新编大学英语综合教程1-unit4

Unit 4 Fresh Start

Fresh StartIn-Class Reading

新的开端

1当我父母开车离去，留下我可怜巴巴地站在停车场上时，我开始寻思我在

校园里该做什么。我决定我最想做的就是平安无事地回到宿舍。我感到似乎校

园里的每个人都在看着我。我打定主意：竖起耳朵， 闭上嘴巴，但愿别人不知

道我是新生。

2第二天早上我找到了上第一堂课的教室，大步走了进去。然而，进了教

室，我又碰到了一个难题。 坐哪儿呢？犹豫再三，我挑了第一排边上的一个座

位。

3“欢迎你们来听生物101 课，”教授开始上课。天哪，我还以为这里是文学

课呢！我的脖子后面直冒冷汗，摸出课程表核对了一下教室——我走对了教

室，却走错了教学楼。

4怎么办？上课途中就站起来走出去？教授会不会生气？大家肯定会盯着我

看。算了吧。我还是稳坐在座位上，尽量使自己看起来和生物专业的学生一样

认真。

5下了课我觉得有点饿，便赶忙去自助食堂。我往托盘里放了些三明治就朝座

位走去，就在这时，我无意中踩到了一大滩番茄酱。手中的托盘倾斜了，我失

去了平衡。就在我屁股着地的刹那间，我看见自己整个人生在眼前一闪而过，

然后终止在大学上课的第一天。

6摔倒后的几秒钟里，我想要是没有人看见我刚才的窘相该有多好啊。但是，

食堂里所有的学生都站了起来，鼓掌欢呼，我知道他们不仅看见了刚才的情

景，而且下决心要我永远都不会忘掉这一幕。

7接下来的三天里，我独自品尝羞辱，用以果腹的也只是些从宿舍外的售货机

上买来的垃圾食品。到了第四天，我感到自己极需补充一些真正意义上的食

物。也许三天时间已经足以让校园里的人把我忘在脑后了。于是我去了食堂。

8我好不容易排队取了食物，踮脚走到一张桌子前坐下。突然我听到一阵熟悉

的“哗啦”跌倒声。抬头看见一个可怜的家伙遭遇了和我一样的命运。当人们

开始像对待我那样鼓掌欢呼的时候，我对他满怀同情。他站起身，咧嘴大笑，

双手紧握高举在头顶上，做出胜利的姿势。我料想他会像我一样溜出食堂，可

他却转身重新盛一盘食物。就在那一刻，我意识到我把自己看得太重了。

9我是否摔了个托盘，坐在教室的哪个位置，甚至是否走错了教室，有谁会在

乎呢？没有人在乎。这不像在中学。在大学里，这些都无关紧要。我完全可以

按自己的意愿行事。

10一旦意识到我不必考虑别人的期望，只要自己满意就行，我感到释然。我开

始把大学看作一个美妙的实验。我稍稍改变了自己的穿着，开始欣赏爵士乐，

还认定自己喜欢光着脚走路。

11

在接下来的大学生活里，我不再试图做出什么姿态，而是顺其自然。大学，

在我看来，也许是唯一一个犯错误可以得到完全谅解的阶段（包括踩到番茄

酱，摔了托盘）。于是，我利用这个机会来体验我认为自己可能会犯的所有过

失。

12

大学毕业已经三年了，我仍然时有过失。其中的一些过失我甚至还是得到了

原谅

。

After-Class Reading College-a New Beginning

大学—— 一个新的开端

1“今天上午早些时候，我与一位同事通电话。他告诉我，今天我不用到办公

室来，因为正是新生入学的时候，校园里一切都乱套了。他说得没错。真的是

一团糟。校园里有数百辆车，载着汗流浃背的新生、 他们的家人、还有许多行

李。父母们为什么时候停车、在哪里停车、是否要停车争执不停。校警竭尽全

力指挥交通，但是他们知道，今天不得不允许人们违反一些规则了。这是一年

中最忙乱的日子，这一点毫无疑问。这也是我最喜欢的日子。”

