特别广播英语第 134 课：Advantage Unfair 不公平的优势-1

According to the writer Walter Ellis, author of a book called the Oxbridge Conspiracy, Britain is still dominated by the old-boy network: it isn't what you know that matters, but who you know. 据《牛津剑桥阴谋帮派》一书作者沃尔特·埃利斯所说，英国如今仍然处于老同学关系网的控制下：你懂什么并不重要，重要的是认识谁。

He claims that at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (Oxbridge for short) a few select people start on an escalator ride which, over the years, carries them to the tops of British privilege and power. 他声称在牛津大学和剑桥大学求学的少数精英一开始便平步青云，扶摇直上，几年之内，就登上了特权和权力的顶峰。

His research revealed that the top professions all continue to be dominated, if not 90 per cent, then 60 or 65 per cent, by Oxbridge graduates. 他的调查结果显示，英国高级职能部门仍然由牛津和剑桥的毕业生控制着，如果没有90%，至少也有60或者65%。

And yet ,says Ellis, Oxbridge graduates make up only two per cent of the total number of students who graduate from Britain's universities. 埃利斯指出，牛津、剑桥的毕业生只占英国大学毕业生总数的2%。

Other researches also seem to support his belief that Oxbridge graduates start with an unfair advantage in the employment market. 其它的研究者似乎也证明了这一点，即牛津、剑桥的毕业生一开始就在劳动市场上占据着不公平的优势。

In the law, a recently published report showed that out of 26 senior judges appointed to the High Court last year, all of them went to private schools and 21 of them went to Oxbridge. 最近公布的一份调查结果显示：在法律界，去年任命的26名高级法官都就读过私立学校，其中21人曾就读过牛津和剑桥。

But can this be said to amount to a conspiracy? Not according to Dr. John Rae, a former headmaster of one of Britain's leading private schools, Westminster: 但仅凭这些就能说是一个阴谋帮派吗？根据英国一家有代表性的私立学校--威斯敏斯特的前任校长约翰·雷博士的看法，情况并不是这样的：

"I would accept that there was a bias in some key areas of British life, but that bias has now gone. "我承认过去英国的某些重要领域内存在着偏见，可如今这种偏见已经不存在了。

Some time ago - in the 60s and before - entry to Oxford and Cambridge was not entirely on merit. 一段时间以前--即60年工或更早的时候进牛津、剑桥并不完全是凭本事的。