Talk to any parent of a student who took an adventurous gap year (a
year between school and university when some students earn money,
travel, etc.) and a misty look will come into their eyes. There are
some disasters and even the most motivated, organised gap student does
require family back-up, financial, emotional and physical. The parental
mistiness is not just about the brilliant experience that has matured
their offspring; it is vicarious living. We all wish pre-university gap
years had been the fashion in our day. We can see how much tougher our
kids become; how much more prepared to benefit from university or to
decide positively that they are going to do something other than a
degree.
Gap years are fashionable, as is reflected in the huge
growth in the number of charities and private companies offering them.
Pictures of Prince William toiling in Chile have helped, but the trend
has been gathering steam for a decade. The range of gap packages starts
with backpacking, includes working with charities, building hospitals
and schools and, very commonly, working as a language assistant,
teaching English. With this trend, however, comes a danger. Once
parents feel that a well-structured year is essential to their would-be
undergraduate’s progress to a better university, a good degree, an
impressive CV and well paid employment, as the gap companies’ blurbs
suggest it might be, then parents will start organising—and paying
for—the gaps.
Where there are disasters, according to Richard
Oliver, director of the gap companies’ umbrella organisation, the Year
Out Group, it is usually because of poor planning. That can be the
fault of the company or of the student, he says, but the best insurance
is thoughtful preparation. “When people get it wrong, it is usually
medical or, especially among girls, it is that they have not been away
from home before or because expectation does not match reality.”
The
point of a gap year is that it should be the time when the school
leaver gets to do the thing that he or she fancies. Kids don’t mature
if mum and dad decide how they are going to mature. If the
18-year-old’s way of maturing is to slob out on Hampstead Heath soaking
up sunshine or spending a year working with fishermen in Cornwall, then
that’s what will be productive for that person. The consensus, however,
is that some structure is an advantage and that the prime mover needs
to be the student.
The 18-year-old who was dispatched by his
parents at two weeks’ notice to Canada to learn to be a snowboarding
instructor at a cost of £5,800, probably came back with little more
than a hangover. The 18-year-old on the same package who worked for his
fare and spent the rest of his year instructing in resorts from New
Zealand to Switzerland, and came back to apply for university, is the
positive counterbalance.
1. It can be inferred from the first paragraph that parents of gap students may_____.
[A] help children to be prepared for disasters
[B] receive all kinds of support from their children
[C] have rich experience in bringing up their offspring
[D] experience watching children grow up
2. According to the text, which of the following is true?
[A] the popularity of gap years results from an increasing number of charities.
[B] Prince William was working hard during his gap year.
[C] gap years are not as fashionable as they were ten years ago.
[D] a well-structured gap year is a guarantee of university success.
3. The word “packages” (Line 3, Paragraph 2) means_____.
[A] parcels carried in travelling
[B] a comprehensive set of activities
[C] something presented in a particular way
[D] charity actions
4. What can cause the disasters of gap years?
[A] Intervention of parents.
[B] Careful planning.
[C] Good health.
[D] Realistic expectation.
5. An 18-year-old is believed to take a meaningful gap year when he/she_____.
[A] lives up to his/her parents’ expectations
[B] spends time being lazy and doing nothing
[C] learns skills by spending parents’ money
[D] earns his or her living and gains working experience
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