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Unit 4
Learning Skills
In-Class Reading
Study Habits
I. Word List
Directions: Memorize the following words and phrases before class. You will benefit from your effort when you get the passage from your teacher and read it in class.
New Words
adept
adj. good at doing something that needs care and skill 熟练的，擅长的
amaze *
v. cause (someone) to be extremely surprised 使......大为惊奇
e.g. It amazes me that she's got the energy for all those parties.
amazing
adj. causing great surprise or wonder 令人惊奇的
e.g. It's amazing that no one else has applied for the job.
axe *
n. 斧子
basically *
adv. with regard to what is most important and basic 基本上，本质上
e.g. He's basically a nice person.
borderline
adj. between two different groups or categories 介乎两种情况之间的
classify *
v. 分类，归类
e.g. Would you classify her novels as serious literature or as mere entertainment?
crammer
n. 为应付考试而临时死记硬背的人
disrupt *
v. 扰乱
e.g. John disrupted our meeting.
distinct *
adj. clearly different or belonging to a different type 不同的，有区别的
e.g. Mozart's musical style is quite distinct from Beethoven's.
extreme *
n. 极端
e.g. Love and hatred are two extremes of feeling.
instructor *
n. (AmE) 大学讲师
e.g. a chemistry instructor
nightmare *
n. 噩梦
e.g. The whole journey was a nightmare--we lost our luggage and we arrived two days late.
overall *
adv. on the whole, generally 大体上，总体上
e.g. Overall, prices are still rising.
perpetual *
adj. continuous, never stopping 永久的，永恒的
e.g. He is on a perpetual search for truth.
precedence
n. 优先权
reread *
v. (reread) read again 再阅读
e.g. It is fun to reread a good book.
scholastic
adj. (formal)学术的；学习的
snack *
n. 快餐；点心
threat *
n. 威胁，危险
e.g. They lived under the threat of war.
Study Habits
1 In college in any class, you will find widely different types of people, not only in personality but also in scholastic attitude. This same range from one extreme to the other can also be observed in their study habits. In fact, students can be divided into distinct groups based on their study habits. There are basically three categories: the perpetual studier, the average studier, and the crammer.
2 The perpetual studier is a rare breed indeed. But they exist and they aren't very hard to spot. They usually sit in the front of the class and write about three pages of notes a day regardless of how much material the instructor covers. They don' t talk to anyone except to answer questions, and that only at the end of class when the lecture is over. When a perpetual studier goes home, before he does anything else, he takes out all his books and begins studying for the classes that he has the next day. He studies until really late at night, stopping only once or twice for a quick snack. When he is informed that he has a test, he will begin preparing for it at least five days in advance unless, of course, he is told less than five days previous to the test, in which case he will study until he has covered all the notes he has at least ten times or until he knows the material backwards and forwards. Although the perpetual studier does well in school, he usually misses out on social life. There are a select few who maintain something of a social life, but this is rare. Most of them never meet new people except in situations where they are forced to, such as meeting their roommates at the start of school. However, they will graduate with a 4.0 grade point average and be successful in life-as long as they don' t choose careers that require many social skills.
3 The majority of students fall into a category that I refer to as the average studier. This person studies sufficiently but doesn't work more than necessary. When he studies for a test, he will look over the notes taken, reread appropriate pages in the textbook, and study with a friend sometimes. Overall, he may put in anywhere from two to six hours a day studying during the week leaving Friday and Saturday for his social life and then spend from four to eight hours studying on Sunday. The average studier takes his education seriously and will study with friends much more often than will the perpetual studier. He will have a good time getting an education. For him the line between education and having a good time is a lot thinner than with the perpetual studier. The average studier will leave college with at least a solid education and will be much more socially adept than the perpetual studier.
4 The third type of studier is the crammer. This type of person studies only when the threat of taking that class over is very great. When he studies for a test, he doesn't begin until the night before or the morning of the test. He spends most of his time doing anything that doesn't have to do with school. It amazes me how people like this manage to get by with the extremely small amount of studying they do, but somehow they do. Their homework is last on their list of things to do. If they are bored and they are on a borderline D, they might do some homework. But before they do such a deed, they will rack their brains trying to think of something else to do. It is amazing to watch a crammer trying to avoid doing homework. Cleaning the room even takes precedence over homework—not to mention sleep.
5 The crammers are easily recognized in any classroom. They sit in the place farthest from the teacher, and they usually group together. They seem to have the attitude that they are in class to do nothing but have a good time and attract attention. They enjoy disrupting class, and if left alone they will infect a classroom much like cancer infects a body. They are the teachers' nightmares, and there is always at least one in every class. But at the very last minute-before the axe falls, so to speak-they will hit the books. Although some of the crammers won't last for four years, most of them will graduate. They will leave college, though, with little education and few social skills.
6 It can be argued, of course, that there should be a fourth category-the never studier, one who quite literally never studies not even at the very last minute. But then, this person doesn't remain classified as a student for very long. (803 words)
Time taken: ______ minutes
Phrases and Expressions
backwards and forwards
完全地，彻底地
e.g. He understood automobile engines backwards and forwards.
fall into
be able to be divided into 可分为
e.g. Those problems fall into several main categories.
get by
凑合，过得去
e.g. They have very little money but they will get by.
in advance
beforehand, ahead of time 预先，事先
e.g. Everything had been fixed in advance.
leave alone
不管，别惹，别碰
e.g. He is busy, we'd better leave him alone.
look over
翻阅
e.g. Would you mind looking over my exercise?
miss out (on)
fail to use an opportunity to enjoy or benefit from something 错过(机会)
e.g. When he couldn't come to the party, he thought he was missing out on something, but he wasn't really, because it wasn't very enjoyable.
not to mention
更不用说
e.g. He has a big house and an expensive car, not to mention a villa (别墅) in France.
previous to
prior to, before 在......之前
e.g. She became ill previous to her visit.
put in
spend (a period of time) working at something 花费(时间)
e.g. Put in some time asking yourself why.
rack one's brain (s)
think very hard 绞尽脑汁，拼命地想
e.g. John racked his brain during the test trying to solve the problem.
refer to... as...
把......称为......
e.g. The speaker referred to him as an up-and-coming (大有前途的) politician.
regardless of
paying no attention to 不理会，不管......如何
e.g. He went regardless of the risk.
so to speak
可以说，容许我打个比喻
e.g. He is, so to speak, our King.
take precedence over
比......重要，比......优先处理
e.g. Business people often think that fluency (流利) and communication take precedence over grammar when speaking.
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