单选题
In most countries a PhD is a basic requirement for a
career in academia. It is a(n) {{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}to the
world of independent research—a kind of intellectual {{U}} {{U}} 2
{{/U}} {{/U}}, created by an apprentice in close collaboration with a (n)
{{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}. The requirements to complete one
{{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}} {{/U}}enormously between countries,
universities and even {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}. Some students
will first have to spend two years working on a {{U}} {{U}} 6
{{/U}} {{/U}}degree or diploma. Some will receive a stipend; others will
{{U}} {{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}their own way. Some PhDs {{U}}
{{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}only research, some require {{U}} {{U}}
9 {{/U}} {{/U}}and examinations and some require the student to teach
undergraduates. A(n) {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}can be dozens
of pages in mathematics, or many hundreds in history. As a result, newly minted
PhDs can be as young as their {{U}} {{U}} 11 {{/U}} {{/U}}20s or
world-weary forty-{{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}.
One thing many PhD students have in {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}}
{{/U}}is dissatisfaction. Some describe their work {{U}} {{U}} 14
{{/U}} {{/U}}"slave labor". Seven-day weeks, ten-hour days, low pay and
uncertain {{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}are widespread. You know
you are a graduate student, {{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}a
comment, when your office is better decorated than your home and you have a
favorite flavor of {{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}noodles. "It
isn't graduate school itself that is discouraging, " says one student, who
confesses to rather enjoying the hunt for free pizza. "What's discouraging is
realizing the end point has been pulled out of reach. " Whining
PhD students are nothing new, but there seem to be genuine problems {{U}}
{{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}the system that produces research doctorates
(the practical "professional doctorates" in fields such as law, business and
medicine have a more obvious value). There is an oversupply of PhDs. Although a
doctorate is {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}as training for a job
in academia, the number of PhD positions is {{U}} {{U}} 20
{{/U}} {{/U}}to the number of job openings.