Inequality in South Korea: Degrees ofdisenchantment
韩国的不公平：觉醒的程度
Young people are losing faith in an elitist educationsystem.
韩国青年对精英教育失去信心。
“If you don't have the ability then blame your parents,” wrote Jung Yoo-ra on social media in2014, after being accepted into a prestigious university.
小柳女士在被一所知名大学录取后，2014年在社会媒体平台上这样写道：“你的无能都是因为你的父母”。
Her mother, it turns out, had gone to great lengths to secure a spot for her, inducing EhwaWomen's University to alter its admissions policy in a manner tailor-made for Ms Jung.
原来，她的妈妈想方设法地让她进入了著名的梨花女子大学，并且让该大学为小柳女士量身定做了一条招生政策。
Last month a court ruled that the nine people involved in this subterfuge had fundamentallyshaken the “values of fairness that prop up our society”.
上个月法院裁定，使用非正规手段进入大学的这九人已经从根本上动摇了“支撑我们社会的公平的价值观念”。
Above all, the “feelings of emptiness and betrayal they caused in hardworking students” could not be excused.
毕竟，“让不辞辛苦拼搏的学生感觉遭到背叛和产生空虚感”这是不可原谅的。
University was once seen as a source of social mobility in South Korea.
大学曾被视为韩国社会流动的源泉。
But so important is the right degree to a student's prospects in life that rich families beganspending heavily on coaching to improve their children's chances, leaving poorer familiesbehind.
但因为学位对于一个学生的未来至关重要，于是富裕的家庭开始在辅导孩子的学习上花费时间以给孩子创造更好地机会。这样一来，贫困的家庭就变得越来越贫困。
By 2007 over three-quarters of students were receiving some form of private tuition, spawninga maxim about the three necessities to win a place at a good university: “father's wealth, mother's information, child's stamina”.
截止2007年为止，超过四分之三的韩国学生接受私人补习，坊间还流传着要进入好的大学的三个条件：“父亲的财富，母亲对信息的收集，孩子的毅力”。
A report by the ministry of education found that in 2016 households with monthly incomes of7m won ($6,230) or more were spending 443,000 won a month on private education, ninetimes as much as families bringing in 1m won or less.
韩国教育部的一项报告显示，在2016年，月收入为700万韩元(6230美元)及以上的家庭每月花费44.3万韩元在个人教育上，其每月教育支出是家庭月收入为100万韩元及以下家庭的9倍。
Many South Koreans believe that the rich and influential do not just spend more on education, they also manipulate the system, as Ms Jung's mother, a close friend of the previouspresident, did so spectacularly.
许多韩国人相信富人和有影响力的人不只是在教育上花更多的钱，他们也会干预政治，像前任总统的闺蜜，即小柳女士的母亲一样。
According to the Pew Research Centre, a think-tank, only a fifth of those aged 18-33 believethat working hard brings success.
根据名为皮尤研究中心的智囊团的研究显示，在年龄为18-33岁的人中只有五分之一的人相信努力终将会成功。
An ever-growing dictionary of slang attests to the perception: people speak of using “back” (backing, or connections) to get jobs; when Ms Jung refused to return to South Korea to facecharges related to her university admission, the local press dubbed it a “gold-spoon escape”.
词典中不断增加的俚语也证明了这一结论：人们常说的走后门、靠关系来获得工作;当小柳女士拒绝回到韩国去面对关于她被大学录取的各种指责时，当地媒体把此举称为“金匙逃生”。
And 34% of young people say they feel “isolation due to academic cliques” at work.
34%的年轻人说他们在工作中能够感觉到“因为学校不同产生的隔离”。
The unfairness is all the more galling because ofthe fierce competition for jobs.
在激烈的就业竞争中的不公平现象更加令人痛心疾首。
This year there were 36 applicants for every job, upfrom 32 two years ago.
今年每份工作有36人申请，超过了两年前的32人。
Youth unemployment reached a record 12% earlierthis year.
今年年初青年失业率达到了12%。
Frustrated young people are starting to speak out.
失意的年轻人们开始发声了。
The activists of a group called Hidden Bag run a small yearly campaign to “reject universityentrance”, trying to persuade people to boycott the whole process.
名为“隐藏袋”的组织发起了一场的“拒绝高考”的小型运动，试图说服人们抵制整个精英教育程序。
At a recent film festival in Seoul, Hidden Bag provided “healing kits” for young people wishingto challenge “never-ending competition” and “education-based limits”.
在目前的首尔电影节上，“隐藏袋”组织为挑战“永无止境的竞争”和“基础教育的限制”的年轻人提供了“医疗箱”。
Colorful sweets, packaged to look like medicine, were handed out to students to encouragethem to take a stand.
他们把包装的像药品一样的五颜六色的糖果发给学生们，鼓励他们表明立场。
Some were labeled “courage”, others “strength”.
有些糖果上被标记“勇气”二字，有些则标记着“力量”。
By spurning the rat race, they hope to raise “fundamental questions” about prevailingvalues.
抛开你死我活的竞争，他们希望能提高人们对主导价值观中的“基本问题”的关注。
Fewer than 70% of school leavers went on to university last year, the lowest level in almost 20 years.
去年只有不到70%的毕业生选择了继续攻读大学，这是近20年来的最低水平。
Moon Jae-in, the president since May, has pledged that under his administration “thethickness of a parent's purse” will not determine their children's prospects.
五月上任的的韩国总统——文在寅承诺在他任职期内，孩子的前途将不再由“父母的财富”决定。
This week an MP from his party introduced legislation to extend the “blind hiring” processused in the civil service, whereby applicants are judged only on standardised exams, not ontheir academic record, to state-owned firms as well.
本周，来自他所在党派的一名议员提出了一项立法提案，以延长公务员以及国有企业的“盲目招聘”程序，即申请者只能通过标准化考试，而不能由他们的学术成绩来决定，国有企业也是如此。
The bill's author is also proposing an amendment based on another oddity of Ms Jung'sadmission: she scored badly in her written exam, but was given full marks for the interview.
小柳女士在笔试中成绩很差，但在面试中却得到了满分，根据这一怪异事件，该法案作者正提出一项修正案。
The amendment would require all university interviews to be recorded or minuted fortransparency.
为了保证面试的透明度，修正案将会要求所有大学的面试都要记录在案。
Blame Ms Jung's parents.
而这一切都要归咎于小柳女士的父母。
重点词组：
1.social media 社交媒体
例句:We have all witnessed the power of socialmedia.
我们见证了社交媒体的实力。
2.due to 由于
例句:In part this attitude was due to fear of trade union and employee reactions.
在某种程度上，这一态度是由于害怕工会和雇员的反应。
3.Above all 毕竟
例句:Above all, Susie is a great survivor, with a bright, indomitable spirit.
总之，苏茜不畏艰难，开朗乐观、不屈不挠。
4.prop up 支撑;支持
例句:I had to use bricks to prop up my broken bed.
我的床坏了，必须用砖头支撑起来。
5.speak out 发声
例句:He has the courage to speak out what hethinks right.
他敢于说出他认为正确的东西。
6.as well 也
例句:He should pay and maintain you as well.
他得给你钱，还得供养你。
7.rat race 激烈竞争
例句:We're all living in the rat race.
我们都生活在激烈竞争中。
8.hand out 分发
例句:Campaigners handed out leaflets on passive smoking.
活动人士派发了有关被动吸烟的宣传页。
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