Whentimesgettough，wealllookforwaystocutback.Whenwe'rehungry，weeatathomeinsteadofgoingout.Wetakebusesinsteadoftaxis.Andwewearourolddesignerjeansjustafewmonthslonger.Withcollegeexpensesatall?timehighs，highschoolstudentsareeagertodoanythingtocutthecostofauniversityeducation.
Onecost?cuttingproposalistoallowcollegestudentstogetabachelor'sdegreeinthreeyearsinsteadoffour.Educationalinstitutionshavebeenactivelyexploringwaystomakethelearningprocessmoreefficient.Butthere'saquestion：Wouldthequalityofundergraduate(本科生)educationsuffer？FewUSuniversitieshaveformallyapproveda“three?yeardegree”model.
IdoubtthatmainstreamNorthAmericancollegeswillcarryoutathree?yearcurriculum(课程)anytimesoon.Foronething，mostuniversitiesalreadyallowhighlyqualifiedstudentstograduateearlybytestingoutofcertainclassesandobtaininganumberofcollegecredits(学分)．Inaddition，atfamousuniversities，thecommitteewhodeterminewhichcoursesarerequiredandwhichcoursesareelectivesareunlikelytosuddenly“throwout”onequarteroftherequiredcredits.Professorswillresist“diluting(稀释)”thequalityoftheeducationtheyoffer.
Inmyopinion，aqualityfour?yeareducationisalwayssuperiortoaqualitythree?yeareducation.Acollegeeducationrequiressufficienttimeforastudenttobecomeskilledintheirmajoranddocourseworkinfieldsoutsidetheirmajor.Itisnotagoodideatowaterdowneducation，anymorethanit'snotagoodideatowaterdownmedicine.Ifwewanttohelpstudentsfindtheirwaythroughuniversity，weshouldhelpthemunderstandearlyonwhatknowledgeandskillstheyneedtohaveupongraduation.Weshouldallowstudentstotestoutofasmanycoursesaspossible.Weshouldgivethemachancetoearnmoneyasinterns(实习生)inmeaningfulpart?timejobsthatrelatetotheiruniversitystudies，suchasthefive?yearco?opprogramatNortheasternUniversity.
【小题1】Thefirstparagraphservesasa(n)________.
