21世紀(jì)大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第三冊第四單元Unit 4

Unit 4

Text A

Pre-reading Activities

1. As you listen to the passage, fill in as much information as you can about Annette's plans.
Friday evening:
During the coming month:
Next term:
In the fall:
Next spring:

2. How did you feel while you were listening to Annette? What was it like trying to keep up with her? How do students like Annette make you feel?

College Pressures

William Zinsser

I am master of Branford College at Yale. I live on the campus and know the students well. (We have 485 of them.) I listen to their hopes and fears — and also to their stereo music and their piercing cries in the dead of night ("Does anybody care?"). They come to me to ask how to get through the rest of their lives.
Mainly I try to remind them that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don't want to hear such news. They want a map — right now — that they can follow directly to career security, financial security, social security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.
What I wish for all students is some release from the grim grip of the future. I wish them a chance to enjoy each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a tiresome requirement in preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as educational as victory and is not the end of the world.
My wish, of course, is naive. One of the few rights that America does not proclaim is the right to fail. Achievement is the national god, worshipped in our media — the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive — and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.
I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It's easy to look around for bad guys — to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no bad guys, only victims.
Today it is not unusual for a student, even one who works part time at college and full time during the summer, to have accumulated $5,000 in loans after four years — loans that the student must start to repay within one year after graduation (and incidentally, not all these loans are low-interest, as many non-students believe). Encouraged at the commencement ceremony to go forth into the world, students are already behind as they go forth. How can they not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? Women at Yale are under even more pressure than men to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society hasn't yet caught up with this fact.
Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined. I see students taking premedical courses with joyless determination. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know them in other corners of their life as cheerful people.
"Do you want to go to medical school?" I ask them.
"I guess so," they say, without conviction, or, "Not really."
"Then why are you going?"
"My parents want me to be a doctor. They're paying all this money and..."
Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin from the very start of freshman year. "I had a freshman student I'll call Linda," one instructor told me, "who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I couldn't tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda."
The story is almost funny — except that it's not. It's a symptom of all the pressures put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they could sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the rattling of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: "Will I get everything done?"
Probably they won't. They will get sick. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.
I've painted too grim a portrait of today's students, making them seem too solemn. That's only half of their story; the other half is that these students are nice people, and easy to like. They're quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They're more considerate of one another than any student generation I've ever known. If I've described them primarily as driven creatures who largely ignore the joyful side of life, it's because that's where the problem is — not only at Yale but throughout American education. It's why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.
I tell students that there is no one "right" way to get ahead — that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell them that change is healthy and that people don't have to fit into pre-arranged slots. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. I invite heads of companies, editors of magazines, politicians, Broadway producers, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians — a mixed bag of achievers.
I ask them to say a few words about how they got started. The students always assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. But in fact, most of them got where they are by a circuitous route, after many side trips. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not preplanned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to lead them down some unforeseen trail.
(1069 words)

New Words

campus
n. the grounds of a university, college or school; a university 大學(xué)校園，學(xué)校校園；大學(xué)

piercing
a. (of voices, sounds, etc.) very sharp, esp. in an unpleasant way （聲音等）尖厲的，刺耳的

pierce
vi. make a hole in or through (sth.) with a sharp point 刺穿，戳穿

presumably
ad. it may be supposed; probably 假定；可能

* presume
v. believe sth. to be true without direct proof but with some feeling of being certain; suppose （沒有根據(jù)地）相信；推測

grave
n. the place where a dead person is buried 墳?zāi)?br /> a. serious or solemn in manner; (of a situation) serious and worrying 嚴(yán)肅的，莊嚴(yán)的；（形勢）嚴(yán)重的

gravity
n. 1. 嚴(yán)肅，莊嚴(yán)；嚴(yán)重
2. 重力；地心引力

grip
n. a firm hold; control 緊握；控制
vt. 1. take a very tight hold (of) 握緊，緊握
2. take hold of the attention or feelings of 吸引；引起

* segment
n. a part of sth. 部分

preparation
n. arrangement for a future event 準(zhǔn)備

wealthy
a. rich 富有的

glorify
vt. praise highly 頌揚(yáng)，贊頌

glory
n. great fame, honor, and admiration 光榮；榮譽(yù)

potent
a. powerful, strong, forceful or effective 強(qiáng)有力的；有權(quán)勢的；有效力的

self-induced
caused or brought about by oneself 自己導(dǎo)致的

* induce
vt. lead or cause (sb.) to do sth.; persuade or influence (sb.) to do sth. 導(dǎo)致；勸使，誘導(dǎo)

