| 英语六级模拟试卷(77) -- 阅读4 |
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Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage. How do we measure the economic return to higher education? Typically it is calculated as the difference between average wages of college graduates an those who have not graduated from college. In 1997, for example, college graduates earned an average of $ 40, 508 versus just $ 23, 970 for non-college graduates. Based on these income levels, the economic return to a college education is approximately 69 percent, the difference between the two income levels. But this simple calculation ignores the fact that college graduates tend to come from higher socioeconomic levels, are more highly motivated, and probably have higher IQs than nongraduates. Although these factors influence incomes, they are not the result of college attendance. Therefore the result of the study is an overstatement of the returns to higher education. More sophisticated analyses adjust for these extraneous(外来的) influences. For instance economists Orley Ashenfelter and Alan Krueger, estimate that each year of post high-school education results in a wage premium of between 15 and 16 percent. Their study is particularly relevant because they  differences for identical twins with different education levels, allowing them to control for genetic and socioeconomic factors. Other research puts the wage premium for college graduates at nearly 50 percent. Unfortunately, you can’t spend a college wage premium. Income levels for the average college graduate have stagnated(停滞). After adjusting for inflation, the average income of college graduates holding full-time jobs rose by only 4.4 percent between 1979 and 1997, or at a minuscule(极小的) annual rate of 0.2 percent. At the same time, workers with only high-school degrees saw their real income plummet(垂直落下) by 15 percent. Bottom line: the much-ballyhooed college wage “premium” is due primarily to the fall in inflation-adjusted salaries of workers who haven’t been to college.In fact, if you don’t go on to graduate school or are not  graduates at one of the nation’s elite colleges, chances are your sky-high tuition is buying you no economic advantage whatsoever. In recent decades the flood of graduates has been so great that an increasing proportion have found themselves, within a few years, working as sales clerks, cab drivers, and in other jobs that do not require a college degree. In 1995, approximately 40 percent of people with some college education—and 10 percent of those with a college degree—worked at jobs requiring only high-school skills. That’s up from 30 percent and 6 percent, respectively, in 1971.36. The higher economic returns to college graduates are not true because_____. A) it pays attention to the socioeconomic factors but neglects academic factors B) the samples taken do not fully represent college and non-college graduates C) it neglects some aspects which might have added to the earnings of college graduates D) it does not make clear whether college graduates include graduates from graduate schools 37. The following statements are true EXCEPT that_______. A) results of analyses of college premium can vary greatly B) the yearly increase of the average income of college graduates is 4.4 percent C) graduates from graduate schools have higher economic returns than college graduates D) college degrees no longer promise economic advantages 38. People believe that the college wage premium is inflated because_____. A) the average income of college graduates has declined more than that of non-college graduates B) the average income of college graduates in not much higher than that of non-college graduates C) the average income of non-college graduates have increased more than that of college graduates D) the average income of non-college graduates have declined sharply over the past years 39. What does the author mean when he says “you can’t spend a college wage premium”? A) College graduates tend to spend less money on consumer goods. B) The economic return for college graduates have decreased since 1979. C) The economic returns to higher education have hardly increased since 1979. D) College graduates could hardly earn enough to pay high living cost. 40. The main idea of the passage is______. A) overestimated college premium B) the payoffs of college education C) the myths of college education D) the decline of college education 
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