4. 图表作文：教育

　　Directions: In this section, you are asked to write an essay based on the following diagram. Describe the diagram and analyze the possible causes. You should write at least 150 words.

　　1998-2004年全国工程硕士招生录取人数

　　工程硕士：Master of Engineering

　　The diagram above clearly illustrates that dramatic elevation has occurred in the recruitment of Master of Engineering (ME) in the past seven years. According to the statistics given above, we may conclude that the recruitment of ME was on a steady rise from 1998 to 2004. In 1998, the number was at a low level, only about 2,500. Surprisingly, it reached to more than 35,000 in 2004 within no more than seven years.

　　Some driving factors that contribute to the above-mentioned changes may be summarized as follows. First and foremost, China has become particularly active in manufacturing, which leads to the increasing demand of qualified engineers. In addition, the development of job market on the whole cannot keep pace with the expansion of college graduates, which obliges a large number of students to stay on campus for another three years to get better prepared for their career. Last but not least, working pressure is another reason. Taking all these factors into account, we may predict that with speedy development of our society, the number of recruitment of ME will keep growing in the forthcoming decade.

　　On the other side of the coin, however, this tendency may bring about a good many problems, such as the waste of talent. It is necessary for us to take effective measures to ensure this situation doesn’t get out of hand, and encourage students to choose majors in which theoretical knowledge and practical skills will be demanded in the job market. (246 words)

　　上述图表清楚揭示了过去七年在工程硕士招生方面出现了急剧增长。根据上面给出的数据，我们可以得出结论：从1998到2004年，工程硕士招生稳步增长。在1998年，招生人数较少，只有大约2500人。令人惊讶的是，在不到七年中，到2004年招生人数达到35000多人。

　　促成上述变化的一些主要原因可以概括如下。首先，中国在制造业方面已经变得异常活跃，这导致了高素质工程师需求的增加。此外，就业市场的总体发展无法跟上大学毕业生的增加，这促使很多学生继续呆在校园里三年时间，为就业进行更好的准备。最后，工作压力是另外一个原因。考虑到所有这些因素，我们可以预计：随着社会的迅速发展，工程硕士的招生人数在不远的将来将会继续增加。

　　然而，在问题的另一方面，这种趋势可能带来很多问题，例如人才的浪费。我们必须采取有效措施确保这一状况不会失控，同时鼓励学生们选择那些在就业市场上所需要的既有理论知识又有实践技能的专业。