大学，你准备好了吗？

编者按:一年一度的大学开学典礼即将来临,十年寒窗苦读等待的就是这一刻。来到大学时,一切都是新鲜的,但每一位新生不可避免地都要面临一个问题——“我将如何度过自己的大学生活?”。也许你早就从家长们、老师们、师兄师姐们还有大肆宣传的媒体上了解到了很多关于大学生活的信息,无论是美好的还是无趣的,你的脑海中已经构架除了一幅大学生活的画面,但这都仅仅是大学生活的一角。你知道国外的学生是如何看待并度过自己的大学生活的吗?还有那些只能在电视和报纸上所见到的名校。本期栏目中我们就带你一起去感受世界顶尖学府的大学生活,听听那里的学生如何描述自己的大学梦。

We know many of our readers here at Bilingual Time are students, and you must have your own stories of university life to tell. But how do they compare to studying in other countries? We asked a few students, some still at university, some long graduated, to tell us their stories.

我们都知道《双语时代》的很多读者都是学生,你肯定也有属于自己的大学故事。但如果和国外的学生比较又会如何呢?为此,我们走访了一些外国学生,听他们讲述自己的故事,其中一些人仍在大学学习,还有一些已经毕业。

Getting In

华丽的序曲——进入大学

在进入大学之前大家都要经过漫长的求学岁月,尤其在中国,高考的重要性不言而喻,那么其他国家的学生是怎么进入大学的呢?

I didnt get into my first choice university, Edinburgh, because I didn't get the grades. I needed BBA, and I got two Bs and a C – I still dont know what went wrong in my exams, but I remember getting the envelope with the results in and almost breaking down in tears right there in school.But Id got the marks for my second choice, Birmingham, so I went there instead – but with a kind of feeling of disappointment, of course.

– Andrew, Birmingham University 2000

我并没有被我的第一志愿爱丁堡大学录取,因为我的分数不够。我必须要得到两个B和一个A,但我只拿到了两个B和一个C——到现在我还不清楚到底是考试中哪里出了问题,但我仍然记得在学校收到附有结果的信件,几乎当场落泪的情景。然而我的分数达到了第二志愿伯明翰大学的要求,因此我去了那里——当然,还是有一点失落。

——安德鲁,伯明翰大学,2000

I never really had to worry about finances, not because my family was rich – were not – but because I had great marks in school, and I already spoke two other languages, and was always going to be on a full scholarship ride. I got offers from Yale, Columbia, and Stanford, and picked Stanford, because they gave me the best deal.

– Nick, Stanford 2002

我从来都无须担心资金问题,并不是因为我的家庭很富有——实际上我们家境普通——而是因为我在学校的分数非常高,我还会另外两门外语,一直都是拿全额奖学金,因此,我拿到了耶鲁大学、哥伦比亚大学还有斯坦福大学的录取通知书,并最终选择了斯坦福,因为他们给的待遇最好。

——尼克,斯坦福大学,2002

I went to Wisconsin because it was the state university for me, so it was easiest and cheapest. I still had to take out a student loan, though – it was $40000 or so by the end of the four years.Im nowhere near being able to pay it off, but theyre fairly generous about deferring payment, thankfully.

– Katie, Wisconsin-Madison 2003.

我选择威斯康星大学是因为它是公立大学,所以条件比较宽松,学费也最便宜。但我还是要申请学生贷款——四年一共是四万美元左右。现在我还没还多少,非常感谢他们那么宽容允许我延迟还款。

——卡蒂,威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校,2003

Going to university was a late choice for me. I was a miner for twelve years, before the collieries were closed in the 1980s. We got money as part of our redundancy packages; I used mine to fund my living expenses through university as a mature student. I was the first person in my family to ever go to university. It was strange at first, being so much older than everyone else in my class, but I got used to it.

