2023年12月英语六级听力真题 卷二 录音1

Recording One

录音一

Now, it's become something of a ritual to debate the value of a college degree, but as Current Population Survey data show, there has been a sharp decline in employment among men without college degrees compared with those who have them.

现在，讨论大学学位的价值已经成了一种仪式，但正如《当前人口调查》（Current Population Survey）的数据显示，与拥有大学学位的人相比，没有大学学位的男性的就业率急剧下降。

This decline began in the 1960s and has become more serious over time.

下降趋势始于20世纪60年代，随着时间的推移越来越严重。

What has actually caused this decline?

实际上是什么导致了这种下降？

Well, economists have been working to ascertain the roots of the decline for decades and have come up with several theories.

好吧，几十年来，经济学家们一直在努力探索衰退的根源，并提出了几种理论。

One popular theory is that it's a case of too low wages for jobs that don't require a degree.

一个流行的理论是，这是一个工资太低的情况下，不需要学位的工作。

An alternate theory is that there were more jobs not requiring a college degree in the past than now.

另一种理论是，过去不需要大学学位的工作比现在多。

A recent working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research reviewed those theories and put forward additional hypotheses about the causes of the problem.

美国国家经济研究局（National Bureau of Economic Research）最近的一份工作文件对这些理论进行了回顾，并对问题的成因提出了额外的假设。

Let's look at that paper now. First, the researchers considered the issue of wages.

现在我们来看看那张纸。首先，研究人员考虑了工资问题。

As the wage gap has grown between those with college degrees and those without, economists have suggested that men aren't as interested in taking some of the less lucrative jobs.

随着有大学学历的人和没有大学学历的人之间工资差距的拉大，经济学家指出，男性对一些不太赚钱的工作不太感兴趣。

While the authors of the paper found truth in this explanation, they assert that low wages can't be the only factor, as wages for men without college degrees, adjusting for inflation, haven't changed much since the 1960s, making it hard to see why fewer men seem willing to accept those wages.

虽然这篇论文的作者发现了这种解释的道理，但他们断言，低工资不可能是唯一的因素，因为没有大学学历的男性的工资，经通货膨胀调整后，自上世纪60年代以来没有太大变化，很难理解为什么愿意接受这种工资的男性似乎越来越少。

This leads to the second theory, that more jobs require a college degree today than in the past.

这就引出了第二个理论，即今天比过去有更多的工作需要大学学位。

Indeed, that theory seems valid, because in America today, 2/3 of jobs are filled by workers with at least some college education.

事实上，这一理论似乎是正确的，因为在今天的美国，2/3的工作是由至少受过一些大学教育的工人担任的。

However, the authors of the paper argue that there are other factors amplifying the problem.

然而，该论文的作者认为，还有其他因素放大了这一问题。

They identified two new potential explanations: the first being the tremendous decline in marriage among men without college degrees since the 1960s;

他们发现了两个新的可能的解释：第一个是自20世纪60年代以来，没有大学学历的男性结婚率大幅下降；

and the second, being the increase in women participating in the workforce that was concurrent with the decline in marriage.

第二，随着结婚率的下降，越来越多的女性加入了劳动力大军。

These two changes mean that men might not have families to support, or if they do, their wives might be doing more of the providing, both of which might remove the financial incentive to work.

这两个变化意味着男性可能没有家庭需要支撑，或者如果他们有，他们的妻子可能会承担更多的养家糊口的工作，这两种情况都可能会消除工作的经济激励。

The authors of the paper concede that research on the subject isn't complete, but they argue that their work supports the value of a college education.

该论文的作者承认，关于这个问题的研究还不完整，但他们认为，他们的工作支持大学教育的价值。

Questions 16 to 18 are based on the recording you have just heard.

问题16到18是基于你刚才听到的录音。

Question16. What does the speaker say has become something of a ritual?

讲话者说什么已经成为一种惯例？

Question17. What did the researchers of a recent working paper consider first?

最近一篇研究报告的研究人员首先考虑了什么？

Question18. What did the recent paper identify as a new potential explanation of the problem concerning men's employment?

最近的论文认为，关于男性就业问题的一种新的可能的解释是什么？

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