大学体验英语第一册Unit1-Passage B

Passage B Wish for the Freshman¹ Year
After four years, the time has come. In less than two weeks, I will have graduated. I look back now and I can't believe how fast it all went. I can still remember the first day of classes, looking on the map on the back of the Schedule of Classes and asking where the classroom building was. Now I'm a senior, looking at freshmen² with envy. Every day I wish I could freeze time and make the next two weeks go more slowly. I know a lot of people who can't wait to graduate, but for me it's the opposite. I want to turn back time instead and cherish every day of my college experience once again.
　　 For me, college has been a great learning experience, and most of the learning process has taken place outside of the classroom. My sophomore³ year of college was perhaps the most remarkable⁴ year of my life. This was the year that I finally convinced my mom that I was going to be OK living on campus, and she finally let me go. This was the year that I made some lifelong friends, and through many triumphs and failures I came to know more about myself. My sophomore year involved experimenting with new things, such as camping in mountains, attempting to present some lousy poems to newspapers and drawing cartoons of my teachers in class.

　　As I walk down the familiar routes on campus, I find myself doing a lot of soul-searching and reminiscing. I find myself wanting to start all over again and recapture the fun and excitement of my college days. I have been panicking at the idea of graduating. I have been going to school for as long as I can remember, and I feel like there is so much more that I want to learn, but instead I have to graduate. The world is enormous and the possibilities are endless. For the past four years I have been surrounded with a safety net. The student status has been a somewhat comforting feeling, giving me an escape from the realities of the world outside.

　　 With less than two weeks left of school, I'm getting a queasy⁵ feeling deep down every time I think about the fact that I'm going to be graduating. For as long as I can remember, I have been a student. I feel like I'm living in denial about graduating. Every time I get asked about what I'm going to do after college I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs. I don't know what I want to do with the rest of my life. It's too difficult to even contemplate⁶ the idea that soon I will be waking up in the mornings and not have a class to which I should be going.

　　 On a recent interview, I was asked, "Is this the profession you want for the rest of your life?" I was amused and almost laughed at the question, but I gave an honest answer. I don't know what the future holds. During the last four years I have changed my mind so many times, the idea of a lifetime commitment to a certain job seems like torture.

　　 Walking on campus in the middle of the night I realize how much I will miss my college days. Every little thing seems so much more beautiful. And every little thing makes me realize how wonderful and special my college experience has been. I will cherish these days forever as I reluctantly close the doors on my college life.

1 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

2 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

3 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 queasy   

adj.易呕的

参考例句：

• I felt a little queasy on the ship.我在船上觉得有点晕眩想呕吐。
• He was very prone to seasickness and already felt queasy.他快晕船了，已经感到恶心了。

6 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。