BRITAIN'S private schools are one of its mostsuccessful exports. The children of the well-heeledflock to them, whether from China, Nigeria or Russia: the number of foreign pupils rose by1.4% in the last year alone. One headmaster recently asked a room full of pupils whether theyflew business class to Britain. Only a few hands went up, suggesting they were not quite ascosseted as he had thought. Then a boy explained: many of the pupils fly first class instead.

　　英国的私立学校可以说是英国最成功的“出口商品”之一。在这些学校里，无论是来自中国、尼日利亚或是俄罗斯，富有的学生比比皆是：仅去年一年，留学生的数量就增长了1.4%。最近有一位校长查访了一间满寝的宿舍，并询问他们是否乘坐商务客舱飞到英国。寥寥无几的人举起了手，以表明实际上他们并不像他所想的那样娇生惯养。随后一名男孩解释道：许多学生都没有乘坐头等舱。

　　Yet foreign students, whether educated in British private schools or elsewhere, are decreasinglylikely to go to English universities. According to the Higher Education Funding Council forEngland, 307,200 overseas students began their studies in the country in 2012-13, down from312,000 two years earlier and the first drop in 29 years. Student numbers from the rest of theEU fell—probably a result of the increase in annual tuition fees in England from 6,000 (10,000)a year to 9,000. But arrivals from India and Pakistan declined most sharply.

　　然而这些留学生，无论是在英国的私立学校还是在别的教育机构接受教育的，进入英国的大学求学的可能性都在不断减小。根据英国高等教育拨款局的调查，相较于上一学年的31.2万人，在2012-13学年选择在英格兰大学求学的留学生只有30.72万人，这是29年来人数首降。而且欧盟中其他国家的留学生人数也在下降，极有可能是受到了英国每年的学费从6,000 (10,000)增加到9,000的影响。特别是来自印度和巴基斯坦的人数在急剧下降。

　　In contrast to the visa regime for private schools, which is extremely lax (the Home Officecounts private schools as favoured sponsors) student visas have been tightened. Foreignstudents used to be allowed to work for up to two years after graduating. They now have onlyfour months to find a job paying upwards of 20,600 if they want to stay in Britain.

　　相比于私立学校那相当宽松的签证制度(因为私立学校是内务部的友好赞助商)，学生签证就严格很多。以往，外国学生被允许在毕业之后可工作时间长达两年。而如今，若他们想留在英国，就必须在仅仅四个月的时间内找到一份薪资高于20,600的工作。

　　This change was intended to deal with sham colleges that were in fect offering two-year workvisas. But it seems to have put off serious students too. Nick Hillman of the Higher EducationPolicy Institute says the government has sent unclear messages about the sort of immigrationit wants to restrict. An emphasis on holding down net immigration deters young Indians andPakistanis in particular. Australia and America, which have more relaxed entry criteria forstudents, are becoming more favoured destinations. Colin Riordan, Cardiff University's vice-chancellor, adds that Britain's student-visa regime has become more onerous and fiddlyoverall.

　　这样的改变是为了应对那些所谓提供两年工作签的假冒院校。但是这样的做法似乎也影响到了真正求学的学生。来自高等教育政策研究所的尼克·希尔曼表示，政府的做法向大众传递了一个限制留学移民的模糊信息。英国着重于控制移民的政策对来自印度和巴基斯坦学生的影响最为严重。同时，澳大利亚和美国，因其对学生宽松的准入标准而变得倍受青睐。卡蒂夫大学副校长克林·里奥丹补充道，英国的学生签证制度变得越来越严格复杂。

　　As a result, Britain is losing out to other countries in the contest for talent—an oddity, givenhow often the prime minister bangs on about the “global race”. Its unwelcoming stance willharm its long-term prospects. And the drift of foreign students from leading British privateschools to American colleges may have another, somewhat happier, consequence: Americamight become rather better at cricket.

　　尽管英国首相多次强调“全球竞争”，可英国却在人才竞争上输给了其他国家，多么令人诧异的结果。它不通人情的态度将会有损它未来的前景。留学生放弃英国私立学校而转向美国的大学可能带来另外一个多少让人欣喜的结果：英国的板球都有可能被美国超越(板球起源于英国)

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