Eric和Patty是好朋友,也是大学同学。他们中午一起吃饭,聊起了校园生活。
Professor: In this first part, we will learn how to ask what classes someone is taking.
Patty: Hi Eric! Are you having fun at college?
Eric: Yes, it’s great. How many classes are you taking?
Patty: I’m taking four classes. Are you taking a lot of classes?
Eric: I’m taking three classes.
Professor Bowman, Eric怎么只选三门课?美国大学生的日子也太轻松了吧!
Professor: Well Winnie, maybe they are taking hard classes and have to study a lot.
这么说也有道理。可能正是因为课程难度大,所以他们才只选几门课。
Professor: Let’s listen and find out what their classes are.
Patty: What classes are you taking?
Eric: Well, I’m taking English classes.
Patty: I see. Well I’m taking a lot of science classes, like chemistry.
Eric: Chemistry? Wow, that sounds hard. You must have a lot of work.
Patty选修化学课,这门课可不好学。可是Professor Bowman, Eric为什么要选英文课呢?英语不是他的母语么?这算不算投机取巧?
Professor: Well Winnie, some English classes are hard, even for Americans. Students have to read very hard books.
原来如此。那么,在美国大学里,学生们是不是每天都要上课呢?
Professor: Well, let’s listen to Eric and Patty talking about when they have classes.
Patty: What’s your schedule like?
Eric: It’s great! I only have classes from Monday to Thursday!
Patty: You don’t have any classes on Friday?
Eric: No, so I can have fun with my friends on Thursday night.
Eric不光选修英文课,而且一个礼拜只上四天课,这怎么可能?
Professor: Yes, some students have easy schedules. Now let’s listen to them talking about their professors.
Eric: Who is your chemistry professor?
Patty: I got Professor Franklin for chemistry. He’s really great!
Eric: Who did you get for math?
Patty: I got Professor Martinez for math. He’s good, but the TA is so boring. TA? TA是什么?
Professor: A TA is a “teaching assistant.” They are older students who help professors teach the younger students.
哦,TA就是Teaching Assistant的缩写,也就是助教的意思。Patty说她很喜欢自己的数学教授,不过教授的那位助教却非常沉闷无聊。
Professor: Right. You know, if my students don’t study hard enough, sometimes I’ll get a mean TA to help me teach.
我们不认真,你就要找个厉害的TA,那我们如果特别认真,你就会找个特别帅的TA喽?
Professor: No. If I get a cute TA, everyone will have a crush on him and study less. Now Eric and Patty are going to talk about what clubs they are in.
Eric: What do you do outside of class?
Patty: I’m in some fun clubs.
Eric: What kind of clubs are you in?
Patty: I do all kinds of things. I do some academic clubs, but other clubs are just for fun.
哇, Patty 可真行,加入了这么多课外社团。Professor, 美国大学中都有那些社团呢?
Professor: Some clubs are academic. Students study together for tests or discuss current events. Some clubs are just for fun. They do things like yoga and hip hop dancing.
瑜珈社和街舞社,听起来真不错!不知道Eric加入了什么社团没有!
Eric: I’m only in a hip hop dancing club. It’s really fun.
Patty: A dancing club? I love hip hop music, and I love dancing.
Eric: You should join. It’s not full, and there are plenty of spaces left.
Patty: I think I will. It would be fun to do a club together.
Eric只参加了街舞社?他这个人,课只选了三门,每周只上四天课,连跟学习有关的课外社团也不参加。唉,他过得也太轻松了吧!
Professor: Well, Eric may be busy for other reasons. Tune in next time and we’ll learn more about student life.
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。