In today’s secondary schools, the system of general education has become themainstream while that of vocational education has been less popular. But why do secondary school students prefer academic courses to vocational courses today?

在今天的中学里，通识教育已成为主流，而职业教育则没有那么普遍。但是为什么今天中学生更喜欢学术课程，而不是职业课程呢？

The most important reason has to do with the role of the secondary schools are supposed to play in children's education. In the past, many students would go to the job market immediately after they had finished their secondary school, so it was important for the secondary schools to provide courses related to certain jobs. But this is not the case any more.Today, most secondary schools are expected to provide a range of academic subjects that students need to study in order to go to college for higher education, because that seems to be the only way for people to get a well-paid job. In other words, general education is more appropriate for college-bound students, since going to college has become necessary for everyone.

最重要的原因是中学在孩子教育中应该扮演的角色。在过去，许多学生会在中学毕业后立即进入就业市场，因此中学提供与工作相关的课程非常重要。但现在已经不是这样了。今天，大多数中学都被期待提供宽泛的学术课程，学生需要学习这些课程才能进入大学接受高等教育，因为接受高等教育似乎是人们获得高薪工作的途径。换句话说，通识教育更适合计划上大学的学生，因为上大学对每个人来说都是必要的。

Even for those students who do not wish to go to college, to receive a morecomprehensive education at the secondary school is more advisable in today's world. As the world is changing on daily basis, what we have learnt today may become useless tomorrow. Many job opportunities are disappearing, while new ones keep popping into our life. This situation makes it more important for students to know how to learn than what they learn. Just focusing on a certain limited number of practical skills, be it plumbing, carpentry, or mechanics, the students will soon find themselves out of joint with the world, because these jobs may be performed by machines or may not be needed at all. On the contrary, if they receive more general education, they will surely have a better time adapting to the fast-changing world. 

即使是那些不想上大学的学生，在中学接受更全面的教育在当今世界也是更可取的。世界日新月异，我们今天学到的明天可能会变得毫无用处。许多工作机会正在消失，而新的工作机会又不断出现在我们的生活中。这种情况使学生更需要知道怎么学，而不是学什么。如果仅专注于一定数量的实际技能，无论是管道、木工还是机械，学生们很快就会发现自己与世界脱节，因为这些工作可能由机器完成，或者根本就不需要了。相反，如果他们接受更普通的教育，他们一定更能适应这快速变化的世界。

To conclude, a general secondary education is more appropriate today than a purely vocational one, for it gives students a better chance to go to college, or a higheradaptability to address the ever emerging problems in their life.

总之，普通中等教育比单纯的职业教育更合适，因为它给学生更好的上大学的机会，或者给他们更高的适应能力，以解决生活中不断出现的问题。

7分范文

1. In the past, many students would go to the job market immediately after they had finished their secondary school, so it was important for the secondary schools to provide courses related to certain jobs.

2. Today, most secondary schools are expected to provide a range of academic subjects that students need to study in order to go to college for higher education, because that seems to be the only way for people to get a well-paid job.

3. Just focusing on a certain limited number of practical skills, be it plumbing, carpentry, or mechanics, the students will soon find themselves out of joint with the world, because these jobs may be performed by machines or may not be needed at all.

4. To conclude, a general secondary education is more appropriate today than a purely vocational one, for it gives students a better chance to go to college, or a higheradaptability to address the ever emerging problems in their life.