1、U1我认为，选修第二专业并不适合每一位本科生。我大学本科主修英语专业，大一时就开始辅修经济学了。无疑，我是班里最用功的学生。我竭尽全力想同时达到两个不同专业的要求，但还是有不及格的时候。因为经济学需要良好的数学基础，我不得不花大量时间钻研数学，因而忽略了英语学习。 第二学期,英国文学 及宏观经济学两门课不及格给我敲响了警钟，这可是我一生中第一次考试不及格，这大大打击了我的自信心。虽然我不是一个容易向命运低头的人，在暑假结束的时候，我还是决定放弃经济学，以免两个专业都难以完成。当我只需修一个专业的时候，一切似乎又回到了正轨。(if you ask me; by all odds; try as
2、. might; given that; sap ones confidence; bow to fate; come to a close; for fear that; now that)If you ask me, taking a second major isnt good for every undergraduate. In my freshman year as English major, I took economics as my minor. By all odds, I was the most hard-working student in my class. Bu
3、t try as I might to meet the requirements of the two different subjects, I still couldnt do well enough to pass all the exams. Given that the study of economics required a good command of mathematics, I had to spend so much time on math that I neglected my English. Failing English Literature and Mac
4、roeconomics in the second term sounded the alarm for me. This was the first time I did not pass a course in my life, which had greatly sapped my confidence. Although I was not a man who would easily bow to fate, as the summer break came to a close, I decided to give up economics for fear that I woul
5、d fail both subjects. Now that I had only one subject to attend to, everything seemed to be on the right track again.U2张磊是在毕业工作后才开始意识到读书的乐趣的。反思自己的大学教育时，他感慨不已：他的一些同学都沉浸于从图书馆或书店找到的各种有趣的书籍，而他却只读了一些教科书，其中连一本真正值得一读、让他爱不释手的书都没有。他可以说是被剥夺了通过书了解作家奇妙世界的特权。 如今，他嗜书如命，废寝忘食，好像要把大学期间没机会读的好书全都读一遍。到目前为止他已经利用业余时间读了几百
6、本小说、传记和游记。他意识到书不仅能向他展示一个充满希望的前景，帮他消除现实生活中的压力和疲劳，而且能够帮他澄清一些误解，找到生活的真谛。(reflect on; immerse in; lay hands on; worthwhile; in one sitting; so to speak; vista; withstand)It was not until after he had graduated from university and started to work that Zhang Lei became aware of the pleasure of reading. Re
7、flecting on his undergraduate studies, he lamented that he, unlike some of his classmates who had immersed themselves in various interesting books they were able to lay hands on from the library or bookshops, had only read textbooks, none of which was really worthwhile, or could be read in one sitti
8、ng. He was deprived of the privilege of gaining access to the writers fantastic worlds through the windows their books have opened, so to speak. Now he has become an avid and omnivorous reader. It is as if he wants to read all those marvelous books he hadnt had a chance to read in his university day
9、s. By now, in his spare time, he has read several hundreds of books, including novels, biographies and travel notes. He realizes that books can not only reveal to him the vista of a hopeful future and help him withstand stresses and strains; they can also help him clear up some misconceptions and di
10、scover the true meaning of life.U3一个人的穿着似乎能影响他的行为方式。譬如，在校内要穿校服是中小学生所必须严格遵守的规矩之一。倘若在学生着装整齐划一和行为的统一规范之间不存在一种象征性关联的话，校服便不可能如此盛行。 然而，多年的学校生活让学生在内心里对随处可见的校服产生了抵触情绪，校服毕竟压制了个性的表达。为了弥补这种损失，学生常常会在周末穿流行的休闲装。直到上了大学，他们才会享受真正的着装自由，而服装上的无序与大学培养创造力、鼓励自由表达思想及展露才华密切相关。可惜这样的好景不会太长，经过一段相对短暂的自由之后，他们在毕业工作之后将再次经历着装规范的压力。
11、(hard and fast; there is no doubt that; currency; correlation; backlash; ubiquitous; compensate for; anarchy; obtain; revive)What you wear seems to dictate your behaviors. Take primary school and high school students for example. One of the hard and fast rules they have to observe is that they must
12、wear uniforms at school. There is no doubt that school uniforms would not have achieved their currency without a symbolic correlation between the uniformity of clothes and the students conformity to some common code of conduct. However, after years of school life, there is always a backlash secretly
13、 nursed in the students mind against the ubiquitous uniform which suppresses the expression of individuality. To compensate for this loss, students usually wear more casual and popular clothes on weekends. It is not until they start university, however, that they can really enjoy the freedom of dres
