Have you attended any of your class reunions for high school, college, grad school or even for camp or Greek life? Why or why not?
About one-third of a graduating class plans to attend their reunion this year, according to a survey of 1,500 adults conducted by United Online Inc., the parent company of 'nostalgia' Web sites such as Classmates.com and MemoryLane.com, reported Ray A. Smith in today's WSJ. (Smith also provides some sartorial tips in a video for looking your best at various reunion events.)
While almost 60 percent of people who attend reunions say they are there to catch up with old friends, 33 percent said they are there 'for validation and comparison purposes,' says CEO Mark Goldston.
Attendance levels grow once reunions start hitting the 20-year mark as enough time has lapsed for graduates to be curious about others and to have established themselves in their careers, Goldston adds.


你有没有参加过同学会--无论是高中的、大学的、研究生的，甚至是夏令营或"姐妹会"(Greek life)的？为什么去，为什么不去？

近期的《华尔街日报》上刊登了雷•史密斯(Ray A. Smith)的一篇报导：Classmates.com 和MemoryLane.com等"怀旧"网站的母公司United Online Inc.对1,500名成年人进行了一项调查，发现今年约有三分之一的人打算参加毕业班同学的聚会。（史密斯还通过视频介绍了一些衣着方面的小窍门，让你在各种同学会场合上外型出众。）

United Online Inc.首席执行长马克•高斯顿(Mark Goldston)说，在这项调查中，参加同学会的人有60%表示，他们的目的是去跟老朋友见面，但也有33%的人说，他们是去"寻求认可和炫耀比较的"。

高斯顿补充说，毕业20年后的同学会人员参与率骤然上升，因为时间跨度很长，人们在事业道路上都有所成就，也都很好奇别人过得怎么样。

• survey [´sə:vei] vt.&n.俯瞰；审视；测量 (初中英语单词)
• comparison [kəm´pærisən] n.比较；对照；比喻 (初中英语单词)
• reunion [ri:´ju:njən] n.再结合；再联合；团聚 (英语六级单词)