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Some people in the US have asserted that forgiving student loan debt is one way to stimulate the economy and give assistance to those in need. One government proposition is to eliminate $10,000 of debt for
"economicallv distressed" students. Some in US Congress have gone so far as to suggest forgiving up to $50,000 in debt per student borrower, but does forgiving student debt necessarily correlate to helping the economically dissdvantaged?
The The answer is no. This policy is just giving money away to universities and the most affluent students in attendance. Federal Reserve data reveals that the highest-income 40 percent of households owe approximately 60 percent of outstanding student debt, while the lowest 40 percent owe just under 20 percent. This could be due to a combination of factors: students from high-income households are more likely to go to expensive colleges, less likely to receive financial aid, and more likely to have high incomes post-graduation. Plus, the majority of student debt is held by graduate degree earners, who earn approximately 25 percent more than their undergraduate counterparts. Clearly, giving free reign to banks to forgive student debt is a step in the wrong direction.
Other proposals for broader, long-term student loan plans have some fundamental problems. One idea is to cancel student debt only for undergraduate degrees and for students making less than $125,000.
This attempts to address the fact that Congress previously mentioned student loan forgiveness plan largely helps out the wealthy, but is an adverse incentive for universities to keep raising tuition and for students to choose to major in low-earning degree programs. Colleges have no reason to make their programs more affordable if they believe students will just take out more debt. And, students will feel more comfortable making the irresponsible decision to go tens of thousands of dollars in debt to major in impractical or idealistic subjects if they know their loans will be forgiven.
This is especially concerning given the pandemic has rendered a college education practically worthless. Students are paying tens of thousands of dollars per year to live at home and be lectured on the Internet. Do we really want to tell colleges that they can get away with providing below-average service for an outrageous cost?
In the case of any of these student debt plans, working-class Americans who chose not to or could not afford to go to college will be subsidizing the education of the professional class.Plumbers and retail workers will be paying for the degrees of doctors and lawyers.
The US government's effort to help those in debt is commendable but is this really the solution that will help the poor financially recover?
1. Why do some people advocate forgiving student loan debt?.
A) They assert it will narrow the gap between the wealthy and the poor. b B) They believe it will benefit both the economy and the underprivileged.
C) They claim it will eliminate economic distress among college students.
D) They think the cost of education is the responsibility of the government.
2. What do we learn from the Federal Reserve data?
A) Approximately 60% of student debt remains unpajd.
B B) Canceling student debt benefits wealthy families most.
C) Forgiving student debt provides little benefit to universities.
D) Low-income families owe the biggest amount of student debt.
3. What does the author say students are likely to do if they know they needn't repay their loans?
A) They will choose to study subjects without considering their job prospects.