– Tony, Durham 1993

对我而言上大学是一个迟到的选择。在上世纪八十年代煤矿关闭之前,我做了12年的矿工。除了繁冗的行李我们也拿到了一些赔偿金,作为一个成人大学生,我将采矿赚来的钱用以支付大学的花费。我是我们家第一个上大学的人。我比班里其它学生都年长很多,一开始感觉有点奇怪,但很快就习惯了。

——托尼,杜伦大学,1993

I didn't apply to uni to begin with, because I wanted to travel for a year or two. I had a good HSC score, so I knew Id be able to get in when I did. So I went to England for six months, and then spent three months travelling around Europe, and then went back home and applied to Sydney without any problems. I had a fantastic time in Europe, especially Italy, and Im glad I took the year out.

– Suzannah, Sydney 2003

一开始我并没有申请大学,因为我打算先旅行一两年。我的HSC(Higher School Certificate,澳洲高考)分数还不错,所以我知道我如果申请一定能够成功。我先去英国待了6个月,接着又花了三个月时间去环游欧洲,然后回家,并顺利成功申请了悉尼大学。我在欧洲度过了非常美好的时光,尤其是在意大利,我很庆幸自己用了一年的时间出去旅游。

——苏珊娜,悉尼大学,2003

Settling In

偏离的幻想曲——适应大学

理想和现实总是有些格格不入,刚刚进去大学首先要做的事情就是适应新环境。在这里没有了以前父母的制约管束和老师的面提耳令,你要如何应对这一切?

I was really lonely at first. Im not really a joining type of person, and Oxford life is very much organized around societies and clubs and so on. So it took me a while to find friends, and at first I missed home, and I missed my mums cooking, and all this. But once Id found people I liked I was ok.

– Ben, Oxford 1999.

最初我感到很孤独,我并不是一个很合群的人,牛津的生活和社团、俱乐部等等联系很紧密。我花了一段时间才找到朋友,一开始我很想家,想念妈妈的厨艺等等。一旦找到志趣相投的朋友我就没什么问题了。

——本,牛津大学,1999

I love uni! As soon as I got here there were events and parties – seriously, I havent had a spare moment since I arrived. I wish I had more time to myself, if anything! Im really really good friends with my roommate, and with everyone on my floor – Im going to miss them soooo much in the holiday.

– Emma, Dartmouth 2012

我爱极了大学!我一到这里到处都是活动和聚会——老实说,到这以后我几乎都没什么空闲时间。如果可以的话我真希望能够多点时间留给自己。我和室友们还有我们这一层楼的女生

都是非常好的朋友——放假时我会非常非常非常想念她们。

——艾玛,达特茅斯学院,2012

University was honestly a bit boring for me at first, because Id enjoyed my year out so much.Everyone seemed really young and life was much more restricted than I was used to. Once I got used to it and made some friends, it was ok, but it wasn't the big revelation it is to some people.

– Suzannah, Sydney 2003

老实说,一开始我觉得大学有点无聊,因为我一直都很享受外面游玩的日子。和我以前的人生相比,大学里的人看起来太年轻,生活也有很多限制。当我适应并结交了一些朋友后就没什么问题了,不过没有某些人那样特别惊喜的感觉。

——苏珊娜,悉尼,2003

Well, like I said, it was weird for me because I was in my mid-thirties, and everyone else was 18 or 19. Not everyone – there were other mature students, and we formed really a group by ourselves. Quite a few of them were parents already. But I made friends among the younger students, too, though I never went to the parties. Now Im a lecturer myself, and they look even younger to me.

– Tony, Durham 1992

呃,像我刚才所说的,我已经人到中年,而班里其他人才18或19岁,这对我来说很奇妙。不是所有人都这样年轻——这里还有别的成人学生,我们自发地组成了一个小组。有一些人已经为人父母了。我还结交了一些年轻的朋友,不过我从不参加聚会。现在我已经成为一个讲师,而他们看起来比我更年轻了。

——托尼,杜伦大学,1993

I lived at home for the first two years, before I moved in with my boyfriend, so I dont think student life was really the same for me as for the people living in halls and so on. It was really just like going to a bigger, looser school. I never spent a lot of time hanging out with other students; I already had my own worlds elsewhere, so I just went to class and talked a bit with my classmates afterward.