2这是夏洛特·J. 帕特森在迎新致辞中的开场白。作为弗吉尼亚大学的一

位心理学教授，帕特森对新生了如指掌：她了解他们的希望、梦想和顾虑。在

开学的这一天成为大学一年级学生意味着什么？帕特森教授认为它意味着一个

崭新的开端。她接着说：

3“它使我想起了积雪消融的早春时节。你无论踩到哪里都会溅起水花。但

即便是又冷又湿，我也无法使自己怨恨那些日子，因为它们昭示着春天的来

临。新生的到来让学校变得一团糟，但我同样无法讨厌这件事。新生来到镇

上，就像绿色的新苗从四处冒出来，寻找阳光。当他们从宿舍的窗户里探出头

2

来时，就 好像古老的大树上绽出的新芽。也许有人会担心阳光是否充足，土

壤是否肥沃，霜冻是否降临，但是对于幼苗和大学新生来说，能够存活，能够

跨进大学的校门，就足够了。

4“是的，今天是新生活的开始。昨天你们还是妈妈的孩子，住在家里；今

天，你们已经是大学的新生，开始独立生活了。‘新生！’我喜欢这个称呼。

这个称呼本身让人想到一个问题。我们在读这个词时，应该把重音放在‘新’

上呢，还是放在‘生’上？怎么读都可以。无论你把成年看作是人生的一段旅

程还是新 起点的到来，今天无疑是你们人生道路上的一大步。新生的欢喜和新

生的忧愁都挂在我周围每一张年轻的 脸上。

5“大学是令人激动的时期，也许还是你一生中最开心的时光，但同时也是进

行许多重大调整和经历一些挫败的时期。如今，大多数研究领域的竞争都已经

非常激烈了。你们必须努力学习，做好充分准备，才能进入这些领域。信息爆

炸对想要吸收所有信息的人提出了更高的要求。因此，对大学生活来说，越来

越需要有一个安排更合理的开端。现在，学校里针对新生的课程越来越受欢

迎。作为新生，你们应该选修一些这样的课程，它们能帮助你们为将来学习难

度更大的课程做准备。你们应该确保自己能够提高读、写、说等各方面的能

力，不要惧怕那些迫使你思考的课程。思考可以令人兴奋并且大有裨益。同

时，花一些时 间享受生活——放松一下，注意饮食，笑口常开。让大学生活如

你所愿，成为美妙而有价值的经历。祝大家好运！”

课内阅读练习答案

Part One Preparation

1 Talking About High School Classmates

Sample

• Among the 54 students in my high school class, I’m the only one enrolled in a national

key university. There are 14 others who were accepted by provincial universities or

colleges. Their majors vary greatly, covering most of the engineering fields. Of the 14

former classmates, 4 are now studying in Shanghai, 2 in Shandong, 3 in Beijing and the

rest in other parts of the country. Though initially dissatisfied with their universities or

colleges, they are quite happy with their majors.

3

• I graduated from ________ High School, a key high school in ________ Province.

Among the 50 students in my class, 48 are enrolled in universities, mostly national key

universities. Three went to Peking University and two to Tsinghua University. The

three who study at Peking University are majoring in law, philosophy and physics

respectively and the two at Tsinghua are majoring in computer science and information

science. In this university alone there are five of us, each with a different major.

Another three of my former classmates are enrolled in normal universities, one in

Beijing Normal University, one in South China Normal University and one in East

China Normal University.

2 A Freshman’s School Life

STEP ONE

1

R

5

D

O

EPARTMENT

C

R

2

P

34

E

DITS

M

AJOR

O

6

X

T

R

7

FE

SHMENR

A

C

E

8

C

O

10

9

S

S

S

O

R

T

C

H

O

12

N

O

T

E

R

M

S

U

R

R

I

SC

U

L

BRA

R

R

11

O

M

I

14

S

O

C

I

E

T

Y

F

INAL

A

A

E

T

D

L

I

E

O

O

13

T

C

AMPU

I

T

I

O

N

15

H

16

G

RS

R

NAL

O

17

S

ACH

I

19

18

BL

B

I

E

S

O

P

STEP TWO

4

Sample

I

’m a freshman at Zhejiang University with a major in economics. I have been on campus for

about two months. I’m living in a dorm and have three nice roommates. I enjoy reading to

