眼下最热的buzzword之一应该就是内卷了吧，
看看秦刚大使给出的内卷定义吧！

“Nei Juan”，or involution. As the latest buzzword, it means irrational（不理性的） or involuntary （不知不觉的）competition. 

Because of it, people feel burned out, and individual efforts are made less worthwhile. 

In a highly competitive era, people tend to think success is more important than personal growth. 

With fierce competition between students and between parents, and chains of contempt（鄙视链）found in everything from after-school classes to school-district housing, no one can stay immune from（保持免疫） the arms race in education.

Out of anxiety（焦虑） or vanity（虚荣）, tiger parents would keep pushing their kids to learn more and take more after-school classes, and they would bend over backwards to help their kids succeed. Training schools have taken advantage of this to grow wildly. 

As a result, involution intensifies （ 加剧），and education becomes a profitable industry. Some elementary pupils have a schedule more packed than high school students, with their subjects so varied that you cannot even imagine.

In such an environment, both parents and children get very tired, parents’ wallets empty, and there is no quality time with children to speak of. 

 

词语积累：

irrational：adj : not based on reason, good judgment, or clear thinking

She had an irrational fear of cats.
an irrational prejudice

intensify：v to make (something) stronger or more extreme : to make (something) more intense

They intensified their efforts to increase sales.

佳句积累：

In a highly competitive era, people tend to think success is more important than personal growth. With fierce competition between students and between parents, and chains of contempt（鄙视链）found in everything from after-school classes to school-district housing, no one can stay immune from the arms race in education.

今日话题：

What is your opinion of Nei Juan？

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