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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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“Not exactly, sir. We have to do a lot of outside reading for the term paper. But I’m counting on keeping that B in Ec.”
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“That’s fine, Wingate. But it appears to me that it’s high time you were getting busy on some of these other grades, too. Why can’t you dig in and pull these D’s up to B’s, and this F up to at least a C? You’ve got it in you. You made an unusually high grade on your entrance exams, your record shows. Graduated from high school with honors. What’s the trouble, Wingate? Tell me!”
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● 训导长和学生这段对话，入情入理，两人口吻，均恰如其身份，是很好的戏剧对白，也可用作会话练习。
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● pipe course（美俚）：容易对付的课程。
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● it’s high time：这该是时候了。high解作far advanced：已到最后关头，不可再因循坐误。学生希望他的主系功课（经济学）能够维持乙等，但是别的功课他也该用功。were getting busy是subjunctive mood，学生是否真的回去用功，尚不可知；英美人说话，把“直述”和“虚拟”两种语气分别得很清楚。
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● dig in（美国俗语）=study hard。pull…up：把这两个丁等“拉”高，成为乙等。D’s：照文法书规定，一个单独字母的复数形式，于s之前，还要加一（’）。
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● got it的it代表“能考到好分数的学养、天分等”。
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● your record shows：据我这里的记录看来。这一句照文法分析起来，这三个字可算是“主句”，前面“You made…”是从句，做shows的宾语。事实上，训导长说这句话的时候，恐怕没有考虑到前后的主从关系，他先说了“你入学考试的成绩非常之好”——何以见得呢？有记录为凭。这三字用以附加说明，应该是一种parenthetic construction。
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● Graduated…with honors：中学毕业成绩优异。主语You省却。honors作“成绩优异”解时，一定用复数形式。
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