At least 5.59 million students will graduate from colleges this year, 13 percent more than last year, the Ministry of Education has said.
They face unprecedented pressure in the job market as about 700,000 graduates, who could not find work last year will compete with them for employment, the People's Daily website has quoted Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, as saying.
But this could mean a windfall of graduates in rural areas and small towns.
About 20,000 graduates have signed up to work in the countryside, in fields such as education, agriculture, and poverty-alleviation.
And many others, including 200 from Tsinghua University, have opted to work in the regions hit by the May 12 quake.
They include Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and Chongqing municipality.
College graduates are encouraged to work in western and rural areas where many jobs are available, Ministry of Education spokesman Wang Xuming said.
Those who have worked in rural areas for two years enjoy favorable treatment in recruitment for government organs and State enterprises, and get bonus points if they take the civil service exams.
"We encourage college graduates to start their own business, too, and get preferential treatment," said Wang Yadong, deputy director of the training and employment department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
Such graduates enjoy a 20-percent income tax cut for start-ups, and the government offers small loans to them to start a business too.
Questions:
1. How many students will graduate from colleges this year around China?
2. How many graduates from last year were still on the market searching for work?
3. What was the approximate number of graduates who had so far signed up to work in the countryside, in such fields as education, agriculture, and poverty-alleviation？
Answers:
1.At least 5.59 million .
2. About 700,000 .
3. 20,000.
（英语点津 Helen 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan joined The China Daily in 2007 as a language polisher in the Language Tips Department, where he writes a regular column for Chinese English Language learners, reads audio news for listeners and anchors the weekly video news in addition to assisting with on location stories. Elsewhere he writes Op’Ed pieces with a China focus that feature in the Daily’s Website opinion section.
He received his B.A. and Post Grad Dip from Curtin University in 1997 and his Masters in Community Development and Management from Charles Darwin University in 2003. He has taught in Japan, England, Australia and most recently China. His articles have featured in the Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times, The Asia News Network and in-flight magazines.
