上大學獲取一個學位可不是件容易的事。大多數人相信，獲得大學文憑對一名畢業生的未來職業發展必有幫助。但這一紙文憑究竟有那么管用嗎？學生所學習的專業會影響其未來的就業和收入嗎？本集《隨身英語》討論在英國，學歷和收入之間的關系。

課文內容

Vocabulary: Education 詞匯: 教育

What's the point of studying?! It's something you might ask yourself if you're studying for a degree and you're struggling to complete an assignment or sweating it out in an exam, especially if your friends seem to be out having a good time, or are working and earning lots of money.

Many of us choose to go to university as a first step towards a good career but sometimes that career is hard to achieve and graduates end up doing something they are overqualified for. The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development says that with the spiralling costs of university, students need to ask themselves whether a degree path is the best route into a career. It says there is a need for much better career advice and guidance, alongside high-quality alternative vocational routes into employment other than university education.

But other new research commissioned for the BBC, says that a degree will, in the long run, earn you more. However there are differences in your earning potential. Dr Jack Britton from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that "Graduates of the 24 Russell Group universities earn an average of ￡33,500 after five years - about 40% more than those who studied at other universities."

However, it found it's not just the location but other factors than can play a part in what you can earn, such as the subject a student chooses to study. It discovered that five years after graduation, the income gap between students who studied the subjects that attract the highest and lowest salaries can be considerable. Graduates in subjects such as law, medicine and dentistry tend to do well. And as they progress, the pay gap between these careers and others, such as the creative arts, widens. There are other factors too that influence what you might earn: Five years after graduation, men earn on average, 14% more than women. Also, a student's social background can have an effect, with those from better-off households much more likely to go to university and particularly a good one.

But if you still feel university delivers the best opportunities then there are encouraging words from Alistair Jarvis, head of Universities UK, who told BBC News that "Employers are demanding more graduates... and graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates. There are many many good graduate outcomes coming from universities." So maybe all that studying is worth it – after all 'no pain, no gain'!

詞匯表

assignment 作業
sweat it out 如坐針氈地等待（考試）結束
career 職業，事業
graduate 畢業生
overqualified 資歷過高的
spiralling costs 急劇上升的費用
vocational 職業的
in the long run 從長遠看
Russell Group 羅素大學集團
income gap 收入差
law 法律
medicine 醫學
dentistry 牙科
creative arts 創意藝術
social background 社會家庭背景
outcome 結果
no pain, no gain 一份耕耘，一份收獲

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. According to the article, why might you question whether to go to university or not?

2. Where has research found you should study to earn more money in your career?

3. True or false? Studying creative arts at university tends to lead to a lower-earning career than from studying dentistry.

4. Which word used in the article, means 'have an effect on (something)'?

5. According to Alistair Jarvis, head of Universities UK, is there less or more chance of being unemployed if you have a degree?

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. Mandeep felt ______ when she graduated from Oxford and got a job stacking shelves in a supermarket.

underqualified       qualified       over-qualification       overqualified

2. Buying a pair of boots is ______ in my long career in football.

a first step       in the long run       no pain, no gain       vocational

3. The government has come up with a plan to tackle the widening ______ between rich and poor.

outcomes       income gap       spiralling costs       medicine

4. If you want to win the marathon, you're going to have to train hard but it's a case of ______.

no gain, no pain       no gain or pain       no pain, no gain       not pain, not pain

5. Because of the ______, we can no longer afford to finish the building project.

social background       spiralling costs       income gap       law

答案

1. 閱讀課文并回答問題。

1. According to the article, why might you question whether to go to university or not?
The spiralling costs: The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development says that with the spiralling costs of university, students need to ask themselves whether a degree path is the best route into a career.

2. Where has research found you should study to earn more money in your career?
At Russell Group universities. Dr Jack Britton from the Institute for Fiscal Studies says that "Graduates of the 24 Russell Group universities earn an average of ￡33,500 after five years - about 40% more than those who studied at other universities."

3. True or false? Studying creative arts at university tends to lead to a lower-earning career than from studying dentistry.
True. Graduates in subjects such as law, medicine and dentistry tend to do well. And as they progress, the pay gap between these careers and others, such as the creative arts, widens.

4. Which word used in the article, means 'have an effect on (something)'?
Influence.

5. According to Alistair Jarvis, head of Universities UK, is there less or more chance of being unemployed if you have a degree?
Less chance. He says "graduates are half as likely to be unemployed as non-graduates."

2. 請在不參考課文的情況下完成下列練習。選擇一個意思合適的單詞填入句子的空格處。

1. Mandeep felt overqualified when she graduated from Oxford and got a job stacking shelves in a supermarket.

2. Buying a pair of boots is a first step in my long career in football.

3. The government has come up with a plan to tackle the widening income gap between rich and poor.

4. If you want to win the marathon, you're going to have to train hard but it's a case of no pain, no gain.

5. Because of the spiralling costs, we can no longer afford to finish the building project.