外刊赏读 |《卫报》When university can seem as distant as Mars

选段出自 《卫报》 2016年6月6日“ When university can seem as distant as Mars ”一文,文章借萨顿信托的一项研究结果,阐述了家境不佳的青少年对于上大学动机微弱的现象,并揭示了其中的经济原因,呼吁强化青少年学生接受高等教育的信念


选段出自文章的前半部分,通过数据揭示了现象,并进行对比,探讨原因,希望读者通过阅读选段能够对这一现象及其原因有所了解,并积累重点词汇


原文 I  A study from the Sutton Trust has found that year 9 girls aged 13 to 14 are more likely to have a positive attitude towards university than their male classmates. ‚Almost 65% of girls thought it was “very important”, compared with 58% of boys. ƒWhile one in 10 girls attached no importance to attending university, 15% of boys didn’t see the point of higher education. II The report also highlighted the ongoing divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students. ‚While ethnic minority pupils and those from neighbourhoods with higherunemployment had university aspirations, disadvantaged year 9s were still less likely to think about higher education than their advantaged peers.ƒAmong better-off children, 39% had a positive attitude towards university compared with 27% of the disadvantaged, and poor white boys were the least interested group of all. ④The Sutton Trust is now calling for campaigns to raise the “aspirations and self-belief” of disadvantaged children, which islaudable.⑤However, when it comes to higher education, a poverty of outlook is one thing and actual poverty quite another. III  ①It’s great that so many pupils from ethnic minorities and those from areas of high unemployment are interested in higher education.②However, maybe the disadvantaged teenagers showing no interest were just being practical, consciously orsubconsciously adjusting to the reality that, as with so much in life, their class and finances would ultimately dictate their choices.③ An awareness that, facing tuition fees, insufficient grants, repayment of loans and interest on those loans, it’s unlikely that they could realistically afford to go to university. ④You might as well say: “Hey kids, how do you fancy a trip to Mars?” IV ① It’s different for the middle classes because… well it’s always different for the middle classes. ② The gender divide could be partly explained by the fact that boys are believed to mature more slowly than girls. ③ Some of their “anti-uni” attitude could be fleeting bravado or it may involve a rebellious gap year or two, flogging bongs on beaches in Goa, until finally they return – to go to university, or not, as they wish. V ①Sometimes, they too might find the thought of debt off-putting.②However, university is such an entrenched part of their culture that “not going” is an enormous statement. ③Could the same be said for the disadvantaged child? ④Isn’t it also true that, since the introduction and escalation of tuition fees, even the idea of university has become more fanciful and out of reach for kids from “the wrong side of town”? 词汇短语 1. attend [ə’tɛnd] vt. 出席;上(大学等);照料;招待;陪伴 2. highlight [‘haɪlaɪt] vt. 突出;强调;使显著;加亮 3. *ongoing [‘ɑnɡoɪŋ] adj. 不间断的,进行的;前进的 4. ethnic [‘ɛθnɪk] adj. 种族的;人种的 5. minority [maɪ’nɔrəti] n. 少数民族;少数派;未成年 6. unemployment [,ʌnɪm’plɔɪmənt] n. 失业;失业率;失业人数 7. aspiration [‘æspə’reʃən] n. 渴望;抱负;送气;吸气;吸引术 8. *better-off  adj. 较富裕的;境况较好的 9. *laudable [‘lɔdəbl] adj. 值得赞赏的 10. subconsciously [,sʌb’kɔnʃəsli] adv. 潜意识地 11. ultimately [‘ʌltɪmətli] adv. 最后;根本;基本上 12. dictate [‘dɪktet]vt. 命令;口述;使听写 13. insufficient [,ɪnsə’fɪʃnt] adj. 不足的,不充足的 14. *grants [grænt] n. 补助金;津贴(grant的复数);政府奖助 15. fancy [‘fænsi] vt. 想象;喜爱;设想;自负 16. mature [mə’tʃʊr] adj. 成熟的;充分考虑的;到期的;成年人的 17. fleeting [‘flitɪŋ] adj. 飞逝的;转瞬间的 18. *bravado [brə’vɑdo]n. 虚张声势;冒险 19. rebellious [rɪ’bɛljəs] adj. 反抗的;造反的;难控制的 20. *flog [flɑɡ]vt. 鞭打,鞭策;迫使 21. *bong [bɔŋ] n. 锣,大钟等的当当声 22. *off-putting [‘ɔf,pʊtɪŋ]adj. 令人不愉快的 23. enormous [ɪ’nɔrməs] adj. 庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的 24. escalation [,ɛskə’leʃən] n. 增加;扩大;逐步上升 (注:标*的为超纲词) 点评 I  A study from the Sutton Trust has found that year 9 girls aged 13 to 14 are more likely to have a positive attitude towards university than their male classmates. ‚ Almost 65% of girls thought it was “very important”, compared with 58% of boys. ƒ While one in 10 girls attached no importance to attending university, 15% of boys didn’t see the point of higher education. 翻译: 萨顿信托的一项研究发现,13到14岁的九年级女生比她们的男生同学更倾向于对大学持积极态度


