1、Lesson Five,Debt Burden Alters Outlook for US Graduates,Word supplement,daily n日报 dateline n新闻电头 deadline n截稿时间 dig vt深入采访；追踪(新闻线索)；“挖”(新闻) digest n文摘 editorial n社论 editorial office 编辑部 editors notes 编者按,exclusive n独家新闻 expose n揭丑新闻；新闻曝光 extra n号外 eye-account n目击记;记者见闻 edge n.,The Author,Shannon Bon
2、d is a reporter and FT. com editor in New York. She joined the FT in 2008 after receiving her MS from Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism. She has also written for Market Watch, Politico and UPI. com. Jason Abbruzzese is a web editor at FT. After graduating from Boston University wi
3、th a degree in journalism, he worked for the Sentinel & Enterprise in central Massachusetts before receiving a masters degree in inernational affairs from the Australian National University. He then wrote for the Shanghai Business Review (上海商评）as a feature writer before moving to New York City and w
4、orking for GRIT tv with Laura Flanders as a development director. Robin Harding is US Economics Editor for the Financial Times, and covers the US Federal Reserve and the US Treasury(美国财政部）. Based in Washington, his beat includes US economics, financial markets and business. He studied economics at C
5、ambridge and also holds a masters degree in economics from Hitotsubashi University(一桥大学）in Tokyo.,Background Information,1. The financial crisis 2008年金融危机 The 2008 financial crisis is considered to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was triggered by a complex i
6、nterplay of policies, which were adopted by American government to stimulate the economy and encouraged people to buy houses. Banks provided easier access to loans for subprime borrowers(次级贷款人）, and over-evaluated the bundled sub-prime mortgages(次级抵押贷款）based on the theory that housing prices would c
7、ontinue to escalate. Unfortuately home prices peaked in the winter of 2005-06 and started to go down, and the house of cards stared to cromble(崩溃）. People could no longer increase their mortgage debt to pay previous debts.,In 2008, approximately 6% of all mortgage loans in the United States were in
8、default, and a huge portion of the increased mortgage loan defaults were what are referred to as “sub-prime” loans(次级贷款）. The bursting of the U.S. housing bubble, which peaked in 2006, caused the values of securities tied to U.S. real estate pricing to plummet(骤然下降）, and resulted in the threat of to
9、tal collapse of large financial institutions, the bailout(紧急援助）of banks by national governments, and downturns(衰退） in stock markets around the world. The crisis also played a significant role in the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in trillions of US dollars, and a do
10、wnturn in economic activity leading to the 2008-2012 global recession and contributing to the European sovereign-debt crisis(欧洲主权债务危机）.,2. Scholarships offered by American colleges and universities美国大学生的奖学金,The scholarships provided by colleges and universities in the U.S. may be classified into thr
11、ee categories such as Non-Service Scholarships (非服务性奖学金）, Service Assistantships(服务性奖学金）and Loans. Non-Service Scholarships do not require an individual to perform a past, present or future service in order to receive payment, and include Fellowship(助学金）, Scholarship(奖学金）, Tuition & Fee Waiver(全免学杂费
12、）and other awards offered by specific institutions, while service Assistantships require an individual to perform some service in order to receive payment, and include Teaching Assistantship(助教金）and Research Assistantship(助研金）。,Generally, a scholarship or fellowship grant is any amount paid or allow
13、ed to, or for the benefit of, an individual to aid in the pursuit of study or research. A tuition waiver is a program initiated by states that allows students to attend publicly funded higher education institutions by “waiving“ tuition and fees under certain criteria. Teaching Assistantships are a s
14、ource of aid provided to graduate students who assist faculty members in teaching undergraduate classes. A research assistantship is a form of funding in which a student works as an “assistant“ in exchange for partial or full tuition and/or a stipend.(奖学金）,A student loan is designed to help students