– Susan, Manchester 2006.

在搬去和男友同居前,大学前两年我都是住在家里的,所以我觉得我的学生生活和那些住在宿舍或者什么其它地方的人不一样。就像是进去了一个更大、更自由的学校,我很少和其他学生一起出去玩,我已经有了自己的圈子,因此我只是去学校上课,和同学间简单地交流。

——苏珊,曼彻斯特大学,2006

Partying

清新的小夜曲——休闲时光

大学和高中最大的不同就是张弛有道,课外生活变得异常丰富,而你也可以开始享受更多成人的礼遇,开始多姿多彩的半社会化生活。

There were a lot of drugs going round at my college, yes. The big distinction was that the middle-class kids smoked pot, and the upper-class ones snorted coke. It didn't make a big difference to anybodys studies, really, it was just par for the course. I did know one boy who failed his first year in Medicine, even though he was quite brilliant, because he drank and snorted so much that he missed too many practicals.' He was from a Muslim family, and hed been very restricted before going to college, so he went a bit crazy. May Week was the worst. Thats a big party week at the end of the school year, in June – I know, its a weird name – and everybody takes whatever they can get their hands on. One of my friends bought and sold a thousand tablets of E in five days; she made enough money to fund her PhD studies.

– Emma, Cambridge 1998.

没错,我们学校毒品泛滥。最大的区别是低年级的学生抽大麻,而高年级的学生则吸食可卡因。这对他们的学业没有任何影响,真的,这是很常见的事。我知道有一个学医的男孩第一年挂科了,尽管他非常聪明,但是他酗酒,吸毒过量,导致他错过很多实践机会。他来自一个穆斯林家庭,上大学之前家教非常严格,因此后来就有一点小疯狂。五月周达到疯狂的极限。那是在六月份学年结束时的一个大型聚会周——我知道这个名字很奇怪——每个人都可以尽其所能地满载而归。我有一个朋友五天内交易了一千片迷幻剂,赚够了攻读博士学位的学费。

——艾玛,达特茅斯学院,2012

I dont think my classmates were that promiscuous. I only slept with two guys throughout college, and one of them was my high school boyfriend. There were lots of casual hookups at parties, and there were boys who were really players, though.

– Lizzie, Columbia 2001

我觉得我的同学们都没有那么滥交。大学期间我只有过两个男朋友,其中一个是我高中的恋人。在聚会上会有很多随意的勾搭,一些男孩是真正的游戏高手。

——莉齐,哥伦比亚大学,2001

I wasnt really into partying as such, but I love music, and we had some great bands in my school.I mean, fantastic bands, though they almost always ended up breaking up after a few months. So I spent a lot of time jamming with people, working on stuff – Im still in a group with some of the people I went to uni with, even.

– Matt, Cambridge 1999

我并不是很热衷于参加聚会,但我喜欢音乐,在学校时我们组建了一些不错的乐队,我的意思是,很棒的乐队,尽管大多都毫无例外地在几个月后就解散了。因此大学里,我大部分时间都在倒腾这些事情了——现在我还是和一些以前的同学在玩乐队。

——马特,剑桥大学,1999

I went to a weird fundamentalist university, and we weren't allowed within a foot – Im not kidding – of the boys. My parents were both Christian fundamentalists, so they sent me there; it wasn't even an accredited college, so the three years there were basically useless to me. Id grown up in that world, but it was still a shock to me quite how restrictive it was; we weren't allowed any music after 1900. Because of the restrictions on boys, there was a lot of lesbianism, ironically enough. Anyway, I got out of that world after my dad divorced my mom and married one of my college friends, same age as me; that was the final straw. I ended up going back to a real university to study journalism.

– Julie, NYU 2008.