14、s, an anarchy associated with the cultivation of creativity and the encouragement of free expression of ideas and talents. But this situation wont obtain for long. After a relatively short time of liberty, they may experience again the revived pressure of dress code as soon as they become profession
15、als.U4谈及目前经济萧条所带来的影响，学生活动的减少就是一个很好的例证。为了活跃校园生活，大学愿意划拨一部分资金来资助学生社团活动，但由于今年学校的预算大幅减少，对社团的资助也相应缩减了不少。显然，学生社团要恢复以前的活力就必须想办法克服自身的经济困难。有人主张招募更多会员，因为会员费的增加可以帮助他们度过难关。 当然，如果有更多的会员交年费，而且缩减一些日常开支，我们还是能省下一些钱来组织活动的。但是，问题的关键在于社团活动的费用与参加活动的人数是成正比的，因此这种方法恐怕不太可行。要推进社团活动，同时又不使经费超支，我们必须群策群力，拿出别的筹钱方法，而不是仅仅依赖学校拨款和会员费。(
16、when it comes to; carve out; pare down; cut back on; bottom line; go into the red; pool; in lieu of)When it comes to the effects of the current economic downturn, the decrease of student activities is a good case in point. To enliven campus life, the university is always willing to carve out some mo
17、ney for activities organized by student clubs and societies, but such sponsorships have been pared down this year because of huge budget cut. Apparently, student organizations need to weather their own financial crisis if they want to recover from their current state of inactiveness. Some suggest en
18、rolling more club members, on the ground that the consequent increase of membership fees may help them get out of the difficulty. No doubt, if we have more members paying the annual fee, and if we cut back on our daily expenses, we can spare some money to organize activities. But the bottom line is
19、that the expenses of these activities are in proportion to the number of participants. Im afraid this wont be of much help. To boost student activities and to avoid going into the red, we still need to pool our ideas and come up with some other ways of raising money, in lieu of just relying on unive
20、rsity grants and membership fees.U5我们对理想丈夫或理想妻子的假设显示出我们的性别期待以及我们对性别期待的反应。如果大多数年轻姑娘希望她们的未婚夫强悍、能干、可靠，那么小伙子们也就别无选择，只能把自己训练得强悍、能干、可靠，这样才能赢得女孩子的芳心。如果他们的做法与性别期待背道而驰，那么他们很可能会在悲叹自己的光棍生涯中度过下半辈子。根据同样的不成文法则，如果多数年轻男子希望他们的未婚妻温柔体贴、耐心、忠贞，认为这些比什么都重要，那么姑娘即便不是这种人，也会假装自己将来会成为贤妻良母。 深入研究一下这种性别期待，我们就会发现这是受生理和社会因素制约的。无疑，女
21、性为孕育婴儿做好了生理准备，而男人则完全不适合这项工作。男人只有努力挣钱养家，才能让一家人过上好日子。(presumption; option; other than; bemoan; unwritten rule; to be prone to; let on; goes without saying)Our presumptions about what ideal husbands or wives are like reveal a lot about our gender expectations as well as our responses to them. If most g
22、irls want their fiancs to be tough, capable and reliable, there is no option left for young men other than to be trained as tough, capable and reliable if they want to win girls heart. If they act to the contrary, they will most probably bemoan their bachelors status for the rest of their lives. Fol
23、lowing the same unwritten rule, if most boys expect their fiances to be caring, patient and faithful more than anything else, girls are prone to let on that they will become faithful wives and loving mothers even if they are not the type. Looking into such gender expectations, we may find that they
24、are based on both physiological and social factors. It goes without saying that women are physically prepared to bear children, whereas men are utterly unfit for the job. Therefore, a family is better off when its male members devote their time to providing food and other necessities for it.U6为保证校园的
25、安全，校方最近发布了一项新的规定，禁止小商贩进入校园。校长呼吁学生在这件事上与学校合作。学生们表示强烈反对，几百名学生在学校的 BBS 上表达了他们的愤怒。他们说，因为校园离市中心很远，校内商店里的货品又不多，把小贩赶出校园就无异于把学生扔到孤岛上。有些人提出，正是在这样的事情上，学校应该听取学生的意见和需求。有些学生认为，这项规定能让校园更安全的想法是错误的。 学生的反应让校长感到震惊，为弥补过失，他宣布学校将重新考虑这项规定。他对学生说，他们完全有权力过上方便、舒适的生活，但校园的安全也同样重要。他还提议在校园里建一个大超市，在宿舍楼附近开一些便利店 (convenience store)
26、，这样就能大大方便学生们的生活。(its for matters of this kind; get sth wrong; make amends; be entitled to)To make the campus safer, the university authorities recently released a new regulation that forbids any vendors from entering the campus, and the president called on the students to cooperate with the universi
