1. Wish For the Freshman Year

2. 1. When did the author write this passage and what was he when he wrote this passage?
He wrote it less than two weeks before his graduation and he was a senior student at college then.

3. 2. How was the author different from many of his classmates?
Many of them couldn’t wait to graduate while the author wanted to turn back the time and cherish every day of his college experience again.

4. 3. Which year of college had been the most remarkable one of the author’s life? Why did he say so?
His sophomore year of college had been the most remarkable one because
a) it was in that year that he finally convinced his mother that he was going to be OK living on campus.
b) he made some lifelong friends that year and
c) he came to know more about himself through many triumphs and failures.

5. 4. What kind of feeling did the author get every time he thought about the fact that he was going to graduate?
He got a queasy feeling.

6. 5. How did he feel when he was asked what he was going to do after college?
He felt like screaming at the top of his lungs.

7. 6. Did the idea of a lifetime commitment to a certain job after graduation appeal to the author?
No, it didn’t. It seemed like torture to him.

8. 7. What did the author realize when walking on campus in the middle of the night?
He realized that he missed his college days so much. He realized his college days had been wonderful and special.

9. 8. What is the main idea the author wanted to convey to us in this passage?
He wanted to tell us that he valved his college life and wished it would not have to end.

10. 1. In less than two weeks, I’ll have graduated. (Para 1)
I’ll have graduated within two weeks.
不到两周，我就要毕业了。
This is an example of the use of the future perfect tense. The future perfect tense tells us something that will be past at or before a certain time in the future.

11. Examples: By this time next week, you’ll have taken your examination.
I hope it will have stopped raining before we have to go.
I hope that everything I have told you will not have been forgotten by the next lesson.

12. 2. 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. (Para 1)
Being a freshman of the university, the author was not familiar with the school resources. That was why he asked of others the location of the classroom building on the first class day.
我依然记得第一天去上课时的情景，我一边望着课表背面的地图，一边打听教学楼在哪儿。

13. 3. Every day I wish I could freeze time and make the next two weeks go more slowly. (Para 1)
“wish” is followed by a subjunctive clause here.
每天我都祈愿时间会凝滞，接下来的两周过得更慢一些。
Examples:
I wish it were cooler. (It is not cool. It is hot.)
I wish you had been to the cinema with us last night. ( You didn’t.)

14. 4. ... and through many triumphs and failures I came to know more about myself. (Para 2)
I had experienced many successes and many failures. It was through these successes and failures that I got to know myself better.
历经多次的成功与失败使我对自己有了更多的了解。

15. 5. As I walk down the familiar routes on campus, I found myself doing a lot of soul-searching and reminiscing. (Para 3)
As I walk on the familiar campus road, I find myself thinking about the passed days I spent at the college.
soul-searching: a deep examination of one’s mind and conscience.
走在校园熟悉的路上，不知不觉中就陷入了深深的反思和对往昔的回忆中。

16. 6. The world is enormous and the possibilities are endless. (Para 3)
The world is so big and who knows what will happen (after graduation).
世界如此之大，可能发生的事情太多太多。

17. 7. I am getting a queasy feeling deep down every time I think about the fact that I’m going to be graduating. (Para 4)
I feel quite uneasy at the idea that I will graduate from college.
每每想到就要毕业，我就打心眼儿里感到不安。

18. None phrases like every time / the moment / next time can also be used to introduce adverbial clauses of time.
Examples:
Every time I catch a cold, I have a pain in my back.
Stormy applause broke forth the moment the pop star appeared on the stage.

19. 8. It’s too difficult to even contemplate the idea that soon I will be waking up in the mornings and not have a class to which I should be going. (Para 4)
It is so difficult for me to understand that soon I will be waking up in the mornings and find there is no class for me to go to.
甚至不敢想像早上醒来没有课上会是什么样的情形。

20. Summarize the passage using the tips below.
no parents around
make all decisions
a real career
give some guidance
set either a good or a bad example
never have such an opportunity again

21. Reference Summary
College is a safe laboratory in which to experiment with new things. There are no parents around to control you or make all decisions for you. But most of the decisions you make don’t have as great a risk as they will have after college. Being a student is a real career but only a temporary one.

22. Reference Summary
Teachers can give some guidance without being either parents or bosses. Classmates can set either a good or a bad example, and you can learn to tell the outside the classroom is
an important part of the college experience. Students should cherish all of this like the student in the story, because they may never have such an opportunity again.

23. 1. cherish:
to care for tenderly; love; to keep a feeling deeply and firmly in mind
Examples:
The old man cherished the girl as if she were his daughter.
The child has been away for more than three years and his parents always cherish the hope that he will come back soon.

24. 2. commitment:
a responsibility or promise to follow certain beliefs or a certain course of action
Examples:
Come and look round our shop without a commitment to buy anything.
I don’t want to get married because I don’t want any commitments.

25. 3. contemplate:
to think (about) deeply and thoughtfully
Examples:
The doctor contemplated the difficult operation he had to perform.
The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.

26. 4. envy:
1) n. a feeling you have towards someone that you wish you could have the same thing or quality they have
Examples:
He was filled with envy at my success.
His new car was the envy of all his friends.
2) v. to feel envy of (sb.) or at (sth.)

27. 5. involve:
to have as a part or result
Examples:
Taking the job would involve living abroad.
Listening to radio programs is a good pastime because it involves the listener’s imagination.

28. 6. recapture:
to capture again; to get into one’s power again; cause to be experienced again
Examples:
The police recaptured the escaped prisoner.
During the party with some young people, the parents found themselves recapturing the joys of their youth.

29. 7. remarkable:
worth mentioning; unusual
Examples:
She is remarkable for her sweet temper.
When we went swimming last summer, we saw a most remarkable sunset at the beach.

30. 8. reminisce:
to talk or think about past experiences, esp. pleasant ones
Examples:
The two friends were reminiscing about their youth.

31. 9. at the idea of:
at the thought of
Examples:
Having never lived away from her parents, Jane began to panic at the idea of living on campus on her own.
Smiles broadened my mother’s face, she just couldn’t help it at the idea of the family reunion.

32. 10. come to:
(used with an infinitive ) to learn to, to grow to
Examples:
He had come to like the city better after living there for three years.
I have come to realize how important it is to learn to use a computer.

33. Do you feel like a cup of coffee?
(informal) to have a wish for; want. It is often followed by a noun or a gerund.
Examples:
Do you feel like a cup of coffee?
It is such a fine day. I feel like going out for a picnic.
c.f. feel: to give or produce the stated sensation
“What is this in my pocket? It feels like a nut.”

34. 12. look back:
to review the past; think of what has happened
Examples:
Looking back on the past, I can now see that I wasted so much of my precious time.
He looks back at the four years of his college days with satisfaction.

35. 13. turn back:
to (cause to) return
Examples:
We’d better turn back. It is getting dark.
So much for the new words. Now, please turn back to page Let’s read the text.