我的大学是一所严格信奉基督教的古怪学校,甚至不允许我们靠近男生一英尺以内——我没有开玩笑。我的父母都是基督徒,所以他们把我送去了那,这所学院甚至都不被认可,因此基本上我在那里的三年毫无意义。我在基督教的世界长大,但那里的严格限制依旧让我感到震惊,他们甚至不允许我们听1900年以后的歌曲。极其讽刺的是,由于对男生的严格限制,那里出了很多拉拉。不管怎样,在我父亲和母亲离婚并娶了我的大学同学(和我同年)后,我终于摆脱了那个世界,那真是最后的救命稻草。后来我去了真正的大学攻读新闻。

——朱莉,纽约大学,2008

I dont remember a lot of drug use, though there was a girl in my college who had a breakdown – LSD, I think – and had to go home for the rest of the term to recover. I do remember a lot of emotional drama. People were always dumping each other, or stealing boyfriends, or having big conversations about what they were doing, or what they were going to do in the future. I spent an exchange year at Padua, in Italy, and it was just the same there, only with more yelling and threats … Italians are like that.

– Lauren, Vancouver 2006.

我对毒品泛滥没什么印象,但大学里有一个女孩精神严重崩溃——我猜是摇头丸——那个学期剩下的时间她就回家休养了。但我记得有很多情感剧不停上演。人们互相勾搭或者翘走别人的男友,或者激烈地讨论他们正在做什么,将来要做什么。我有一年在意大利的帕多瓦做交换生,情况完全一样,只是多了一些尖叫和恐吓……意大利人就是那样。

——劳伦,英属哥伦比亚大学,2006

Studying

斑驳的变奏曲——学习生活

虽然大学里学习已经不是唯一的目的,但如果想要为未来打好基础,专业而深度的学习研究必不可少,要怎样合理分配时间才能达到最好的效果呢?

Oxford is very relaxed about lecture attendance, particularly in the humanities. I was reading History, and we really didn't have to go to lectures. I used to go to one or two a week, if that.Most of the time it was easier just to read papers and books. What was important was tutorials; youd see your supervisors once a week – normally two or three of them a week – for an hour in small groups, to discuss your essays. So we were normally doing two essays a week, which is a lot compared to most English universities. I had a friend, though, who went over to Princeton on exchange for a year, in the law department. The first week he was very jetlagged, so he decided to skip classes and just wander around getting used to things. On the Saturday he got a call from the dean of the law department, asking if was ok. He said yes, and explained. Then there was a sharp intake of breath, and the Dean said Mr Jones, classes are compulsory! and he said Good god!If theyd told me that, I would never have come!

- Ben, Oxford 1999.

牛津大学对出勤率要求十分宽松,尤其是文科。我当时读的是历史,因此我几乎没怎么上过课,可能的话,一周去一到两次。大部分之间我都在很安逸地阅读论文和书籍,但重要的是导师,你必须一周见他一次——一般来说是一周中见两到三个——在小组里用一小时讨论你的论文。所以我们通常是一周写两篇论文,和其他的英国大学相比任务量很大。我有一个法学院的朋友作为交换生去普林斯顿待了一年。第一个星期他觉得还没有倒好时差,因此决定不去上课,四处逛逛熟悉环境,周六的时候他接到法学院院长的电话,询问是否一切安好。他说是的,并解释了原因。然后就听见深呼吸,院长说“琼斯先生,上课是必修的”,我朋友感叹“上帝啊!如果他们早点告诉我(必须上课),我永远都不要来(普林斯顿)”。

——本,牛津大学,1999

I had to work very hard at Columbia – especially in the last two years, between social stuff and studying I only slept 5-6 hours a night. It was important to me to get the best marks, to start with, and because Columbias a top school the level of competition is really high. I worked my ass off most weekends, in particular, because the due dates for papers tended to be Mondays or Tuesdays.I didnt have a computer of my own then, so Id use the computer lab, and at 3 am it would be crowded with people desperately finishing papers. The worst part was my senior thesis; that almost killed me, because I went on a road trip to Arizona when I should have been working on it at one point, and so had two weeks of work I had to catch up with when I got back.

– Lizzie, Columbia 2001.

