六级英语阅读第十六天 完整版.pdfVIP

PassageTwo Questions 57to 61 are basedonthe following passage. There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuitioncalculatorsandgaspingastheWebspitsbackasix-figuresum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge thatcollegeisaninvestmentthat,unlikemanybankstocks,shouldyield huge dividends. A 2008 study bytwo Harvard economists notesthat the “labor-market premium to skill”—or the amount college graduates earned that’s greater than what high-school graduate earned—decreased for much of the 20th century, but hascome backwith avengeance (报复性地) sincethe 1980s.In 2005, The typical full-time year-round U.S. worker with a four-year college degreeearned $50,900,62% morethanthe $31,500earned byaworkerwith only a high-schooldiploma. There’snoquestionthatgoingtocollegeisasmarteconomicchoice.But a lookatthe strangevariations intuition revealsthatthechoiceaboutwhich collegetoattenddoesn’tcomedownmerelytodollarsandcents.Doesgoing to Columbia University(tuition, roomand board $49,260 in2007-08)yield a 40%greaterreturnthanattendingtheUniversityofColoradoatBoulderasan out-of-state student ($35,542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulderyield twice the amount of incomeas beingan in-statestudent ($17,380)there? Not likely. No,inthis consumeristage, most buyersaren’t evaluatingcollegeas an investment, but rather as a consumer product—like a car or clothes or a house.And with such purchases, price isonly one of manycrucialfactors to consider. Aswithautomobiles,consumersintoday’scollegemarketplacehavevast choices,andpeoplesearchfortheonethatgivesthemthe mostcomfortand satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of peopleto pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-artscollege or go