英国教育

Students are being 'ripped off' by bad degrees, warns Rishi Sunak

里希·苏纳克警告称，学生们正在被低质量学位“诓骗”

The Prime Minister says: "Our young people are being saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of debt from bad degrees that just leave them poorer, and dissuaded from pursuing more vocational options because they are led to believe that university is the only route to success."

英国首相里希·苏纳克表示：“我们的年轻人正在因一些低质量学位背负着数万英镑的债务，而这些学位只会让他们更拮据，同时，因为他们被引导相信“上大学才是通往成功的唯一途径”，在追寻更多职业教育的选项时，还遭到劝阻。”

"So we're going to change the way our system works to end this unfairness. And to say to our young people: there are good alternatives to university."

“因此，我们将改变这一系统的运作方式，结束这种不公平现象。并告诉我们的年轻人：除了上大学，人生还有其他好的选择。”

In recent years, Tory ministers have sought to build up vocational qualifications including apprenticeships and questioned the cost of some degrees on offer. During the summer 2022 Tory leadership race, Mr Sunak signalled his concerns in this area, vowing to phase out degrees that did not improve students' "earning potential".

近年来，英国保守党的大臣们试图设置一些诸如学徒制的职业文凭；同时，还对高校开设的部分学位的费用表示质疑。2022 年夏天保守党党首竞选期间，苏纳克表达了自己对这方面的担忧，并承诺会逐步淘汰那些无法提升学生“收入潜力”的学位。

As part of a government plan to improve standards, the universities watchdog will for the first time take future salaries into account when judging if a course is failing participants. The Office for Students (OfS) will also be able to cap the number of students who can take a degree deemed low value.

大学监管机构在判断一项课程是否对其参与者有帮助时，将首次把未来薪资水平这一因素考虑在内，这是用于提升学位标准的政府计划的一部分。此外，英国学生事务办公室（OfS）还将对攻读低质量学位的学生数量进行限制。

The maximum universities can charge for classroom-based foundation year courses will drop from £9,250 to £5,760. A Whitehall source close to the reforms warned that some foundation courses were being used as "cash cows" by universities in need of funds.

大学对面授型预科课程的收费上限将由 9,250 英镑降至 5,760 英镑。一位来自英国政府的改革知情人士提醒道，部分预科课程会被那些需要资金的大学当成“摇钱树”。

The Government is also creating a new online resource detailing all the apprenticeships available nationwide and cutting paperwork for businesses to register for an apprentice.

此外，英国政府也在创建新的线上资源（平台），对全国范围内的所有学徒计划进行详细介绍；同时，也在简化企业方注册申请学徒的文书工作。

But Bridget Phillipson, Labour's shadow education secretary, said: "This is simply an attack on the aspirations of young people and their families by a government that wants to reinforce the class ceiling, not smash it."

然而，工党的影子教育大臣布里奇特·菲利普森表示：“这不过是政府对年轻人及其家庭所持抱负的一种打击；政府这是想加固阶级天花板，而非打破它。”

Susan Lapworth, OfS chief executive, said: "Students from all backgrounds are entitled to expect high-quality teaching on courses that lead to successful outcomes after graduation."

英国学生事务办公室（OfS）的首席执行官苏珊·拉普沃斯认为：“学生们无论来自何种背景，都有权要求得到高质量的课程教学，且这些课程需帮助他们在毕业后走向成功。”

主编：Felicity、Caroline

品控：Felicity、蘑菇

审核：Caroline

重点词汇

rip … off

欺骗（尤指骗钱），敲……竹杠

相关词汇：rip（v. 撕开，扯破）

英文释义：to cheat someone, by making them pay too much money for something

例句：We got ripped off buying our new car.

相关词汇：rip-off（欺骗（尤指骗钱））

例句：Don't eat in the restaurant. It's a complete rip-off.

搭配短语：rip-off degrees

saddle

/ˈsæd.əl/

v. 使承受重担，使承担责任、任务

词性拓展：saddle（n. 马鞍）

搭配短语：to saddle sb. with sth.（使某人承受……重担）；to be saddled with sth.（承受着……重担）

例句：My boss has saddled me with a large amount of work.

近义词组：to burden sb. with sth.；to be burdened with sth.

dissuade

/dɪˈsweɪd/

v. 劝阻

相关词汇：persuade（v. 劝说，说服）

搭配短语：to persuade sb. to do sth.；to persuade sb. into doing sth.（劝某人做某事）

词根词缀：dis-（表示“相反的动作”）

搭配短语：dissuade sb. from doing sth.（劝阻某人做某事，劝某人不要做某事）

例句：I tried to dissuade him from quitting the job.

vocational

/voʊˈkeɪ.ʃən.əl/

adj. 职业教育的，职业的，职业技术的

相关词汇：vocation（n. 职业，工作）

搭配短语：vocational training（职业培训）

alternative

/ɔlˈtɜr·nə·t̬ɪv/

n. 可供选择的事物

搭配短语：to have no alternative but to do sth.（除了做某事之外，别无选择）

例句：We had no alternative but to fire him.

