Graduates Face Many Barriers in Job Hunting YML]pNB
It is graduation time again. Whether joining the social workforce or pursuing T1#r>3c\
advanced studies, about four million Chinese graduates will soon turn a new page in f O ,5
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their lives. Still, no matter what, campus life will remain deeply etched on the minds iR]K!j2
of China's former students. What lies ahead for the country's graduates? " `FcW
Statistics released by relevant departments of China show that in 2006, graduates wGg_ vAn
from all Chinese colleges and universities numbered 4.13 million, up 750,000 from y,s`[=CT
2005 with a growth rate of roughly 22%. Hence, the employment tension further f@Yo]F U
intensifies. Meanwhile, various intangible barriers exist in social relations, regional Lz{z~xNHW.
restriction, permanent residency and university's reputation have made the graduates' h5<eU;Rw+
job-hunting process tougher. )9i$ 1"a(
Some analyze that against the backdrop of intensified employment tension for |ya.c\}q
university graduates, needy students from rural and urban areas usually find Ake@krh>$
themselves in relatively inferior positions. <NWq03:&
Some graduates realize that in order to get a job, they have to sign some "unfair z"P/Geb:O
treaties" that promise not to take the postgraduate exam or leave the company within U*4r<y9R
several years, or they have to pay 5,000 Yuan for breaching the contract. Some ,0a\Ka{^
recruiters even declare openly that they only need students from famous universities, Kv9Z.DY
so graduates from other schools are not even entitled to apply. &&g02>gE
Currently the contradiction in China's higher education has transferred from entering LyH1tF
to leaving a university and from the difficulty in enrollment to employment after ;2 P
graduation. It has become a common phenomenon that "graduates become jobless". &EmG\vfE
Should this problem not be tackled rightly, the employment issue would turn into a nvQTJ4,,
new factor that causes social instability. 8qL.L(=\/
College—A New Experience Z C<+BKS
Living at college, first of all, gives me a sense of responsibility, of being on my Q_>W!)p Gz
own. My parents aren’t around to say, ―No, you’re not going out tonight‖ or ―Did you EpH_v`
finish your homework?‖ Everything I do has to be my decision, and that gives me the R.!.7dO
responsibility of handling my own life. During the second week I was at college, I had _&%FGcAS
to go out and look for a bank where I could open an account. Before that I looked in XY#.?<"Q8
the phone book since I had no clue about any banks around here or where they were BP}@E$
located. I went to the bank and made decisions for myself—whether to have a 1mD)G55Ep
checking or savings account and whether or not to get a MASTER card. m?kyAW'|
Friendly people: that’s another aspect I like about college. On my first day (and .$@+ /@4
even now) people were nice to me. I came to Marymount University here in Virginia Y_K W9T_
from New York and – even though I’d been here before—I was a bit confused about IC?(F]$%>
where I was going. My mother and I drove in, not knowing the building we were .5uqc.i"f
supposed to go to, and the guard was especially nice: with a smile, he told us what tzthc*-<
building we were looking for and where we could park our car. Some upperclassmen `/^
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saw me and asked, ―Are you a new student?‖ When they found out I was looking for YS_3Cq
my dormitory, one said, ―Oh, just follow us; that’s where we’re going.‖ Even now I -We9
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feel comfortable in the dorm because there are friendly people around to talk with. $1g1Bn
Finally—to add to my likes of college—I love having Saturdays off. Also, I love z;!"i~fFK
to sleep in, something I couldn’t do in high school. }Ba_epM
How Can We Finance Our College Education? -]+pwZ4g
Nowadays, tuition fees for college are much higher than ever before. How to Z"RgqNf
finance our college education has become a matter of concern for many students, X'-Yz7J?o
especially those who are from the remote areas. 4hODpIF
Actually, there are many ways to solve this problem. We can get the money from yOt#6Vw
our parents. We can apply for a loan especially set up for college students. We can s8)`wH?
also acquire the money entirely by ourselves, keeping a part-time job in our spare uZZRFioX|
time and doing a full-time job in summer and winter holidays. Or we can ask our X\/M(byn
parents for most of the money and earn the rest in our spare time in college. .p, VZ9
As far as I am concerned, I prefer the last way. I don't want to depend entirely on Rq%Kw> {&
my parents, which will be a burden to them. Nor do I want to work in my free time for @0
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the tuition alone, because I would like to have enough time for my school work. If my ~7 U~
parents pay most of the tuition for me, I will work part time for the rest and this, I c(e>Rmh
believe, can make my college life rich and colorful. h='F,r5
#2
Introduction of My College 8'HS$J;C
I'm a student at Maebashi Institute of Technology in Gunma. It is located `/ayg:WSU
between Komagata and Shinmaebashi on the JR Ryomo Line. It's only 10 minutes fj))Hnt(|
from JR Maebashi station on a bus or a taxi. uO`MA%
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Maebit was originally founded in 1952 as a junior college and it evolved into a !7
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four-year college in 1997. Today there are some 700 students in both the junior qQi\/~Y[:
college and the four-year undergraduate school. Ca
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Our school offers two sets of programs, the day course and the evening course. b.@a,:"
Students can choose whichever suits their conveniences best from those two courses. :t]HY2
Many lessons here are taught in small-sized classes. {@^;Nw%J
I'm in the Department of Information Engineering. My field of study is Robotics. <ZF|2
The first period begins at 9:30 a.m., which is rather late, and the last period of the day dy&UF,l6
course ends at 4:55 p.m. The classes for the evening course begin at 5:45 p.m. and end [/UchU]DT
at 8:50 p.m. $Sgf jm
Maebit's campus is not very large but it has a lot of flowerbeds and plants. On ~vF a\7sf
campus there are the library, the club building, sports fields, the student union hall, q8?kBKP
the laboratory building, and many other facilities. Our department building lies in the {K]5[bMT
northwest corner of campus. This building was built about five years ago, and !qj[$x-ns
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everything is still new in this building. x
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There are many clubs, but I'm not a member of any club. One of my friends is a ~,b^f{7`!
