First of all, there are many more of them, 6.1 million fresh ones this year, a 9.3% rise from last year, due to an expansion of universities since 1999. Gloom awaits: As many as two million may fail to find work, according to some estimates (link in Chinese).

　　首先，大學畢業生人數增多。由于自1999年以來大學的擴招，今年將有610萬應屆大學畢業生，較去年增加9.3%。等待他們的黯淡前景是：據一些人估計，找不到工作的畢業生最多可達200萬。

　　For Liu Kai and Yu Min, two biotechnology majors from Harbin Institute of Technology's Weihai campus in Shandong Province, a first visit to Beijing to look for work means a gradual lowering of expectations and a reevaluation of the prize they can bring home.

　　對哈爾濱工業大學山東威海分校生物技術專業畢業生劉凱（音）和余民（音）來說，第一次到北京找工作意味著要逐步降低期望值和對能拿回家的收獲進行重新評估。

　　They are both only children from rural Shandong families and were considered outstanding students. Their schooling at Harbin Institute of Technology, often described as one of China's top 20 universities, cost their families around 11,000 yuan a year but inspired tremendous pride ″ and expectations that now weigh heavily on their shoulders.

　　兩人都是山東人，也都是家中的獨子，上學時被認為是優秀學生。哈爾濱工業大學常常被列為中國最好的20所大學之一。他們受的教育每年大約要花掉家里人民幣1.1萬元，不過卻讓家人感到無比自豪──以及如今重重地壓在他們肩上的殷切期望。

　　Yu knows he needs to find a job to make life easier for his parents, who have been basically unemployed since their farmland was taken over by the local government to make way for new construction.

　　余民明白他需要找到一份工作，讓父母的日子好過一些。自他家的耕地被當地政府征用作新的建設項目之后，余民的父母基本上就沒活干了。

　　'As I was always a good student, my dad was always proud of me, but now I don't see a clear future,' he said.

　　余民說，過去我一直是個好學生，我爸總是以我為榮，但是現在我看不到一個明確的未來。

　　Since the two started their last year of school, the world and China has undergone a series of financial convulsions and they're graduating this year into a much-changed landscape. But word of this has yet to sink in at home.

　　自從兩人上了大四之后，世界和中國已經經歷了一系列的金融動蕩。今年他們畢業的時候，形勢將大不相同。不過家人還無法理解這一點。

　　As Liu said: 'Two of our neighbors in my village are much envied because their children are doing very well in cities. One has already bought three houses in Tianjin, while the other is working in a hospital in Shanghai and recently brought his parents to Shanghai to live. But my university is much better than theirs, so my relatives all think I could find a better job. This really puts a lot of pressure on me.'

　　正如劉凱說的，我們村里有兩個鄰居很是讓大家慕，因為他們的孩子在城市里日子過得不錯。一個已經在天津買了三套房子，另一個在上海一家醫院工作，最近把父母接到上海去住了。而我的學校比他們好多了，所以我的親戚都認為我能找到一份比他們還好的工作。這真地給我帶來了很大的壓力。

　　The very fact that they're looking for work three months before graduation wasn't part of the plan. 'As soon as we entered the university, we were told that for our major, the best choice was to keep studying for a Master's degree or even a doctorate, that only in this way could we have a bright future,' said Mr. Liu.

　　他們本來沒計劃在畢業前3個月找工作。劉凱說，我們一上大學，就有人告訴我們，對這個專業來說，最好的選擇是繼續讀研，甚至讀博，只有這樣才能有個光明的前途。

　　But a tougher job market amid the economic slowdown has prompted a rush to graduate schools this year, with 1,246,000 students taking entrance exams, 3.8% more than last year.

　　不過由于經濟低迷、就業市場形勢嚴峻，今年大學畢業生紛紛考研，有124.6萬名大學生參加了研究生入學考試，比去年增加3.8%。

　　In such keen competition, the two missed the cutoff.

　　在這樣激烈的競爭形勢下，他們兩個失去了讀研的機會。

　　Thus, the train ride from Shandong is not just a 12-hour inconvenience, but also a journey down the social ladder. Clutching a long list of job fairs, they head out for a brisk encounter with reality.

　　因此，從山東乘火車到北京，不只是12個小時的顛簸，也是社會階層上的下坡路。手握一長串招聘會的名單，他們將啟程與現實來個親密接觸。