widen my horizons, so I spend a lot of time in the university library. So far I have been

enjoying my new life except that sometimes I worry about the coming mid-term and final

exams. Our professors stress in class that students’ top priority here is to acquire as much

knowledge as possible. We should attend classes regularly and take good notes. We should

hand in our assignments on time; and the results of quizzes will account for part of our final

grades. Usually we are very busy during the week. But on weekends we can spend some time

on our hobbies. The spare time thing I like to do most is to surf the Internet. Some students

make use of their spare time to do some part-time jobs, for example, serving as a tutor. They

say they have to earn at least part of their tuition. I think I’d prefer to work hard to win a

scholarship to support myself.

A

dditional activity

A Freshman’s Alphabet

F

or this activity, the teacher can ask students to work in pairs to complete a Freshman’s

Alphabet by

filling in the blanks with suitable words.

A

is for the

ASSIGNMENTS

that the teachers give us.

B

is for the

B

that I enjoy reading.

C

is for the CAMPUS where _________________________.

D

is for the

D

E

is for the

E

that I share with my roommates.

that give me headaches.

F

is for the

FRIENDS

whom _________________________.

G

is for the

G

H

is for the

H

that I learn in the English class.

of mine, such as playing tennis.

I

is for the

INFORMATION

that _________________________.

J

is for the

J

K

is for the

K

L

is for the

L

M

is for the

M

that I want to get after I graduate from college.

that we are acquiring in school.

where we can borrow books.

of mine—business.

that I take in class.

N

is for the

N

O

is for the

OK

I say to my mother over the phone.

P

is for the

P

who give us lectures.

5

Q

is for the

QUIZZES

that _________________________.

R

is for the

R

S

is for the

S

that we write after we have done research.

that I hope to win.

T

is for the

TUITION

that _________________________.

U

is for the

U

that give us the chance for higher education.

V

is for the

V

that I’m

looking forward to.

W

is for the

W

when I can relax myself.

X

is for the

X’MAS CARDS

that I will receive from my friends in December.

Y

is for

YAHOO

that we like to visit on the Internet.

Z

is for the

ZEAL

(

热情，渴望

) I have for knowledge.

Key:

A

is for the

ASSIGNMENTS

that the teachers give us.

B

is for the

BOOKS

that I enjoy reading.

C

is for the

CAMPUS

where

most students live.

D

is for the

DORM

that I share with my roommates.

E

is for the

EXAMS

that give me headaches.

F

is for the

FRIENDS

whom

I’m glad to stay with.

G

is for the

GRAMMAR

that I learn in the English class.

H

is for the

HOBBIES

of mine, such as playing tennis.

I

is for the

INFORMATION

that

I get from the Internet.

J

is for the

JOB

that I want to get after I graduate from college.

K

is for the

KNOWLEDGE

that we are acquiring in school.

L

is for the

LIBRARY

where we can borrow books.

M

is for the

MAJOR

of mine—business.

N

is for the

NOTES

that I take in class.

O

is for the

OK

that I say to my mother over the phone.

P

is for the

PROFESSORS

who give us lectures.

Q

is for the

QUIZZES

that

teachers give us now and then.

6

R

is for the

REPORTS

that we write after we have done research.

S

is for the

SCHOLARSHIPS

that I hope to win.

T

is for the

TUITION

that

my parents pay for my education.

U

is for the

UNIVERSITIES

that give us the chance for higher education.

V

is for the

VACATIONS

that I’m looking forward to.

W

is for the

WEEKENDS

when I can relax myself.

X

is for the

X’MAS CARDS

that I will receive from my friends in December.

Y

is for

YAHOO

that we like to visit on the Internet.

Z

is for the

ZEAL

(

热情，渴望

) I have for knowledge.

3 Expectations of College Life

Sample

• For me, Items 1, 2, 4, 5 are very important because I want to take advantage of my

college years to learn something really useful. When I was in high school, my goal was to

enter a prestigious university, so most of the time I studied hard just for the sake of

getting high marks. Now things are different, and I am more concerned about my future

career. Thus, I plan to devote my time to whatever will prepare me for my future job and

life. The only item that is not important to me is Item 10 because it’s too early for me to

consider a recommendation letter. The rest of the items are somewhat important to me. I

hope I can develop a good relationship with my teachers and classmates.

