第三十四篇 Career With a Uniform
WANT to be the next Xu Sanduo? The TV drama Soldiers' Sortie (Shibing Tuji) might have caused millions of young people to dream idly of putting on an army uniform and going off to boot camp2.
In fact, a large number of students graduating might consider doing just that. Last month, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) announced that there will be 120,000 job openings this year for college grads3. So, one out of every 50 grads has a chance if he or she would like to march down to the local recruiting office. Anyone enlisting will get preferential treatment in tuition compensation and in job ortunities.
This decision comes against a backdrop of bad employment news and a cooling economy. This year's recruitment quota outnumbers last year's 39,000 by about three-fold.
"It's important to pull in fresh, talented people who can deal with the new equipment and a high-tech military to modernize the nation's defense," said Bai Zixing, a senior officer in the PLA General Staff Department4.
The age limit for college recruits has been raised to 24, and there's one more important policy change: Grads who have already volunteered to sign up can quit if they change their minds after finding another job before November, the deadline for enlistment. This gives grads an extra choice in starting a career.
The following is a list of preferential things that college grads qualify for if they join the army:
A one-time recruitment payment of up to 24,000 yuan, to cover four years of college tuition and loans (this has to be returned if the person is forced to leave the army before completing the service contract).
Priority in promotions and in getting admitted to military academies.
Anyone with a bachelor's degree or above and a good performance record can be promoted to the rank of officer directly, if they meet certain other criteria. An ordinary soldier may need a couple of years longer to get there.
Anyone with a junior college5 degree can go on for a bachelor's degree without having to take the entrance exams.
Anyone wanting to take the grad school entrance exam after completing their service can add 10 points to the exam results.
Anyone getting a merit citation second class can enter grad school without taking the exam after completion of the service obligation.
There are no restrictions on things like going abroad after the service period, unless one deals with confidential work in the army.
词汇：
sortie n. 突击、突围
enlistment n. 服役期间
outnumber vt. 在数量上超过（某人）
注释：
1. Soldiers' Sortie 《士兵突击》是2006 年开始在中国热播的一部电视剧。
2. boot camp：美国英语中表示训练新兵的营地。
3. grads：graduates 的缩写，指大学毕业生。
4. General Staff Department：（中国人民解放军）总参谋部。
5. junior college：指专科院校
练习：
1. According to the passage, all of the following reasons make many college grads choose to join the army EXCEPT:
A) The Story of Xu Sanduo causes young people to dream to put on a uniform.
B) The grads are facing a grim employment situation.
C) The pay from the PLA is relatively higher than the grads can earn in other jobs.
D) The PLA offers a series of preferential treatments for college grads who join the army.
2. It can be inferred that about students graduating consider join the army.
A) 120,000
B) 6,000,000
C) 39,000
D) 2,000,000
3. Besides the backdrop of bad employment news and a cooling economy, which of the following causes the PLA to raise this year's recruitment quota?
A) The TV drama Soldiers' Sortie is high in the ratings.
B) The PLA wants to attract high-quality personnel to meet the need of hitech sector in the nation's defense.
C) The PLA is increasing the size of the army.
D) Some students who have already volunteered to sign up may change their minds.
4. Why does the author think that the grads are given an extra chance in starting a career?
A) The one-time recruitment payment offered by the PLA may ease the grads' economic burden.
B) The grads who join the army have more chances to further their study after completing their service.
C) Grads who have already volunteered to sign up can give up before the deadline for enlistment if they can find another job that is more suitable.
D) No restrictions are made on things like going abroad after the service period.
5. The word confidential in the last paragraph could best be replaced by
A) concise
B) professional
C) creative
D) secret
答案与题解：
1．C 文章并未提及大学生参军的工资待遇比其他工作所提供的薪酬高，而A、B、D 三个因素均可在文章中找到。
2．B 文章第二段说，军队今年给大学毕业生提供了l20，000 个工作岗位，而每50 个打算参军的大学毕业生中就有1 个人有机会去部队工作，因此可以推知今年约有6,000,00 名大学毕业生考虑从军。
3．B 从第四段可知，除了为缓解毕业生就业压力之外，大规模招募人才也是科技强军、国防现代化的需要。
4．C 文章第五段提及，如果大学毕业生在11 月份征兵工作结束前找到其他更理想的工作，仍然可以改变主意，重新选择职业，这就给为他们提供了多一次选择的机会。
5．D 从最后一段可以推测出confidential 的意思是“保密性的”，因此“secret”最为接近。