Editor's Note: A first-year undergraduate student in Chengdu, Sichuan province, recently complained online that her mother refused to raise her monthly allowance to 4,500 yuan ($633) even when she said her current allowance 2,000 yuan was not enough to cover her expenses, sparking a debate on how much money a college student needs per month. One expert shares his views on the issue with China Daily:

編者注：最近，四川省成都市的大一學生在網上抱怨，稱其每月2000元的零花錢已不夠其日常開支，而母親卻拒絕將她的零花錢漲至4500元（633美元）每月，從而引發了網友的辯論：大學生每個月需要多少零花錢？一位希賽網就這一問題與《中國日報》分享了他的看法：

Students should pursue education, not comfort

學生應該追求學習，而非舒適

Even for a college student studying in a first-tier city in China, 2,000 yuan is enough to cover all his or her monthly expenses. In fact, for a college student in Chengdu a monthly allowance of 2,000 yuan is more than enough. According to a survey conducted by a bookkeeping platform, the average monthly expense for an undergraduate in cities other than Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou was less than 2,000 yuan in 2019; for Chengdu, it was 1,900 yuan.

即便是在中國城市學習的大學生，每月2000元也足夠他/她的日常開支了。事實上，對于在成都上學的大學生而言，每月2000元綽綽有余。根據記賬平臺開展的一項調查顯示，2019年，除北京、上海和杭州之外，在其它城市上學的大學生的平均月支出其實不到2000元，成都是1900元。

Claiming that she can hardly afford new clothing and cosmetics with her 2,000 yuan monthly allowance, the undergraduate student in Chengdu criticized her mother for refusing to raise her pocket money. Her "meager" allowance, she said, prevented her from buying branded goods that her hostel-mates enjoyed. Her attitude suggests she is influenced by fellow students' lifestyle and consumption habits.

成都的這位大學生表示她每個月有2000元的零花錢，但她要買新衣服和化妝品，這些錢根本不夠。她的母親拒絕給她漲零花錢，從而使她心生抱怨。她那“微薄的”零花錢，她說道，根本買不起舍友用的大牌商品。她的態度表明，同學的生活方式和消費習慣對她產生了影響。

By the time a person enters a college, she or he should have developed a healthy consumption habit. And a youth should adjust her/his consumption according to her/his family income.

初入校園，大學生應養成一種健康的消費習慣。年輕人應該根據家庭的收入情況調整自己的消費。

Yet most youths get to stay alone and enjoy autonomy only when they enroll in a college. So that is when they should learn how to plan their expenses and manage with the money they get from their parents.

但大多數年輕人只有在上大學的時候，才開始享受獨立生活。這個時候的他們剛開始學著規劃開支、管理父母給他們的零用。

On a deeper level, the money they spend in college should depend on how much they value their parents' hard work. As such, students should learn to manage their expenses by developing healthy consumption habits.

從更深層的角度而言，大學生的開支應取決于他們對父母辛勤工作的重視度。因此，學生應養成健康的消費習慣來管理開支。

Besides, some college students could take up part-time jobs to meet their monetary needs if they feel their parents don't or can't send them enough money. In this way they can also learn to meet the requirements of life in the future and develop healthy consumption habits.

此外，如果大學生覺得父母給的錢不夠，他們可以在課余時間兼職賺取零花費用。這樣，他們不僅學著去滿足未來生活的需求，而且也養成了健康的消費習慣。

More important, they should always bear in mind that education is their top priority in college.

更為重要的是，他們應始終牢記：學習才是他們大學生涯的重中之重。

重點單詞

pursue[p?'sju:]v. 追捕，追求，繼續從事

autonomy [?:'t?n?mi]n. 自治，自治權，自主

survey[s?:'vei]v. 調查，檢查，測量，勘定，縱覽，環視

meager['mi:g?]adj. 貧乏的，不足的，瘦的

platform['pl?tf?:m]n. 平臺，站臺，月臺，講臺，(政黨的)政綱

issue['i?ju:]n. 發行物，期刊號，爭論點

comfort['k?mf?t]n. 舒適，安逸，安慰，慰藉vt.安慰，使

current['k?r?nt]n. (水、氣、電)流，趨勢adj. 流通的

priority[prai'?riti]n. 優先權，優先順序，優先

debate[di'beit]n. 辯論，討論