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“Pretty well, sir. Yes, sir, a little. I wear these glasses.”
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● slip：纸条，即训导长传见的通知条。bearing Charlie’s name：一面有他的名字。Charles是他的学名，Charlie是朋友熟人间的昵称。
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● as if it were an honor：握手的方式很亲热，好像Charlie是什么大人物，而训导长同他一握手，训导长会觉得很光荣似的。button：电铃之钮。
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● Miss Dunn：女秘书的芳名。folder：文件夹子，内藏有关该学生的文件。
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● W-i-n-g-a-t-e：训导长把字母一个一个地拼出来，俾档案容易找寻。
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● by now：上了这几个星期的课（到了现在这个时候）。college可译作“大学生活”，Charlie也是一名新生。Eyes troubling you? ：训导长看见学生戴茶晶眼镜故发此问。
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● Pretty well：恐怕是答复第一个问题，很喜欢大学生活。a little：眼睛有一点儿毛病。I wear these glasses：我经常戴这一副眼镜。wear是present indicative，照文法书上说，这种时态可以表示“习惯，经常”之意。sir：学生叫老师，士兵叫官长，都用这个称呼。
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The secretary came back with the folder and the Dean looked through it briefly. “Well, Wingate, I suppose you’re anxious to know why I sent for you. The unpleasant truth is, Wingate, you don’t seem to be doing so well in your college work. Your freshman adviser conferred with you twice about this, and this week he turned your case over to me. My purpose, of course, is to help you. Now, to be quite frank, Wingate, you’re on the verge of flunking out. Less than a third of the semester remains, and you have a failing grade in English 101, conditional grades in Psychology 51 and Military Training, three hours of F and four hours of D, almost half your total number of hours. On the other hand, you have an A average in Spanish 1 and B in Economics 150. Wingate, how do you account for your failing English when you are an A student in Spanish?”
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● briefly：简略地。sent for you：找你来谈话。注意时态用过去式，学生已在面前，“召唤”已为过去之事。
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● unpleasant truth：谈起来使人很不愉快，但事实真相是如此。to be doing：注意它的进行时态。
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● freshman adviser：大一导师。conferred with you：同你谈过。
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● on the verge of：在边缘上，即将。flunking是美国字：学业成绩不及格。flunking out：因学期成绩不佳而被勒令退学。
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● Less than a third…：点明时候，这一学期所剩不到三分之一的时间了。English 101：大学课程通常都用号码代表课程名称，English 101可能即是大一英文；大二散文可能叫做English 201。号码的编制各学校并不一律。
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● conditional grades：即丁等，或D。F是不及格（failing grade），某课程如得F即不给学分。得D者，在某种条件之下（如补考得C以上，或与其他得B以上之课程相平均），仍可得学分。故D可称为“成问题的分数”。three hours of F：三个学分得F，即English 101。hours 是每星期上课的钟点数，通常钟点数即代表该课程的学分。four hours of D：大一Psychology 51是三学分，军训是一学分。
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● A average：平均分数得甲等。Spanish 1：第一年西班牙文，这是美国大学里的外国语。
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● account for：说明。怎么本国语考了一个戊等，外国语反而得甲等呢？
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“To tell you the truth, sir, I got behind on my written work in English, and I’ve never been able to catch up. And I don’t really have to study Spanish. My father is a railway section foreman in my home town, and he’s always had a gang of Mexicans working for him. I’ve been speaking Mexican ever since I was a kid. I probably know as much Spanish as my professor.”
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● got behind on my written work：欠缴作文，欠缴练习。catch up：赶上；作文练习太多，补缴也不及。
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● railway section foreman：铁路某一段的工头。父亲手下工人大多数为墨西哥人（学生的家乡大约在美国的西南部，邻近墨西哥的地方），墨西哥人说西班牙话，学生耳染目濡，从小就会西班牙文。
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“How about this B in Economics? That’s a fairly high grade.”
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“Yes, sir. Doctor Kenshaw—he’s my Ec professor—doesn’t give exams. Instead he gives every one a B until he calls for our term papers. We don’t recite in his class. We just listen to him lecture. And the grade you get on your term paper is your semester grade.”
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● fairly high grade：相当高的分数。学生承认这个分数不算坏，故答曰：“Yes, sir”。
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● Ec是economics的简称，exam是examination的简称。这位教授不举行考试，平时分数每人都是一个B，最后分数视“期终论文”而定。现在期终论文还没有缴，所以这位学生平时分数可以有B。按：中国一般大学，教授到了学期终了，才把分数送进教务处。本文所述的那家美国大学，平时分数随时送教务处或学生的导师，可以说是很认真的了。
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● recite：背诵。上课不背书，只要听教授讲述即可（lecture是infinitive）。
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“Ah! What you students term a pipe course, eh, Wingate?”
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