Campus diversity(校园多样性) is drying up in US universities. The number of international students studying at higher learning institutions in the US had been increasing. However, at the beginning of the 2016 school year, it dropped by 10,000, according to a recent report from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI). Today, the US is home to 1.1 million foreign students enrolled at universities, colleges, and junior colleges.

Statistics show that foreign student enrollment (入学) in US dropped due to the costs of US higher education, the changing social and political climate, competition from institutions in other countries, and students’ concerns about finding a job in the US after graduation. However, Australia and Canada have experienced growth in their international enrollment with the most of overseas students coming from China. Both countries offer quality education at cheaper rates.

The biggest issue with going to school in the US is the price tag as it is the most expensive in the world for college. In 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that the University of Southern California (USC) was the most expensive university in the US with a one-year price tag of $70,000 for tuition, books, and living expenses. Students, both foreign and home, pay the same at USC. However, at the University of Washington in Seattle (UWS), a school with about 8,000 international students, annual tuition and fees alone cost state students around $11,000, while out-of-state and overseas students pay $35,000. That’s why many foreign students and lower-class citizens choose to study at cheaper universities, which leads to many higher learning institutions’ losing their diversities.

Campus diversity is a sign of a healthy academic environment. Universities should focus on reducing the gap between lower income US citizens and international students. The only way to achieve this would be to make college affordable. The sooner schools do this, the more successful they will be.

Do you love Beats headphones, True Religion jeans, and UGG shoes? These are some of the most popular brands (牌子) around. They are also expensive. But some experts say they are not much better than cheaper brands.

For example, Jim Wilcox works for Consumer Reports. He tested all kinds of headphones. He says that $80 Koss Pro headphones provide basically the same quality and comfort as Beats. So why do people pay twice or even 10 times as much for the hottest brands?

Experts say it’s because fashionable, expensive brands send a message. Brands say “I belong” or “I can afford it.”

Some people think that expensive brand names are worth the price. They say that some designer clothes really are top quality and that they last longer than cheaper brands. Some teenagers choose to wear popular brands because these brands make them feel good about themselves.

Alexandra Allam, 17, likes to buy brand-name products. “I’d rather spend the extra money to get something I know I’ll be satisfied with,” she says. Her friend Emmy Swan agrees, saying “As long as you can afford it, it seems reasonable to buy what you want.” But not all teenagers agree. “Spending hundreds of dollars for designer sunglasses is stupid and unreasonable,” says Daniel Steinbrecher, 16. “It’s fake (假的) happiness.”

People who are against wearing expensive brand names say that many designer brands aren’t any better. “It’s wasteful to buy things just because they are popular,” says Edmund Williams, 15. “You’ll feel better if you buy things because you like them. If you have extra money to spend, it would be better to give it to people in need.”

Parties and social gatherings no longer excite us the same way they once did. 【小题1】 At parties, more people are on their smartphones than on their drinks. According to a recent International Data Corporation study, well over half of all Americans have a smartphone and reach for it the moment they wake up, keeping it in hand all day. In addition, too much of society is using smartphones while driving and as a result getting into car crashes. Thirty-four percent of teens admit texting while driving. 【小题2】People’s attachment to their smartphones is unbelievably becoming more important than the lives of themselves and others.

Just as drivers dismiss the importance of focusing while on the road, many people also fail to recognize the significance of human interaction. We are starting to get used to people seemingly talking to themselves: everywhere. 【小题3】 It is actually sending a message to that friend: the person I am texting is more important than you. In addition, relying on our smartphones to make friends does not give us the same advantage as being able to make new friendships in the real world.【小题4】

As many people risk their lives and the lives of people around them just to send a text or mindlessly check their messages, smartphones are in many ways more dangerous to people. This technology is seriously preventing social achievements and weakening the value of communication.【小题5】