美式发音 适合泛听
在许多人看来,上大学受教育是头等大事,因为它对一个人的未来至关重要,但在金融危机的影响下,这一切似乎变得不那么清晰了。我们来听听一名17岁的美国中学生是怎么想的。
About a year ago, I had no real clue as to what I wanted to do after high school. I never thought I would be college material, but I was encouraged to try.
That’s my father telling me he wants me to go to college and he doesn’t care what I study as long as I can get a good-paying salary.
Watching people around me either getting pregnant, dropping out of school or becoming involved with drugs really makes me think. I would never want to be in their shoes. That’s why I’ve been looking into the best school I can attend for the least amount of money.
My brother Edgar was the first one in my family to go to college. He became a role model and a great motivation. But lately, his experience is not looking all that good anymore. He lost his financial aid, and to this day, he hasn’t been able to afford finishing college.
Edgar: In a way, in times like these, I find, like, people who work during high school have a chance to make it through, you know, they’re gaining experience from different jobs. As for me, who…I only had, like, one job and [that] many people don’t see it as enough experience, apparently.
So after all that time studying—and all that money spent on a private school—my brother is still unemployed. It makes me wonder: Is it worth it? That’s why I’m only considering state schools, where tuition is much cheaper. But the way the economy is right now, my father tells me that he can barely make enough money to pay for my family’s daily expenses. This time around, he will not be able to help me out with tuition like he did with my brother.
At least my dad can support my family. I have one friend who is putting off college because her mom lost her job, so my friend needs to get a job to help pay the bills. My boyfriend, Steve Mendoza, wants to get right to work, too. He plans to learn a trade instead of going to college.
If you could actually study anything, what would you want to study?
Steve: I don’t know, something to do with computers. I mean, I am doing bad in high school, so, I don’t know, maybe I need to go to, like, a continuation school.
At first I was upset that Steve didn’t want to go to college, but now I think it’s great if he wants to study computers by attending a trade tech school. I do know college is the right choice for me. So I’ll enroll in a community college next year, find a major that I love and that can lead to a job, and later transfer to California State University. I just hope I can afford it.
大约一年前,我对高中毕业后应该做什么毫无头绪。我从来都不觉得自己是读大学的料,但有人鼓励我去试一下。
那是我父亲在说,他希望我上大学,并且不管我学什么专业,只要以后能找到一份好赚钱的工作就行。
环顾我四周的同龄人,既有因怀孕而退学的,也有和毒品有瓜葛的,这都令我深思。我绝不想走他们的路,因此我试图找到能够用最少的钱读到的最好的大学。
我哥哥埃德加是我们家中第一个上大学的人,他成为我的榜样及上进的动力。但在最近,他的经历看上去却不再那么美好。他拿不到助学金,而在现今的情况下,他没钱完成学业。
埃德加:某种程度上,在如今的环境下,我发现那些在念高中时打过工的人有机会熬过去。你知道,他们在不同的工作中取得了不同经验。而我呢,我只干过一份工作,显然很多人认为这属经验不足。
就这样,在读了那么长时间的书,并且花了那么多的钱读私立学校之后,我哥哥仍然失业。这令我困惑:这值得吗?这就是我只考虑念学费要便宜得多的州立学校的原因。但父亲告诉我,在目前的经济环境下,他挣到的钱只能够勉强支付我们的家庭日常开支。这回,他再也不能像以前为我哥哥支付学费那样帮我了。
至少我爸爸还能抚养家人。我有一个朋友不准备上大学,那是因为她母亲失业了,她要去找一份工作来帮补家计。我的男朋友史蒂夫·门多萨也想马上就投身工作,他计划去学一门手艺,而不是去上大学。
如果你真的能有机会学任何专业,你会学什么?
史蒂夫:我不知道,与电脑有关的吧。我意思是,我在高中成绩不怎么样,所以,我也说不清楚,或者我要去上成人补习学校之类的。
最初我对史蒂夫不想读大学感到不快,但现在我想,如果他想去技校学电脑也是很棒的主意。我知道读大学是我正确的选择,所以我明年将报读社区学院,先读一个我喜欢的又容易找到工作的专业,以后再转去加利福尼亚州立大学。希望我能负担得起学费。
翻译:Wendy