【英语时差8,16】十五岁天才少女入学宾夕法尼亚大学

Brittney Exline is too young to vote, drive a car or go to an R-rated movie, but at the age of just 15 she began her Ivy¹ League career when classes started at the University of Pennsylvania earlier this month.

Exline said she does not really notice the age gap between herself and her 17- and 18-year-old peers－and neither do they.

"I didn't tell people right off the bat that I was 15," she said. "A lot of people were pretty surprised."

At 8 years old, she was already in sixth grade. By 13, she had finished high school math. She turned 15 in February and graduated a few months later.

Exline excels at math and science and is interested in politics, so she enrolled² in a program that will award her degrees from both the engineering and liberal arts schools when she graduates.

"Her motivation, discipline and maturity³ provided clear evidence that, despite her age, she was ready to ... thrive in Penn's rigorous academic environment," Eric Kaplan, interim⁴ dean of admissions, said.

There have been much younger college students: Jessica Meeker⁵ enrolled at Penn State two months before her 13th birthday, graduating in 2004 at age 16.

Exline's mother, Chyrese, said her concerns about her daughter's freshman⁶ year are probably no different from any other parent's. "We did our best to prepare her," she said.

1 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

2 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》

3 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 meeker   

adj.温顺的，驯服的( meek的比较级 )

参考例句：

• I know about Greg Meeker and his pathetic little scam. 我了解格雷格·米克和他的可怜的小骗局。 来自电影对白

6 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。