在哥伦比亚大学我必须非常努力地学习——尤其是在最后两年,因为我忙于社会工作和学习,每天只能休息5到6个小时。首先,对我来说拿到好成绩很重要,因为哥伦比亚是一所顶尖学府,竞争非常激烈。尤其是周末,我几乎忙得不可开交——因为论文的截止日多在周一或周二。我那时自己没有电脑,所以要去机房,在凌晨三点的时候那里就会挤满了人在拼命地完成论文。最糟糕的是我的毕业论文:那几乎要了我的命,因为我在本应该完成论文的时间去亚利桑那州旅行了,所以回来后我不得不努力工作了两周才赶上最后期限。

——莉齐,哥伦比亚大学,2001

To be honest, nobody at my school really studied that hard, at least the people majoring in English. I mean, you put in effort on serious things, but I only spent, I guess, about six hours a week studying, if that. The rest of the time I was just hanging out with people or working – I had a job at a coffee shop, which I needed to, well, have money to buy beer.

- Katie, Wisconsin-Madison 2003.

老实说,我们学校里没人那么努力学习,至少英文系的人不用。我的意思是,你会努力去完成这些学业,而我一周大概花六个小时学习吧。剩下的时间我和朋友们出去玩或者打工——我在一家咖啡馆兼职,因为我需要钱来买啤酒。

——卡蒂,威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校,2003

Im reading Mathematics, and we study pretty hard – harder than the humanities lot, certainly. I spend about thirty hours a week studying, maybe a bit more. But its a hard course, harder than most, and I think most people I know do a lot less.

– Bill, Manchester 2010.

我读的是数学系,学习非常辛苦——当然要比文科难多了。我每周要花将近30个小时来学习,可能更久,但这个课程本身很难,非常难,我想我所认识的很多人远没这么辛苦。

——比尔,曼彻斯特大学,2010

When I was at the crazy fundamentalist college, we studied hard, but it was all – well, it was all useless knowledge. Like I said, they weren't accredited, and they were basically delusional, so we had Bible study classes that didn't mention comparative theology, English classes that didn't do anything after about 1920, if that, and that read everything through a hardcore Christian lens, and of course biology classes about how evolution was false! And the thing is, a lot of us caught onto it, but had to stay there because, well, wed grown up in that environment and felt guilty about leaving, plus of course lots of family pressure. So we didn't study hard because we knew what we were studying was basically useless. When I went to study journalism, instead, then I really worked hard, because I had so much to make up, and because I really enjoyed the course. Its very well taught, mostly practical stuff, but even the theory is interesting.

– Julie, NYU 2008.

当我在疯狂的基督学院时,我们的学习很辛苦,但全都是没用的知识。像我说过的那样,它们是不被认可的学校,他们教授的基本上都是谬论,我们有圣经课却从不提及比较神学,英文课只说上世纪二十年代以前的东西,仅仅从基督徒的角度去看待所有的事情,当然生物课关于进化论的学说全是瞎扯。问题在于,我们中很多人都明白这个事实,但还是必须留在那里,因为我们生长在那样的环境,离开会感觉到罪恶,再加上家庭的压力。因此我们没有努力学习,因为我们知道我们所学的一切都毫无意义。但当我学习新闻时我就真的非常努力了,我有太多东西要弥补,而且我也很喜欢这个课程。老师们教得非常好,有很多实践活动,甚至理论的东西也是妙趣横生。

——朱莉,纽约大学,2008

Im only a freshman, but I signed up for a lot of courses, which means more work, but I really love it! Its really stretching my mind, especially the philosophy classes, and I think its great that we have so many options, even if it does mean a lot of final papers. My professors are very kind, though, so are the teaching assistants, if it wasn't for that I think Id feel overwhelmed by the whole thing.

– Emma, Dartmouth 2012.