A B) They will be free to pursue their goals without being burdened financially.
C) They will over-borrow and live beyond their Means.
D) They will be able to enroll in expensive Diversities.
4. What does the author imply about colleges offering online education?
A) They cannot get away with the serious consequences.
D
B) They have suffered greatly from the current pandemic.
C) The tuition they charge is not justified by the quality of their service.
D) The tuition they charge has surged outrageously during the pandemic.
5. What will happen if any of the proposed student debt plans is implemented?
A) Plumbers and retail workers will have a chance of becoming professionals.
B) Working-class students will have increasing access to subsidized education.
C) Blue-collar workers will have to bear the cost of educating would-be high-earners.
D) A growing number of students will be able to earn degrees ja medicine and law.

答案详解
小柿子.
1.B。细节理解题。
【定位】由题干中的 some people advocate 可定位至第一段第一句。
【精读分析】第一段第二句提到,一些美国人断言,免除学生贷款债务是刺激经济并给有需要的人提供援助的一种方式。故答案为B。
【排除干扰项】第二段第二句提到,免除学生贷款债务这项政策只是把钱给了大学和最富裕的在校学生。由此可知人们并不认为这项政策可以缩小贫富差距,故排除A。第一段第二句提到,政府的一项提议是免除“经济困难”学生1万美元的债务。但并未提及一些人认为免除学生贷款债务将会消除大学生的经济困难,也并未提及这些人认为教育成本是政府的责任,故排除C、D。
2.B。推理判断题。
【定位】由题千中的 the Federal Reserve data 可定位至第二段第三句。
【精读分析】第二段第三句提到,美联储的数据显示,收入最高的40%的家庭欠下约60%的未偿学生债务,而收人最低的40%的家庭只欠下不到20%。而上一句提到,这项政策只是把钱给了大学和最富裕的在校学生。由第一段可知,这项政策是指免除学生贷款债务。因此,美联储的数据表明了免除学生贷款债务对富裕家庭最有益。故答案为B。
【排除干扰项】第二段第三句提到,美联储的数据显示,收人最高的40%的家庭欠下约60%的未偿学生债务,这并不是说约60%的学生债务还没有偿还,故排除A。根据美联储的数据,大部分的学生债务是相对高收入的家庭欠下的,D项与文中内容相悖,故排除。文章并未提及免除学生贷款债务是否对大学有益,故排除C。
3.A。推理判断题。
【定位】由题干中的 if they know 和 needn't repay their loans
定位到第四段最后一句。
【精读分析】第四段最后一句指出,如果学生们知道自己的贷款会被免除,他们就会更放心地做出不负责任的决定,欠下数万美元的债务来主修不切实际或理想主义的科目。由此可知如果学生们知道自己的贷款会被免除,他们在选择专业的时候将不会考虑就业前景,故答案为A。
【排除干扰项】第四段最后一句提到,学生们欠下数万美元的债务来主修理想的科目,并不是说不用背负债务,B项不符合语义,故排除。文章并未提及如果学生们知道自己的贷款会被免除,他们将过度借贷,人不敷出,故排除C。第二段第四句提到,来自高收入家庭的学生更有可能上昂贵的大学,但并不是说如果学生们知道自己的贷款会被免除,那他们就能够上昂贵的大学,D项与文中内容不符,故排除。
4.C。推理判断题。
【定位】由题干中的online education 可定位至第五段第二句。
【精读分析】第五段第二、三句指出,学生们每年要支付数万美元住在家里,并在互联网上听课。我们真的想告诉大学,他们可以收取高昂的费用而只提供低于平均水平的服务吗?由此可知作者认为网上授课,收取的高昂费用与服务水平不相匹配,故答案为C。
【排除干扰项】第五段首句提到,这场大流行病已经使得大学教育变得几乎一文不值,但这并不是说大学在当前的大流行病中遭受了巨大损失,故排除B。文章并未提及大学不能逃避严重的后果,也并未提及在大流行病期间,大学收取的学费大幅飙升,故排除A、D。
5.C。细节理解题。
【定位】由题干中的 student debt plans 和 implemented 定位至倒数第二段。
【精读分析】倒数第二段指出,无论施行哪种学生债务计划,选择不上大学或上不起大学的美国工薪阶层都将资助专业阶层的教育。管道工和零售工人将为医生和律师的学位支付费用。由此可知蓝领工人将为高收入的专业人士承担教育费用,故答案为C。
【排除干扰项】倒数第二段指出,管道工和零售工人将为医生和律师的学位支付费用,但并未提及管道工和零售工人将有机会成力专业人士,故排除 A。倒数第二段指出,美国工新阶层都将资助专业阶层的教育,并不是说工薪阶层的学生将有更多机会接受补贴教育,故排除B。D项“越来越多的学生将能够获得医学和法律学位”与文中内容不符,故排除。
◎【高频词汇】
assistance n. 帮助,援助
eliminate v. 消除,根除,排除
distress v. 使痛苦,使悲伤,使忧虑n.痛苦,忧虑
approximately adv.大约,大概
previous adj.以前的,先前
incentive n.刺激,鼓励
advocate v.拥护,主张 n.拥护者,提倡者
prospect n. 前景,前途;可能性
current adj.流行的;当前的n.趋势;电流;潮流subsidize v. 资助,补助
◎【参考译文】
一些美国人断言,免除学生贷款债务是刺激经济并给有需要的人提供援助的一种方式。政府的一项提议是为“经济困难”的学生免除1万美元的债务。美国国会的一些议员甚至建议免除每个学生借款人最多5万美元的债务,但免除学生债务是否一定与帮助经济弱势群体有关呢?
答案是否定的。这项政策只是把钱给了大学和最富裕的在校学生。美联储的数据显示,收入最高的40%的家庭久下约60%的未偿学生债务,而收入最低的40%的家庭只欠下不到20%。这可能是由多种因素造成的:来自高收入家庭的学生更有可能上昂贵的大学,获得资助的可能性更小,而且更有可能在毕业后拥有高收入。另外,大部分学生债务的债务人是研究生,他们的收入比本科生高出约25%。显然,让银行自由支配对学生债务的免除是朝着错误的方向迈出的一步。
其他关于更广泛的长期学生贷款计划的建议也存在一些根本性问题。其中一种想法是只免除本科生和收入低于12.5万美元的学生的债务。
这是在试图解决国会之前提到的学生贷款减免计划很大程度上帮助了富人这一问题,但这会成为一种反面刺激,导致大学继续提高学费,而学生选择主修低收入的学位课程。如果大学认为学生只会背负更多的债务,那么他们就没有理由让自己的课程变得更实惠了。而且,如果学生们知道自己的贷款会被免除,他们就会更放心地做出不负责任的决定,欠下数万美元的债务来主修不切实际或理想主义的科目。
鉴于这场大流行病已经使得大学教育变得几乎一文不值,这种情况尤其令人担忧。学生们每年要支付数万美元住在家里,并在互联网上听课。我们真的想告诉大学,他们可以收取高昂的费用而只提供低于平均水平的服务吗?
无论施行哪种学生债务计划,选择不上大学或上不起大学的美国工薪阶层都将资助专业阶层的教育。管道工和零售工人将为医生和律师的学位支付费用。
美国政府帮助那些负债者的努力是值得赞扬的,但这真的是能帮助穷人恢复经济能力的解决方案吗?
今日一练~
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