就业难,考研热,被围困的中国大学生纽约时报(考研热)

2023-11-29 05:37:25 考研全封闭式培训机构 17

[摘要]

写在前面这周考研初试出分，去年带的考研班和外刊班里同学们的好消息如潮水般涌来，很为大家感到开心。但每逢考试放榜，总是几家欢喜几家愁，对于竞争尤其激烈的考研来说，更是一家欢喜，万家愁。每当这时，我都想对未能遂愿的学...

写在前面

这周考研初试出分，去年带的考研班和外刊班里同学们的好消息如潮水般涌来，很为大家感到开心。但每逢考试放榜，总是几家欢喜几家愁，对于竞争尤其激烈的考研来说，更是一家欢喜，万家愁。

每当这时，我都想对未能遂愿的学生说：当你尽力的时候，请不要苛责自己。考上了的确是佼佼者，是幸运儿，但落榜的却并非一无是处的失败者，因为这场考试的竞争实在是太激烈了。近几年的考研潮，用「千军万马过独木桥」形容显然已经不足够。根据教育部的数据，2022年全国硕士研究生招生报考人数为457万。从2011年的151.2万，到2022年的457万，全国报考人数在过去12年里实现了3倍跃升。

正如《人物》杂志做说，很难有哪个时代比今天更称得上是一个考研的时代。考研，不再像是个人选择，而是一种集体趋同。作为考研大潮的一员，我们需要冷静、客观、全面地看待考研这件事，少一点情绪化的自我攻击，多一点理性的思考。为什么当代大学生无法停止考研？为什么考研热持续升温？《纽约时报》一篇报道对此进行了分析，我带大家读一读。

外刊原文

我把完整全文放在了内部小程序「跟lexie学外刊」里，同学们点击下方链接即可查看。在公众号后台回复「外刊」，即可获得经济学人2023全年的原版pdf&音频领取方式。

china’s economy has largelyreboundedfrom the coronavirus pandemic, with data released on monday showing it has become perhapsthe only major economyto have grown last year.still,one arearemainssorely lacking: the supply ofdesirable,well-payingjobs for the country’s rapidlyballooningcount of university graduates. most of the recoveryhasbeen fueled byblue-collar sectors such as manufacturing, on which the chinese economy still relies heavily.with the encouragement of the government, many students are turning toa stopgap solution: staying in school.china’s ministry of education announcedat the height ofthe outbreak that it wouldorder universities to expand the number of master’s candidates by 189,000, a nearly 25 percent increase, toeaseunemployment. undergraduate slots would also increase by more than 300,000.

nearly four million hopefuls took the graduate entrance exam last month, an almost 11 percent increase from the year before and more than double the number from 2016.school isa common landing padworldwide during times of economic uncertainty, but in china, the push to expand enrollmentlays barealong-runningproblem.even before the pandemic, the country’s graduates complained that there were not enough suitable jobs. official employment numbers are unreliable, but the authorities said in 2014 that unemployment rates for the college-educated two months after graduation were as high as 30 percent in some areas.

as a result, many chinese have worried that the expansion of graduateslotswill increase alreadyfierce competitionfor jobs,dilutethe value of advanced degrees or postpone an unemployment crisis. “are graduate studentsunder siege?” the headline of one state-controlled publicationread.

#01

作者从疫情后的中国经济谈起，指出中国大学毕业生就业难。

china’s economy has largelyreboundedfrom the coronavirus pandemic, with data released on monday showing it has become perhapsthe only major economyto have grown last year.中国经济已从新冠疫情中恢复大半，周一公布的数据显示，中国可能是去年唯一实现增长的主要经济体。

rebound[r??ba?nd]为动词，本义是「弹回，反弹」(to bounce back after hitting sth)，常用在经济领域，表示「回升，反弹」。rebound from the coronavirus pandemic这个词组可以记下来，表示「从新冠疫情中恢复」。

rebound还可作名词，表示「恢复，回升，振作」。比如《经济学人》2021年2月一篇介绍新冠疫情对非洲影响的文章有这样一句话：

whereas rich countries can hope for a rapid economic rebound as they vaccinate their people, africa is years away from jabbing enough to achieve general immunity.富裕国家在接种疫苗后会迎来经济的快速反弹，但非洲要花数年才能实现群体免疫。

同义的高频表达的还有bounce，bounce back。

bounce是动词，表示「弹跳」，bounce / bounce back还可表示「反弹」。比如《经济学人》一篇关于中国互联网行业的文章曾这样写道：

china’s stockmarket has bounced in 2019.

