英伦广角 2011-02-13 穷学生挑战名校高学费

Cambridge University has inspired some incredible careers with its huge list of famous students. Just streets away, Sixth Form pupils of Hills Rd College are feeling so certain about their future.

"It's critical that this government goes ahead and slashes¹ the education budget so..."

The prospect² of rising fees is taking a big hit on their plans and potentially costing them a place to university in 2012.

"I’m definitely considering going abroad because it’s not just a lot cheaper, especially post-graduate."

"I know a lot of students who now say maybe I need to go to apprenticeship³ or something because it’s just not practical or even affordable⁴ to get to university any more."

Today’s letter from Nick Clegg to the Office for Fair Access should give better support for poor students. It will mean that universities have to explain their decision to increase fees above ￡6,000 a year. They also have to outline how they plan to help the less well-off and their targets would be monitored every year.

Cambridge University has already come out and said they planned to charge ￡9,000 a year for every single one of their courses. It still gets to be approved by the university’s council. But it seems it won’t just be the traditional academic universities who will be aiming for those extra high prices.

Because just across the city is the Anglia Ruskin University, formerly⁵ a polytechnic⁶. Even here, they say it’s inevitable⁷ that students are going to paying around ￡8,000 a year in fees. Studying in Cambridge already cost these students around ￡24,000 in fees and maintenance allowance, even more would put them off.

"Budgets need to be going up not down, they need to be given to wider section of students who are suffering financial hardship, they need to be doing more target of access in more areas are in a greater debts than have before."

"I think if universities are gonna be, as automatically trying to raise to the top in terms of charging  ￡9,000 and charging the maximum fees, then there needs to be much more pressure put on them by government and also much more monitoring of what they are doing."

The higher fees aren’t set to kick in until 2012, but already the National Union of Students is warning that most universities will go for that maximum ￡9,000 a year, a decision that could stay many off the path to higher education.

Rhiannon Mills Sky News in Cambridge.

1 slashes   

n.（用刀等）砍( slash的名词复数 )；（长而窄的）伤口；斜杠；撒尿v.挥砍( slash的第三人称单数 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• They report substantial slashes in this year's defense outlays. 他们报道今年度国防经费的大量削减。 来自辞典例句
• Inmates suffered injuries ranging from stab wounds and slashes to head trauma. 囚犯们有的被刺伤，有的被砍伤，而有的头部首创，伤势不一而足。 来自互联网

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

3 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

6 polytechnic   

adj.各种工艺的，综合技术的；n.工艺(专科)学校；理工(专科)学校

参考例句：

• She was trained as a teacher at Manchester Polytechnic.她在曼彻斯特工艺专科学校就读，准备毕业后做老师。
• When he was 17,Einstein entered the Polytechnic Zurich,Switzerland,where he studied mathematics and physics.17岁时，爱因斯坦进入了瑞士苏黎士的专科学院，学习数学和物理学。

7 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。