经济学人:韩国的不公平:精英教育(2)

 　　The unfairness is all the more galling¹ because of the fierce competition for jobs. 在激烈的就业竞争中的不公平现象更加令人痛心疾首。

　　This year there were 36 applicants² for every job, up from 32 two years ago. 今年每份工作有36人申请，超过了两年前的32人。

　　Youth unemployment reached a record 12% earlier this year. 今年年初青年失业率达到了12%。

　　Frustrated³ young people are starting to speak out. 失意的年轻人们开始发声了。

　　The activists⁴ of a group called Hidden Bag run a small yearly campaign to “reject university entrance”, trying to persuade people to boycott⁵ the whole process. 名为“隐藏袋”的组织发起了一场的“拒绝高考”的小型运动，试图说服人们抵制整个精英教育程序。

　　At a recent film festival in Seoul, Hidden Bag provided “healing kits” for young people wishing to challenge “never-ending competition” and “education-based limits”. 在目前的首尔电影节上，“隐藏袋”组织为挑战“永无止境的竞争”和“基础教育的限制”的年轻人提供了“医疗箱”。

　　Colorful sweets, packaged to look like medicine, were handed out to students to encourage them to take a stand. 他们把包装的像药品一样的五颜六色的糖果发给学生们，鼓励他们表明立场。

　　Some were labeled “courage”, others “strength”. 有些糖果上被标记“勇气”二字，有些则标记着“力量”。

　　By spurning⁶ the rat race, they hope to raise “fundamental questions” about prevailing⁷ values. 抛开你死我活的竞争，他们希望能提高人们对主导价值观中的“基本问题”的关注。

　　Fewer than 70% of school leavers went on to university last year, the lowest level in almost 20 years. 去年只有不到70%的毕业生选择了继续攻读大学，这是近20年来的最低水平。

　　Moon Jae-in, the president since May, has pledged that under his administration “the thickness of a parent's purse” will not determine their children's prospects⁸. 五月上任的的韩国总统——文在寅承诺在他任职期内，孩子的前途将不再由“父母的财富”决定。

　　This week an MP from his party introduced legislation to extend the “blind hiring” process used in the civil service,  本周，来自他所在党派的一名议员提出了一项立法提案，以延长公务员以及国有企业的“盲目招聘”程序，

　　whereby applicants are judged only on standardised exams, not on their academic record, to state-owned firms as well. 即申请者只能通过标准化考试，而不能由他们的学术成绩来决定，国有企业也是如此。

　　The bill's author is also proposing an amendment⁹ based on another oddity of Ms Jung's admission: she scored badly in her written exam, but was given full marks for the interview. 小柳女士在笔试中成绩很差，但在面试中却得到了满分，根据这一怪异事件，该法案作者正提出一项修正案。

　　The amendment would require all university interviews to be recorded or minuted for transparency. 为了保证面试的透明度，修正案将会要求所有大学的面试都要记录在案。

　　Blame Ms Jung's parents. 而这一切都要归咎于小柳女士的父母。

1 galling   

adj.难堪的,使烦恼的,使焦躁的

参考例句：

• It was galling to have to apologize to a man she hated. 令人恼火的是得向她憎恶的男人道歉。
• The insolence in the fellow's eye was galling. 这家伙的傲慢目光令人恼怒。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

6 spurning   

v.一脚踢开，拒绝接受( spurn的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There is no point in spurning sth. 鄙视某事物是毫无意义的。 来自互联网
• It does its job with subtlety, however, spurning the hammer intensity of something like cranberry juice. 然而，它与微妙做它的工作践踏象酸果蔓的果实果汁一样的一些东西的榔头紧张。 来自互联网

7 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

8 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。