1 . Whether your kid can count on a sizable inheritance (遗产) or your family is living pay period to pay period, a college degree is a must. Along with the invisible life skills you get from those formative years on campus, college comes with a bankable payout: A Georgetown University study found that, on average, college graduates make a million dollars more over a lifetime than people who stop at high school.
Recently, a Bronx nonprofit asked me to speak to a group of high schoolers whose families were struggling financially. The participants were (rightly) worried about taking on too much college debt. Here’s what I told them: Even when you subtract (扣除) tuition, lost earnings during the college years, and other factors, an average college grad will still take in $300,000 more than those without a college degree.
And while rising tuition fees are a serious worry, free college programs of one kind or another have sprung up in more than 20 states. My own home state, New York, boasts one of the most comprehensive efforts. The Excelsior Scholarship program guarantees that students at public institutions attend tuition-free if their family earns under $110,000 a year.
Even in Silicon Valley, where there are many successful people who don’t own a college degree, I asked a group of parents there if it’s true that kids are giving up a college degree because they’re sure they’ll be rich people. The answer was a resounding, unapologetic no.
The truth is that in this STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-centric age, any form of home-schooling or social education can’t replace the formal school education. Especially in an age when many low-end careers are being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), a college degree can give your kid an edge.
1. In writing paragraph 1, the author aims to ________.
| A．propose a definition | B．make a comparison |
| C．give an example | D．present an argument |
2. What can we infer from the text?
| A．Free college programs are available all over the USA. |
| B．In the STEM-centric age, a college degree is essential. |
| C．In New York, all public school students are tuition-free. |
| D．Children from rich families don’t need a college degree. |
3. What is happening to the low-end careers?
| A．They are developing very rapidly. |
| B．They are all being engaged by AI. |
| C．They are all depending on a degree. |
| D．They are disappearing because of AI. |
4. Which is the most suitable title for the text?
| A．Why do you need a college degree? |
| B．Where can you enjoy free education? |
| C．What is a must in the STEM-centric age? |
| D．How much do people with a degree earn in US? |
