大家好，今天周末，奉上一碟新鲜出炉的小菜。
本文取自8月10日《经济学人》，谈的是英国高等教育的问题。
从传统的认知上来说，我们都觉得大学，尤其是国外大学，特别是国外一流大学的学费都很贵，穷人上学肯定要背负巨额贷款，一毕业就在替银行打工，所以一定程度上阻碍了阶级流动。
但这篇文章站出来为大学收学费辩护，声称助学贷款其实没我们想象的那么可怕，普通人完全可以偿还。（话说英国的助学贷款政策真的很好……看完你就知道了）
可惜的是，这跟咱们的英国留学生没啥关系，咱也享受不到那些福利，还是洗洗睡吧。
不过，文章附了一份根据毕业生薪酬排名的英国大学排行，分为实际薪酬，预期薪酬和两者之间的差额三项，如果有准备到英国留学的朋友可以参考一下，附在本文最后。
准备好胃口，开动吧~
Paying for universities
The merits of going English
Why educationalists like the English system of tuition fees financed by loans on easy terms
- UNIVERSITY used to be for a privileged few. In some countries it is now almost a rite of passage. Although that is excellent news, few countries have worked out how to pay for it. In some of continental Europe, where the state often foots the bill, the result has usually been underinvestment. In America, where students themselves pay, many have little choice but to take on huge debts.
a rite of passage: any important act or event that serves to mark a passage from one stage of life to another.
foots the bill: to pay for something, especially something expensive that you do not want to pay for
1）大学曾是有特权的少数人才能上的。在一些国家，它现在几乎是一种成人仪式。虽然这是一个很好的消息，但很少有国家想出如何为大学付费的解决方案。在欧洲的一些国家，政府经常为此买单，结果通常是投资不足。在美国，学生自己付钱，许多人别无选择只能承担巨额债务。
- English policymakers thought they had struck the right balance, with a mix of student fees and generous state loans that has found admirers abroad. But, nearly two decades after youngsters were first required to contribute to tuition costs, the system has dwindling support at home. Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s leader and many students’ favourite political philosopher, speaks as though it were designed to keep the poor from tainting the ivory towers. He has called for an end to the “debt burden” on students, and has claimed that “fewer working-class young people are applying to university.” Labour’s showing at the recent election suggests many young voters agree.
strike a balance (between sth): to give the correct amount of importance or attention to two separate things
e.g. He was finding it difficult to strike a balance between his family and his work.
2）英国政策制定者认为他们已经达到了适当的平衡，以一种向学生收费和慷慨的国家贷款相结合的方式，令其他国家羡慕不已。但是，年轻人首次被要求缴纳学费已近二十年，该体系在国内的支持不断下降。工党领袖和许多学生最喜欢的政治哲学家杰里米·科尔宾认为它似乎是（专门）被设计来让穷人不要玷污象牙塔（此处指大学——译注）的。他呼吁要结束学生的“债务负担”，并声称“越来越少的工薪阶层年轻人在申请大学”。最近选举中工党的表现说明许多年轻选民都同意（他的观点）。
- Mr Corbyn’s argument betrays a disregard for the facts, a poor understanding of student finance, or both. Twenty years ago English students could go to university free, with the state covering the cost. The result was many struggling institutions and strict limits on the numbers of students universities were allowed to take. Annual tuition fees allowed an expansion of higher education, from around 30% of 18-year-olds to more than 40%—and the proportion of youngsters going to university from poor parts of the country has grown from one-in-ten to three-in-ten. Even after the most that universities were allowed to charge was nearly trebled in 2012, to £9,000 ($14,000), the number of poor students has continued to grow.
betray: to tell sb or make them aware of a piece of information, a feeling, etc, usually without meaning to = give away
e.g. His voice betrayed the worry he was trying to hide.
e.g. She was terrified of saying something that would make her betray herself (= show her feelings or who she was).
