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  3. The following two excerpts are about the value of a PhD degree, which, despite its luster, is losing its appeal in today’s marke

The following two excerpts are about the value of a PhD degree, which, despite its luster, is losing its appeal in today’s marke

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问题    The following two excerpts are about the value of a PhD degree, which, despite its luster, is losing its appeal in today’s market compared to the costs and efforts in obtaining one. From the excerpts, you can find that the worth of a PhD degree is undergoing serious question, but there have also been approval and applause of it.
   Write an article of NO LESS THAN 300 WORDS, in which you should:
   1.   summarize the different opinions about a PhD degree, and then
   2.  express your opinion towards a PhD degree, especially whether it is worth the effort to obtain one. Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.
   Write your article on ANSWER SHEET FOUR.
   Excerpt 1
   Is a PhD Worth It?
   In most countries a PhD is a basic requirement for a career in academia. It is an introduction to the world of independent research—a kind of intellectual masterpiece, created by an apprentice in close collaboration with a supervisor.
   Proponents of the PhD argue that it is worthwhile even if it does not lead to permanent academic employment. Not every student embarks on a PhD wanting a university career and many move successfully into private-sector jobs in, for instance, industrial research.
   Besides, PhD graduates do at least earn more than those with a bachelor’s degree. A study in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management by Bernard Casey shows that British men with a bachelor’s degree earn 14% more than those who could have gone to university but chose not to. The earnings premium for a PhD is 26%. This is especially true in medicine, other sciences, business and financial studies.
   For the last group of PhD pursuers, they say they are pursuing their subject out of love, and that education is an end in itself. Some give little thought to where the qualification might lead. In one study of British PhD graduates, about a third admitted that they were doing their doctorate partly to go on being a student, or put off job hunting. Scientists can easily get stipends, and therefore drift into doing a PhD.
   Excerpt    2
                           Doctoral Degrees: the Disposable Academic
   Academics tend to regard asking whether a PhD is worthwhile as analogous to wondering whether there is too much art or culture in the world. They believe that knowledge spills from universities into society, making it more productive and healthier. That may well be true; but doing a PhD may still be a bad choice for an individual.
   The interests of academics and universities on the one hand and PhD students on the other are not well aligned. The more bright students stay at universities, the better it is for academics. Postgraduate students bring in grants and beef up their supervisors’ publication records. Academics pick bright undergraduate students and groom them as potential graduate students. It isn’t in their interests to turn the smart kids away, at least at the beginning. One female student spoke of being told of glowing opportunities at the outset, but after seven years of hard slog she was fobbed off with a joke about finding a rich husband.
   The organizations that pay for research have realized that many PhDs find it tough to transfer their skills into the job market. Writing lab reports, giving academic presentations and conducting six-month literature reviews can be surprisingly unhelpful in a world where technical knowledge has to be assimilated quickly and presented simply to a wide audience. Some universities are now offering their PhD students training in soft skills such as communication and teamwork that may be useful in the labor market. In Britain a four-year NewRoutePhD claims to develop just such skills in graduates.
选项
答案 PhD Degrees: Still Worth the Efforts Recently, whether a PhD degree is worth the efforts has sparked furious arguments between postgraduates and entrepreneurs. Advocates of it hold that a PhD degree paves the way for a higher income and a higher social ladder with its specific training in research and innovation. Opponents argue that universities, as the biggest receiver of PhD holders, do not offer enough positions for them on the one hand while these graduates have a hard time transferring their expertise to markets on the other. In my viewpoint, a PhD still has its towering magic. Despite the fact that doing a PhD is intellectually challenging, physically exhausting and emotionally draining, it is, first of all, an essential part of the knowledge economy which has its urgent call for creating fresh knowledge, discovering new domains and developing new techniques. A PhD is about pursuing knowledge for the passion of it in one abysmal world or another. If one is fortunate, his travail will make a difference to the society. Moreover, this degree paves the way for a career in industries centered on research and innovation. This is especially true in developing countries where there is an across the board need for higher degrees and expertise. A discovery of new drugs against incurable diseases, a new application to cater to the instantaneous development in communication technology, a revelation of the shibboleths of the complex humanities, all these call for a deeper understanding and more importantly an enterprising spirit which is at the core of PhD degrees because the process of doing a PhD is often associated with draconian training in creativity, critical inquiry, professionalism and persistence. Together with these rare qualities, the ability to solve complicated problems and stunning transferable skills such as communication skills and the teamwork spirit gathered from the toiling process of getting a PhD degree are crucial to achievement in any future career. As one quip goes, you know you are a graduate student, when your office is better decorated than your home. It is just this whine that will pay off if you cling like limpets before landing a secure and premium job. So through the dark tunnel lies the bright light. Even though we may go through many sleepless nights, a PhD definitely is worth our efforts.
解析    本题讨论的话题是博士学位是否值得读。选段1对此话题持肯定观点，博士学位是在学术领域工作的必备条件；即使对于不想在学术领域安身立命的人来说，博士学位也使得其持有者可以顺利地进入以创新和研发为主的企业就职。选段2则对此持怀疑态度，主要是因为博士学位对于个人来说没有太多的意义，很难把所学的专业知识转变成市场上需要的技能。而且获取博士学位过程中的努力与市场需求不符。本题要求首先概括对博士学位是否值得读的双方观点，然后重点针对博士学位是否值得人们去努力获得进行讨论。
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