Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a year between school and university when some students earn m

admin2010-11-02  40

问题      Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a year between school and university when some students earn money, travel, etc. ) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are some disasters and even the most motivated, organized gap student does require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical. The parental mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured their offspring; it is vicarious(引发同感的) living. We all wish pre-university gap years had been the fashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our kids become; how much more prepared to benefit from university or to decide positively that they are going to do something other than a degree.
     Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them, Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts with backpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant, teaching English. With this trend, however, comes a danger. Once parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would-be undergraduate’s progress to a better university, a good degree, an impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies’ blurbs(大肆宣传) suggest it might be, then parents will start organizing—and paying for— the gaps.
     Where there are disasters, according to Richard Oliver, director of the gap companies’ umbrella organization, the Year Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance is thoughtful preparation. "When people get it wrong, it is usually medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away from home before or because expectation does not match reality."
    The point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies. Kids don’t mature if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature. If the 18-year-old’s way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then that’s what will be productive for that person. The consensus, however, is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover(行动者) needs to be the student.
    The 18 year-old who was dispatched by his parents at two weeks’ notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding instructor at a cost of £5,800, probably came back with little more than a hangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the positive counterbalance.  
What does the author want to tell in the last paragraph?

选项 A、The working experience from New Zealand to Switzerland is different from that in Canada.
B、Earning one’s living and gaining working experience will make one’s gap year more meaningful.
C、The high cost for a gap year is worthwhile.
D、It is a positive way to have a gap year Before applying for a university.

答案B

解析 根据题干定位到原文最后一段。该段列举了两个例子,比较度过学业间断年的两种不同方式:由父母安排或者自己独立安排,用以支持第四段如何让学业间断年有意义的观点。该段中第二个例子表明年轻人先通过工作赚钱获得工作经历,然后申请大学,是完全不同于第一个例子的积极做法。故B项正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/TLZFFFFM
0

最新回复(0)