Part 1 Fresh and New

大一新生Jack认识了同为菜鸟的Joni，Joni担心自己不能适应宿舍生活，而从小就在国外学习的Jack却称自己经验丰富……

（It is the first day of college， as two new students wait patiently for orientation to begin.）

Jack： Hi！ Im Jack.

Joni： Hi Jack， Im Joni. Nice to meet you.

Jack： Nice to meet you too. I wonder how long we have to wait around here. I wanna get back and finish setting up my room.

Joni： Arent you excited？

Smart Sentences

① Ive been hitting the books since before I can remember to get to this point. 在这之前我一直都在埋头苦读。

hit the books： study hard（用功学习）。例如：

I gotta go home and hit the books. I have finals next week.

Jack： About？

Joni： Starting college， silly.

Jack： Of course！ ①Ive been hitting the books since before I can remember to get to this point.

Joni： Yeah， Im excited too， but Im also scared. Ive never been away from home before.

Jack： ②You dont say？ I studied abroad at an international school for most of my life.

Joni： Wow！ So you mean you lived in a dormitory before？

Jack： ③I lived in my fair share actually. So if you ever need any advice， just lemme know.

Joni： In that case， I have a ton of questions for you.

Jack： OK， shoot.

Joni： What are some 1）pitfalls I should look out for， living with complete strangers for the first time in my life？ ④I have a lot of pet 2）peeves.

Jack： The best advice I could give would be to try and find some common ground with a few of the girls youll be living with. Making friends is the best way to avoid conflicts， because then they wouldnt be strangers anymore， right？

Joni： I guess that makes sense...

Jack： It really is a lot different than living under constant 3）scrutiny from your parents.

Joni： I never felt that way living at home. And I am looking forward to making some great friendships.

Jack： One of your roommates may turn out to be your best friend for years to come， like me and my high school roommate， Sam.

Joni： I dont think Ill have a problem making friends. I was always one of the more popular girls in my school. Im just worried Im gonna miss my mom so much. Didnt you ever get homesick？

Jack： Yeah， at first. I used to lay down in bed， under the covers with a flashlight， 4）clutching a picture of my mom and dad， wishing I was back home again.

Joni： Oh no！ That sounds so sad. How did you get over it？ Jack： I dont think you ever really get over those kind of feelings， you just deal with it after a while.

Joni： “Just deal with it” isnt exactly great advice Jack.

Jack： Well...I guess， over time， ⑤I figured out some good coping mechanisms to use whenever I started to feel sad. Talking to your family on the phone or using a video chat program is usually the best medicine there is. But when that doesnt work， I like playing video games to get my mind off it， or watching movies or something.

Joni： I dont like video games， except for Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds， but I do like movies.

Jack： Do you wanna， maybe， go see a movie sometime？ I know a good 5）indie theater around here.

Joni： Oh， I didnt mean...I meant...Um... Maybe we should get to know each other a little better first. How about a friendly walk to the cafeteria instead？

Jack： I am pretty hungry. Do you know how to get there？

Joni： Not yet...

Jack： Sounds like an adventure. And perhaps the start of a beautiful friendship.

Joni： Well see...Lets go！

我得回家学习去了，我下周期末考试。

② You dont say？ 真的吗？

You dont say？： a response to sth. that sb. has said， with a little polite surprise or interest， same as “really？”（对他人的话有点惊讶或感兴趣的反应，等同于“really？”）。例如：

—Im starting work on a new job next Monday.

我下周一开始新工作。

—You dont say？

真的吗？

③ I lived in my fair share actually.我在宿舍生活的经验确实很丰富。

fair share of sth.： more than enough of sth.， used to indicate whats beyond normal（足够的某事，用以表达超出正常范围）。例如：

Youve done your fair share of the hard work and now its Todds turn to work on holiday.

你工作已经很努力了，现在该陶德在假日里上班了。

④ I have a lot of pet peeves.我有很多烦心事。

pet peeve： sth. that really annoys sb.（很烦人的事）。例如：

My pet peeve is people who smoke in restaurants. They ruin the taste of the food and harm peoples health.

最招我讨厌的是餐馆里抽烟的人，此举既破坏食物的味道，又危害他人的健康。

⑤ I figured out some good coping mechanisms to use whenever I started to feel sad.我想到了一些应对这些消极情绪的方法。

coping mechanism： any effort directed to regain emotional balance after an unpleasant experience（应对方法，多指经历不愉快后保持情绪平衡）。例如：Working in the ER is very demanding both physically and emotionally and one has to have some coping mechanisms to survive.

在急诊室里工作对身体和精神都要求很高，每个人都必须有各自的应对方法。