As we have seen in earlier chapters, the American definition of success is largely one of

acquiring wealth and a higher material standard of living. It is not surprising, therefore, that Americans have valued education for its monetary value. The belief is widely spread in the United States that the more schooling people have, the more money they will earn when they leave school. The belief is strongest regarding the desirability of an undergraduate university degree, or a professional degree such as medicine or law following the undergraduate degree. The money value of graduate degrees in "non-professional" fields such as art, history, or philosophy is not as great.

This belief in the monetary value of education is supported by statistics on income. Ben Wattenberg, a social scientist, estimated that in the course of a lifetime a man with a college degree in 1972 would earn about ￥380,000 more than a man with just a high school diploma. Perhaps this helps to explain survey findings which showed that Americans who wished they had led their lives differently in some way regretted most of all that they did not get more education.

The regret is shared by those who have made it to the top and by those who have not. Journalist Richard Reeves quotes a black worker in a Ford automobile factory. When I was in the ninth grade, I was getting bad grades and messing around. My father came home in the kitchen one night with a pair of Ford work pants and he threw them in my face. "Put these on," he said, "because you're going to be wearing them the rest of your life if you don't get an education."

Douglas Fraser, the president of the United Auto Workers Union, regretted not finishing high school so much that he occasionally lied about it. He told Richard Reeves about his pride in graduating from high school, but then a few minutes later he said, "I wasn't telling the truth about high school. I never finished. I quit in the twelfth grade to take a job. It's funny after all these years, I still lie about it. Because the fact is, I still think it was a stupid thing to do. I should have finished my education." Even a man like Fraser, a nationally known and successful leader, was troubled by regrets that he did not climb higher on the educational ladder.

What is the main idea of this passage？

A．Americans place a high value on education.

B．Americans believe it is possible, though difficult, to be successful without an advanced degree.

C．Americans believe that the more the education, the higher the salary.

D．A basic American value is acquiring material wealth.