中国股市在2019年已经反弹。

《经济学人》一篇关于疫情后世界经济的文章也用到了这个词：

that is not a concern for china, which so far seems to be emerging from the pandemic strongest—at least in the short run. its economyhas bounced backquickly.中国则没有这方面的顾虑，它从这场疫情中的复苏势头目前看来最为强劲——至少在短期内是如此。中国经济已经迅速反弹。

名词形式为bounceback，比如《经济学人》一篇关于韩国疫情的文章就用到了个词：

the bounceback in domestic tourism has been swift, as people have grown keener to get away from it all but have little scope to travel abroad.人们由于想尽快摆脱疫情，加之外境旅行范围有限，致使国内旅游业的反弹非常迅速。

以后我们想表达「经济恢复」，除了人人都会用的recover，还可以试一试rebound,bounce,bounce back等词，让自己的表达更加丰富多样。

themajor economy指「主要经济体」。在英文中，与中文「国家」一词相近的词至少有四个是比较常用的：economy是从经济角度讲的「国家」。state是从政治体制和国家机器讲的「国家」。country是从地缘角度讲的「国家」。nation是从民族讲的「国家」。在写作中，发达国家除了用the developed world,the rich world表达外，还可以说advanced economies「发达经济体」。而发达国家之外，以中国为代表的发展迅速的国家，可以用emerging economies「新兴经济体」来表达。

still,one arearemainssorely lacking: the supply ofdesirable,well-payingjobs for the country’s rapidlyballooningcount of university graduates. most of the recoveryhasbeen fueled byblue-collar sectors such as manufacturing, on which the chinese economy still relies heavily.

然而，有一个领域仍严重匮乏：为中国迅速增长的大学毕业生人数提供理想又高薪的工作。这次经济复苏主要是由制造业等蓝领产业推动，中国经济仍然严重依赖这些行业。

sth is sorely lacking.表示「某物严重匮乏」。这个句型可以直接背下来，用在作文里。

《中国日报》一篇关于世界经济的文章也用到了一模一样的表达：

now, more than ever, a fragile world is in desperate need of political will and wisdom — and a leadership courage thatis sorely lackingtoday.现在这个世界比以往任何时候都更加迫切地需要政治智慧，以及一种极度缺乏的、领导者应当具备的胆识。

再比如vice杂志一篇文章称，应试教育下的中国社会对诵读困难症的了解极度缺乏。文章是这样写的：

in a society as grades-obsessed as china, public awareness of dyslexiais sorely lacking.

外媒一篇关于中国996工作制的报道也用到了这个词：

despite laws that were designed to safeguard workers’ rights, actual labor protectionremains sorely lackingin china’s workplaces.

尽管制定了维护员工权益的法律，但中国的工作环境仍然极度缺乏真正的劳动保护。

lacking为形容词，表示「缺乏的，欠缺的」。动词为lack，如果要表达「极度缺乏某物」，我们可以说sorely lack sth。

sorely指「非常地，极严重地」(very much or very seriously)，相当于seriously，severely。比如：jim will be sorely missed.大家会非常想念吉姆。举个《经济学人》的例子：

training nurses, more of whichare sorely neededto care for america’s ageing population, is not an illogical next step—especially when many nursing schools have to turn people away.下一步它准备开展护士培训，这并非不合逻辑——人口老龄化的美国亟需更多护士，尤其是在当前很多护校无力招收更多学生的情况下。

sore作形容词时，表示「疼痛的，酸痛的」，比如：to have a sore throat 嗓子疼sore还可表示「极度的，非常的」(used to emphasize how serious, difficult etc something is)。比如：inner city schools are in sore need of extra funds.市中心贫民区的学校极需增加经费。

