VOA慢速英语20060615a

EDUCATION REPORT - Fresh Out of College, and Already in DebtBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: 2006骞?鏈?5鏃?

I'm Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Education Report.


Potential students and their parents visit Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, during Blue Devil¹ Days in April



A college education can be very costly² in the United States, especially at a private school. Rising costs have led more and more families to borrow money to help pay for college.

There are different federal³ loans⁵ and private loans for students and parents. Interest rates on some of these loans will go up on July first. As borrowing has increased, there are growing concerns that many students graduate with too much debt.

In nineteen ninety-three, less than one-half of graduates from four-year colleges had student loans. Now two-thirds of them do. Their average loan⁴ debt when they graduate is nineteen thousand dollars.

At public universities, the average is seventeen thousand dollars.

The Project on Student Debt is an action group that collects these numbers from reports. It notes that averages do not present the full picture.

For example, in two thousand four, one-fourth of students with loans graduated more than twenty-five thousand dollars in debt. And that did not include borrowing by their parents. The Project on Student Debt says parents as well as students are borrowing more to pay for college.

Students can expect to take about ten years to pay back their loans. Repayment⁶ does not begin until after they are out of school.

Higher borrowing limits have also helped push up student debts. Students from all economic levels are borrowing more. Corrected for inflation⁷, student loans have increased around sixty percent in ten years.

Researchers say one effect is that the higher the debts, the more likely graduates are to look only for high paying jobs. That means there is less chance they will take jobs in areas like teaching⁸ or other public service.

A study done in two thousand two for a major student lender found that debts can also affect lives in other ways. Some students paying back their college loans said they delayed buying their first house. Some delayed marriage or having children.

In May, groups representing students, parents and college officials asked the government to change some of its loan repayment rules. The requested changes would recognize graduates who have difficulty repaying⁹ their loans because they do not earn very much. They would be able to pay less right after they graduate, then pay more as their earnings¹⁰ increase.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Read and listen to our reports at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 devil   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• It is easier to raise the devil than to lay him.召鬼容易驱鬼难。
• Susie,you're a determined little devil.苏茜，你真是个坚决的小家伙。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

4 loan   

n.贷款；借出的东西；借；vt.借出；贷予

参考例句：

• I asked the bank to help me with a loan.我请银行给我一笔贷款。
• Has the bank okayed your request for a loan?银行批准你的贷款要求了吗？

5 loans   

n.借出物，借款( loan的名词复数 )v.借出，贷与（尤指钱）( loan的第三人称单数 )；出借（贵重物品给博物馆等）

参考例句：

• They are offering loans at extortionate rates of interest. 他们在放高利贷。
• Government loans have been the salvation of several shaky business companies. 政府的贷款救活了几家濒临倒闭的公司。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。

7 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

8 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

9 repaying   

偿还( repay的现在分词 )； 付还； 报答； 酬报

参考例句：

• He tried to pacify his creditors by repaying part of the money. 他为安抚债权人偿还了部分借款。
• It will deplete its cash balance by repaying last week's loan. 它会因偿付它上周的借款而耗尽它的现金余额。

10 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。