• I think the most important goal I want to achieve in college is to develop my interpersonal

skills. As we know, undergraduate studies should be focused on quality education. Gaining

knowledge is something very natural to undergraduate students if we attend classes

regularly and pay enough attention to lectures. In fact, learning is a life- long activity. I

have a wide range of interests. I’m also a good problem solver. So Items 6 to 9 are very

important to me while Items 1 to 5 are less important. As I’m planning to pursue further

studies abroad after graduation, Item 10 is somewhat important to me.

7

Part Two Reading-Centered Activities

In-Class Reading

Post-Reading

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension

1

1

dormitory / dorm room

6 literature

10

ashamed / embarrassed

15

experiment

2

watching

7

3

freshman

8

stepped

12

fate

4

wrong

9

dropped

13

serious

14

matter

5

biology

cafeteria

11

forgotten

16

forgiven

2

1

No, that was just the way the writer felt, because she was self-conscious and shy.

 2

She probably wanted to be out of the professor’s view.

 3

Most biology majors are serious.

 4

A Here “it” refers to “my entire life”.

B It was a miserable day.

6

Because she was afraid that other students might recognize her and make fun of her.

 7

Dropping the food tray and falling to the ground.

5

Here “it” refers to the miserable and embarrassing moment.

8

Because he took it as nothing serious.

 9

Whether you drop a tray, where you sit, or whether you show up in the wrong lecture, etc.

3

Sample

•

On the afternoon of the day I came to college, I saw my parents off and went back to the campus.

I found my dorm and walked in. Settling into my bed as I was tired, I reached for the cup on the

desk when I sensed something strange. Two persons in the room were staring at me, puzzled. I

can still remember I was a bit shocked at that moment. Who were they? I jumped out of bed,

puzzled, too. Why were they staring at me like that? But in a few seconds I realized what had

happened: I had come to the right room but the wrong building. I flushed and apologized in a

clumsy way. The two guys seemed to be amused. They told me that they were also freshmen and

that I was welcome to their dorm anytime I liked. I said thanks and then fled.

•

It happened about a week after I came to college. Just as I got out of the library building, I found

that I had taken someone else’s bag. How foolish! I hurried back to the library, only to find that the

guy was already in the librarians’ office with an angry look. The moment he saw his bag he smiled

with relief. I apologized for my mistake and waited for his sharp words. To my surprise, he patted

me on the back and said in a friendly way, “Don’t worry, I have made the same mistake, too.”

8

• I made a serious mistake on my first English test. I forgot to put my name on my paper. My

teacher didn’t blame me but told me to avoid repeating the same mistake. It was a good lesson

for me and I learned to be very careful when it came to details.

Vocabulary

1

1

rearing

6 rear

2

1

seriously

6

groped

2

tips

7

settle

2

crashed

7

accidentally

3

settled

8

major

3

schedule

8

grinned

4

major

9

settled

4

slip

9

opportunity

lot, lot

10

tipping

5

clasps / clasped

10

hesitation

5

Translation

1

2

3

4

5

6

The individuals who have contributed are far too many / numerous to mention.

The noise woke us up in the middle of the night.

He shouldn’t have been angry at what I said. It was nothing more than a joke.

We invited all our friends to the picnic, but it rained and only five of them showed up.

Marriage is viewed as a serious matter.

To my disappointment, the movie didn’t live up to my expectations.

1. Grammar Review

Section A

1. laughing / to laugh

2. be / should be

3. hadn’t helped

4. go

5. like

6. as

7. either

8. can we

2. Vocabulary Review

2. find out

3, awaiting

4. broke up

5. clapped

6. intends

7. resource

8. funds

9

Part Three Further Development

3 College vs High School

Sample

D

ifferences between college life and life in high school:

•At college we live on campus instead of at home, that is, we have to take care of

ourselves: We wash our clothes by ourselves, we eat at the dining hall, we get up and

go to bed without our parents bustling around, and we learn to budget our money

carefully.

