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，大学毕业生人数增多。由于自1999年以来大学的扩招，今年将有610万应届大学毕业生，较去年增加9.3%。等待他们的黯淡前景是：据一些人估计，找不到工作的毕业生最多可达200万。

　　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.

　　对哈尔滨工业大学山东威海分校生物技术专业毕业生刘凯（音）和余民（音）来说，第一次到北京找工作意味着要逐步降低期望值和对能拿回家的收获进行重新评估。

　　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.

　　两人都是山东人，也都是家中的独子，上学时被认为是优秀学生。哈尔滨工业大学常常被列为中国最好的20所大学之一。他们受的教育每年大约要花掉家里人民币1.1万元，不过却让家人感到无比自豪──以及如今重重地压在他们肩上的殷切期望。

　　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，让父母的日子好过一些。自他家的耕地被当地政府征用作新的建设项目之后，余民的父母基本上就没活干了。

　　'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.

　　余民说，过去我一直是个好学生，我爸总是以我为荣，但是现在我看不到一个明确的未来。

　　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.

　　自从两人上了大四之后，世界和中国已经经历了一系列的金融动荡。今年他们毕业的时候，形势将大不相同。不过家人还无法理解这一点。

　　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.'

　　正如刘凯说的，我们村里有两个邻居很是让大家慕，因为他们的孩子在城市里日子过得不错。一个已经在天津买了三套房子，另一个在上海一家医院工作，最近把父母接到上海去住了。而我的学校比他们好多了，所以我的亲戚都认为我能找到一份比他们还好的工作。这真地给我带来了很大的压力。

　　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.

　　他们本来没计划在毕业前3个月找工作。刘凯说，我们一上大学，就有人告诉我们，对这个专业来说，最好的选择是继续读研，甚至读博，只有这样才能有个光明的前途。

　　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.

　　不过由于经济低迷、就业市场形势严峻，今年大学毕业生纷纷考研，有124.6万名大学生参加了研究生入学考试，比去年增加3.8%。

　　In such keen competition, the two missed the cutoff.

　　在这样激烈的竞争形势下，他们两个失去了读研的机会。

　　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，从山东乘火车到北京，不只是12个小时的颠簸，也是社会阶层上的下坡路。手握一长串招聘会的名单，他们将启程与现实来个亲密接触。