disregard: the act of treating sb/sth as unimportant and not caring about them/it
3）科尔宾先生的主张暴露出（他）对事实的忽视，对学生财务状况缺少了解，或者两者兼而有之。二十年前，英国学生可以免费上大学，由国家支付费用。结果导致许多勉强维持的大学和对大学允许招收学生数量的严格限制。而每年（收取）学费则让高等教育能够扩招，从18岁的大约30％增加到40％以上，而从全国贫困地区进入大学的青少年的比例已经从十人中一人增加到十人中三人。即使在2012年大学被允许收的最高费用几乎增长了两倍，达到九千英镑（14,000美元），贫困学生的人数仍然继续增长。
- That is because loans for tuition are combined with gentle repayment terms. Graduates only pay back based on their income above £21,000 a year, meaning that their debts never become unmanageable. Outstanding loans are written off after 30 years. So those who do not do well financially from their education do not have to pay. Critics argue that tuition fees exacerbate inequality between generations (rich oldsters attended university free, after all), but the alternative would be greater inequality within generations—as poorer students were once again frozen out when capacity fell, and relatively wealthy graduates were subsidised from general taxation.
Outstanding: Money that is outstanding has not yet been paid and is still owed to someone.
written off: to cancel a debt; to recognize that sth is a failure, has no value, etc
exacerbate: If something exacerbates a problem or bad situation, it makes it worse.
freeze out: to deliberately prevent someone from being involved in something, by making it difficult for them, being unkind to them etc
4）这是因为与学费贷款组合的是友好的还款条件。毕业生只有在每年收入超过21,000英镑的时候需要还款，这意味着他们的债务永远不会变得难以控制。 未偿还的贷款在30年后会被一笔勾销。所以那些在经济上收入不高的人就不用付钱了。评论家认为，学费会加剧两代人之间的不平等现象（毕竟，富有的老年人曾免费读大学），但另一种选择（指不收学费——译者注）将会导致几代人中更大的不平等，因为较贫穷的学生曾在大学容量下降时再次被排除在外，相对富裕的高中毕业生则从全体税收中获得补贴。
Competition cure
- The real problem with the English system is not fairness, but that fees have not driven up standards, as many officials had hoped. Almost all universities charge the maximum, whatever the course—not because they are a “cartel”, as some say, but because no university wants to suggest that it offers a cut-price, second-rate degree. Nevertheless, surveys indicate that students have seen little improvement in teaching. Many universities spend the extra money on fancy buildings and big salaries for senior managers instead.
cartel: a group of people or companies who agree to sell something at a particular price in order to prevent competition and increase profits
5）英国系统的真正问题不是公平，而是学费并没有如许多官员所希望的那样提高（大学）水平。几乎所有的大学都收取最高的费用，无论课程如何，不是因为他们像有人说的那样是一个“商业联盟”，而是因为没有大学想显示它所提供的是减价的、二流的学位。然而，调查显示，学生在教学方面几乎没有看到任何改善。许多大学都把多余的钱花在花哨的建筑物和高级管理人员大笔的工资上。
- One answer would be to promote competition by giving students better information—such as which universities benefit their students most (see our calculations). The government has relaxed the rules for new institutions in the hope that they will develop new teaching methods and drive down prices. It could also encourage students to hold universities to account, with devices such as learning contracts specifying what undergraduates should expect, and by helping them switch courses if they are dissatisfied. If students think they are not getting value for money, support for a scheme that is fair and progressive will dwindle. And that could lead to the most regressive step of all: scrapping tuition fees.
scrap: to decide not to use a plan or system because it is not practical
e.g. We believe that car tax should be scrapped.
6）一个解决办法是通过给学生更好的信息来促进竞争，例如（告诉他们）哪些大学对它们的学生最有利。政府放宽了对新大学的规定，希望它们能够开发新的教学方法并降低价格。它还可以鼓励学生让大学负责，例如使用学习合同这种方式明确本科生预期会学到什么知识，以及在如果他们不满意时帮助他们调整课程。如果学生认为他们没有得到学费相应的价值，那么对一项公平且革新的计划的支持就会减少。这可能会导致最为倒退的一步：废除学费。
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "An English solution"
原文出处：经济学人
翻译：七呵夫
本译文仅供个人研习、欣赏语言之用，谢绝任何转载及用于任何商业用途。本译文不代表本人立场。本人同意平台在接获有关著作权人的通知后，删除文章。