问答题

In some countries young people are encouraged to work or travel for a year between finishing high school and starting university studies. Read the article carefully and write your response in about 300 words, m which you should:　　1. summarize briefly the opinions in the article:　　2. give your comment.　　Marks will be awarded for content relevance, content sufficiency, organization and language quality. Failure to follow the above instructions may result in a loss of marks.　　A gap year is a year off that you can take between finishing high school and starting university. Otherwise known as deferring your studies, it can be a good alternative to starting university if you’re feeling exhausted or you’re just not sure what you want to do. Perhaps you want to travel, earn some money by working full-time or get some work experience in your field of interest. There’s a lot to weigh up when deciding whether to take a gap year.　　Some common masons to take a gap year include:　　Broaden your view of the world　　Whether you simply want to see and experience another country, or gain an appreciation and awareness of global issues, taking a defer year can be a great way to immerse yourself in another country.　　Gain relevant work experience and key skills　　Working during your defer year means you’ll gain plenty of experience, skills and knowledge, which (especially if in a relevant field) can be highly valuable when applying for jobs later on.　　Earn some money　　Following on from that, a working year off can also be a great way to earn some extra money before starting university. You might not earn enough to pay your entire university costs, but you could perhaps cover expenses such as accommodation, text books, travel or even the first semester/ term of your course fees.　　Develop useful contacts　　During your defer year, you’ll likely meet a range of different people from all walks of life. This could include people you can call on for job opportunities and references, or simply some international friends on whose sofas you can crash on if you get the chance to visit their home country later.　　Challenge yourself　　Many students take the year to tackle challenges they’ve set for themselves, step out of their comfort zone, face their fears and enjoy new experiences. You might decide to go trekking through a jungle, climb a mountain for charity, volunteer in a developing country, or go scuba diving, skiing or snowboarding.　　Improve and gain new life skills　　This can be anything from learning and becoming fluent in a foreign language, becoming an instructor in an adventure sport, boosting your IT skills or learning how to teach English as a foreign language.　　While there are many benefits to taking a gap year, it’s worth considering that there are also risks involved. Some of the disadvantages of a gap year you might encounter include:　　You’ll be a year behind everyone who graduated high school/ secondary school with you, if they didn’t take a year off themselves.　　It can cost a lot of money to organize and realize.　　You may get injured or sick during your travels—if you need prescription medication, make sure to check whether your medication is legal and available in your destination country.　　You might find your break too interesting/ distracting, and end up not wanting to go back into formal education.　　Your study skills may have diminished, making it harder for you to adjust to life in education. This can be particularly true for mathematics or physics students, or any course that involves complex theoretical processes and techniques that may not be used outside of the classroom.　　You may simply find that you didn’t get the experience you were hoping for.