There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits b

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问题     There are few more sobering online activities than entering data into college-tuition calculators and gasping as the Web spits back a six-figure sum. But economists say families about to go into debt to fund four years of partying, as well as studying, can console themselves with the knowledge that college is an investment that, unlike many bank stocks, should yield huge dividends.
    A 2008 study by two Harvard economists notes that the " labor-market premium to skill" — or the a-mount college graduates earned that’s greater than what high-school graduate earned — decreased for much of the 20th century, but has come back with a vengeance since the 1980s. In 2005, the typical full-time year-round U. S. worker with a four-year college degree earned $ 50, 900, 62% more than the $ 31, 500 earned by a worker with only a high-school diploma.
    There’s no question that going to college is a smart economic choice. But a look at the strange variations in tuition reveals that the choice about which college to attend doesn’t come down merely to dollars and cents. Does going to Columbia University (tuition, room and board $49, 260 in 2007-08) yield a 40% greater return than attending the University of Colorado at Boulder as an out-of-state student ($ 35, 542)? Probably not. Does being an out-of-state student at the University of Colorado at Boulder yield twice the amount of income as being an in-state student ($ 17, 380) there? Not likely.
    No, in this consumerist age, most buyers aren’t evaluating college as an investment, but rather as a consumer product — like a car or clothes or a house. And with such purchases, price is only one of many crucial factors to consider.
    As with automobiles, consumers in today’s college marketplace have vast choices, and people search for the one that gives them the most comfort and satisfaction in line with their budgets. This accounts for the willingness of people to pay more for different types of experiences (such as attending a private liberal-arts college or going to an out-of-state public school that has a great marine-biology program). And just as two auto purchasers might spend an equal amount of money on very different cars, college students (or, more accurately, their parents) often show a willingness to pay essentially the same price for vastly different products. So which is it? Is college an investment product like a stock or a consumer product like a car? In keeping with the automotive world’s hottest consumer trend, maybe it’s best to characterize it as a hybrid; an expensive consumer product that, over time, will pay rich dividends.
What’s the opinion of economists about going to college?

选项 A、Huge amounts of money are being wasted on campus socializing.
B、It doesn’t pay to run into debt to receive a college education.
C、College education is rewarding in spite of the startling costs.
D、Going to college doesn’t necessarily bring the expected returns.

答案C

解析 事实细节题。根据题干中的economists将本题出处定位于第一段第二句。本句话指出,经济学家们认为,为四年的聚会和学习提供资金而将要陷入负债的家庭可以用这一认识安慰自己,即不同于许多银行股票,大学投资能够产生巨大的红利。由此可知,经济学家们认为,即使上大学的费用惊人,但仍然是值得的,故答案为[C]。
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