindingahighreturnforindividualswhoarebrightandmotivated,”hesays.Ontheotherhand,“ifyou’renotcollegeready,thentheanswerisno,it’snotworthit.”Expertstendtoagreethatfortheaveragestudent,collegeisstillworthittoday,buttheyalsoagreethattherapidincreaseinpriceiseatingupmoreandmoreofthepotentialreturn.Forborderlinestudents,tuition(学费)risecanpushthosereturnsintonegativeterritory.I)Everyoneseemstoagreethatthegovernment,andparents,shouldberethinkinghowweinvestinhighereducation—andthatemployersneedtorethinktheincreasinguseofcollegedegreesascrudescreeningtoolsforjobsthatdon’treallyrequirecollegeskills.“Employersseeingasurplusofcollegegraduatesandlookingtofilljobsarejustaddingthatrequirement,”saysVedder.“Infact,acollegedegreebecomesajobrequirementforbecomingabar-tender.”J)Wehavestartedtoseesomechangeonthefinanceside.Alawpassedin2007allowsmanystudentstocaptheirloanpaymentat10percentoftheirincomeandforgivesanybalanceafter25years.Butofcourse,thatdoesn’tcontrolthecostofeducation;itjustshiftsittotaxpayers.Italsoencouragesgraduatestochooselower-payingcareers,whichreducesthefinancialreturntoeducationstillfurther.“You’resubsidizingpeopletobecomepriestsandpoetsandsoforth,”saysHeckman.“Youmaythinkthat’sagoodthing,oryoumaynot.”Eitherwayitwillbeexpensiveforthegovernment.K)Whatmightbealotcheaperisputtingmorekidstowork.Caplannotesthatworkalsobuildsvaluableskills—probablymorevaluableforkidswhodon’tnaturallylovesittinginaclassroom.Heckmanagreeswholeheartedly:“Peoplearedifferent,andthoseabilitiescanbeshaped.That’swhatwe’velearned,andpublicpolicyshouldrecognizethat.”L)Heckmanwouldliketoseemoreapprenticeship-style(学徒式)programs,wherekidscanlearnintheworkplace—learnnotjustspecificjobskills,butthekindof“softskills,”likegettingtoworkontimeandgettingalongwithateam,thatarecrucialforcareersuccess.“It’sabouthavingmentors(指导者)andhavingworkplace-basededucation,”hesays.“TimeandagainI’veseenexamplesofthiskindofprogramworking.”M)Ah,buthowdowegettherefromhere?Withbetterpublicpolicy,hopefully,butalsobymakingbetterindividualdecisions.“Historicallymarketshavebeenabletohandlethesethings,”saysVedder,“andIthinkeventuallymarketswillhandlethisone.Ifitdoesn’timprovesoon,peoplearegoingtowakeupandask,‘WhyamIgoingtocollege?’”1.Caplansuggeststhatkidswhodon’tloveschoolgotowork.2.Anincreasingnumberoffamiliesspendmoremoneyonhousesinagoodschooldistrict.3.Subsidizedloanstocollegestudentsareahugewasteofmoney,accordingtooneeconomist.4.Moreandmorekidsfindtheyfareworsewithacollegediploma.5.Forthosewhoarenotpreparedforhighereducation,goingtocollegeisnotworthit.6.Overtheyearsthecostofacollegeeducationhasincreasedalmostby100%.7.Alawpassedrecentlyallowsmanystudentstopaynomorethanonetenthoftheirincomefortheircollegeloans.8.Middle-classAmericanshavehighlyvaluedagoodeducation.9.Morekidsshouldbeencouragedtoparticipateinprogramswheretheycanlearnnotonlyjobskillsbutalsosocialskills.10.Overfiftypercentofrecentcollegegraduatesremainunemployedorunabletofindasuitablejob.