About 85% of 18-year-olds in the UK who applied to university this year were accepted. That is roughly the same as last year. What's different is that the number of applications was down, and so the number of new students setting off for university is too. 

在英国今年申请大学的18岁青少年中，约有 85% 的人被录取。录取比例与去年大致相同。不同的是申请人数有所下降，因此即将步入大学的新生人数也有所减少。

There had been a rise in teenagers applying for university after Covid hit. The Sixth Form Colleges Association say some may have sought refuge in higher education when other opportunities, such as employment, apprenticeships and gap years abroad were harder to come by. 

新冠肺炎疫情爆发后，申请大学的青少年人数有所增加。英国高中学院协会表示，一些学生可能是在高等教育中寻求 “庇护”，因为就业、学徒和海外间隔年等机会比以往更难找到。 

This year, 35.6% of all 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted by a university, the lowest proportion since 2019. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service says the figures it has published today reflect a return to normal growth, following the surge of demands seen during the pandemic. 

今年，英国有35.6%的所有年龄为18岁的人被大学录取，这是自2019年来的最低比例。英国大学及学院招生服务中心表示，今天公布的数据反映出在疫情期间申请人数大幅增长后，现已恢复正常的增长趋势。

词汇表

roughly 大致地，近似地
setting off 动身，出发
sought refuge 寻求庇护
higher education 高等教育
employment 就业
apprenticeships 学徒，实习
gap years （上大学前休学去打工或旅游的）间隔年
come by 得到
normal growth 正常增长
surge 激增