21世纪大学英语教程04.docx

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1、Unit 4Text APre-reading ActivitiesAs you listen to the passage, fill in as much information as you can about Annettes plans.Friday evening:During the coming month:Next term:In the fall:Next spring:1. How did you feel while you were listening to Annette? What was it like trying to keep up with her? H

2、ow do students like Annette make you feel?College PressuresWilliam ZinsserI 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

3、(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 a

4、pproaches. They dont 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 enj

5、oy 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

6、 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 arc growing up o

7、ld.I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. Its 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 pus

8、hing 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 一 loans that the stu

9、dent 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 thr

10、oughout 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 ha

11、sn*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 i

12、n other corners of their life as cheerful people.Do you want to go to medical school?n I ask them.nI guess so,” they say, without conviction, or, “Not really. nThen why are you going?My parents want me to be a doctor. Theyre paying all this money and.”Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also

13、 intertwined, and they begin from the very start of freshman year. nI had a freshman student Ill 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 co

14、me in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda. The story is almost funny - except that its 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 g

15、oing 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

16、due: Will I get everything done? Probably they wont They will get sick. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.Pve painted too grim a portrait of todays students, making them seem too solemn. Thats only half of their story; the other half is that these students are nice people, and

17、easy to like. Theyre quick to laugh and to offer friendship. Theyre more considerate of one another than any student generation Fve ever known. If Pve described them primarily as driven creatures who largely ignore the joyful side of life, its because thats where the problem is not only at Yale but

18、throughout American education. Its 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 right1 way to get ahead - that each of them is a different person, starting from

19、a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell them that change is healthy and that people dont 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 stud

20、ents during the year. I invite heads of companies, editors of magazines, politicians, Broadway producers, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians 一 a mixed bag of achievers.I ask them to say a few words about how they got started. The students always assume that they star

21、ted 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

22、the hand of God or chance to lead them down some unforeseen trail.(1069 words)New Wordscampusn. the grounds of a university, college or school; a university 大学校园, 学校校园； 大学piercinga. (of voices, sounds, etc.) very sharp, esp. in an unpleasant way (声音等) 尖厉的， 刺耳的piercevi. make a hole in or through (sth

23、.) with a sharp point 刺穿， 戳穿presumablyad. it may be supposed; probably 假定； 可能* presumev. believe sth. to be true without direct proof but with some feeling of being certain; suppose (没有根据地)相信；推测graven. the place where a dead person is buried 坟墓a. serious or solemn in manner; (of a situation) serious

24、 and worrying 严肃的， 庄严 的；(形势)严重的gravityn. 1.严肃，庄严；严重2.重力;地心引力 gripn. a firm hold; control 紧握；控制vt. 1. take a very tight hold (of)握紧，紧握2. take hold of the attention or feelings of 吸弓 I ；弓 | 起* segmentn. a part of sth.部分preparationn. arrangement for a future event 准备wealthya. rich富有的glorifyvt. praise h

25、ighly 颂扬，赞颂gloryn. great fame, honor, and admiration 光荣； 荣誉potenta. powerful, strong, forceful or effective 强有力的；有权势的；有效力的self-inducedcaused or brought about by oneself 自己导致的inducevt. lead or cause (sb.) to do sth.; persuade or influence (sb.) to do sth. 导致； 劝使, 诱导incidentallyad. by the way顺便说一句comm

26、encementn. 1. (AmE) a ceremony at which university or college students are given theirdegrees or diplomas (美)毕业典礼；学位授予典礼2. beginning of sth. 开始commencev. begin; start 开始;着手ceremonyn.典礼，仪式 commencement ceremony(AmE) a college or university graduation ceremony (美)毕业典礼reckoningn. settlement of an accou

27、nt or a bill; (fig.) punishment 结帐；(喻)算帐，惩罚reckonvt. 1. calculate; add up (an amount, cost, etc.)计算；算出(数量、费用等)2. consider, regard 认为，把看作day of reckoning(a Biblical reference) the time when one must eventually be punished for what onehas done wrong (源自圣经)清算日，最后审判日equipvt. prepare (sb.) for dealing wi

28、th a particular situation by providing necessary tools, education, etc.; suply (sb./ sth. with what is needed for a particular purpose) (智力、体力上)使有准备；配备，装备inevitablyad.不可必免地；必然发生地inevitablea. which cannot be avoided or prevented from happening; certain to happen 不可避 免的；必然发生的intertwineda. joined tight

29、ly together; very closely connected 互相缠结的,缠绕在一起的premedicala. preparing for the study of medicine 医学预科的* dentistn. a doctor trained to take care of peoples teeth 牙医cheerfula. in good spirit; causing a happy feeling 兴高采烈的；使人愉快的convictionn. a firm opinion or belief 深信,确信；把握roommaten.住在同室的人，室友typewriter

30、n.打字机* bugvt. 1. （AmE） （infml） trouble （sb.） continually （美俚）烦扰，纠缠2. （infml） fit with a secret listening apparatus （口）在装窃听器n. （AmE） a tiny insect, esp. one that causes damage; （infml） a fault or difficulty （美） 虫子；（口）故障；毛旖consideratea. careful not to hurt or trouble others; thoughtful 考虑周到的；替人着想的fear

31、fula. afraid, anxious惧怕的,忧虑的goal-obsesseda. extremely eager to realize ones goals 一心要实现 目标的pre-arrangeda. planned or prepared in advance 预先准备好的arrangevt. 1. plan in advance; prepare 安排，准备set in good or pleasing order 整理；排列* slotn. 1. a place or position in a schedule, list or series （口）（在机构、名单、程序等 中

32、的）位置，职位2. a narrow opening in a tool or machine 狭长孑L；狭槽informallyad.非正式地；不拘礼节地economistn. an expert in economics 经济学家a mixed baga group of people or things of different kinds and different qualities （人或物的） 混 合体；大杂烧circuitousa. indirect迂回的，绕行的circuitn. 1.环行；环行道2.电路；线路circulara. 1.环行的，圆形的2 .循环的trailn.

33、 a path, often through a forest or across rough ground (荒野中的) 小彳至， 小道Phrases and Expressionsin the dead of nightin the quietest part of the night 夜深人静之时get throughcomplete successfully; manage to live through (a difficult experience or period oftime)完成；消磨，度过(时间)right nowimmediately; at this moment 立

34、亥U，马上in itselfconsidered as a complete thing or experience, without thinking of effects, consequences, etc. 本身，实质上in the presence of sb.in the place where sb. is; w汕sb. there在某人面前，当着某人的面work onaffect; influence对起作用；影响go forth (into)set out出发under pressureinfluenced by need or necessity; suffering st

35、ress 被催逼； 在压力下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 si.) become mentally unbalanced (美俚)烦恼，困惑be considerate ofVto/toward sb.pay attention to sb. s needs, wishes, or feelings 替某人着想，体贴某人be fearful ofbe afraid of 惧怕be bound

36、forintending to go to; going to 准备至山去； 开往fit intobe the right size or shape for; be suitable for 与.相符, 与.相适应all alongall the time; from the beginning 一直，始终； 从一开始就conceive ofthink of构想出；设想Proper NamesWilliam Zinsser威廉津瑟（男子名）Branford College布兰福德学院（美国耶鲁大学寄宿制学院之一）Yale（美国）耶鲁大学Linda琳达（女子名）Barbara巴巴拉（女子名）Broadway百老汇大街（美国纽约市的一条大街，为戏院、夜总会等娱乐场所的集中地）