VOA慢速英语：电影《象牙塔》探讨美国大学教育的沉重费用（双语）

'Ivory Tower' Explores Crushing Cost of US College Education

电影《象牙塔》探讨美国大学教育的沉重费用

From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语教育报道。

The cost of attending university in the United States has risen quickly in the past 20 years. Many people today say they owe huge amounts of money for loans they received for higher education. The students past and present say they are drowning in debt.

在过去的20年里，美国上大学的费用增长很快。现在许多人表示，他们因为接受高等教育而欠下了巨额贷款。过去和如今的学生都说，他们已经陷入债务泥沼。

Movie maker Andrew Rossi examines education debt in the film Ivory Tower. The documentary was released to movie theaters recently. Ivory Tower is often used in America to mean university or college. Andrew Rossi wrote, directed and produced Ivory Tower.

电影制作人安德鲁·罗西在电影《象牙塔》中分析了教育债务，这部纪录片最近在电影院开始播放。在美国，象牙塔常被用作指代大学或学院。安德鲁·罗西编写、导演并制作了《象牙塔》这部电影。

He says college tuition, the cost of attending classes increased by about 1,100 percent between 1978 and today. Estimates place the nations combined debt for student loans at 1 trillion dollars.

他称从1978年至今，大学费用已经上涨了1100%。据估计，全国学生贷款总和达到了1万亿美元。

One comment made by a woman in Ivory Tower shows the deep concern that student loans can cause. But one young man in the Washington D.C. area says he does not face much worry about college costs.

《象牙塔》电影中的一位女性发表意见，对学生贷款可能会导致的问题深表担忧。但是华盛顿特区的一位青年男子却表示，他不用太担心大学费用。

Brandon Attilis says his parents prepaid his tuition, he is working this summer at a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. Attilis also plans to reduce his expenses by sharing a house with two friends.

布兰登·阿特里斯表示他的父母已经预付了他的学费，今年夏天他在弗吉尼亚州亚历山德里亚市的一家餐厅打工。阿特里斯先生还计划与两位朋友合租来减少开支。

"My parents are paying the cost of the house, but I'm paying utilities. So, between the two, it's still less expensive than actually living in the dorms," Brandon said.

布兰登说：“我的父母要为我付房租,但我要付水电费。所以相比之下，还是合租还是要比住宿舍便宜些。”

His mother Chris Attilis says she and her husband began saving money for college tuition shortly after each of their children was born.

他的母亲克里斯·阿特里斯称，自己和丈夫在每个孩子出生后不久就开始为他们攒大学学费。

"We took care of four years of college education for less than a year's costs in today's market," said Chris.

克里斯说：“我们那时上大学所担负的四年的费用比现在他们一年的开销还少。”

Still, many families lack enough money to do that. The movie notes that there have been reductions in government aid for education. Some colleges also build beautiful but costly campuses in hopes of getting students to attend. But the building projects can also increase costs for students.

尽管如此，还有许多家庭没钱上大学。这部电影指出，政府削减了对教育的援助。一些高校还建造了漂亮但奢华的校园，这些建筑项目也会增加学生的费用。

Ms. Attilis visited colleges with Brandon.

阿特里斯女士同布兰登共同参观了校园。

"They put on a good show. And walking through and looking at the granite sinks in the bathrooms I'm thinking, 'This is not what it was looking like when I went to school.'" Chris said.

克里斯女士说：“他们对学校进行了豪华的装潢。当我走过浴室，看到浴室中的花岗岩水槽时我就在想，‘这不并像是我们那时上学的学校。’”

Ivory Tower suggests that many students choose not to get a traditional college education because of the costs. Some try online education. Brandon Attilis however says online education is not for everyone.

《象牙塔》这部电影表明，许多学生因为费用昂贵而选择不接受传统的大学教育。有些学生尝试进行在线学习。但是布兰登表示，在线学习并不适合所有人。

"You have to be a real hard worker, you have to really want it," Brandon said.

布兰登说：“你必须是一个很勤奋努力的学生，非常想学的人。”

He says he hopes that his own schooling will lead to a good business education and a good career. He hopes it will not include huge debt built at the so called ivory towers of education.

他称他希望自己可以在学校学到好的商业学知识，并拥有好的职业生涯。他希望这里面不会包括建立在所谓象牙塔教育上的巨额债务。

And that's the VOA Learning English Education Report. I'm Bob Doughty.

这就是本期美国之音慢速英语教育报道的全部内容，我是鲍勃·道蒂。