15、 pay for university tuition, books, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in that the interest rate may be substantially lower and the repayment schedule may be deferred while the student is still in education. In the United States, there are two types of student loans: federa
16、l loans sponsored by the federal government and private student loans, which broadly includes state-affiliated nonprofits and institutional loans provided by schools.,3. The US Senates wrangle over student loans参议院关于学生贷款的争斗,With student loans rocketing in recent years, both Democrats(民主党） and Republ
17、icans（共和党） agreed to freeze student loan rates and keep them form doubling from 3.4% to 6.8% which would be effective on July 1, 20112. Their chief remaining dispute is how to pay for the $5.9 billion cost of keeping those rates low. When it comes to that, each side has in effect taken a political h
18、ostage: House Republicans would cut spending from Obamas prized health care overhaul law(被认为非常重要的奥巴马的医疗保险改革法案）, Senate Democorats would boost payroll taxes(工资税）on owners of some private corporations and House Democrats would erase federal subsidies(联邦补贴）to oil and gas companies. That is how the US S
19、enate was wrangling over how to extend a modest (适当的补贴）for student loans.,4. political sensitivity over student debt 关于学生债务的竞选敏感性,2008 financial crisis has casted a great impact on American economy and the world as a whole. With the economic recession, the education budget has been cut greatly and t
20、he tuitions and fees have been increased steadily, so much so that many students have to take out loans to pay for their education. According to the New York Feds(纽约联邦储备银行）quarterly report on househould debt, student loan debt hit $904 billion in the first quarter of 2012, up from $241 billion a dec
21、ade age. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(消费者金融保护局）puts total student loan debt above $1 trillion. According to a NY Times report, more than 37 million Americans have some student loans, with an average $23,300 of debt in 2011. So, instead of young adults graduating with hopes and dreams of
22、a better future, they are graduating with a great burden of loans. With a political sensitivity of getting supports from young voters, the issue of student loans has become a topic focused on by both the Republic and the Democratic, especially in the American general election year of 2012.,Summary,2
23、008年爆发的金融危机被很多经济学家认为是继20世纪30年代经济大萧条以来最为严重的金融危机。这次危机由美国政府的一系列盲目鼓励购房而发生的次贷危机所触发。在9/11事件和安然、安达信等美国大公司爆出财政丑闻，最后纷纷倒下后，国际资金大规模撤离，美国经济神话破灭。2003年，美国发动的伊拉克战争，更是耗费了8000多亿美元。这使美国财政和贸易都出现了巨额赤字。美国希望借房地产拉动经济，于是采取宽松的货币政策，鼓励人们购房。这样，即使信用级别低的人也可以轻松拿到购房贷款，次级贷款由此大增。然而从2007年9月开始，出现大量购房者违约现象，导致房贷公司资金链断裂，进而影响金融行业的资金流动性，爆发
24、了金融危机。金融危机爆发以来，已经有100多家规模较大的美国金融机构宣布破产或被兼并，实体经济也遭受重创，导致用人需求下降，社会的整体失业率升高，税收大幅减少。税收的减少使得美国不得不修改预算，包括教育预算也遭到大幅消减，从而使得给大学生提供的奖学金和补贴减少，来自美国中低收入家庭的学生们需要借贷以完成自己的学业。,本文描述的就是在这样的经济背景下，在2012年完成学业，步入社会的美国大学毕业生们的前景问题。他们在2008年金融危机爆发的时候刚刚走人大学校园。四年过去了，他们拿到了自己的学位，可经济依然不见起色，美国整体的失业率高达8%，大学毕业生的失业率也保持在6.8%。更糟糕的是，在经济萧
25、条时期步入职场，使得他们的赚钱能力大打折扣，起薪很低，甚至还影响到自己今后的职业生涯。而在求学时期借下的债务，因就业困难，薪酬不高而难以偿清，而即使是找到了工作的毕业生也发现，薪酬和职位与自己预期的相去甚远。面对大学生债务过重的情况，美国参议院也在争执如何延长给学生贷款提供补贴。美国总统奥巴马和竞选对手罗姆尼也呼吁采取行动。文章末尾还引用了美国总统奥巴马给纽约巴纳德学院的毕业生发表演讲的部分内容，提到这些毕业生们面临的困难和他自己当年毕业时经历经济危机的情况多么一样。以此结尾，不仅突出了文章的主题：学生债务负担让他们的前途未卜，同时又给读者带来一些宽慰和希望，即这样的经济和就业环境并非此时独有
26、，再大的困难最终也能安然度过，大学毕业生们最终还是能获得成功。,本文是一篇评述性新闻报道，介绍了学生债务增加给2012年毕业的美国大学生带来的影响。作者对大学生债务的情况、债务增加的原因及影响做了介绍，并将一些研究报告作为引证，文中多次以具体数字来说明问题，凸显报道的客观性，更在文章末尾处引用了奥巴马总统的演讲内容，让读者能够提升到历史角度来看待这一问题，给结尾增添了一抹亮色。文章的立场客观，语言平实，主题突出。但是作者只是提到参议院仍旧在为缓解形势的手段争论不休，而把如何从根本上解决问题留给读者自己去思考。不难看出，在某种程度上，这一问题解决与否实为政治家和党争的筹码。,Language P
27、oints,1. New Words(p.42-43),2. Notes,para.1 .the financial crisis that unfolded.casting a long shadow over their futures. =the financial crisis that became spread out when they were freshmen in 2008 is still making their futures uncertain. cast a shadow over/on sth.=make sth. dark给笼罩上阴影,para. 2 that