搭配短语：an alternative to sth.（代替某物的另一种选择）

例句：They are seeking alternatives to fossil fuels.

minister

/ˈmɪn.ə.stɚ/

n. 大臣，部长

英文释义：(in Britain and many other countries) a senior member of the government who is in charge of a government department or a branch of one

文化补充：英国的财政大臣（Chancellor of the Exchequer）、国防大臣（Secretary of State for Defence）、教育大臣 （Secretary of State for Education）等等，这些可统称为“内阁大臣”（cabinet ministers）。

apprenticeship

/əˈpren.t̬ɪs.ʃɪp/

n. 学徒制，学徒资格，学徒身份

相关词汇：apprentice（n. 学徒，徒弟）

搭配短语：an apprentice carpenter（木工学徒）

词根词缀：-ship（表示 the status or office of “地位，职位”）

文化补充：文章这里的 apprenticeship 指的是英国政府推行的“现代学徒制”。英国的“学徒制”历史悠久，最早可追溯到中世纪时期的手工业领域；1563 年，第一个全国性的“学徒培训制度”正式出现；19 世纪，英国的“学徒制”开始走下坡路；直到 1993 年，英国开始推行“现代学徒制”（Modern Apprenticeships）；2015 年，政府又推出了“高等及学位学徒制”（higher and degree apprenticeships）。

政府对学徒等级进行了严格划分：4-7 级属于“高等学徒”（higher apprenticeship），其教育等级相当于获得了英国高校的预科学位（foundation degree）。其中，6-7 级又属于“学位学徒”（degree apprenticeship），其教育等级相当于获得了学士和硕士学位（bachelor's and master's degree ）。

学徒制由企业方主导，与各大高校及其他专业机构合作开发。学徒既需要接受基础理论和文化知识教育，也需要在相应企业接受岗位技能培训，学徒期限在 1 年到 5 年不等。目前，英国有超过 600 种学徒岗位，涵盖法律服务、银行、工程等各个领域。

on offer

可供选择的，可供使用的

英文释义：available to be chosen or used

例句：The company has a leaflet introducing the range of services on offer.

signal

/ˈsɪɡ.nəl/

v.（用行为等）表示，表达（情绪、观点等）；发信号，示意

词性拓展：signal（n. 信号）

例句：She signalled to them to sit down.（示意）

英文释义：to do something to make your feelings or opinions known

例句：He signalled his discontent by refusing to vote.（用行为等）表示，表达（情绪、观点等）

phase out

分阶段停用……，逐步去除……

相关词汇：phase（v. 分阶段进行）

词性拓展：phase（n. 阶段，时期）

相关词汇：out（adv. 向外，出去）

例句：Subsidies to farmers will be phased out by next year.

反义词组：phase in（分阶段引进……，逐步开启……）

相关词汇：in（adv. 向内，进来）

例句：The reforms would be phased in over three years.

watchdog

/ˈwɑːtʃ.dɑːɡ/

n. 监察机构，监管机构；看门狗

英文释义：a person or organization responsible for making certain that companies obey particular standards and do not act illegally

cap

/kæp/

v. 限制（金额、数量等）

词性拓展：cap（n. 上限，最高限额；帽子，盖子）

例句：The government has placed a cap on local council spending.（最高限额）

例句：We've got to cap this video at 10 minutes.

cash cow

/ˈkæʃ ˌkaʊ/

n. 摇钱树；长期盈利、稳赚的项目

相关词汇：cash（n. 现金）

相关词汇：cow（n. 奶牛）

reinforce

/ˌriː.ɪnˈfɔːrs/

v. 强化，加深（观点、情感等）；加固，增强

例句：The wooden beam is reinforced with a metal plate.（加固）

例句：Such jokes tend to reinforce gender stereotypes.（强化（观点、情感等））

entitle

/ɪnˈtaɪ.t̬əl/

v. 给予……权利、资格

英文释义：to give someone the right to do or have something

搭配短语：to be entitled to sth.（有……的权利、资格）

例句：He's entitled to his opinion even if you don't agree with him.

搭配短语：to be entitled to do sth.（有做……的权利、资格）

例句：Full-time employees are entitled to receive health insurance.