•College teachers are quite different from those in high school. They won’t drive you to

study. They give lectures, they answer questions, and they disappear, leaving you a mass of

assignments to do. Very often you’ll be asked to cover half of a book in just one week. But

generally they’re much more knowledgeable, humorous and tolerant than high school

teachers.

•Students in college come from all over the country. You can even see some foreign

students on campus. We share our knowledge about the places we are from: different

dialects, different customs and different eating habits. We make friends with each other

and spend a lot of time together; thus we can broaden our horizons and discover an

even richer world.

•High school work was easy, so we always knew the answers and got high scores. But

in college the texts are more difficult to understand, the quantity of required reading is

greater, and nobody can answer all the questions. It seems high school students are

swimming in a pool while college students are adrift in a sea.

•Good study skills are a must in college. We’re entitled to much more free time but we

should learn to use it in a reasonable way. In college most classes meet only once or

twice a week. We have to work hard to keep up with the course work. We have to learn

to take notes from texts and lectures because college teachers, unlike high school

teachers, seldom provide notes for us. And we should also take an active part in

discussions in class.

•We probably have fewer tests in college, usually with mid-term and final exams only.

•

The college often helps with our needs for assistance—student loans, scholarships,

special student aid funds, etc. There are also work-study programs that are available to

satisfy students’ different needs for financial aid.

•College students can take some part-time jobs. In this way they can earn some money

to support themselves. At the same time, they get some useful experience and learn to

get along with different kinds of people.

10

•We are free to organize extracurricular activities in college. For example, in our spare

time we may hold a party, a sports meet, an English speech contest, or we may go to

the movies on weekends or go for a picnic on a spring day. In short, college life is very

exciting and in most cases you’re the decision-makers.

4 Fighting Against Freshman Loneliness

Sample

W

ays to fight against loneliness on campus:

•make more friends;

•keep yourself busy;

•have a good sleep;

•surf the Internet;

•have a tour around the city where your university is located;

•go to a movie;

•play sports;

•phone your family or friends;

•write letters to friends or send them e-mails;

•talk to someone you know;

•visit some relatives or acquaintances who are in the same city;

•stroll around the supermarket or department store even if you aren’t going to buy

anything;

•be friendly with your classmates / roommates and spend some out-of-school time with

them;

•consult your counselor;

•attend an association / club or be a member of the Student Union.

•read a novel or listen to music;

Part Four Writing and Translation

2. Translation Practice

“我要告诉任何一个想回到学校的人，事情不像你想的那么难，”卡伦

·

乔纳特斯说。去年，她

47

岁，取得了工商管理学士学位，与她女儿一起毕业。她说：“我认识到，没有学位我在事业上难

以升职。”现在是恩迪科特学院的一名行政助理，并且正在攻读组织管理硕士学位。

一代人之前，像乔纳特斯这般年龄的人在大学里是罕见的。如今，美国教育部估计，大约有

600

11

万年龄在

25

岁或

25

岁以上的人正在美国的高校学习，大专院校中涌现出

300

多个成人教育中

心。

3 Writing

Sample 1

C

ollege life is wonderful and rewarding. You suddenly find yourself in a place with so

many

new things awaiting you. When you go to the classes, you are amazed to find that

the world the teachers bring to you is different from the one you are familiar with.

Wherever you go, you will meet new friends, who are always ready to help you and

discuss questions with you. What’s more, you usually don’t have to take as many tests as

you did in high school, enjoying more free time of your own. The extracurricular activities

are so varied and colorful that you sometimes simply do not know which to choose. And

there are abundant opportunities for you to get to know about society, for example, part-

time jobs and volunteer work in the neighborhood.

Sample 2

C

ollege life is busy and tiring. People often say college is like a heaven, but to me college is

just like

a hell. It is even worse than my high school. We have to take many more courses, and

do much more homework. And the teachers are never available to help us out when we need

them. Besides study, we have to do the laundry, shopping and cleaning all by ourselves.

Students in college are all smart. Competition here is much fiercer. You can never expect to be

the best. The worst thing is that in college you may not have a clear goal. In high school, the

college entrance exam was what we were working for. But here, there’s too much for us to

read and know, and sometimes we feel at a loss as to what to do and how to do it. College life

seems to be something out of our control.

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