member of the Tennis Club in which there are 5 members. They practice every X#lNS+&='
Wednesday and Saturday afternoon. They are hoping to make it into the best 8 in the ]
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coming intercollegiate tournament. tcuwGs>_
I like my college. I have already made some good friends and we're enjoying our Yf w>x[#e
school life. GQqGrUQ*}
Coping with Stress in College uZS :
College life can be very stressful. Sometimes parents, faculty and others tend to -
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idealize their college experience and remember it as that idyllic time when they had O?JJE8~']
few worries or responsibilities. To students currently attending college, however, the V&M*,#(?
process is often stressful and frustrating. The competition for grades, the need to d(T4Kd$r
perform, relationships, career choice, and many other aspects of the college wA=r]BT
environment cause stress. ;sZG=y@
But before condemning stress outright, we need to understand that stress is only AK2Gm-hHK
harmful when it is excessive. Much of the stress that we all experience is helpful and L*(9Hti
stimulating. The challenges of life tend to be stressful and an attempt to avoid stress 5Q?Jm~H9
completely would lead to a rather boring existence. The problem comes when you Fb5U@X/vE
experience too much stress. sgX!4wG&Z
There are four primary sources of stress: the environment, (noise, pollution, jFj11w1FrA
traffic, crowding, and the weather), physiology, (illness, injuries, hormonal )'_[R@ThB
fluctuations, and inadequate sleep or nutrition), students’ thoughts (negative self-talk, ;b$P*dSG}
catastrophizing, and perfectionism), and social stressors (financial problems, work x sryXex;
demands, social events, and losing a loved one). Symptoms of stress appear in many gg'1q3OjM
forms. Some symptoms only impact the person who is directly experiencing stress, kQ`tY`3F
while other symptoms may have an impact on our relationships with others. =3e7n2N)
Although some stress reactions are part of deeper and more serious emotional )
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problems, many are not, and can be handled with relatively simple counseling and -8TJ:#|
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stress-management techniques. Developing a balanced lifestyle, gaining perspective Xn6#q3;^|
by discussing problems with other students or tutors, specifying relaxation techniques, XE}gl&\
and clarifying your values and cultivating a sense of life meaning can help you relieve f%Q{}fC{*
your stress in college. X 'Ss#s>g
Sports [{znwK@
From the earliest times, people have held sports competitions. The athletic few R'Sd'pSDN
compete on the field while the rest of us participate from the safety of our seats. jEc_!Q
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Today sports are certainly as popular as ever, and because of radio and television, we qpjY &3SI
can now compete from a distance. #@XBHJ
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In fact, for important competitions, the whole world becomes one big stadium. d+9V% T
It is hard to say why humans like organized games. The reasons that we enjoy z
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sports probably differ from person to person. Whether little kids are kicking a ball 4"d,=P.{
around a city playground, or million-dollar-a-year athletes are playing in a modern S$6|KY u
stadium, the excitement of competition, motion, discipline, and beauty are in the air. jh5QIZf=
Who doesn’t stop to watch a ball game in the street or a swimmer in a pool? What ]%\,.&=hT
parents are not proud to see their children carried off the field by thankful fans? For ( xs'D4
the players, the joys of sportsmanship can include punishing self-discipline and the DeO-@4+qKd
friendship of teammates. IkrB}
Then there is special thrill that comes only to a lucky few. It is the thrill that _:x]'w%
comes from hearing thousand voices shout your name. But personal victory is only vgfC{]v<W]
one kind of victory. In every game someone must lose, but mankind wins every time &,X}M
an athletic record is broken. It is this aspect of sports that brings people together. _jWs(OmJ
Even in defeat, no one says to an athlete, ―So what?‖ You say, ―Good try!‖ And 5E!C?dv(z
when your pride gets hurt and your muscles are sore, you say to yourself, ―That’s part m4:c$5
of the game. I’ll win next time!‖ ^7gGtz2
How to Deal with School Pressure AjzTszByu
College can be a very demanding time for students. Professors, class projects, and |23F@s1
extracurricular activities can all contribute to a stressed-out college student. While j3j?2#vR
you will undoubtedly experience stress as a college student, following these tips may vygzL U^
help keep college stress at a minimum before it becomes too hard to handle. _
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Prioritize your schoolwork. Identify what is most important. If you have a mH
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presentation to give this Monday, don’t write a one-page review that’s due in a couple u'Y
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of weeks; prepare for the presentation first. Likewise, if you have an assignment that ,OE&e*1
requires a lot of work, put it at the top of your list. When you prioritize your work, /cjz=r1U>
you will be more efficient. By becoming more organized, you can reduce your stress C @(@n!o:!
level drastically. z@*E=B1L
Talk about your problems. Talking about your problems will help ease your tension
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and anxiety. Seek a trusted friend or see if your school has a counseling TI>5g(:3\
center. Talking to others will not only help you feel better, but it will also help you :F(4&e