【一起闲话英语】学习英语的问题—Problems with My English

Passage Transcript¹

i came from Japan to the United States in nineteen sixty-one. it was long long time ago. that means, I’m pretty old. i’m not a young girl anymore. hehe. and, uh, ah, in nineteen-sixties, early nineteen-sixties Japan was still, uh, in turmoil² of recovering from the damage, they got from Second World War. and as soon as i came to the United State, i took toefl test, and i enrolled³ to the University of Illinois mathematics department, as a graduate student. well test_ toefl test, i have never taken, uh, multiple choice items. and, uh. i felt it’s awkward because, uh, it's, uh, requires a lot of different ways to, get answer. but anyway i barely, uh, passed. i didn’t flunk⁴ out. and, uh, i went to next_ i, Math department accepted me as a graduate student. so i started taking, uh, first, uh, courses, uh, English courses. and it was so elementary courses. but i enjoyed it because, uh, English education in Japan, at that time, was so bad. so bad that i couldn’t understand, uh, ah, uh, the radio... announcers were saying, "time." it said, "six o’clock in the morning." and i couldn’t catch it. and, i tried to fix my watch, and i listened to, listened to very carefully. but i couldn’t catch, the correct time. and finally i figured out, "okay, let’s go to walk in Urbana, a city, and find out_ uh, clock somewhere, haha and then i can fix my time easily" hehehe. oh that was_ so i started, you know, wandering a small town, Champagne⁵, Urbana. and looking at restaurant, and whether or not they have a little, you know, clock there. hehehe and i found out it was very difficult to find clocks, in the stores. it is so funny. i think. so i finally_ i saw a fat, tall, big man, uh, was wearing a wrist watch. and so i ask, i ask him "i’m sorry. please help me". And he said, "yes". so i pointed⁶ to my wrist watch and said, uh, "what time it is?" hehehehe. and there i got fixed⁷ my time. and it was noon. so i spent, uh, six o’clock in a morning till noon, trying to fix my watch. hehehe, and find out the ti- right time. and that was such a shocking experience to me. but, it was not only, you know, experience.

and well i_ in Japan i studied mathematics fairly, uh, well in advanced class. so that, i had very good basic knowledge about it, so that masters, you know, or degree at University of Illinois, in math department, math department was a very easy one for me. and_ but one day i went to a class. guess what, i was almost going to faint because it was, time for little test. and everybody was ready with the pencil, pencils and waiting for instructors⁹, give us, uh, exams, problems. and i did not catch obviously, uh, instructors announcement. and i was going to faint, and my head started spinning and, my face became, blushed and i lost_ i was almost going to faint. but, finally i told myself, "hey i missed English, probably he, he told me it was test today. and i didn’t catch it. so I have to do my best, even though i flunk out test." and so, i calmed down myself, after, told me myself, "hey calm down, and, uh, there’s no way to you know, uh, quit." so i took test and, uh, i made a B minus. it was pass. so it’s ok.

and, the second occasion was_ uh, it was a final exam. and, i studied well, studied studied, studied. and, i went to the classroom for taking, the final exam for, test. that was advanced, uh, analysis, uh, analysis course. and guess what. when i started, trying to take test, everybody has textbooks, notebooks. two or three of them, piling up on their desk. and in order to solve... answer the problems they kept referring to notebooks, textbooks. and, here i am, i didn’t have any... notebook, my notebook, and textbooks, and anything. and, i get to finish test without any references, or any note- my notebook, or my textbook. and as soon as i finished, uh, well, you know, exam, i went to my instructor⁸ and i said, "well I did not bring my notebook, or textbooks, while everybody was using them." I said "I was a little bit, uh, stupid. but, i think it’s not fair." so i asked him, "please let me re-take once more." and he said "well, well, if you pass it then, go for it. and next semester, you will be better with, uh, uh, English". and i, i said to me, "well, grades are not so important anyway". and, uh, i got B plus for that course. so that uh_ but then i decided¹⁰ why i_ what expression i missed. and i asked the_ my friend, one of my friends in class.,he told me it was, i missed "open book test."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

3 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 flunk   

v.(考试)不及格(=fail)

参考例句：

• I will flunk him if my student doesn't learn the material in the course.如果我的学生没有掌握课程的内容，我就会让他不及格。
• If you flunk finals,you don't get the chance to do them again.如果你没通过期末考试，就没有机会再考一次了。

5 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

6 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

7 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

8 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

9 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。