英语听力精选进阶版 6230（在线收听）

University Students May Have to Pay Graduate Tax 英国大学生毕业生可能需要付“毕业税”

The UK government are proposing a graduate tax for students in the future.

Currently, students are lent money from the government to cover fees and they pay back the money once they are earning over ￡15,000 (130,000 yuan) a year.

The new scheme would see students repaying their tuition fees when they are working, through a graduate tax.

This proposal would see higher-earning graduates paying more and is said to be a fairer system.

At the moment there is an ongoing review into university fees and students are bracing themselves for the outcome.

Some have predicted that tuition fees could double, causing more and more students to worry about their personal student debt.

The union representing lecturers, the UCU, is worried that the graduate tax scheme would just be a "rebrand" for student debt and not change the current situation.

So what do students make of the graduate tax? Well the National Union of Students says they are pleased and see the proposal of a graduate tax as a milestone in a campaign to ensure fairer university funding.

The NUS want to make sure that graduate contributions are determined on actual earnings.

The government still have to look into how feasible the new scheme would be but they have stated that there needs to be a "radical re-think" on how the higher education system is funded.

They have called for other measures to cut the cost of university, such as two-year degrees, more part-time and flexible courses and more students living in their family home.

The announcement comes at the same time as thousands of people are set to miss out on a UK university place. This is due to a record increase in the amount of people applying to go into further education.

Glossary 词汇表

graduate tax 毕业税 

lent 贷（款） 

tuition fees 学费 

proposal 提议 

higher-earning 高收入 

fairer system 更公平的体制 

ongoing 持续的 

bracing themselves 做准备 

predicted 预言 

debt 债务 

representing 代表 

rebrand 新名称 

milestone 里程碑 

to ensure 确保 

contributions 贡献 

determined 由…决定 

feasible 可行的 

radical re-think 彻底的重新思考 

measures 措施，方法 

announcement 公告