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CCTV9英语新闻:Colleges turn into prep-schools for grad school

时间:2014-01-06 13:45:02

(单词翻译:单击)

Studying for a Master's degree has become a popular option for many undergraduates1, who face tough job prospects2 in an increasing competitive3 job market. This is forcing many under grads to focus their efforts not so much on studying their major, as on preparing for the exam that will lead to their Master's.

Graduating from university with a bachelor’s degree used to be difficult enough. Nowadays many undergrads are looking into their future and concentrating their efforts on passing one final exam: a graduate-school entrance exam.

"We’re told to prepare for the graduate school entrance exam in the first year of colleges, as there is no jobs for someone with a bachelor’s in chemistry, there’s no other choice but grad school." Senior student of Xinyang Normal Univ.,’s Dept. of Chemistry, said.

Many students in lower level universities are focused on getting into a key school for their Masters. They think it’s the only way their years' of study will have reasonable credibility on the job market. They belong to a frustrated4 group of students that they do as well enough as they had hoped on their college entrance exam, which is taken by almost ten million high school graduates nationwide every year.

“Half of the students in our department missed their first choice of university by only one or two points in the college entrance exam... So now they’re fighting for a second chance to get into the school of their choice.” Student from Qufu Normal Univ. said.

While China’s education system continues to focus on the results of a one-off exam, rather than a record of academic achievement, most under grads simply coast through their current courses.

“Usually we don’t have class, if we do, we skip them. We’re only focused on the exam...” Senior student of Xinyang Normal Univ.,’s Dept. of Physics, said.

That exam will also be fiercely competitive: Nationwide nearly 1.7 million under graduates are expected to take the graduate-school exam this year and only about third will pass. The second-tier universities that offer intensive5 exam-prep say half of the students who take their courses will go on graduate school.


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1 undergraduates 23e24923c6578b464485220c2c2d7cd4     
(未获学士学位的)大学生,大学肄业生( undergraduate的名词复数 ); 本科生
参考例句:
  • All undergraduates reading English attend a turtorial group each week. 所有攻读英语的本科生每周上一次导师辅导课。
  • This is a course for undergraduates. 这是为本科生开的一门课。
2 prospects fkVzpY     
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。
3 competitive yOkz5     
adj.竞争的,比赛的,好竞争的,有竞争力的
参考例句:
  • Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
  • These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。
4 frustrated ksWz5t     
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》
5 intensive z5oxc     
adj.加强的,密集的;精工细作的,集约的
参考例句:
  • I'll make an intensive study of a subject.我将集中学一门课程。
  • There we received several weeks of intensive training.在那里我们受了几星期的集中训练.