Taiwan’s Parents Spend Fifth

Most on Education Worldwide Parents in Taiwan spent an average of US$56,424 per child for their education, well above the

global average of US$44,221.

by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

When it comes to their children, parents around the world have no hesitation in investing in their

education. But how much are they willing to spend on this? A recent analysis by HSBC took a closer look

at this question, and the conclusion indicates that Taiwanese parents spend the fifth most in the world in

educating their children.

More than 8,000 parents from fifteen countries took part in the survey, and the parents were

inquired about their spending on tuition, school transportation, accommodations and other

fees. The results showed that parents in Hong Kong spend the most on their children’s education,

with an average of US$132,161 per child. Parents from the United Arab Emirates, Singapore,

and the United States came next, followed by Taiwan in fifth place with an average of US$56,424

per child. On average, parents around the world spend US$44,221 on their children’s education.

In terms of private educations, 75 percent of Taiwanese parents say that they have paid for

private tuition for their children. As for digital learning, 67 percent of Taiwanese parents say that

an online degree for their children could be an option. Taiwanese parents also seem to be in favor

of further education, with 93 percent saying that they would consider graduate studies for their

children.

“In today’s highly competitive global job market, education for young

people has never been more important. Parents across the world appreciate

this and are willing to invest time and money to help their children get the best

start in life,” said Charlie Nunn, HSBC’s Head of Wealth Management. “Paying

for their child’s education is most likely to be parents’ biggest financial commitment, above others such as

mortgage or rent payments and household bills.”

This month in history

Ivan the Terrible, the first

Tsar of Russia, was born on

25 August, 1530.

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and translation.

“In today’s highly competitive

global job market, education

for young people has never

been more important.”

Saturday, August 5, 2017 vol. 255

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Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. What is the passage mainly about?

(A) A short history of education in Taiwan.

(B) The amounts that governments spend on education around the world.

(C) How much parents in Taiwan spend on their children’s education.

(D) New educational systems is introduced in Taiwan.

( ) 2. What is the average amount of money parents in Taiwan spend on their children’s education, per child?

(A) US$132,161 (B) US$56,424 (C) US$44,000 (D) US$18,000

( ) 3. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

(A) Many parents in Taiwan pay for private tuition for their children.

(B) Over half the Taiwanese parents surveyed support online learning.

(C) More than 90 percent of Taiwanese parents would consider graduate studies for their children.

(D) Education has never really been important to Taiwanese parents.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. hesitation [] n. [U][C]猶豫

2. analysis [] n. [U][C] 分析

3. inquire vi., vt. 詢問 SYN ask

4. tuition n. [U] 學費，指導

5. accommodation n. [C] (pl.)

住處

6. in terms of [] phr. 在…方面

7. degree [] n. [C] 學位

8. option [] n. [C] 選擇 SYN choice

9. graduate [] adj. (only before noun)

研究生的

10. competitive adj. 競爭的

11. commitment n. [C] 義務，必

須做的事

12. household adj. (only before

noun) 家庭的

Words for Recognition

1. HSBCn. 滙豐銀行

2. United Arab Emirates

[] n. (UAE) 阿拉

伯聯合大公國

3. Singapore [] n. 新加坡

4. mortgage [] n. [C] 房屋貸款

2｜News Messenger

Riddle of the Day: the Bridge Puzzle

You are crossing a bridge at night to escape from the zombies. You have only one torch to light the way.

You can make the crossing in 1 minute; the Assistant can do it in 2; the Janitor takes 5; and the Professor

takes 10. The bridge can only hold 2 people at a time. When two people cross the bridge

together, they must move at the slower person’s pace. How can you help everyone escape

in 17 minutes before the zombies catch up?

Search #sanminnewspuzzle255 on Facebook to find out!

A Massive Fine from EU for Google European antitrust officials accuse the company of favoring some of its own digital services over

those of its rivals. by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

Although the motto of Google’s code

of conduct is “Do the right thing,” officials

in the European Union (EU) have accused the

company of some 1 practices. In fact,

the technology company has already been

fined several times in Europe.

Google’s problems began in April of

2016 when the EU charged Google with

preventing competition in the smartphone

market. EU officials stated that Google, being

the leading company in this market, __2__ to

keep others from competing and gaining market share. Google reportedly 3 its partners to install

Google Search and Google Chrome on their smartphones in order to have full access to the Google Play

store app. Google has also been accused of paying some Android device makers to install Google Search on

their phones.

A year later, Google was fined 8 million US dollars for similar practices in Russia. It was also ordered that

google 4 other search engines to be used on Android. Then, in June 2017, EU officials fined Google a

massive 2.7 billion for using the Google search engine to make Google Shopping more popular. This fine was

the largest in the company’s history.

the EU has assembled a panel of experts to look into even more of Google’s business practices in

Europe. In addition, concerns about privacy have already caused problems for Google in Germany and France,

and a new EU law in 2018 will make it possible to fine technology companies for privacy violations.

Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition said, “What Google has done is illegal __5__

EU antitrust rules. It denied other companies the chance to compete on the merits and to innovate.”

