Dependent on Loans and Credit Cards

　　The American Council on Education has its own calculation that shows how students are more and more dependent on loans. In just five years, from 1995 to 2000, the median loan debt at public institutions rose from $10,342 to $15,375. Most of this comes from federal loans, which Congress made more tempting in 1992 by expanding eligibility (home equity no longer counts against your assets) and raising loan limits (a dependent undergraduate can now borrow up to $23,000 from the federal government).

　　But students aren't stopping there. The College Board estimates that they also borrowed $4.5 billion from private lenders in the 2000-2001 academic year, up from $1.5 billion just five years earlier.

　　For lots of students, the worst of it isn't even the weight of those direct student loans. It's what they rack up on all those plastic cards in their wallets. As of two years ago, according to a study by lender Nellie Mae, more than eight out of ten undergrads had their own credit cards, with the typical student carrying four. That's no big surprise, given the in-your-face marketing by credit card companies, which set up tables on campus to entice(誘惑)students to sign up. Some colleges ban or restrict this hawking, but others give it a boost. You know those credit cards emblazoned with a school's picture or its logo? For sanctioning such a card—a must-have for some students—a college department or association gets payments from the issuer. Meanwhile, from freshman year to graduation, according to the Nellie Mae study, students triple the number of credit cards they own and double their debt on them. As of 2001, they were in the hole an average $2,327.

　　A Wise Choice?

　　One day, Moyer sat down with his mother, Janne O'Donnell, to talk about his goal of going to law school. Don't count on it, O'Donnell told him. She couldn't afford the cost and Moyer doubted he could get a loan, given how much he owed already. "He said he felt like a failure," O'Donnell recalls. "He didn't know how he had gotten into such a mess."

　　A week later, the 22-year-old hanged himself in his bedroom, where his mother found him. O'Donnell is convinced the money pressures caused his suicide. "Sean tried to pay his debts off," she says. "And he couldn't take it."

　　To be sure, suicides are exceedingly rare. But despair is common, and it sometimes leads students to rethink whether college was worth it. In fact, there are quite a few jobs that don't require a college degree, yet pay fairly well. On average, though, college graduates can expect to earn 80 percent more than those with only a high school diploma. Also, all but two of the 50 highest paying jobs (the exceptions being air traffic controllers and nuclear power reactor operators) require a four-year college degree. So foregoing a college education is often not a wise choice.

　　Merit Mikhail, who graduated last June from the University of California, Riverside, is glad she borrowed to get through school. But she left Riverside owing $20,000 in student loans and another $7,000 in credit card debt. Now in law school, Merit hopes to become a public-interest attorney, yet she may have to postpone that goal, which bothers her. To handle her debt, she'll probably need to start with a more lucrative(有利的)legal job.

　　Like so many other students. Mikhail took out her loans on a kind of blind faith that she could deal with the consequences. "You say to yourself, 'I have to go into debt to make it work, and whatever it takes later, I'll manage.'" Later has now arrived, and Mikhail is finding out the true cost of her college degree.

　　1. Griffith worked for a firm that specialized in economic development in Washington D.C. because she needed money to pay for her debt.

　　2. The only problem the students are facing at graduation is the dismal job market.

　　3. One reason why colleges increase tuition and fees is that the state support is shrinking.

　　4. Nearly all the families can manage to meet the soaring tuition costs through various investment plans.

　　5. According to Nadine's calculation, she can pay off all her debt when she is ________ if she can get a salary of $120,000 a year right out of law school.

　　6. Students get money from not only federal loans but also ________.

　　7. The college department or association can get payments from the issuer if it sanctions credit cards decorated with ________.

　　8. O'Donnell thinks that the cause of her 22-year-old son's suicide is ________.

　　9. The author says that foregoing a college education is often not a wise choice because ________ of the 50 highest paying jobs require a four-year college degree except for air traffic controllers and nuclear power reactor operators.

　　10. Merit will have to start with a more lucrative legal job instead of her favorite position—a public-interest attorney because she has to ________.

　　Part III Listening Comprehension (35 minutes)

　　Section A

　　Directions: In this section, you will hear 8 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marked [A], [B], [C] and [D], and decide which is the best answer. Then mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the center.

　　11. [A] Husband and wife. [B] Doctor and nurse.

　　[C] Sales clerk and customer. [D] Airline agent and customer.

　　12. [A] He's a secretary. [B] He's a novelist.

　　[C] He's newspaperman. [D] He's a worker.

　　13. [A] On a mountain path. [B] In a supermarket.

　　[C] On a road. [D] In a railway station.

　　14. [A] Monday morning. [B] Monday afternoon.

　　[C] Wednesday morning. [D] Friday afternoon.

　　15. [A] To encourage them. [B] To stop them immediately.

　　[C] To give some explanation. [D] To leave them alone.

　　16. [A] She has bad study habits. [B] She sleeps too much.

　　[C] She wakes up late. [D] She's an excellent student.

　　17. [A] 4 hours. [B] 6 hours. [C] 12 hours. [D] 18 hours.

　　18. [A] How primitive people used flags.

　　[B] What the ancient means of communication was.

　　[C] Why the torch towers were built.

　　[D] How the Great Wall came into being.

　　Questions 19 to 22 are based on the conversation you have just heard.

　　19. [A] By attending a class. [B] From her parents.

　　[C] Through a gardening magazine. [D] From her neighbors.

　　20. [A] Sunlight. [B] Location. [C] Soil. [D] Drainage.

　　21. [A] Tomatoes, beets, eggplant, and cabbages.

　　[B] Strawberries, green peppers, and okra.

　　[C] Basil, onions, cantaloupe, and banana peppers.

　　[D] Green beans, bananas, corn, and pumpkins.