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  3. The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college education has nearly doubled

The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college education has nearly doubled

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问题     The average price of all goods and services has risen about 50 percent. But the price of a college education has nearly doubled in that time. Is the education that today’s students are getting twice as good? Are new workers twice as smart? Have they become somehow massively more expensive to educate?
    Perhaps a bit. Richard Vedder, an Ohio University economics professor, says, "I look at the data, and I see college costs rising faster than inflation up to the mid-1980s by 1 percent a year. Now I see them rising 3 to 4 percent a year over inflation. What has happened? The federal government has started dropping money out of airplanes." Aid has increased, subsidized loans have become available, and "the universities have gotten the money. It’s a giant waste of resources that will continue as long as the subsidies continue."
    James Heckman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, has examined how the returns on education break down for individuals with different backgrounds and levels of ability. "Even with these high prices, you’re still finding a high return for individuals who are bright and motivated," he says. On the other hand, "if you’re not college ready, then the answer is no, it’s not worth it," says economic expert Dr. Kamin who tends to agree that for the average student, college is still worth it today, but he also agrees that the rapid increase in price is eating up more and more of the potential return. For borderline students, tuition rise can push those returns into negative territory.
    Educator Elise Boulding seems to agree that the government, and parents, should be rethinking how we invest in higher education—and that employers need to rethink the increasing use of college degrees as crude screening tools for jobs that don’t really require college skills. "Employers seeing a surplus of college graduates and looking to fill jobs are just adding that requirement," says Vedder. "In fact, a college degree becomes a job requirement for becoming a bar-tender."
    We have started to see some change on the finance side. A law passed in 2007 allows many students to cap their loan payment at 10 percent of their income and forgives any balance after 25 years. But of course, that doesn’t control the cost of education; it just shifts it to taxpayers. It also encourages graduates to choose lower-paying careers, which reduces the financial return to education still further. "You’re subsidizing people to become priests and poets and so forth," says Heckman. "You may think that’s a good thing, or you may not." Either way it will be expensive for the government.
    What might be a lot cheaper is putting more kids to work. Economist Bryan Caplan notes that work also builds valuable skills—probably more valuable for kids who don’t naturally love sitting in a classroom. Heckman agrees wholeheartedly: "People are different, and those abilities can be shaped. That’s what we’ve learned, and public policy should recognize that."
    Heckman would like to see more apprenticeship-style programs, where kids can learn in the workplace—learn not just specific job skills, but the kind of "soft skills," like getting to work on time and getting along with a team, that are crucial for career success. "It’s about having tutors and having workplace-based education," he says. "Time and again I’ve seen examples of this kind of program working."
    A. more kids should be encouraged to participate in programs where they can learn not only job skills but also social skills.
    B. the way we invest in higher education should be reconsidered.
    C. for those who are not prepared for higher education, going to college is not worth it.
    D. middle-class American should highly value job skills as well as social skills.
    E. kids who don’t love school should go to work.
    F. the government had better stop putting large amount of money into higher education.
    G. a college degree should be a job requirement for some non-skilled jobs like a bar-tender.
James Heckman proposes that
选项
答案A
解析 第三、第五、第六、第七段均有出现James Heckman。文中多次提到了Heckman，对于此类题，考生可结合各选项的关键信息，对比原文各处Heckman的观点，从而得出答案。原文第七段首句提到，Heckman希望有更学徒式的课程，让孩子可以不仅学习到工作技能，也能学到一些“软技能”。A项提到了相关内容，结合文意可知，soft skills指一些社交合作技能，与A中的social skills是对应的，故确定A为答案。D项也提及了job skills和social skills，但该项中的关键信息middle-class American并未在Heckman的观点中出现，因此排除D。
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