【正文】 ous ment for light entertainment (seen in the jokey language and problemsolving advice toparents).Why finding a job in 2008 is so difficult for university graduates?Universities in Europe, particularly in Britain, have expanded greatly in the last fifteen years (over 45% ofyoung adults now go on to higher education), so there are more graduates looking for jobs. This petitivesituation became a lot worse in 2008 onwards with the credit crunch and economic depression, which meantthat there were fewer jobs available and a rise in unemployment. Thus new graduates have to be activeto seek a job, they need to fill in many application forms and try to get job interviews: they won’t findemployment by lying on the sofa at home.Culture pointshonours degree: Traditionally, in the British university system, BA and BSc honours degrees are awardedin different categories: a first class degree (written using Roman numbers as I), a second (divided into twosubcategories, written as IIii and IIii, which are called “a two one” and “a two two”), a third (written III) anda pass degree. Most people get a second. There are also ordinary degrees with more general courses of studywithout these categories.Generation Y and Grunt: The main idea here is that there is a succession of different generations orcohorts of adults who e into the workforce in North America which are given different informal namesto characterize them. First, “Baby boomers” were born in the great increase (the boom) of births after WorldWar II (1946–1960), followed by “Generation X” people (born 1960–1980) who were said to bring newattitudes of being independent, informal, entrepreneurial, and expected to get skills and have a career beforethem. “GenerationY” or the “Millenial Generation” (born 1980s and 1990s and being adult in the newmillenium) are now making up an increasing percentage of the workforce。cor.British pubs are often named after famous people (Robin Hood, The Duke of Wellington) or royalty (TheQueen’s Arms, the Prince of Wales) or historical symbols (The Rose and Crown to represent King EdwardIII, The Royal Oak to represent King Charles II who once hid in a large oak tree). Other names often includecolours and animals (The Red Bull, The Black Horse, The Golden Lion, The Swan) or symbols of traditionaltrades (The Compasses for carpenters, The Three Hammers for blacksmiths, The Three Tuns for winemakers).As the pub is a social place to meet as well as a place to get a drink, people often play games like dominoesor darts or join a quiz or petition. A mon expression is to “go down the pub” or “go round to thelocal” (both meaning to go to the local pub).Culture pointspub in London: A pub is a place where people go for a drink and to meet friends and socialize. People canplay games – such as darts, cards, dominoes – in a pub and pubs often have quiz nights, with prizes for thewinners, and live music (See also Background information)The Salisbury is a wellknown pub in central London (See also Background information)London School of Economics is a distinguished university in central London, famous for social sciences.Language points1 If you ask me, real life is not all it’s cracked up to be. (Para 1)In my opinion (If you ask me introduces an opinion), real life is not everything that people say it is. If athing is cracked up to be, people normally praise it but in the opinion of the speaker they are wrong.2 … spending money when you don’t have any is dead easy. (Para 7)Dead here means very. For example, we can say dead tired (exhausted), a dead loss (a plete loss oruseless), a dead weight (very heavy, difficult to lift).3 What were the odds on anyone being so nice? (Para 11)What are the chances that someone would be so nice? The writer is emphasizing here that such kindness isvery unusual.4 … looking back after all these years, you only need one or two breaks in your life to succeed.(Para 13)A break here means a chance to be successful. A lucky break is an unexpected opportunity.Reading and understanding2 Choose the best answer to the questions.1 What did the writer want to do after finishing her degree?(a) To do an MA at the London School of Economics.(b) To earn some money to pay off her loan.(c) To start working as soon as possible.(d) To return home and help her mother.2 Why did she ask for a job in The Salisbury?(a) She was hungry and thirsty.(b) She thought it would lead to better things.(c) She was a friend of the landlord.(d) She had the idea when she saw the landlord working.3 What did she buy with her first salary?(a) A bunch of flowers.(b) A CD and a plant for the flat she lived in.(c) A ham sandwich and a glass of beer.(d) She didn’t have any money left after paying the bills.4 Why did Tony give her 163。 later she appreciated the trust of Tony and his friends5 love life?We don’t know much about this, except that she doesn’t like boys to hassle her. She thinks they areimmature.6 financial expertise?It must be quite good: She invested the 163。when people “grunt” they express disgust but do not municate with words – this may be how the parentsof new graduates think their children municate with them!A prehensive refers to a British type of secondary school which became popular in the1960s. Before thatthere were academic “grammar schools” and more general “secondary modern” schools for those who didnot pass the grammar school entrance tests, but the prehensive schools were designed for all students ina social philosophy of bringing diverse students together whether they were academic or not. Those studentswho went to a prehensive school probably felt that had to study particularly hard (I worked my backsideoff) to get to university, pared to those who went to grammar schools where all students were academic –prehensive students felt they had to struggle to get to university.