VOA慢速英语:'Ivory Tower' Explores Crushing Cost of US College Education

The cost of attending university in the United States has risen quickly in the past 20 years. Many people today say they owe huge amounts of money for loans they received for higher education. The students past and present say they are drowning in debt.
美国大学学费在过去20年迅速上涨。如今许多人称，他们因为高等教育贷款而欠下了巨额资金。过去和现今的学生都说，他们已经负债累累。

Movie maker Andrew Rossi examines education debt in the film Ivory Tower. The documentary was released to movie theaters recently. Ivory Tower is often used in America to mean university or college. Andrew Rossi wrote, directed and produced Ivory Tower.
电影制作人Andrew Rossi在电影《象牙塔中》探讨了教育债务。该片最近被投放到了电影院。在美国，象牙塔常被用作指代大学或学院。Andrew Rossi编写、导演并制作了《象牙塔》这部电影。

He says college tuition, the cost of attending classes increased by about 1,100 percent between 1978 and today. Estimates place the nations combined debt for student loans at 1 trillion dollars.
他说大学费用从1978年至今上涨了1100%。据估计，全国学生贷款总和达到了1万亿美元。

One comment made by a woman in Ivory Tower shows the deep concern that student loans can cause. But one young man in the Washington D.C. area says he does not face much worry about college costs.
《象牙塔》电影中的一位女性的评论对学生贷款会导致的问题深表忧虑。但华盛顿特区的一位青年男子表示，他不用太担心大学费用。

Brandon Attilis says his parents prepaid his tuition, he is working this summer at a restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia. Mr. Attilis also plans to reduce his expenses by sharing a house with two friends.
Brandon Attilis表示他的父母预付了他的学费。今年夏天他在弗吉尼亚州亚历山德里亚市的一家餐厅打工。Attilis先生还计划通过与两位朋友合租来减少自己的开支。

"My parents are paying the cost of the house, but I'm paying utilities. So, between the two, it's still less expensive than actually living in the dorms," Brandon said.
Brandon说，“我的父母付房租,但我要付水电费。相比之下这还是比住宿舍要便宜些。”

His mother Chris Attilis says she and her husband began saving money for college tuition shortly after each of their children was born.
他的母亲Chris Attilis称，自己和丈夫在每个孩子出生后不久就开始给他们攒大学学费。

"We took care of four years of college education for less than a year's costs in today's market," said Chris.
Chris说，“我们担负的上四年大学的费用比现在一年的开销还少。”

Still, many families lack enough money to do that. The movie notes that there have been reductions in government aid for education. Some colleges also build beautiful but costly campuses in hopes of getting students to attend. But the building projects can also increase costs for students.
尽管如此，许多家庭缺少足够的资金来做到这一点。影片指出，政府削减了教育援助。一些高校还建造了美丽但昂贵的校园。但这些建筑项目还会增加学生的费用。

Ms. Attilis visited colleges with Brandon.
Attilis女士同布兰登参观了校园。

"They put on a good show. And walking through and looking at the granite sinks in the bathrooms I'm thinking, 'This is not what it was looking like when I went to school.'" Chris said.
Chris女士说，“他们上演了一出好戏。看到浴室中的花岗岩水槽时我在想，‘这不像是在学校。’”

Ivory Tower suggests that many students choose not to get a traditional college education because of the costs. Some try online education. Brandon Attilis however says online education is not for everyone.
《象牙塔》这部电影表明，许多学生因为费用选择不接受传统大学教育。一些人尝试网络教育。然而Brandon Attilis称，网络教育并不是人人都适合。

"You have to be a real hard worker, you have to really want it," Brandon said.
Brandon说，“你必须是一个真正的努力的人，非常想学。”

He says he hopes that his own schooling will lead to a good business education and a good career. He hopes it will not include huge debt built at the so called ivory towers of education.
他说，他希望自己的教育能够通向良好的商业教育和职业生涯。他希望这不会包括在所谓的象牙塔教育中产生的巨额债务。