Hello. This is 6 Minute English and I'm Neil. And joining me to do this is Georgina.
你好。这里是六分钟英语，我是 Neil。和我一起做这件事的是 Georgina。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Hello.
你好。
Neil(尼尔)
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?
现在，Georgina，我知道你上大学是为了攻读学位，但在你从学院转到大学之前，你休学了一年吗？
Georgina(乔治娜)
I did.
我做了。
Neil(尼尔)
Well, you’re not alone. Many students choose to take a break from their studies to travel or gain work experience before moving on to university.
好吧，你并不孤单。许多学生选择在进入大学之前暂停学习去旅行或获得工作经验。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Yes, and this is what we call a ‘gap year’.
是的，这就是我们所说的“间隔年”。
Neil(尼尔)
And … in this programme we’re talking about taking a gap year and why doing this has become more important than ever. But first, as always, I need to challenge you and our listeners, Georgina, to answer a question. Are you ready?
According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, which subject studied at university will lead to the highest average earnings five years after graduating? Is it… a) Law; b) Veterinary science, or c) Medicine and dentistry What do you think, Georgina?
Well, all are subjects that involve lots of studying – 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.
OK. Well, we’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme. 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. It’s not a new concept – meaning idea – and there are a number of reasons why someone may choose to take one.
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. Let’s hear from them now…
没错。BBC 的 Smart Consumer 播客对此进行了研究，并听取了两名学生的意见 —— 一位名叫 Meg 的同学休学了一年，而另一名名叫 Tom 的则没有。现在让我们听听他们的意见......
Meg(梅 格)
I knew I wanted to go to university, but... I decided I'll do it after a year out. 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. 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.
It's not something that I really knew about to be honest, I think, until I started university. It was a bit of an alien concept to me. It's something I've never thought about - 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.
Two different experiences there. So Meg said she had ‘in the back of my mind’ doing a gap year. That means she had the idea but didn’t think about it frequently – it was stored deep in her memory.
那里有两种不同的体验。所以 Meg 说她“在我的脑海中”度过了间隔年。这意味着她有这个想法，但并没有经常思考 —— 它深深地储存在她的记忆中。
Georgina(乔治娜)
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!
她的想法是做一些有成效的事情 – 这意味着带来一个好的或有用的结果 – 当然，同时要享受乐趣！
Neil(尼尔)
She also wanted to do something while she waited for her exam results to come in, rather than applying for a university place based on predicted results which may turn out to be wrong. If something is predicted, it’s an estimation of what is likely to happen in the future based on current information.
Now, Tom had a different experience. 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.
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. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme, he says it’s about gaining skills and being more employable…
Tom 还提到间隔年太昂贵了 —— 但根据 Prospects 组织的 Chris Rea 的说法，它不需要花费很多钱。在 BBC Radio 4 的 You and Yours 节目中，他说这是关于获得技能和提高就业能力......
Chris Rea, Higher Education Services Manager, Prospects(Chris Rea，Prospects 高等教育服务经理)
I think the experience of the gap year has become actually much more practical, partly as I say to do with university participation increasing, but also because of the demands on developing skills, specifically employability skills. Actually from an employer’s point of view, certainly, any form of experience and skills acquisition that you've undertaken is valuable.
According to Chris Rea, the focus these days is for a gap year to be more practical – this adjective describes the learning of real skills which can be usefully applied.
根据 Chris Rea 的说法，现在的重点是让间隔年更加实用 —— 这个形容词描述了可以有效应用的真正技能的学习。
Georgina(乔治娜)
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，这些技能可以帮助您竞争大学录取并最终提高您的就业能力 - 它们可以帮助您找到工作。
Neil(尼尔)
Right, but which job might earn you the most money Georgina? 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? Is it… a) Law; b) Veterinary science, or c) Medicine and dentistry What do you say, Georgina?
Sadly you weren’t. The correct answer is c) Medicine and dentistry. According to research in the UK, graduates of medicine and dentistry earn an average of £46,700.
OK. So, we’ve been talking about a gap year – that's a year between leaving school and starting university that is usually spent travelling or working.
还行。所以，我们一直在谈论间隔年 —— 即从离开学校到开始大学之间的一年，通常花在旅行或工作上。
Georgina(乔治娜)
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脑海中时，我们指的是一个我们不经常思考但一直深藏在我们的记忆中的想法。
Neil(尼尔)
And when something is productive – it describes something that leads to a good or useful outcome.
当某件事是有成效的时 – 它描述了导致良好或有用结果的事情。
Georgina(乔治娜)
Next, we mentioned the word predicted. If something is predicted, it’s an estimation of what is likely to happen in the future based on current information.
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