浅谈当今大学教育中的含金量

 　　For many students in the UK today, deciding whether or not to go to university can be as much about affordability¹ as it is about ambition and aspiration².

　　对于今天英国的许多学生来说，决定是不是去上大学已经不仅仅关乎抱负与渴望，能不能上得起也是他们做出决定的重要因素。

　　In times gone by, students in the UK could apply to a university or college safe in the knowledge that, even if they came from a low income family, their tuition fees and some of their living(or maintenance) costs would be covered by a local authority grant. A university education was, in a financial sense, open to all and the number of students attending university grew year on year.

　　过去，英国的学生可以申请大学，并且确信即使自己来自低收入家庭，学费和一部分生活费也可以由当地的政府部门拨款发放津贴解决。大学教育，从学费角度而言是对所有学生开放的，因此踏入大学校门的学生也逐年增多。

　　Sadly, it seems, those days are long gone. The turning point came in 1998, when the Labour Government introduced tuition fees of ￡1,000 a year and, instead of giving students a maintenance grant, asked them to cover their own living expenses with a repayable student loan. Only students on the lowest incomes were entitled to a grant.

　　遗憾的是，那些日子一去不复返了。转折点发生在1998年，工党政府开始推行每年需缴1,000英镑大学学费的政策，并且不再向学生发放生活津贴，而是让他们通过需要偿还的学生贷款来解决生活费问题。只有来自最低收入家庭的学生才有资格得到补助。

　　浅谈当今大学教育中的含金量

　　The flood gates had been opened. As time passed, the ceiling on tuition fees rose, and although applicants³ from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales still qualified⁴ for varying levels of subsidy⁵, by 2009/10 students in England often found themselves facing tuition fees in excess of ￡3,000 a year.

　　这类政策一旦推行就会愈演愈烈。随着时间的推移，学费的上限也水涨船高，尽管来自苏格兰、北爱尔兰和威尔士的一些学生仍然够资格申请不同程度的补贴，但到了2009/10年度，英格兰的学生通常都要面临每年超过3,000英镑的学费支出。

　　But the biggest change was still to come. In 2011 the Government announced that, from 2012, universities could charge fees of up to ￡9,000 a year. Although the Government sweetened the pill by stating that postgraduates⁶ did not have to begin repaying their student loans until they were earning more than ￡21,000 a year, the news created outrage⁷. Many students argued that it was unfair that students should have to begin their work life saddled with huge debt, while others complained that the changes would bring back a class divide to university education.

　　但是更大的巨变还没有到来。到了2011年，政府宣布从2012年起，允许大学收取高至9,000英镑/年的学费。尽管政府为这一做法找的说辞是研究生可以在每年收入21,000英镑以前，不必偿还学生贷款，但这个消息还是触发了众怒。一些学生认为这种政策很不公平，会令他们刚刚开始工作就背上沉重的债务负担，还有学生认为这一政策会在加剧大学期间学生间的阶级分化现象。

　　These views were reflected in the number of students applying for a university place, which by January 2012 fell by more than 22,000. The Universities Minister, David Willetts, stood by the decision to increase tuition fees, saying that they would not “put universities’ finance on a sustainable footing” and facilitate “a stronger focus on high quality teaching.”

　　这些观点也在大学申请人数上反映了出来，到2012年1月，英国申请大学的人数下降了22,000人。英国高等教育大臣大卫?威列茨支持政府提高学费的决定，并称他们不会“把大学财政建立在学生可以付得起的基础上”，而是要全力促进大学“对于教学质量的关注”。

1 affordability   

可购性

参考例句：

• Performance-Based Logistics Affordability: Can We Afford Categorical Conversion to Performance-Based Acquisition? 基于性能的后期的可承受性：能否担负得起向基于性能的采办的无条件的转变？
• There would be no crisis of affordability, as't for food or clothing. 就想食物与服装一样，因为供给没有危机。

2 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

3 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。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 subsidy   

n.补助金，津贴

参考例句：

• The university will receive a subsidy for research in artificial intelligence.那个大学将得到一笔人工智能研究的补助费。
• The living subsidy for senior expert's family is included in the remuneration.报酬已包含高级专家家人的生活补贴。

6 postgraduates   

研究生( postgraduate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Professor Zhu will give lectures to the postgraduates [graduate students] this term. 朱教授这学期给研究生开课。
• These postgraduates were a very talented group. 这些研究生是一群天分很高的学生。

7 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。