Certificate Mania
It is obviously depicted in the cartoon given above that while a graduate is standing before a recuitment desk, he tells the lady proudly that he has a lot of certificates! In the face of the mounting pressure nowadays, many university students take various training courses and certificate exams, in order to gain a competitive edge on the job market.
A chain of reasons lead to this certificate mania. At the heart of the phenomenon, there is an increasing number of university graduates while that of job vacancies does not grow in proportion to it. As a result, employers have bountiful options and would like to recruit the ones with more related experience and skills. Since exams and certificates in some way reflect one's mastery of certain skills, many students would like to give them a try.
To be sure, it is a good thing to be spurred on to learn new things. However, "certificate mania" goes to extremes. It is not only misleading but also places a great burden on students. In my opinion, a certificate does not necessarily reflect one's ability that really counts, and so we had better keep a skeptical eye on this mania and prevent vain and burdensome efforts. (174 words)
recuitment n. 招聘
certificate n. 證書
in the face of... 面對......
mounting adj. 增加的
competitive edge 競爭優(yōu)勢
lead to 導(dǎo)致
job vacancy 職業(yè)空缺，崗位空缺
in proportion to... 按照......的比例
bountiful adj. 大量的
in some way 在某種程度上
to be sure 的確
spur v. 鞭策
go to extremes 走極端
count v. 有重要意義，有價值
keep a skeptical eye on...
用懷疑的目光審視......
vain adj. 徒勞的
burdensome adj. 繁重的
考證熱
很明顯，上面這幅漫畫描繪了一個畢業(yè)生站在一個應(yīng)聘臺前，驕傲地告訴來招聘的女士他擁有很多證書。如今，面對日益增加的壓力，許多大學(xué)生們?yōu)榱嗽谌瞬攀袌錾险嫉酶偁巸?yōu)勢紛紛參加了各種培訓(xùn)課程和證件考試。
這種考證熱潮是由一系列原因所導(dǎo)致的。該現(xiàn)象的關(guān)鍵在于，大學(xué)畢業(yè)生人數(shù)不斷增加，而工作職位并沒有相應(yīng)地增加。因此，老板們擁有大量的選擇，而他們更愿意雇傭那些相關(guān)經(jīng)驗更豐富、技術(shù)更好的員工。既然考試和證書在一定程度上能反映出一個人對某項技術(shù)的掌握，那么許多學(xué)生都會愿意嘗試一下。
這無疑是一件激勵自己學(xué)習(xí)新事物的好事。然而，"考證熱"正走向極端。這不僅僅誤導(dǎo)了學(xué)生，而且也讓他們背上了沉重的包袱。我認為，一紙證書并不一定反映出一個人真正的水平，因此，我們應(yīng)用懷疑的眼光來審視這種熱潮，避免徒勞無功。
1. In the face of the mounting pressure nowadays, many university students take various training courses and certificate exams, in order to gain a competitive edge on the job market. 如今，面對日益增加的壓力，許多大學(xué)生們?yōu)榱嗽谌瞬攀袌錾险嫉酶偁巸?yōu)勢紛紛參加了各種培訓(xùn)課程和證件考試。
2. At the heart of the phenomenon, there is an increasing number of university graduates while that of job vacancies does not grow in proportion to it. 該現(xiàn)象的關(guān)鍵在于，大學(xué)畢業(yè)生人數(shù)不斷增加，而工作職位并沒有相應(yīng)地增加。
