College must make many students more productive workers. But at least some of the apparent value of a college degree, and maybe a lot of it, reflects the fact that employers can use it as a rough measure of job applicants' intelligence and willingness to work hard.
大学必须使许多学生成为更具生产力的工人。然而，在大学学位的表面价值中，至少有一些——甚至更多——能够反映这样一个事实：雇主们可以把它作为一个粗略标准，衡量求职者的聪明才智和积极肯干精神。

We could probably increase the number of high school seniors who are ready to go to college and likely to make it to graduation. But let's face it: college isn't for everyone, especially if it takes the form of four years of going to classes on a campus.
我们可能会增加愿意读大学的高中生人数，他们也很可能成功读到大学毕业。但我们必须直面一个问题：大学不是为所有人开设的，尤其是以在校园里上4年课这样一种形式。

To talk about college this way may sound élitist. It may even sound philistine, since the purpose of a liberal-arts education is to produce well-rounded citizens rather than productive workers.
如此谈论大学也许听上去有点精英主义的味道。它甚至显得庸俗不堪，因为文科教育的目的是造就全面发展的公民，而不是生产性的工人。