Fill in the Blanks

(A) attempted (B) required (C) allow (D) under (E) improper

(1)__________ (2)__________ (3)__________ (4)__________ (5)__________

Antitrust officials of the EU have accused Google of Android violations.

Insert caption here insert caption here insert caption here insert

c a p t i o n .

News Messenger｜3

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. motto [] n. [C] 座右銘

2. improper [] adj. 不正當的

3. fine vt. 處…以罰款

4. attempt vt. 企圖

5. install vt. 安裝

6. app n. [C] (=application) 應用程式

7. search engine [ ] n. [C] 搜尋引擎

8. assemble [] vt. 集合，聚集

9. panel n. [C] 專家小組

10. privacy n. [U] 隱私權

11. violation n. [U][C] 違反，違背

12. innovate vi.; vt.改革，創新

Words for Recognition

1. antitrust [] adj. (only before noun)

反壟斷的

2. code of conduct [] n. 行

為準則

3. reportedly [] adv. 據傳聞，據稱

4. Google Chrome [] n. Google 開發

的網頁瀏覽器

5. Google Play [] n. Android 作業系統

的官方應用商店

6. Android [] n. 安卓作業系統

7. Margrethe Vestager n. 瑪格麗特·維斯塔格，

為歐盟競爭事務專員

8. commissioner [] n. 委員，專員

MOVIE INSIDER

Kingsman: the Golden Circle 《金牌特務：機密對決》

When the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to

the discovery of Statesman in the US, an allied spy organization dating back to the day these two elite secret

organizations were founded. In an adventure that tests the agents’ strength and wits to the limit, the two band

together to defeat their common enemy in order to save the world. (by Twentieth Century Fox)

Trailer: youtu.be/0fvqnGmr9S8

閱讀測驗解答：1. C 2. B 3.D

綜合測驗解答：1. E 2. A 3. B 4. C 5. D

4｜News Messenger

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Taiwan

Photo: Twentieth Century Fox Taiwan

Translation

台灣家長的子女教育支出居全球第五

台灣家長投資子女教育，一個小孩平均達 56,424美元，遠高於全球平均 44,221美元。

全球各地的父母投資小孩教育都不手軟，但他們願意為此花多少錢？匯豐銀行集團最近進一

步關注這個問題，分析結果指出，台灣家長在子女教育支出上排名全球第五。

來自 15國逾 8千名家長參與這份調查，詢問的問題包括他們在學費、上學通勤、食宿，以及

其他雜項的支出。調查結果顯示，香港家長在子女教育上花最多錢，每個小孩平均花費 132,161美

元。阿拉伯聯合大公國、新加坡和美國的家長居次，緊接著是台灣家長，以 56,424美元排第五。平

均而言，全球家長花在每名子女身上的教育費是 44,221美元。

在私人辦學方面，75%的台灣家長說他們曾為子女支付私立學校費用。至於數位學習，67%的

台灣家長說線上學位可以是一個選擇。台灣家長似乎也偏好深造，93%說會考慮讓子女唸研究所。

匯豐財富管理部門主管努恩說：「在今日高度競爭的全球就業市場，年輕人的教育比以往更為

重要。全球各地的家長都了解此事，願意投入時間和金錢，協助子女的人生取得最佳起點。為子女

教育埋單很可能是家長最大的財務負擔，遠高於其他如房貸或房租，以及家庭帳單。」

谷歌遭歐盟罰鉅款

歐盟反托拉斯官員聲稱，谷歌偏袒多項自家公司的數位服務，未公平對待競爭對手的類似服務。

儘管谷歌行事準則的座右銘是「做對的事」，但歐盟官員指控該公司有不當作為。事實上，這

家科技公司在歐洲已經被罰了好幾次。

谷歌的問題始自 2016年 4月遭歐盟指控防礙智慧手機市場公平競爭。歐盟官員說，谷歌身為

市場領導廠商，卻試圖阻止競爭，獨占市場。據傳谷歌要求合作夥伴安裝谷歌搜索引擎和谷歌瀏覽

器，以便完整取用谷歌 play商店的應用程式。谷歌更是被控付費給部分 Android裝置廠商，讓他們

在自家手機上預先安裝谷歌搜尋引擎。

一年後，谷歌在俄羅斯因類似行徑被罰 800 萬美元。俄國也下令 Google 開放 Android 裝置使

用其他搜尋引擎。接著，2017年 6月，歐盟官員以谷歌搜尋結果偏袒自家網購服務，開罰 27億美

元鉅款。這是該公司歷來最大一張罰單。

歐盟已組成專家小組，檢視更多谷歌在歐洲的業務。此外，谷歌在德國和法國都遇上隱私權的

爭議，而歐盟 2018年新法將可因違反隱私權開罰科技業者。

歐盟競爭事務專員維斯塔格說：「谷歌作法違反歐盟反托拉斯規定。這樣的行為剝奪其他公司

以實力競爭和創新的機會。」

News Messenger｜5

三民東大學習網 grandeast.com.tw/English/