我还是个大一新生,但我修了很多门课,这就意味着很多功课,我很喜欢这种状况。它们能够扩展我的思想,尤其是哲学课,我很高兴有这么多选择,尽管这也意味着很多的毕业论文。我的教授和助教都非常的友善,如果不是这样的话,我想我会完全不知所措。

——艾玛,达特茅斯学院,2012

编者手记:在做完这一期栏目后,我们对大学生活又有了全新的认识,每个国家每个民族都有其独特性,现代教育体制与这种民族特性以及文化传统又密不可分。现行教育体制的缺失是不可否认的事实,纵观世界,没有一种现行的教育体制可以说是完美无缺。那么对于大学新生而言,四年的大学生活和经历却是实实在在的宝贵光阴和青春历程,要怎么样度过?要如何去感受?现在就可以拉开序幕了!

Links

1. High School Exams in Different Countries

世界各国高考大观

★美国高考

美国法律规定,教育是各州事务,联邦政府不能过分干预。因此美国不存在全国统一的教育大纲,也不存在全国性的统考。SAT考试是由美国一家私营的教育考试机构“教育测试服务中心”设计的。以前称为“学术水平测试”,后改名为“学术能力测试”,简称都是SAT。是对将来学习潜能的考查,即学生是否具备继续深造的能力,因此它已被各大学接受作为入学考试。SAT每年考7次,考生任选考试时间,不限考试次数。考试历时大约4个小时,分为两部分,一是综合部分,包括语文和数学两部分,称为SAT1;二是单科考试,如物理、化学、生物、外语等,称为SAT2。其中SAT1是各大学都要求的,人们说SAT考试主要说的是它。不过,成绩好并不能保证你能被所申报的大学录取。除了成绩之外,美国大学招生特别注重学生的全面素质,并将大学的特点、方向和需求等因素考虑进来。学生申请大学时还须提供自己在高中的成绩单、教师或社会组织负责人的推荐信、参加社会活动的情况等。如果想上好学校比如普林斯顿、哈佛、斯坦福等竞争还是非常激烈的。

★英国高考

英国的高考是A-level考试,即Advanced Level的简称,是英国基础教育的最高阶段,也是英国学生进入大学最正宗而传统的途径。不同的是,A-level总共为两年时间,而且学生根据个人兴趣和将来大学本科要攻读的专业,自己选读课程。较好的中学往往会开设20-30门以上的课程供选,而学生通常只要在第一年选修4门功课、第二年3门功课(是第一年课程的延续)。随后,学生根据自己的A-level成绩,如AAA、ACB、CBD等填报大学申请。自2008年起,比预期考得好的高考生可在“升级周“內,申请早前因担心成绩不达标而沒有考虑的大学,其间可以保留已获录取的入学资格。英国的教育体系是世界上最古老的教育体系之一,它以先进的高等教育而闻名世界。在英国有100多所大学,要想进入享誉世界的牛津、剑桥等知名大学也不是那么容易的事情。

★法国高考

法国的高考称“业士考试”,即著名的baccalaureat,简称Bac。它既是对中学结业的制约,又是大学第一阶段的一部分,能为学生打开大学之门。与中国的考试相比,法国的业士考试考试种类丰富,具有较强的专业性;考试形式多样化,结合多种因素确定学生的业士考试成绩。对那些经过证实因非意愿事件影响而无法参加正常考试期的学生,还安排了九月份的替代考试期(la session de remplacement)。学生上大学有多种选择,可上综合大学、大学校和专门学校,或者选择先工作几年。法国的学生有较多机会接受大学教育,而且大学教育的继续和衔接机制也比较合理,但要接受精英型的大学教育,仍需经过相当激烈的竞争。

★澳大利亚高考

澳大利亚是一个联邦制国家,各州都有自行的法律和政策。在高考方面,虽然都得以遵循以人为本的教育原则,但各州亦不尽相同。每年10月,澳大利亚各州就各自举行高考,时间达一个月之久。政府划定十几门科目为高考范围后,就任由学生从中自选4门(多选则是自己的事)。而无论选哪4门,分值都是平等的。比如演讲、体育就能与高等数学、经济学平起平坐。除此之外,在科目程度、高考时间上,学生的选择也是自由的。首都堪培拉不考试,直接取平时成绩的平均值。好的中学,当局会在每个毕业生的分数上加几分,差的则减几分,这个成绩和外地考生的高考成绩具有同等效力,凭它可以上全国各地的大学。