将近65%的女生认为上大学“非常重要”,相比而言,只有58%的男生也这么想


只有十分之一的女生认为上大学毫无意义,但是却有15%的男生看不到高等教育的重要性


点评: 段I借助萨顿信托的一项研究来表明现象,引入话题

句①直接展现研究结果,即,相较于男生而言,13至14岁的九年级女生对于上大学更倾向于持积极态度


句②句③通过列举百分比(65%,58%,十分之一,15%)进行比较,分别从正反两方面进一步支持句①的观点


句①中的than,句②中的compared with和句③中的while均表明了这种比较手法


II  The report also highlighted the ongoing divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students. ‚ While ethnic minority pupils and those from neighbourhoods with higher unemployment had university aspirations , disadvantaged year 9s were still less likely to think about higher education than their advantaged peers. ƒ Among better-off children, 39% had a positive attitude towards university compared with 27% of the disadvantaged, and poor white boys were the least interested group of all. ④ The Sutton Trust is now calling for campaigns to raise the “aspirations and self-belief” of disadvantaged children, which is laudable . ⑤ However, when it comes to higher education, a poverty of outlook is one thing and actual poverty quite another. 翻译: 研究报告也突显了家境贫困和家境优越的学生之间的持续分化


尽管少数种族学生和来自高失业率社区的学生也有对上大学的渴望,同家境优越的同龄人相比,家境贫困的九年级学生对于接受高等教育的想法仍然较少


在家境富裕的孩子中,39%对于大学持积极态度,而在家境贫困的孩子中,只有27%的孩子对大学持积极态度,家境贫困的白人男孩则是对大学最不感兴趣的群体


萨顿信托正在呼吁发起加强贫困学生“抱负和自信”的活动,这一点是值得赞赏的


但是,在高等教育的问题上,未来的贫穷是一回事,当下的贫穷又是另一回事


点评: 段II阐述了该项研究的另一重要发现,引出本文探讨的主题,点明经济因素对于青少年上大学的渴望程度的影响


句①直接陈述该研究的另一发现,即,家境优越与家境贫困的学生之间对于上大学的渴望程度持续分化,highlight一词突出了该项发现的重要性,下文则顺理成章围绕该发现继续展开


句②句③通过对比贫困学生和富裕学生对接受高等教育的态度,例证了句①所表述的分化现象,still less than,compared with以及百分数(39%,27%)的列举均体现了对比


句④转向萨顿信托针对此现象提出的措施,并用laudable一词作出赞赏评论,但句⑤以however开头,笔锋一转,指出高等教育领域情况特殊,还存在未来的贫穷和当下的贫穷的不同,引出段III对两种贫穷的影响的讨论


III ① It’s great that so many pupils from ethnic minorities and those from areas of high unemployment are interested in higher education. ② However, maybe the disadvantaged teenagers showing no interest were just being practical, consciously or subconsciously adjusting to the reality that, as with so much in life, their class and finances would ultimately dictate their choices. ③ An awareness that, facing tuition fees, insufficient grants , repayment of loans and interest on those loans, it’s unlikely that they could realistically afford to go to university. ④ You might as well say: “Hey kids, how do you fancy a trip to Mars?” 翻译: 仍然有许多来自少数种族和高失业率社区的学生对于高等教育深感兴趣,这点非常好


然而,或许那些贫穷的少年只是出于现实才对上大学表现得漠然,他们有意或无意地适应现实,正如在他们生活的其他方面一样,他们所处的阶层和经济状况会最终决定他们的选择


意识到所面临的高额学费,有限的补助金,需偿还的贷款和贷款利息,他们是上不起大学的


你还不如直接说:“嘿,孩子,你觉得去趟火星旅行如何?” 点评: 段III承接上段,解释由于经济原因导致贫困家庭的青少年面对上大学望洋生叹


句①首先指出还是有许多家境贫困和少数种族的学生渴望上大学的
句②句③则对这类学生不渴望上大学的原因进行剖析

句②解释当下贫穷这一原因,being practical和adjusting to reality揭示了学生目前面对的经济窘境,ultimately dictate则指出了这种经济限制的程度之大


