A decade ago， secondary and higher education was prized above all else． Apprenticeships （学徒工作） were viewed as an option for dropouts rather than a daring career choice． And the young men and women who didn't fit into the school system， preferring to create start-ups and focus on making a living in the business world， were dismissed as wheeler-dealers（投机者）．
Now there're no birds of this year in last year's nests． Young people are being encouraged to think carefully about whether academia is right for them--- this trend has been fuelled by rising university fees and a global shortage of many skills that were passed over in schools in recent years， ranging from web development to sales．
Young people are required to stay in some kind of education or training until they are 18， but this learning may now take many forms． The Government runs its own platform to help interested youths find an apprenticeship that suits their skills and ambitions．
Tom Hartley， who runs a high-end performance and classic car business based in Derbyshire， founded his first company at just 12 years old． "I had no school education，" he says． "Business was how I learned everything． I call it the Hartley University of Life．"
His business， 43 years on， turns over £ 200m， and sells cars to high-net-worth individuals across the globe， from Hollywood celebrities to foreign royalty． Many years ago， Hartley was asked to explain why he had chosen to be self-educated and why he had supported his son Carl's decision to leave school and join the family business instead．
"I got a lot of criticism at the time，" he says． "I tried to explain that you can't teach gut feelings（直觉） on a blackboard and that school is fine if you want to be a doctor or fly a rocket to the moon but otherwise it's all about experience in business．"



What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate？ ______

A. The situation above has changed．
B. Education is no more important nowadays．
C. Things change for the worse for dropouts．
D. University fees are becoming higher and higher．

Which statement may the author agree with？ ______

A. Education is the only way to success．
B. Education systems change from time to time．
C. School dropouts could be future business stars．
D. School dropouts were common among youngsters．

What does the author say about Tom Hartley？ ______

A. He attaches more value to experience than to education．
B. He was supported in founding his first company．
C. He is well-educated and far-sighted．
D. He is brave and open-minded．

How does the author prove his view？ ______

A. By giving an example．
B. By making a comparison．
C. By analyzing cause．
D. By listing figures．