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Young people in the United States do not have a strong understanding of the world and their place in it. Two U.S.-based groups, the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Geographic Society, commissioned an online survey earlier this year. They wanted to know what young people educated in American colleges knew about geography, U.S. foreign policy, recent international events, and economics. In general, the results were not very good. The survey was given to over 1,200 Americans between the ages of 18 and 26 years. All of them currently attend, or formerly attended, a 2- or 4-year college or university. The average test score, out of 75 total possible answers, was 55 percent.
* have an understanding of ~ = ~에 대하여 이해를 갖다/ foreign relations = 외교[국제] 관계; 외교 문제[분야]/ commission = ~에게 무엇을 하도록 권한을 부여하다/ geography = 지리학
The study identifies a few important questions that American students did not know about their own country. For example, less than 30 percent knew that a treaty requires the United States to protect Japan if it is attacked. Only 30 percent knew that the only part of the U.S. government that can declare war is Congress. The online survey produced findings that are similar to the findings of other recent studies. Part of the problem, say the organizers of the survey, is the Internet. They say it is becoming harder to get good information about what is happening in the world today. Susan Goldberg is with the National Geographic Society. She says people never have to see anything that differs from their understanding of the world; many get their news from a newsfeed. Forty-three percent of those questioned said they read about national and international news on Facebook. Another problem is that classes do not require students to learn about international issues. That is the opinion of Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations. "The problem is schools do not require that students take these courses to graduate," he said. "There is a fundamental difference between offering a course and requiring it."
* identify = 찾다, 발견하다; 확인하다/ treaty = 조약/ declare war = 전쟁을 선포하다/ Congress = 의회[국회]/ produce = 보여 주다/ findings(주로 복소) = (조사・연구 등의) 결과[결론]/ similar to ~ = ~와 비슷한/ study = 연구/ differ from ~ = ~와 다르다/ graduate = 졸업하다/ fundamental difference = 기본적[본질적] 차이
