爭入名校的“幼兒競賽”

中國的家長們為了讓孩子有個好前途，從小就讓他們上早教、上輔導班，甚至他們還沒出生就著手買學區房。而英美的家長們為了讓孩子進入名牌大學讀書，更是不遺余力地讓他們加入“幼兒競賽”。

Rug-rat race refers to the intense pressure put on children to achieve early educational success, particularly as a prerequisite for eventually getting into an elite university.
“幼兒競賽”指的是為了實現早期教育的成功而給孩子帶來的緊張壓力，特別是將這種成功作為最終考進名牌大學的首要條件。

Rug rat是俚語，指幼兒，在地上爬來爬去的寶寶，像不像“地毯老鼠”？而rat race指激烈的競爭，這個用法就是這樣組合而來的。

This striving is necessarily, and worryingly, inegalitarian. Parental investment in children’s education is an arms race in which poorer families cannot hope to keep pace. Richer, better-educated families can call on many more assets in helping struggling students or providing enriching résumé-building material.
這種努力是必要的，讓人焦慮的，也是不均等的。父母花在孩子教育上的投資就像軍備競賽，貧困家庭無力承擔。富有的、教育水平更高的家庭可以提供更多資源幫助奮斗中的學生，或者給他們提供豐富的簡歷材料。

The more the rug-rat race leads parents to withdraw their children from public-school systems, the worse this trend becomes.
“幼兒競賽”導致很多家長讓孩子讀私立，這種情況越多，趨勢就越糟。

Increased scarcity of college slots appears to have induced heightened rivalry among parents, taking the form of more hours spent on college preparatory activities. In other words, the rise in childcare time resulted from a “rug rat race” for admission to good colleges.
大學學位越來越不足，這似乎加劇了父母間的競爭，他們花在大學預科準備活動上的時間更多了。也就是說，為了進入名牌大學而進行的“幼兒競賽”導致家長們花更多時間照料孩子。

A lot of British children aren’t in this rug-rat race. Children enter schools at age 5, when compulsory schooling starts. More than 90% of children in Britain attend schools that are run by the state and don’t charge tuition.
很多英國孩子并沒有參與“幼兒競賽”。孩子們在5歲開始上學，參加義務教育。超過90%的英國孩子就讀于公立學校，不需繳納學費。

（中國日報網英語點津 yaning）