* incidentally
ad. by the way 順便說一句

commencement
n. 1. (AmE) a ceremony at which university or college students are given their degrees or diplomas （美）畢業(yè)典禮；學(xué)位授予典禮
2. beginning of sth. 開始

commence
v. begin; start 開始；著手

ceremony
n. 典禮，儀式

commencement ceremony
(AmE) a college or university graduation ceremony （美）畢業(yè)典禮

reckoning
n. settlement of an account or a bill; (fig.) punishment 結(jié)帳；（喻）算帳，懲罰

reckon
vt. 1. calculate; add up (an amount, cost, etc.) 計算；算出（數(shù)量、費(fèi)用等）
2. consider, regard 認(rèn)為，把…看作

day of reckoning
(a Biblical reference) the time when one must eventually be punished for what one has done wrong （源自《圣經(jīng)》）清算日，最后審判日

equip
vt. prepare (sb.) for dealing with a particular situation by providing necessary tools, education, etc.; suply (sb./ sth. with what is needed for a particular purpose) （智力、體力上）使有準(zhǔn)備；配備，裝備

inevitably
ad. 不可必免地；必然發(fā)生地

inevitable
a. which cannot be avoided or prevented from happening; certain to happen 不可避免的；必然發(fā)生的

intertwined
a. joined tightly together; very closely connected 互相纏結(jié)的，纏繞在一起的

premedical
a. preparing for the study of medicine 醫(yī)學(xué)預(yù)科的

* dentist
n. a doctor trained to take care of people's teeth 牙醫(yī)

cheerful
a. in good spirit; causing a happy feeling 興高采烈的；使人愉快的

conviction
n. a firm opinion or belief 深信，確信；把握

roommate
n. 住在同室的人，室友

typewriter
n. 打字機(jī)

* bug
vt. 1. (AmE) (infml) trouble (sb.) continually （美俚）煩擾，糾纏
2. (infml) fit with a secret listening apparatus （口）在…裝竊聽器
n. (AmE) a tiny insect, esp. one that causes damage; (infml) a fault or difficulty （美）蟲子；（口）故障；毛病

considerate
a. careful not to hurt or trouble others; thoughtful 考慮周到的；替人著想的

fearful
a. afraid, anxious 懼怕的，憂慮的

goal-obsessed
a. extremely eager to realize one's goals 一心要實現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的

pre-arranged
a. planned or prepared in advance 預(yù)先準(zhǔn)備好的

arrange
vt. 1. plan in advance; prepare 安排，準(zhǔn)備
2. set in good or pleasing order 整理；排列

* slot
n. 1. a place or position in a schedule, list or series （口）（在機(jī)構(gòu)、名單、程序等中的）位置，職位
2. a narrow opening in a tool or machine 狹長孔；狹槽

informally
ad. 非正式地；不拘禮節(jié)地

economist
n. an expert in economics 經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家

a mixed bag
a group of people or things of different kinds and different qualities （人或物的）混合體；大雜燴

circuitous
a. indirect 迂回的，繞行的

circuit
n. 1. 環(huán)行；環(huán)行道
2. 電路；線路

circular
a. 1. 環(huán)行的，圓形的
2. 循環(huán)的

trail
n. a path, often through a forest or across rough ground （荒野中的）小徑，小道

Phrases and Expressions

in the dead of night
in the quietest part of the night 夜深人靜之時

get through
complete successfully; manage to live through (a difficult experience or period of time) 完成；消磨，度過（時間）

right now
immediately; at this moment 立刻，馬上

in itself
considered as a complete thing or experience, without thinking of effects, consequences, etc. 本身，實質(zhì)上

in the presence of sb.
in the place where sb. is; with sb. there 在某人面前，當(dāng)著某人的面

work on
affect; influence 對…起作用；影響

go forth (into)
set out 出發(fā)

under pressure
influenced by need or necessity; suffering stress 被催逼；在壓力下

put together
(used after a noun or nouns referring to a group of people or things) combined; in total 合在一起

bug out
(AmE sl.) become mentally unbalanced （美俚）煩惱，困惑

be considerate of/to/toward sb.
pay attention to sb. 's needs, wishes, or feelings 替某人著想，體貼某人

be fearful of
be afraid of 懼怕

be bound for
intending to go to; going to 準(zhǔn)備到…去；開往

fit into
be the right size or shape for; be suitable for 與…相符，與…相適應(yīng)

all along
all the time; from the beginning 一直，始終；從一開始就

conceive of
think of 構(gòu)想出；設(shè)想

Proper Names

William Zinsser
威廉·津瑟（男子名）

Branford College
布蘭福德學(xué)院（美國耶魯大學(xué)寄宿制學(xué)院之一）

Yale
（美國）耶魯大學(xué)

Linda
琳達(dá)（女子名）

Barbara
巴巴拉（女子名）