新视野大学英语第三版读写教程第二册Unit6翻译(2)

U6 B

Earn as you learn?

勤工助学?

As the cost of attending university has soared over the last two decades, a frank and vigorous debate is emerging over who should pay for the cost of higher education. While in some countries students have always been expected to absorb part or even all of their tuition costs through work or borrowing, in other countries the tremendous cost of attending university has been provided by the relevant education authority or by parents. I am proud to be in the small minority of students who "earn as they learn" and absorb the cost of their own university education in spite of the many obstacles.

随着近20 年上大学费用的急剧攀升，高等教育费用应该由谁支付的问题引发了坦诚而激烈的争论。在有些国家，人们总是希望学生通过打工或贷款来承担部分或全部的学费，而在另一些国家，上大学的大笔费用一直由有关教育部门或者父母提供。我是少数派学生中的一员，通过“勤工助学”、克服种种困难去承担自己的学费，我为此而感到自豪。

As for the remaining majority, I ask myself, "Is it me, or are students these days just lazy?" Collectively, they claim that they have no capacity to pay for college. I think it's more a matter of them simply not wanting to pay or contribute. During college I consistently endured comments from peers with scholarships and loans, and peers who had new cars and expensive apartments, who would ask me, eyes bulging, "You mean your parents didn't help you at all?" "How did you pay for tuition?" My response was simple: "I worked." They would look at me blankly, as though I had told them I'd gone to the moon.

至于其他大多数人，我问自己：“是我情况特殊，还是现在的学生就是懒惰呢？”大家都说自己没有支付大学学费的能力。我认为倒不如说是他们不想自己出钱或不愿分担学费。在大学时，我一直忍受着其他同学的评论。他们拿着奖学金和助学贷款，或者开着崭新的汽车、住着昂贵的公寓。他们会瞪大眼睛问我：“你是说你的父母一点资助都不给你吗？”“那你怎么付学费啊？”我的回答很简单：“我打工。”然后他们就会一脸不解地看着我，仿佛我告诉他们我去过月球一样。

As an undergraduate student, I worked for two solid years as a day care provider earning minimum wage. Then I paid for the rest of my education by helping deaf children and working as a tutor in a private school.

读本科时，我做了整整两年的日托保育员，拿的是最低工资。后来，我还照顾过失聪儿童，也当过私人学校的助教，以此支付我其余的学费。

Looking back, I'm not sure how I managed to cover all the costs of my education. But I did. And I bought every single textbook and pencil myself too.

回顾过去，我都不清楚我是怎么设法付清了我所有的学费的。但是，我做到了。而且，每一本课本、每一支铅笔也都是我自己花钱买的。

Sometimes, I did feel a little sorry for myself, especially when I compared myself to wealthy students. I once asked another student if she worked. "Oh, no!" she said, startled, "I go to school full-time." She was taking only 13 credit hours, and yet was "too busy" to work. She went on to explain that her parents paid for everything and provided her with every necessity, and many luxuries too!

有时候，我也有点儿为自己感到难过，尤其是当我把自己跟家境富裕的同学相比时。有一次，我问另一个同学她是否打工。“哦，我不打工！”她说，很吃惊的样子，“我是全职学生。”她只上13 学分的课，但竟然“没有空”去打工。她接着解释道，她的父母负担她的所有费用，为她提供一切日常所需，还有许多奢侈品！

Truthfully, I was a little envious of her easy life as I took 18 credit hours so that I could graduate within four years. Besides, I was working 25 hours a week so I could pay tuition without future loan debt. And here's something amazing: I pulled straight A's and was at the top of my class!

说真的，我有点儿嫉妒她那轻松的生活。因为为了能在四年内毕业，我得上18 个学分的课。另外，我每周打工25 个小时，这样我才能付清学费，将来不会有贷款债务。而令人难以相信的是：我门门功课都得A，成绩在班里名列前茅！

One day I caught a glimpse of that same girl's report card at the end of the term. She pulled C’s and a few B's, low grades, which didn't surprise me. Having to work hard and multitask forces you to prioritize, a skill she hadn't learned.

期末的某一天，我瞥见了那位女生的成绩单。她得的大多是C，以及几个B，成绩不佳。对此我并不感到惊讶。要做到努力打工，并且要同时做好几件事，这就迫使你按轻重缓急来安排事情，而这种技能她还没有学会。

I am aware that my work and study choices are not popular and that many influential studies claim to illustrate that working while going to school negatively impacts educational performance. They cite increased dropout rates, lower scores and reduced lifetime earnings. Besides, these studies also give evidence that many students exhaust much of their earnings not on school, but on entertainment and partying while attending school. The studies also show increased abuse of alcohol and drugs, which leads me to question these students' resolve and commitment to the serious side of life.

我明白，我这种半工半读的做法并不普遍，而且有很多颇有影响的研究声称半工半读会给学习成绩带来负面影响。他们引用的证据包括上升的退学率、下降的成绩以及减少的终身收入。而且，这些研究还提供证据说，在大学期间许多学生并没有把大部分赚来的钱用在学习上，而是用在娱乐和聚会上。这些研究还表明，酗酒和吸毒现象有所增加，这让我质疑这些学生缺乏意志力和责任心，对待生活不够认真。

For me, one of the most authentic benefits of the "earn-as-you-learn" approach is that, upon graduation, I was free from the substantial stress and tension of debt payments that make so many people worried and uneasy. Relieved of this considerable burden, I am convinced that I will be able to make intelligent career choices that will provide me with greater personal satisfaction and ensure better pay over the years to come.

对我来说，“勤工助学”最切实的好处之一就是，毕业时我没有还债的巨大压力和焦虑感，而这种压力和焦虑感让许多人忧心忡忡、忐忑不安。没有了这个大包袱，我确信我能明智地选 …… 此处隐藏：4344字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……