28、=the overall unemployment rate 做从句的主语，指代主句的主语，以免重复 is stuck at=is fixed at 经济危机爆发五年以来，美国整体的失业率高达8%，大学毕业生的失业率也保持在6.8%。,para.3 .the promise of a degree.still burdened by student debt =the expectation of getting a good job after graduating and getting degrees has turned to disappointment, because they
29、find it difficult to get their first job, and cant earn enough money to pay back the money they had loaned and they are still under the pressure of debts. 对许多年轻人而言，大学毕业拿到学位再找一份好工作已经成为了一种失望，因为工作难找，债务难偿。,para. 5 the 1980s recession（p44, note 5) .a one-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate
30、 for collee graduates led to a 6-7 percent drop in initial wages. =the graduates wages from their first job decreased by 6-7% once the unemployment rate increased by one percentage. 大学生的失业率每增加一个百分点，他们的起薪就会减少6-7%。,the University of Maryland,马里兰大学大学园全称马里兰大学大学园University of Maryland-College Park也有人叫马里兰
31、大学帕克分校,马里兰大学-大学城,University of Maryland, College Park (College Park),UMCP ,成立于1856，是一所规模巨大（30,000人以上）的公立研究型综合大学 马里兰大学大学园，不但地理位置好，环境优良，在学术声望上也有全美前50的排名，是马里兰大学系统的旗舰Flagship创始学校，成立于1862年。马里兰大学大学园也是全美大学联盟The Association of American UniversityAAU的61个盟校之一. 由于马里兰大学大学园是一所州立大学，而且又有充足的研究经费与良好的学校声誉，它与民间的公私立机构建
32、立了不错的互信关系。马里兰大学大学园总是不吝于提供马里兰州政府、地方性实验室、或各级学校机构它们的最新学术成果;而这些地方机构也都乐于提供马里兰大学大学园的学生可供研究的数据或任何工读机会。 马里兰大学大学园位于华盛顿特区附近，生活费想必也就不像其它学校那样便宜了。不过，由于UM是公立学校，学费相对的也较学术声望同等级的私校来得便宜。,para. 7 .definitely a major factor in that is the more promising outlook for a business major coming out of college =undoubtedly, t
33、he main reaon for me to choose to study business is that a business graduate may have a brighter future. 毫无疑问，我选择读工商专业的主要原因，是工商专业毕业生走出校门后可能会有更好的前途。,Questions,1. Does the 2008 financial crisis influence the university graduates? The 2008 financial crisis increased the unemployment rate, making univer
34、sity graduates hard to find their first job or even lose part of earning power for the rest of their career. Students with debt may take on an even heavier burden as they have less ability to repay the loans.,2. What can be learned from the result of Rutgers Universitys study? It can be learned that
35、 the graduates who finished college between 2006 and 2011 suffered a lot from the 2008 financial crisis with the high unemployment and reduced wages, and they felt regretful for their previous choices. They thought if they had known that they had to bear such a great burden of the student loans, the
36、y would have made different choices as to the majors, universities and jobs.,3. Why does Chelsea Katz want to study business? Because she thinks that a business major graduate might have a brighter future, finding a good job and earning more money. 4. What conditions are squeezing American young peo
37、ples ability to repay the student loans? a. Some graduates took the position below their level of education. b. Some graduates earned less than what they expected. c. Some graduates had to accept job outside their field in order to find work. d. The average starting salary dropped compared with year
38、s ago. e. The rapidly rising tuition fees surpass the income growth.,5. Why do American students have to borrow more money to finish their higher education? Because the public universities have been hit seriously by deep cuts to the state budget, and had to transfer more of the cost burden on to stu
39、dents and their families by increasing tuition and fees and reducing grants. 6. Why do you think the authors cite Mr. Obamas speech in the last paragraph? President Obama showed his sympathy for the graduates who are trapped in debts and difficulties in his speech, and shared the same experience and
40、 feeling with them. So the authors of the article cite Mr. Obamas speech to reinforce the theme of the article, and at the same time to give a ray of hope to encourage the young people out of plight eventually.,Words to Know,blight, cast a long shadow over, debt burden, disinvest, earning power, exp
41、ire, financial crisis, graduate degree, harsh reality, initial wages, internship, labour market, median starting salary, mire, outlook, outpace, postsecondary education, professional degree, public institutions, recession, skip, squeeze, state budget, strike a note, subsidy, tuition fee, unemployment rate, unfold, wrangle,
