Listen to the following words and expressions and repeat after the recording.
Think about the following questions and try to answer them before reading.
1.What are the biggest challenges while transitioning from high school to college life?
2.What are the differences between high school life and college life?
3.How will you adapt to your new life in college?
It is totally normal to feel overwhelmed if you are a freshman in college.Don’t let that feeling keep you from making new friends.College is a place where you can meet a variety of diverse , unique people.Remember, everyone else is also new and you probably aren’t the only person who is a little nervous about making new friends.
Make sure to attend social activities, especially those events specifically for freshmen.These are great places to meet new people who also haven’t found their new group of friends.You’ll feel at ease and meet a bunch of people in the same boat as you are.
Introduce yourself to people in your dorm.Keep your door open when you’re in your room to encourage people to drop by and say “hi”.
Even if you know just one person, ask him or her to introduce you to their friends he/she thinks you may get along with.You’ll likely build your networks of friends very quickly.
Try to join a club or society.College is full of opportunities to get involved in something you enjoy.Clubs, interest societies, sports teams, and academic groups all offer opportunities to get to know like-minded people.
Volunteering is sometimes required as part of your curriculum in college, but even if it isn’t ,it is a great way to meet new people.As an added bonus , volunteering looks great on a résumé and can teach you valuable skills you can use for your job hunt after you graduate.Volunteering can also open your eyes to new possibilities for careers and passions.For example, you might discover by volunteering at your local animal shelters that you have a passion for caring for animals and want to become a vet .You won’t know until you try.
College is a great place to try out new things.Explore the many opportunities you have right at your fingertips ! Have you always wanted to act? Take a class.Maybe you have always thought it would be cool to be a writer.Join a literary magazine or a school newspaper.
Remember that you won’t be an expert in everything you try out, and that’s okay! College is a wonderful place to embrace vulnerability and try new stuff, even if you aren’t great at it.
You may not have any idea of what you want to do for a career, and as a freshman, that’s Okay.However, the earlier you can decide on a career path, the sooner you’ll be able to gear your college experience toward it.This doesn’t mean everything in college has to be about your future plans, but you should keep them in the back of your mind when making choices.Choose classes, even electives, that will give you knowledge and experience you can use in your career path.
Don’t be afraid to be open to new experiences.Sure, a poetry class may not seem like it will help you with your advertising major, but studying poetry encourages creativity and expression—things that you’ll need to succeed in advertising.
It’s so much harder to do well in something that you don’t care about.Choosing a major shouldn’t be just about making money or meeting your parents’expectations.You are an adult now, which means you should be responsible for making important life decisions.
Talk with a professor or a counselor.Visit the career service center to gather information to know what you should focus on in your major and what kinds of opportunities are available after you graduate.
Unfortunately, people commonly deride the humanities (English, philosophy, theatre, etc.) by saying “you’ll never get a job with that degree.”They could not be more wrong.One part of college is learning to become a fully developed , well-rounded individual.The humanities and the arts encourage important skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, analysis, innovation, and reflection .You’d be surprised at the jobs you can land with these skills.Choose what you love, whether it’s accounting or zoology .
Own up to your mistakes.Work on improving and doing better next time.Don’t blame others—classmates, friends, your roommates, or your teachers—for your own actions.
Remember that your instructors don’t owe you special treatment.Even if you are generally a great student, your professors are not obligated to “cut you some slack” for missing class or doing poorly on an assignment.Never beg a professor to change your grade or make special exceptions to their policies for you.
Becoming a successful college student is accepting that things won’t always work out the way you want them to.You won’t be good at everything you try.You’ll make some mistakes, even big ones.Don’t see these as evidence that you’re “a failure”.View them as opportunities for growth.(903 words)
Answer the following questions, using the information you have obtainedfrom Passage A.
1.How do you make new friends in college?
2.What is the purpose of volunteering?
3.What are the connections between an advertising major and a poetry class?
4.Why do people often tease majors like English, philosophy and theatre?
5.How should you view the mistakes you might make in college?
Fill in the blanks of the outline of Passage A with the words or expressions from the passage.
Being a freshman in college means a lot of responsibility and hard work.With a little 1)__________and 2)__________, you can make your college career a 3)__________success.
Tips for adjusting to college life:
● Meet new people.
● Volunteer.
● Find a 4)__________.
● Choose a 5)__________.
● Pick a 6)__________you love.
● 7)__________your own actions.
● Accept 8)__________.
Fill in the blanks of the summary with the words or expressions from Passage A.
If being a freshman in college sounds like a lot of 1)__________, that’s because it is.You can make your college experience a spectacular success with a little planning and knowledge.Here are some tips for you to be a successful college student.Meet new people by attending 2)__________, introducing yourself to others,joining a club or society, and through volunteering.These opportunities will be an added 3)__________on your résumé and can teach you 4)__________to use as you search for a job after graduation.Experiences like these can also open your eyes to 5)__________for careers and passions.Find a passion to 6)__________the many opportunities you have right at your fingertips.You can choose classes or even 7)__________to give yourself knowledge and experience you use throughout your career.Pick a major you love by consulting a professor or a 8)__________or visiting the career service center.Take responsibility for your own actions.You should 9)__________your mistakes.Work on improving and doing better next time.View the mistakes as 10)__________for growth.
Translate the following passage into Chinese.
Before you begin your freshman year in college, prepare yourself to be challenged by an increased work load, rigorous homework, and assignments that must be completed in a short period of time.Begin to change your educational study habits because you will be completing most of your homework outside of class, and you will be expected to complete the assignment on your own, rather than relying on professors to teach you how to do it.You should also begin preparing yourself to learn in a less-structured classroom atmosphere in which no one will remind you about what you are supposed to do, or hold you responsible for completing your assignments in the correct and timely manner.Lastly,some college professors might be less available than your high school teachers and may prefer to maintain a more formal relationship with students than what you were used to in high school.