顺便跟大家讲一讲与sore相关的一个高频地道表达：a sight for sore eyes。a sight for sore eyes字面义是「消除眼睛疲劳的美景」，引申为「喜欢见到的人/物，赏心悦目的人/物」(a person or thing that you are pleased to see; something that is very pleasant to look at)。

比如你见到了想见的人，可以对他说：you're a sight for sore eyes!再比如，经过长途跋涉后你终于看到了一面清澈的湖，令人心旷神怡，这时你可以说：the lake was a sight for sore eyes.我们再来看两个电影里的例子：

balloon作名词，是「气球」的意思，大家都知道。balloon还可以作动词，像气球一样飞升，表示「突然增加，激增」(to suddenly become larger in amount)。文中ballooning为现在分词作定语，修饰count，the country’s rapidly ballooning count of university graduates 指中国快速增长的大学生数量。我们再来看个例子：

the pension-plan deficits of companies and local governmentshave balloonedbecause it costs more to honor future pension promises when interest rates fall.公司和地方政府养老金计划的赤字已经激增，因为当利率降低时，要保证未来养老金的发放需要投入更多资金。

同样表示「激增」的高频词还有：surge, soar, jump, shoot up, rocket, skyrocket等等。

desirable来自于动词desire，指「理想的，值得拥有的，值得做的」(something that is desirable is worth having or doing)。比如：the ability to speak a foreign language is highly desirable.能说一门外语是非常理想的。再举一个电影《傲慢与偏见》里的例子：well-paying为形容词，指「工资优厚的，报酬优惠的」。我们常说的「高薪工作」，就可以用well-paying jobs来表达。大家注意，两个形容词也可以由逗号连接，不用and，如这里的desirable, well-paying jobs。再举两个例子：like i am hearing your most private, most intimate thoughts.

he is going for a strong, silent type.

fuel作名词指「燃料」，作动词指「加燃料，加油」，还可引申为「使...恶化，使...更强烈」(to make something, especially something bad, increase or become stronger)。比如：his words fueled her anger still more.他的话火上浇油，使她更愤怒了。

#02

第二段，作者指出许多学生为延缓就业危机，选择继续读书，催生考研热。

with the encouragement of the government, many students are turning toa stopgap solution: staying in school.

在政府的鼓励下，许多学生正转而选择一个权宜之计：继续念书。

china’s ministry of education announcedat the height ofthe outbreak that it wouldorder universities to expand the number of master’s candidates by 189,000, a nearly 25 percent increase, toeaseunemployment. undergraduate slots would also increase by more than 300,000.

在疫情最严重的时候，中国教育部宣布，大学扩招18.9万硕士生——增幅近25％，以缓解失业。本科生也将扩招30万以上。

stopgap指「权宜之计，临时替代的物或人」(something or someone that you use for a short time until you can replace it with something better)。比如：it's only a stopgap measure, not a long-term solution.那只是权宜之计，不是长期的解决方案。

voa一篇关于流浪汉的报道也用到了这个词：

advocates for the homeless agree that tent cities are justa stopgap measure.支持流浪者的人一致认为，帐篷城市只是一种权宜之计。

