【题目】
People attend college or university for many different reasons (for example, new experiences, career preparation, increased knowledge). Why do you think people attend college or university? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
【范文】 Why People Attend College or University?
There are many advantages to a college or university education. Students have ample opportunity to explore a variety of interests, increase both their general and specific knowledge, prepare for a chosen career and develop independence. All of these are valuable goals to achieve, but it is my belief that most students today pursue higher education insgroupsto prepare for their future careers.
In the past, only the rich and privileged had the opportunity to attend a university and their goals were very different. Coming from wealthy families, few of them would have to compete for a job after graduation, and most wished only to be considered well-educated. Today’s students are more practical. They must be able to compete in a very competitive job market; therefore, a practical education is very important. Furthermore, higher education is a big investment and so most students want to get all they can out of it. For these students, it is better to have clearly defined career and education goals rather than to try and find themselves in college. Of course, all students want to increase their knowledge, but I believe that most students today want that knowledge to be relevant to their future careers.
The world has changed a great deal since universities were established. They are still wonderful places for acquiring broad knowledge and for personal development. However, in today’s competitive world these pursuits must be balanced with the pursuit of more specific goals. That is why I think most students view higher education as a valuable tool in career preparation.
【参考译文】人们为什么要上大学 ?
大学教育有很多优点。大学生能有充分的机会去探索自己感兴趣的各种事物、增长一般与特定的知识、为自己所选定的职业生涯做准备，并培养独立的个性。这些全都是值得追求的宝贵目标。但是我认为，现今大多数的学生接受高等教育是为了要对未来的职业生涯做准备。
在过去，只有富人及特权阶级才有机会上大学，而且他们的目标相差悬殊。因为他们出身于富有的家庭，所以毕业后很少有人必须要和别人竞争，以取得工作机会，大多数只是希望让别人觉得他们受过良好的教育。现在的学生实际得多。由于必须在竞争激烈的就业市场和别人竞争，因此，讲求实用价值的教育就变得很重要。此外，高等教育是一项重大的投资，所以大多数的学生都会竭尽所能，想从中得到一切。对这些学生而言，最好是有明确的职业和教育目标，而不是在大学中才试着自己去寻找。当然，所有的学生都想要增长知识，但是我认为，现在大多数的学生都希望获得跟未来职业相关的知识。
自从大学设立以来，世界已有了重大的改变。大学仍然是一个获得广泛知识和寻求个人发展的极佳的场所。然而，在这个竞争激烈的世界里，在追求这些目标的同时，还必须有更明确的目标来加以平衡。那就是为什么我会认为大多数的学生都视高等教育为职业准备的一项宝贵的工具。
【注释】
ample adj.充足的 explore v.探索
a variety of各式各样的 specific adj.特定的
chosen adj.选出来的 pursue v.追求
higher education高等教育 privileged adj.有特权的
practical adj.实际的 competitive adj.竞争激烈的
