IELTS Practice with a Friend: Should University Be Free?

Okay, my turn to be the examiner.

好，轮到我当考官了。

Should university education be free for everyone?

大学教育应该对所有人免费吗？

Oh, easy. Absolutely, yes!

哦，简单。当然应该！

Hang on, you need to justify that properly.

等一下，你得好好论证一下。

Fine. Education is a public good, not a luxury.

行。教育是公共产品，不是奢侈品。

Society benefits when more people are highly educated.

受过高等教育的人越多，社会受益越大。

Otherwise, crippling debt puts off students from poorer backgrounds.

否则，沉重的债务会让家境较差的学生望而却步。

Nice, 'crippling debt' is a strong collocation.

不错，“crippling debt”是个很有力的搭配。

But who foots the bill? Taxpayers?

可是谁来买单？纳税人吗？

Well, yes, ultimately...

嗯，是的，说到底……

Ha, so a plumber subsidises a future lawyer's degree?

哈，所以是水管工在补贴未来律师的学位？

Ugh, you sound exactly like my uncle!

啊，你说得跟我叔叔一模一样！

Seriously though, examiners love it when you concede a point.

不过说真的，考官很喜欢考生承认对方的某个观点。

Hmm, okay. I'll admit that's a fair objection.

嗯，好吧。我承认这个反对意见有道理。

Perhaps graduates could repay through higher taxes later on.

也许毕业生以后可以通过缴纳更高的税来偿还。

That way, it's free at the point of entry.

这样一来，入学时就是免费的。

Ooh, that's a really sophisticated answer!

哇，这个回答真有水平！

Next one. Are some degrees more valuable than others?

下一题。有些学位比其他学位更有价值吗？

Wow, that's quite a loaded question!

哇，这个问题可真有倾向性！

In purely economic terms, engineering probably pays off more.

纯粹从经济角度看，工程专业可能回报更高。

But it'd be tragic to dismiss the arts as worthless.

但把艺术贬为毫无价值就太可悲了。

Why tragic? Isn't that just the market at work?

为什么可悲？这不就是市场在起作用吗？

Because creativity drives entire industries, like film and design.

因为创造力推动着整个行业，比如电影和设计。

Plenty of successful companies rely on humanities graduates, actually.

其实，很多成功的公司都依赖人文专业的毕业生。

Okay, you've won me over. Brilliant answer!

好吧，你说服我了。回答得太棒了！

Right, swap! Now it's your turn to suffer.

好，换人！现在轮到你受罪了。

Oh no. Go easy on me, please...

哎呀，不要。手下留情啊，拜托……

Not a chance. Describe a book that changed your life!

没门。描述一本改变了你人生的书！