When people ask your children to “get an education”, they tell you only half the truth.  What they really mean is to get just enough education to give manpower for your society.

Get a high school diploma, at least.  Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Washington or Thomas Edison and you can successfully stop study in primary schools.

Get a college degree, if possible.  With a BA, you should start to find a job.  You have to put on the brakes now.  If you do go for a master’s degree, make sure it is an MBA and only from a first – class university.  Otherwise, the famous law of diminishing (报酬递减率) begins to work.

Do you know, for example, that long – distance truck drivers make more money a year than full professors? Yes, each driver was paid $28,000 in 1997 while a full professor managed to get $27,930.

A PhD is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial aim, you are facing a not very bright future.  There are more PhDs unemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far.

If you became a PhD in English or history or political science or languages or – worst of all – in philosophy（哲学）, you take the risk of becoming over – educated for our national demands.

Thousands of PhDs are selling shoes, driving taxis, waiting on tables and filling out applications month after month, and then may be taking a job in some high school or college with the pay much less than a door–keeper makes.

1. According to the writer, society expects education to turn out people who will       .

       A. raise their payment                  B. get employed

       C. become specialized in some field             D. meet the demands as a source of manpower

2. Long–distance truck drivers make more money a year than full professors because         .

       A. the famous law of diminishing functions

       B. long – distance truck drivers only get a high school diploma

       C. full professors are PhDs in English or history

       D. long – distance truck drivers work harder than full professors

3. If you don’t want to be occupationally dead, you       .

       A. should look for a job in a primary school      

B. must at least get a high school diploma

       C. have to get as high an education as possible

D. should try to avoid being overeducated in philosophy

4. The underlined phrase “put on the brakes” in the 3 rd paragraph means “      ”.

       A. stop learning for a high degree            B. take up a master’s degree at once

       C. go on studying in a first – class university   D. find any interesting job

5. What can we know from the passage?

       A. The higher education you get, the more money you will earn.

       B. There are more PhDs than the society demands.

       C. Neither George Washington nor Edison received formal education.

       D. If you are specialized in physics, you can’t get a good job easily.

       When your parents advise you to “get an education” in order to raise your income, they tell you only half the truth. What they really mean is to get just enough education to provide manpower for your society, but not so much that you prove an embarrassment（尴尬）to your society.

       Get a high school diploma, at least. Without that, you will be occupationally dead unless your name happens to be George Bernard Shaw or Thomas Alva Edison or Albert Einstein, and you can successfully dropout in primary school.

       Get a college degree, if possible. With a B. A., you are on the launching pad（发射台）.But now you have to put on the brakes（刹车）. If you go for a master’s degree, make sure it is an M. B.A.

       Do you know, for instance, that long-distance truck drivers earn more per year than full professors? Yes ,the average 1977 salary for those truckers was $ 24,000 while the full professors managed to earn just $ 23,030.

       A Ph. O. is the highest degree you can get .Except for a few specialized Fields such as physics of chemistry where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes, if you work for such a degree in any other field, you will face a dark future .There are more Ph. D. s unemployed or underemployed in this country than any other part of the world.

       If you become a Ph. D. in English or history or anthropology or political science or language or—worst of all—in philosophy, you run the risk of becoming over—educated for our national demands .Not for our needs, mind you, but for our demands.

       Thousands of Ph. D. s are selling shoes, driving cars, waiting on tables, and endless filling out applications month after month .They may also take a job in some high school or backwater college that pays much less than the street cleaner earns.

       You can equate the level of income with the level of education only so far .Far enough, that is, to make you useful to the total value of national product, but not so far that nobody can turn much of a profit on you.

1．According to the writer, what the society expects of education is to turn out people who     .

       A．will not be a shame to society               B．will become loyal citizens

       C．can take care of themselves                  D．can meet the nation’s needs

2．Many Ph. D. s are out of job because     .

       A．they are improperly educated in schools

       B．they are of little commercial value to their society

       C．there are fewer jobs in high schools and colleges

       D．they prefer easier jobs that make more money

3．According to the passage,     degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial purposes.

       A．philosophy           B．chemistry            C．history                D．anthropology

4．Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?

       A．Bernard Shaw finished high school, but Edison didn’t.

       B．The higher your education level, the more money you will earn.

       C．One must think carefully before working for a master degree.

       D．The more you are educated, the more you’ll be fit for society’s demands.