为什么选择间隔年？
Why take a gap year?
Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Neil.
大家好。这里是六分钟英语，我是尼尔。
And joining me to do this is Georgina.
这期和我搭档的是乔治娜。
Hello.
大家好。
Now, Georgina, I know you went to university to study for a degree but before you moved from college to university, did you take a year off?
乔治娜，我知道你上了大学去攻读学位，但是在你从学院到大学之前，你休学了一年吗？
I did.
是的。
Well, you’re not alone.
嗯，不是你自己一个人这样。
Many students choose to take a break from their studies to travel or gain work experience before moving on to university.
许多学生在进入大学之前选择从学业中抽出一段时间去旅行或积累工作经验。
Yes, and this is what we call a ‘gap year’.
是的，这就是我们所说的“间隔年”。
And … in this programme we’re talking about taking a gap year and why doing this has become more important than ever.
在今天的节目中，我们要谈论的是间隔年，以及为什么这样做比以往任何时候都重要。
But first, as always, I need to challenge you and our listeners, Georgina, to answer a question.
但首先，像往常一样，乔治娜，我需要考验一下你和我们的听众，来回答一个问题。
Are you ready?
准备好了吗？
Ready and waiting, Neil!
准备好了，尼尔！
According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which subject studied at university will lead to the highest average earnings five years after graduating?
根据财政研究协会的数据，大学学习的哪一门学科在毕业5年后的平均收入最高？
Is it… a) Law, b) Veterinary science, or c) Medicine and dentistry?
是a)法律，b)兽医科学，还是c)医学和牙科？
What do you think, Georgina?
你觉得呢，乔治娜？
Well, all are subjects that involve lots of studying
嗯，所有学科都需要大量的学习
– but as a guess, I think those studying veterinary science end up working as vets and earning the most money – so it’s b), I think.
——但是作为猜测，我认为那些学习兽医科学的人最终会成为兽医，并且挣最多的钱——所以我认为是b选项。
OK. Well, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme.
好的。我们将在节目最后揭晓你是否回答正确。
Let's get back to talking about gap years – as the name suggests, it’s a break or gap in between your studies – we might also call it a year out.
让我们回到对间隔年的讨论上来——正如它的名字所暗示的，它是你学习间的休息或间隔——我们也可以称它为在外的一年。
It’s not a new concept – meaning idea – and there are a number of reasons why someone may choose to take one.
这并不是一个新概念——意思是观念。而且有很多原因使人们选择间隔年。
That’s right. The BBC’s Smart Consumer podcast looked at this and heard from two students – one, Meg, took a gap year and the other, Tom, didn’t.
是的。BBC播客Smart Consumer关注了这一问题，并听取了两名学生的意见——一名是选择了间隔年的梅格，另一名是没有选择间隔年的汤姆。
Let’s hear from them now…
现在让我们听听他们所说的……
I knew I wanted to go to university, but... I decided I'll do it after a year out.
我知道我想上大学，但是……我决定在外一年后再去上大学。
That way I can wait till I get my official results and apply to university with those rather than getting predicted grades and then, you know, potentially being surprised and not being able to follow the path I wanted.
那样我就可以等到我拿到正式成绩并用那些成绩申请大学，而不是得到预测的成绩，然后，你知道的，可能会对成绩感到意外，无法追求我想走的道路。
I just always had in the back my mind that I'd spend a year doing something productive and something that would just be good fun.
在我脑海里一直有这种想法——我要花一年的时间做一些富有成效的事情，做一些有趣的事情。
It's not something that I really knew about to be honest, I think, until I started university.
说实话，在我上大学之前，我并不知道这些。
It was a bit of an alien concept to me. It's something I've never thought about.
它对我来说是一个陌生的概念。它是我从来没有想过的事情。
It would have been far too expensive and it's not something that would have been able to rely on my parents or family members for.
它太贵了，而且它不能依靠我的父母或家人实现。
Two different experiences there.
有两种不同的体验。
So Meg said she had ‘in the back of my mind’ doing a gap year.
所以梅格说她“在我脑海里”有选择间隔年的想法。
That means she had the idea but didn’t think about it frequently – it was stored deep in her memory.
这意味着她有那个想法，但并不经常去想它——它被深埋在她的记忆中。
And she had the idea of doing something productive – that means leading to a good or useful outcome – and, of course, having fun at the same time!
她想到了做一些富有成效的事情——这意味着有好的或有用的结果——当然，同时也能得到乐趣！
She also wanted to do something while she waited for her exam results to come in,
她还想在等待考试结果的时候做点事情，
rather than applying for a university place based on predicted results which may turn out to be wrong.