27、ty on this matter. But the students opposition was strong, and hundreds of them expressed their anger on the university BBS. They said that to keep vendors off campus was like deserting students on an isolated island, as the university was far away from the downtown and the shops on the campus did n
28、ot provide enough commodities. Some claimed that it was precisely for matters of this kind that the university should listen to students opinions and needs. Some students thought the university had got it wrong in believing that this regulation will ensure safety on campus. Shocked by students react
29、ion, the president tried to make amends for this mistake by announcing that the university will look into this new regulation again. He told students that they were entitled to live a convenient and comfortable life, but safety was just as much an important concern as that. He proposed to build a bi
30、g supermarket within the campus and some convenience stores near dormitory buildings, which would certainly make students life much easier.U7在毕业典礼上，一家知名 IT 公司的经验丰富的 CTO 托马斯 克拉克给 140 名渴望在 IT 行业干出一番事业的计算机科学专业的学生提出了一些重要建议。在他看来，信息技术不仅仅是组装机器和装置。在这个领域，创新起着关键的作用。所以 IT 工作者自然要承受巨大的压力，因为他们每天都要想出一些新点子。 但是克拉克也指
31、出，IT 行业的最终目标是利润。如果你想在这个领域获得成功，你应该牢记创新并不等同于个人主义。值得注意的是，很多有天赋的年轻人由于狂妄自大，交流能力差，没能发挥他们的潜力，因此没有取得成功。克拉克强调说，你必须学会和不同部门的人合作，这样你才能创造出能被市场接受的产品，你的才华才能绽放。(aspire to; assemble; domain; on a daily basis; ultimate; synonymous with; blossom)In the graduation ceremony, Thomas Clark, a veteran CTO of a renowned IT
32、company, offers some important advice to 140 computer science majors who aspire to pursue a successful career in IT. In his opinion, information technology is not just about assembling machines and devices; it is a domain where innovation plays the key role. So naturally IT workers have to endure gr
33、eat pressure in their work as they need to come up with new ideas on a daily basis. But Clark also points out that the ultimate goal of IT business is profit. If you want to succeed in this business, you need to keep in mind that innovation is not synonymous with individualism. It is noticeable that
34、 because of arrogance and poor communication skills many gifted young men didnt realize their potential, thus failed to achieve success. Clark emphasizes that you must learn to cooperate with people from different departments, and only thus can your talent blossom by creating products that will be a
35、ccepted by the market.U8新的国家博物馆建成之后，一些市民和建筑师对于在一群极其美丽精巧的古建筑中建造一座现代建筑感到愤怒。其高昂的维护费用和古怪的形状也引发了大量的批评。显然，许多人对在这个古城中涌现的时髦的现代建筑感到不舒服。不过，也有不少艺术家和市民觉得这些批评没有看到该建筑的美和艺术上的成熟。 在一个公众日益崇拜西方技术和风格的时代里，这座建筑所引发的争论促使许多人开始思考这座城市里古建筑的未来。古建筑复杂而奢华，大规模建造过于昂贵。而现代西方建筑常常很难跨越文化的障碍。或许应该采取更为温和的方式，事先制定一个总体的规划，让古建筑得到妥善保护，让现代建筑成为这个城
36、市和谐的一部分。(indignant; exquisite; an outburst of; erect; do justice to; contemplate; worship; extravagance; transcend; moderate)When the new National Museum was completed, some citizens and architects were indignant at the appearance of a modern building amidst the most beautiful and exquisite ancient
37、buildings of the city. There was also an outburst of criticism of its high cost of maintenance and its strange shape. Obviously, some people felt uncomfortable with such fashionable modern buildings being erected in the city. But on the other hand, many artists and citizens believed that these criti
38、cisms failed to do justice to the beauty and artistic maturity of the new museum. The debate caused by this museum forces many people to contemplate the future of those ancient buildings of the city in an age when the public increasingly worship the modern Western technology and styles. With their e
39、xtravagance and complexity, it is costly to build ancient buildings on a large scale. At the same time, beautiful modern buildings of Western styles cannot always transcend the cultural barrier. Maybe a more moderate approach should be adopted. A careful overall plan should be made beforehand to ensure that the ancient buildings are properly preserved and the modern buildings become a harmonious part of the city.