句③通过列举tuition fees, insufficient grants, repayment of loans,和 interest on those loans,勾勒出未来因上大学可能带来的经济压力,使得本就不富裕的学生对上大学更加望而却步


句④则用一句看似轻松挑逗的话语讽刺了学生受经济所迫才对上大学不感兴趣,句中fancy, Mars两词说明贫穷学生上大学的机会渺茫


IV ① It’s different for the middle classes because… well it’s always different for the middle classes. ② The gender divide could be partly explained by the fact that boys are believed to mature more slowly than girls. ③ Some of their “anti-uni” attitude could be fleeting bravado or it may involve a rebellious gap year or two, flogging bongs on beaches in Goa, until finally they return – to go to university, or not, as they wish. 翻译: 对于中产阶级而言,情况就不同了,因为……好吧,中产阶级的情况总是不同的


研究结果在性别上的分歧一部分可以用这一事实加以解释,那便是,男孩通常要比女孩成熟得晚一些


他们的某些“反抗大学”的态度可能只是稍纵即逝的虚张声势,或者,这其中包括了一两年叛逆的空档年,他们在果阿海滩上敲鼓,直到最后回归大学校园,或者正如他们所愿,干脆不进大学


点评: 段 IV 阐述了来自中产阶级的学生的情况
句①开门见山,点明中产阶级的情况是不同的
句②指出研究结果的性别差异是由于男生成熟较慢

句③中的 their 将论述集中到中产阶级的男生身上,并介绍了一系列展现他们“反抗大学”的态度的行为: fleeting bravado , flogging bongs ,但他们最终还是会去上大学


V ①Sometimes, they too might find the thought of debt off-putting.②However, university is such an entrenched part of their culture that “not going” is an enormous statement. ③Could the same be said for the disadvantaged child? ④Isn’t it also true that, since the introduction and escalation of tuition fees, even the idea of university has become more fanciful and out of reach for kids from “the wrong side of town”? 翻译: 有时候,这些中产阶级可能也会觉得负债确实令人沮丧


但是,上大学已经成为他们的文化中根深蒂固的一部分,以导致“不上大学”的言论变得十恶不赦


家境贫困的孩子可以说出同样的话吗?随着开始收取学费和学费急剧上升,对于来自“镇上贫民区”的孩子而言,就连上大学的想法都变得更为虚无缥缈和遥不可及,这不也是事实吗? 点评: 段V将中产阶级的学生同贫困家庭的学生对比,进一步说明后者对于上大学不敢过多幻想的无奈


句①指出中产阶级的学生对于因上大学而负债抱有消极态度,但句中所用的sometimes, might, off-putting 显示出中产阶级学生面临的窘境远远小于贫困家庭的学生


句②引入文化因素,进一步说明中产阶级的学生不上大学的可能性很小


句③表面为问句,实际是表示贫困学生选择受限

句④为反义疑问句,指出由于学费飙升,就连上大学的念头对于贫困家庭的孩子来说都已经是fanciful和out of reach了


强烈的反问语气和“the wrong side of town”的表述均显示出作者对贫困学生因经济原因而不敢抱有上大学念头的不满


2017真题同源外刊赏读第 131 篇 张剑考研英语黄皮书 长按复制以下链接即可购买 辛苦一“夏” ,幸福一生! 黄皮书十二年真题精解( 镇馆之宝 字字箴言) http://ewqcxz.com/h.ZeQhTc?cv=AAGGwxKe&sm=b0f2cf 黄皮书阅读(帮你助攻阅读理解40分) http://tmqd.me/h.Z232Fl?cv=AAFyBHMY&sm=0d2b5e 黄皮书作文(帮你助攻大小作文30分) http://tmqd.me/h.H59uv?cv=AAEzLANc&sm=5cdc34 黄皮书专项三件宝(帮你助攻“翻译+新题型+完型”30分) http://tmqd.me/h.Z26Gbr?cv=AAFyRlHb&sm=ee7d6f 更多黄皮书戳“ 阅读原文 ”购买或 淘宝搜“ 世纪高教图书专营店 ” 正版 包邮 全网最低价



发表回复