This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
How much does a college education cost? In the United States, the College Board releases yearly reports on prices at colleges and universities. The group bases its findings on "published" tuition and fees, meaning the prices officially listed by the school. Students might pay less -- for instance, if they receive scholarships.
大学教育花费是多少？美国大学理事会发布了高校收费年度报告，该调查结果是基于学校官方公布的价格。学生们可能缴纳得更少--例如，如果他们获得了奖学金。
Nationally, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities rose more than 8 percent during the academic year that just ended. The increase was seven percent if you exclude California. California has about ten percent of the nation's full-time students in public four-year colleges.
上个学年全美国范围内公立四年制高校学杂费上涨超过8%。如果排除加州则上涨了7%。加州占到了公立大学全日制学生比例的大约10%。
In-state tuition and fees averaged more than eight thousand dollars nationally. The average total charge -- which includes housing and meals -- was seventeen thousand dollars. The total charge for students from out of state was thirty thousand dollars.
全美国范围内，本州学生的学杂费平均超过8千美元，包含食宿在内的平均总花费为1.7万美元。而州外学生的总花费为3万美元。
Tuition and fees increased four and a half percent at private nonprofit four-year schools. That was still higher than the inflation rate. The average was twenty-eight thousand five hundred dollars.
私立非营利性四年制学校的学杂费上涨了4.5%，这也超过了通货膨胀率。这类学校的平均学杂费为2万8千5百美元。
For-profit schools charged an estimated fourteen thousand dollars in tuition and fees. That was up 3.2 percent from the year before.
营利性学校学杂费估计收费为1.4万美元。与前一年相比高出3.2%。
One way for parents in the United States to start saving for college when their child is still very young is called a 529 plan. The plans are named for the part of the federal tax law that created them in nineteen ninety-six. All fifty states and the District of Columbia offer them.
美国家长为小孩积攒大学学费的途径之一被称为529计划（51VOA注：即美国529大学教育储蓄计划）。它得名于1996年创建该计划的联邦税法中的一个部分(51VOA注：该计划是根据联邦税法529条款创建的。)。美国50个州及哥伦比亚特区都提供该计划。
Private investment companies operate most of these plans, and each state has its own rules. Many plans are open to families from other states.
私人投资公司经营着大部分这类计划，每个州对该计划都有自身的规则。许多这类计划还对外州的家庭开放。
Five twenty-nine plans offer different investment choices. Families must decide how aggressively they want to put money into stocks, bonds or other investments that can rise or fall in value. There are limits on how much families can put into 529 plans.
529计划提供不同的投资选择。各个家庭必须自行决定投资于价值会有涨有跌的股票、债券或其它投资上的力度。家庭投入529计划的金额也有限制。
Another choice is called a prepaid tuition plan. Parents can pay for an education at a public college or university in their state while their child is still growing up. But what if the child decides to go to school out of state, or not at all? The money can go to educate another family member, or the parents can withdraw it and pay taxes on the gains.
另一个选择被称为预付学费计划。家长可以在孩子尚在成长时，就在本州公立院校支付教育费用。如果孩子决定去外州的学校，或者干脆不上学，这笔钱可以用于培养另一名家庭成员，或者提取出来并支付所获收益的税金。
There are other ways to save for college while also saving on taxes. One way is to put money for a child into what is called a custodial account until the child becomes an adult.
还有其它办法积攒大学学费并同时避税。办法之一就是为孩子将钱存入所谓的监管账户，直到孩子成年。
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