★加拿大高考

加拿大没有高考。当高中生要想进入名牌大学的好专业学习,还是非常不容易的。加拿大各大学有自己的学生选拔制度。首先要提出申请。尽管会稍有差别,加拿大各大学对入学申请的内容要求基本上还是相同的。一般的入学申请需要提供三个方面的文件:申请表格、中学成绩单,以及申请费用。在申请表格上,会列出学生的基本情况和想学习的专业。把这三个材料寄到想要去的大学,加拿大的学生也就可以等着学校的通知了。但进入大学后的压力也随之而来。首先是在加拿大上大学费用高,另外,加拿大的大学课业很重,特别是对科学或工程系的学生,有时甚至通宵达旦地学习才能完成老师布置的作业。

★日本高考

日本是个学历至上的社会,个人的社会地位、责任、资源和权力的分配都是由学历以及就读大学的知名度决定的。因此,日本的高考和中国一样,都是人生命运的转折点,竞争异常激烈。与中国不同的是,日本的高考不是一锤定音,国立、公立和部分私立大学,在每年的元月都有一次全国统一考试,主要是基础学科,国语、英语、数学、理科(物理、地理、化学、生物)、社会学科。从2月中旬至3月底,各校再根据自己的情况,进行第二次专门考试。学校根据第二次考试成绩和体检结果就可以决定是否录取。日本的考生分三类,一类是应届高中毕业生。他们的学习任务异常繁重,参加各种类型的补习班。第二类学生是往届落榜生,在日本被称为“浪人”,这部分人没有参加工作,专心致志地参加各种补习班或者自学。第三类参加高考的学生是已经升入大学,但想再考一个好的大学,被称为“假面浪人”。

(具体分析比较见本期《焦点》)

2. Drug Slang

毒品的别称

如果在国外别人问你Do you smoke pot?你千万不要愣在那,他可不是问你吸什么壶呀、盆呀,pot在这里指的是大麻(marijuana),也就是大麻的俗称。俚语中,grass、coke与pot都是“毒品”的别称。grass与pot指的是“大麻” (marijuana),而coke指的则是“古柯碱”或“可卡因”(cocaine),可卡因还称为bump、candy、coke、flake以及snow等。

大麻是美国青年中流行的毒品。瘾君子们很少称呼其学名marijuana,而是代之以五花八门的绰号,例如:芽子(bud)、青草(grass)、杂草(weed)、茶叶(tea)、花盆(pot),甚至还有Aunt Mary、Magic Dragon等怪称呼。此外,用大麻叶卷成的香烟叫joint。例如在一篇《美好旧时光》(Good Old Days)小文章里,一位年近半百的父亲对他的儿子说:

'In my day grass was mowed,coke was a cold drink,pot was something your mother cooked in。and rock music was your grandmother's lullaby.Aids were helpers in the Principal's office,a chip meant a piece of wood,hardware was found in a hardware store and software wasn't even a word.'

“在我们那个年代,grass(草)是用来割的,coke(可乐)只是冷饮,而pot(锅)也只是妈妈用来做饭的厨具而已(grass、coke与pot现在都是毒品的别称)。此外,rock music (摇滚乐)是你祖母的摇篮曲。Aids(帮手,现在更多指艾滋病)是指在校长办公室帮忙的人,chip(木片条,现在多指芯片)只是一块木头,hardware(五金器具,现在多指硬件)可以在五金商店中找到,至于software(现在指软件),它甚至还不是一个词汇。”

Notes

1. jam with

意为“使挤满”,文中这句话带有点自嘲的意思,作者觉得虽然乐队大部分都毫无例外地解散了,而且存在时间都不长,他大学的时光都是花在这些别人看来很无聊的事情上,但他还是很喜欢这种生活。因为他爱音乐。

2. lesbianism

意为“女性同性恋关系”。

3. work one's ass off

意为“非常努力做某事、忙得不可开交”。