Eric和Patty是大学同学，俩人聊起了住宿情况。
Professor: Listen for the word “lousy,” which means “bad.”
Eric: So Patty, are you planning on living on campus this year, or are you going to go for an apartment?
Patty: Well, housing is included in my scholarship, so I have to live on campus. The food is lousy, but there are other things I like about it.
Eric: What are the good things about living in a college dorm?
Patty: There are lots of advantages to living in the dorms. For example, I like studying and hanging out with my floormates. We all go out to parties together.
Eric: Wow, it sounds like the people in your dorm are pretty close.
Patty: Yeah, we really are. I love the dorms because you make friends that last all through college.
看来，虽然食堂饭不好吃，但 Patty 还是挺喜欢住校的，跟宿舍楼里的人很合得来。对了，Professor Bowman, roommate是室友，那么Patty说的floormate是住在同一层的人么？
Professor: That’s right, Winnie! A floormate is someone who lives on the same floor.
也就是“层友”！ 我们来听听Eric住在哪里吧。
Patty: How about you, Eric? Are you living on campus?
Eric: Right now I live in an apartment off campus. I didn’t like living on campus because the people in my dorm always had their doors closed and were studying. It wasn’t much fun.
Patty: That’s too bad. It sounds like the people in your dorm weren’t as close as the people in my dorm.
Eric: No, you’re right. Living off campus is OK, but I feel like I miss out on all of the fun stuff that happens on campus.
Patty: Have you ever thought of joining a fraternity? I hear that all the brothers in the frat houses are really close.
Eric: Yeah, I’ve thought about joining a frat. But the frat houses are just so dirty! I’m not sure I could take it.
Professor Bowman, “fraternity”是兄弟会吗？
Prof: Exactly. And the “frat house” is the house that the people in the fraternity live in. Sometimes fraternities are called the “Greek system.” If you join a fraternity, you can say that you “go Greek.”
加入兄弟会可以说“Go Greek”，真有意思！那我猜，既然有兄弟会，一定也有“姐妹会”吧？
Professor: Yes! In the next section, listen for the word “sorority,” which is a fraternity for women.
Eric: What about you? Have you ever thought about joining a sorority?
Patty: No way. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about Greek life. Plus, I’m not a big drinker and I decided it’s better to keep a clear head and focus on my studies.
Eric: You’re totally right. I like to go to parties, but I don’t want to wake up in the morning surrounded by empty beer bottles!
Patty: Yeah, partying in the place you live is a bad idea. Plus, all the hazing seems really stupid.
Eric: Yeah, some of my friends joined fraternities and they said the hazing was really bad.
看来，Patty对姐妹会不感兴趣。可她说的”hazing”是什么意思啊？
Professor: Sometimes when you want to join a club, the people in the club will make you do lots of crazy things to prove you really want to join. For example, a fraternity might haze one of the men trying to join it by making him wear a dress out in public.
啊？原来”hazing”就是整人啊！为了考验想加入兄弟会的男生，可能会让他穿着裙子到大马路上走一圈儿! 难怪Eric和Patty都讨厌这些hazing的把戏!
Eric: You know, my friend is having a party this Saturday night at his apartment. Do you want to come?
Patty: Sure! That sounds like lots of fun!
Eric: Great. Bring all of your girlfriends!
Patty: Wait a minute. Are you inviting me just so that I will bring lots of other girls to the party?
Eric: What? Of course not! I’m inviting you because I need a designated driver!
Eric请Patty去参加派对，但却是为了让Patty在派对结束后当他的专用司机 – “designated driver,” 这是什么朋友啊！
Professor: Well, if Patty is a true friend she will want to make sure Eric gets home safely, right?
那倒也是。我看Patty也是个讲义气的朋友呢!
这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。