而不是根据预测结果去申请大学，结果可能是错误的。
If something is predicted, it’s an estimation of what is likely to happen in the future based on current information.
如果某事是预测的，它是基于当前信息对未来可能发生之事的估计。
Now, Tom had a different experience.
汤姆有不同的经历。
He wasn’t really aware of the gap year and described it as an alien concept – so an idea that is strange and not familiar.
他并没有真的想到间隔年，并把它描述为一个陌生的概念——一个陌生而不熟悉的观念。
Tom also mentioned a gap year would have been too expensive – but according to Chris Rea from the organisation Prospects, it needn’t cost a lot of money.
汤姆还提到间隔年的花费太大了，但根据Prospects组织的克里斯·雷阿的说法，那并不需要花很多钱。
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, he says it’s about gaining skills and being more employable…
在BBC广播4频道的You and Yours节目中，他说它是关于获得技能及更具资格任职的。
I think the experience of the gap year has become actually much more practical,
我认为间隔年的经历实际上变得更加实用了，
partly as I say to do with university participation increasing,
部分原因正如我所说的，增加大学参与度，
but also because of the demands on developing skills, specifically employability skills.
但同样是因为提高技能的需求，特别是就业技能。
Actually from an employer’s point of view, certainly, any form of experience and skills acquisition that you've undertaken is valuable.
实际上，从雇主的角度来看，你所获得的任何形式的经验和技能都是有价值的。
According to Chris Rea, the focus these days is for a gap year to be more practical
根据克里斯·雷阿的说法，现在的重点是间隔年更实用
– this adjective describes the learning of real skills which can be usefully applied.
——这个形容词描述的是对实战技能的学习，它可以有效地应用。
Yes, and these are skills that help you compete for a place at university and ultimately make you more employable - they help you get a job.
是的，这些技能可以帮助你在大学里竞争一席之地，并最终让你更具资格任职——它们可以帮助你找到工作。
Right, but which job might earn you the most money Georgina?
好吧，但是乔治娜，哪份工作能给你赚最多的钱呢？
Earlier I asked you, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which subject studied at university will lead to the highest average earnings, five years after graduating?
早些时候我问你，根据财政研究协会的数据，大学学习的哪一门学科在毕业5年后的平均收入最高？
Is it… a) Law, b) Veterinary science, or c) Medicine and dentistry?
是a)法律，b)兽医科学，还是c)医学和牙科？
What did you say, Georgina?
你说是什么，乔治娜？
I said veterinary science. Was I correct?
我说是兽医科学。对吗？
Sadly you weren’t. The correct answer is c) Medicine and dentistry.
很遗憾你没答对。正确答案是c)医学和牙科。
According to research in the UK, graduates of medicine and dentistry earn an average of £46,700.
英国的一项调查显示，医学和牙科专业的毕业生平均薪水为4.67万英镑。
That’s more than an English teacher I suspect, but that’s not going to stop us recapping today’s vocabulary.
我猜想那比英语老师挣得还多，但那并不能阻止我们回顾今天的词汇。
OK. So, we’ve been talking about a gap year
好的。所以，我们一直在谈论“间隔年”，
– that's a year between leaving school and starting university that is usually spent travelling or working.
也就是离开学校到开始上大学之间的那一年，通常用来旅行或工作。
When we say something is at the back of my mind, we mean an idea we don’t think about frequently but keep stored deep in our memory.
当我们说某件事在我的脑海中时，我们指的是一个我们不经常想起但却深埋在我们记忆中的想法。
And when something is productive – it describes something that leads to a good or useful outcome.
当某事是富有成效的——它描述的是某事导致一个好的或有用的结果。
Next, we mentioned the word predicted.
接下来，我们提到了“预测的”这个词。
If something is predicted, it’s an estimation of what is likely to happen in the future based on current information.
如果某事是预测的，它是基于当前信息对未来可能发生之事的估计。
An alien concept is an idea that is strange and not familiar.
一个陌生的概念是一个陌生，不熟悉的观念。
And when you’re doing something practical, you’re doing something that is real and useful because you learn skills that can be used in the future.
当你在做一些实用的事情时，你是在做一些实际，有用的事情，因为你是学习一些将来会用到的技能。
Thank you, Georgina, for that practical run through of our vocabulary.
乔治娜，谢谢你对我们词汇的实用运用。
So that’s all from 6 Minute English for now.
以上就是本期六分钟英语的全部内容。
Goodbye!
再见！
Bye!
拜！