同样表示「权宜之计」的还有an expedient,a palliative,a quick fix等词，大家可以打包记忆。我们来看一些例句：universality reinforces the idea that free education is not anexpedientform of redistribution, but part of a system of collective insurance underpinning an egalitarian society.“普及”强化了这样一种观点，即免费教育不是一种再分配的权宜之计，而是支撑起平等主义社会的集体保障系统的一部分。

and as the election has drawn closer, mr modi has resorted to politicallyexpedientpolicies that are likely to harm the economy.随着大选临近，莫迪采取了可能损害经济的政治权宜之计。

the loan wasapalliative, not a cure, for ever-increasing financial troubles.对于越来越多的财政问题，贷款只是权宜之计，不是解决方法。

the increase in the number of rooms available in private homesacted as apalliativetothe general accommodation shortage.私宅中可用房间数的增加缓解了客房总体不足的问题。

but there are noquick fixesto this long-term trend.但是针对这种长期形成的问题，没有快速解决方案。

at the height of sth是一个词组，表示「在 ...的最盛时期，在...的高潮中」。比如：he is at the height of his career.他正处于事业的巅峰。i wouldn't go therein the height of summer.我不会在盛夏时节去那里的。the crisis wasat its heightin may.危机在五月份到了最严重的关头。

ease unemployment指「缓解失业问题」。ease作动词，表示「减轻，缓解」(to become or to make sth less unpleasant, painful, severe, etc)。比如：ease congestion in the city缓解城市交通拥堵状况ease the burden on sb减轻某人的负担ease the pain减轻阵痛ease restrictions放宽限制

英剧《万物既伟大又渺小》里也用过这个词：just trying to ease the laundry burden before i leave for college next week.

slot作名词，可表示「位置，名额，时间」(position, a time or an opportunity for sb / sth)。undergraduate slots这里就是「本科生招生名额」的意思。再举个例子：he has a regular slot on the late-night programme.他在深夜节目中有一档固定栏目。美剧《无耻之徒》里也出现过这个词：the remaining slots are reserved for students of color.slot sb / sth in为动词短语，表示「为…安排时间，为...提供机会，安置」。比如：we should be able to slot the meeting in before lunch.我们应该可以把会议安排在午饭之前。再举一个美剧《爆炸新闻》里的例子：no, i got that slotted in for next thurseday.

#03

第三段紧接上一段，用数据指出考研的火热程度。

nearly four millionhopefulstook the graduate entrance exam last month, an almost 11 percent increase from the year before andmore than doublethe number from 2016.

上个月，近400万考生参加了研究生入学考试，同比增长近11％，为2016年的一倍多。

hopeful此处不是形容词，而是名词，表示「希望获得成功的人」(someone who is hoping to be successful, especially in acting, sports, politics etc)。比如：thousands of young hopefuls were auditioned for the role.几千名雄心勃勃的年轻人参加了这一角色的试演。take the graduate entrance exam指「考研，参加研究生入学考试」。「参加考试」除了用take exams，还可以用sit exams来表达。

only five blind people sat china's university entrance exam this year.

despite covid-19, schoolchildren should still sit exam.

double作动词，指「是...的两倍」，more than double即「是...的两倍多，增加了一倍多」。《经济学人》一篇关于大兴机场的文章也用到了这个词：that building (also designed by a british architect),along witha new runway,more thandoubledthe airport’s capacity to 80m passengers per year.该建筑（同样由一位英国建筑师设计）加上一条新跑道，将机场的年客流吞吐量提高了一倍多，达到了8000万人次。

#04

第四段，作者剖析扩招背后的严重问题：中国大学生毕业后找不到合适的工作。

school isa common landing padworldwide during times of economic uncertainty, but in china, the push to expand enrollmentlays barealong-runningproblem.

在经济不稳定时期，学校是世界各地人们普遍选择的着陆点，但在中国，推动扩招暴露了一个长期存在的问题。

even before the pandemic, the country’s graduates complained that there were not enoughsuitable jobs. official employment numbers are unreliable, but the authorities said in 2014 that unemployment rates for the college-educated two months after graduation were as high as 30 percent in some areas.

