世纪英语第一单元

Unit1 Text A College — A Transition Point in My Life Author Unknown

When I first entered college as a freshman, I was afraid that I was not able to do well in my studies. I was afraid of being off by myself, away from my family for the first time. Here I was surrounded by people I did not know and who did not know me. I would have to make friends with them and perhaps also compete with them for grades in courses I would take. Were they smarter than I was? Could I keep up with them? Would they accept me?

I soon learned that my life was now up to me. I had to set a study program if I wanted to succeed in my courses. I had to regulate the time I spent studying and the time I spent socializing. I had to decide when to go to bed, when and what to eat, when and what to drink, and with whom to be friendly. These questions I had to answer for myself.

At first, life was a bit difficult. I made mistakes in how I used my time. I spent too much time making friends. I also made some mistakes in how I chose my first friends in college.

Shortly, however, I had my life under control. I managed to go to class on time, do my first assignments and hand them in, and pass my first exams with fairly good grades. In addition, I made a few friends with whom I felt comfortable and with whom I could share my fears. I set up a routine that was really my own — a routine that met my needs.

As a result, I began to look upon myself from a different perspective. I began to see myself as a person responsible for myself and responsible for my friends and family. It felt good to make my own decisions and see those decisions turn out to be wise ones. I guess that this is all part of what people call “ growing up. ”

What did life have in store for me? At that stage in my life, I really was not certain where I would ultimately go in life and what I would do with the years ahead of me. But I knew that I would be able to handle what was ahead because I had successfully jumped this important hurdle in my life: I had made the transition from a person dependent on my family for emotional support to a person who was responsible for myself. Text B What I Hope to Gain from a College Education Alexis Walton

After graduation from high school, I plan to do several things. The most important thing I plan to do is to go to college. Other than a degree, from a college education I plan to pursue higher learning, to begin a career, and to make history in my family.

The first thing I hope to gain from a college education is higher learning. Learning goes far beyond a high school education and is very necessary in today

' s society. It allows us to be familiar

with our environment and everyone in it and it allows us to maintain assurance of ourselves. A lot of us would be lost without any learning at all, and our world would be very confused. One must learn to do such things as applying math skills as well as being responsible and independent. I know that a college education would allow me to acquire these abilities.

Secondly, I hope to begin a career as a result of my college education. As a college student, I plan to study chemical engineering. After taking all the classes necessary for this major and completing them successfully, I hope I ' ll be acbalereteorbaesgiancahemical engineer.

Making history in my family is yet another important thing I hope to gain from my college

education. Neither of my parents graduated from college, nor did any of my three brothers, but they did, however, graduate from high school. Taking a look back has motivated me to reach farther. I plan to make history in my family by being the first to get a college education.

Pursuing higher learning, beginning a career, and making history in my family are things I hope to gain from my college education. It is very important that I accomplish these goals so that I will have continued success. I know all of these things and many more are possible. If I believe it, then I can achieve it. Text C

Devlin 's Advice （忠告） Keith Devlin Dear New Student:

What awaits （等待） you in the coming years — your college years? And what awaits you after your graduation from college?

For an entering college student, the likelihood （可能性） is that the job you will be doing ten years from now does not yet exist （存在） . You will be doing something that at present no one is doing, or hardly anyone.

How can you possibly prepare for such a future?

My strongest advice would be to value （珍视） the breadth （宽度，广度） of the education available （可得到的）

ability to learn.

At high school you had a teacher. But when you are out at work you will probably （很可能） have to go it alone （自个儿干）.College is a half-way house （中途歇脚的客栈；

过渡场所）.The

to you. The key to being successful in the world of today or tomorrow is an

professors are there to help and guide you. But as teachers, the most important thing they are trying to “ teach” you is how to learn. For example, your mathematics professor is not there to teach you mathematics. He or she is there to show you how to learn mathematics, and to help you in the process（过程）.That' a big differe nee from high school.

My second piece of advice is to work hardest at those subjects （科目）you don' t like or think you can never do. For many students, the subject that they don' t like is mathematics. But for many career paths （道路 ）, mathematics is is what you need to know. For future teachers, it is statistics （统计学 ） that you need to see if your tests are fair to your students. Even for someone who just wants to be a stay-at-home mom, calculations （ 计算 ） are needed to keep a household （ 家庭 ）. In fact, what I am saying applies to all of you when you find yourself faced with any subject. Colleges and universities don 't have all those graduation requirements （ 要 求） in order to make you suffer. They are there to help you broaden （开阔 ） your mind, and to prepare you to live your life to the fullest.

My final piece of advice is to enjoy your life at college. I often hear people say that college is not the real world; that the purpose （目的） of your college years is to prepare you for your life “in the real world” in the future. That's not right. You won 't stop living in the next few years. Your time at college or university is not pre-life （为以后作准备的生活 ）. It's several years of your

life. It is the “ real world. ” So enjoy your time as a student and live your new “ real life ” to the full.

what they need to know in order to be successful. For construction （建筑） workers and engineers, geometry （几何学）