即便在疫情暴发前，中国毕业生就已抱怨没有充足的适合自己的工作。官方就业数据并不可靠，但政府在2014年表示，大学生在毕业两个月后的失业率在某些地区高达30％。

alanding pad本义是指「停机坪，着陆架」，喻指「着陆点」。

lay sth bare是一个词组，bare作形容词，是「空的；赤裸的，无遮蔽的」的意思，lay sth bare 表示「暴露，揭露」(to show sth that was covered or to make sth known that was secret)。比如：lay bare a plot /a secret揭露阴谋/秘密。

《纽约时报》一篇关于张恒郑爽代孕丑闻的文章也用到了这个词：

in particular, ithas laid barean undeniable fact: surrogate births have become a popular option for chinese people with the will and the means to travel abroad to find birth mothers outside the country.尤其是，丑闻暴露了一个不可否认的事实：代孕已经成为有意愿、有能力去国外寻找代孕妈妈的中国人的流行选择。

再比如：阿黛尔《rolling in the deep》中有句歌词唱到：go ahead and sell me out and i'll lay your ship bare.继续出卖我我就揭露你所有见不得人的秘密

我们再来看一个外刊中常与bare搭配使用的动词：strip。

strip作动词指「脱去衣服；剥掉」，所以strip sth bare可以理解成「抢购一空，洗劫一空」。比如《经济学人》报道民众抢购厕纸时提到：

supermarket shelveswere stripped bare; tissue paper and kitchen towels were also snapped up.超市货架被抢购一空，厕纸和厨房用纸也遭到了抢购。

《经济学人》一篇关于中国游客对邮轮公司影响的文章也用到了这个词：

shops on royal carribean and carnival voyageswere regularly stripped bareof everything from bulgari necklaces to south korean rice cookers.皇家加勒比和嘉年华邮轮上的商店经常被扫荡一空，从宝格丽项链到韩国电饭煲一件不剩。

long-running为形容词，指「持续时间长的」(that has been continuing for a long time)。比如：a long-running dispute长期的争端。a long-running problem指「长期存在的问题」，这个表达可以积累下来。同义词还有a perennial problem, a long-lasting problem。

#05

第五段作者阐述扩招可能带来的问题：加剧就业竞争，学历贬值，延缓失业危机。

因此，许多中国人担心，扩招会加剧本已激烈的就业竞争，造成学历贬值或推迟失业危机。《研究生被困住了吗》一篇官媒报道的标题这样写道。

the expansion of graduateslots研究生名额的扩大，即「研究生扩招」。fierce competition指「激烈的竞争」。《老友记》里也用过这个词：除了fierce，我们还可以用 cut-throat来形容竞争的激烈、残酷：cut-throat这个词很形象，cut throat 掐对方脖子，用来形容争得你死我活的，竞争激烈的，比fierce这个词程度更深。比如：毕业后你不得不面对残酷的竞争：you have to face cutthroat competition after graduation.

我们还可以说：be fiercely competitive表示「竞争激烈的」。《经济学人》一篇描述中国大学生毕业即失业现象的文章就连用了这fierce, cut-throat两个词来形容竞争激烈：

competition for graduate jobs had already grownfiercein recent years, particularly for the most prestigious positions. now it iscut-throat.近年毕业生的就业竞争本已变得非常激烈，尤其是围绕那些知名公司的职位。如今竞争已呈白热化。

dilute作动词，本义是「稀释，冲淡」，引申为「削弱，降低，使...降低效果」(to make sth weaker or less effective)。文中dilute the value of advanced degrees 稀释、降低高等学历的价值，也就是我们平时说的「让学历贬值」。再举一个例子：large classes dilute the quality of education that children receive.大班上课会降低孩子所受教育的质量。

siege作名词指「围困，封锁，包围」。under siege则表示「被围攻，被包围」。短语laysiege to sth则表示「围困，围攻」。比如：the tv station has been under siege from irate viewers phoning in to complain.电视台受到愤怒观众的围攻，他们不断打电话来投诉。电影《小丑》里也出现过这个词：authorities are saying the city is under siege by scores of rats.

read此处是一个熟词僻义，意思是指示牌、信上等「写着」，相当于say。比如：a sign on the outer door read: 'no entry'.外边的门上有一块牌子写着“禁止入内”。