3. Paraphrase 1) I remember that a few years ago when I was teaching a springquarter class, a group of senior students were late for the class, and they walked into the classroom slowly and casually. They looked a little spiritless and depressed. 2) For them university is not so much a place where they learn knowledge and explore the mystery of the unknown world with joy, but just a place to help them to attain one more aim — to get a job. 3) During the last quarter century the competition in our society gets fiercer in every aspect and is the same with the parents’ mode of bringing up children. But this way of teaching children is too competitive and harmful to their development. This kind of harm is beginning to show now.
Vocabulary Exercises 1. Word Finding 1) straggle 2) defuse 3) adore cubicle 5) flummoxed 6) nurture 7) weird 8) dismay desperate 10)columnist 2. Blank Filling 1) passionately 2) adorable 3) Micromanagement shrugged 5) nurtured 6) bafflement 7) desperately 8) internship 9) inauthentic 10) columnist 3. Word Picking 1) D 2)B 3) A 4)D
Text Analysis 1) The word “passion” occurs five times. The author mentions it first in the first paragraph introducing the main idea of the whole passage. It gives reader a hint that the whole article will be somehow related to the passion of somebody. The second time it is mentioned in the third paragraph to show that passion is very important for college student. The third time it occurs in the seventh paragraph and here the author wants to point out that passion refers to anything students show interest in and make effort to pursue their interest. The fourth time the author mentions it in the 13th paragraph telling what has happened to those students who act only to do what their parents require them to do and the fifth time it is mentioned in the 14th paragraph serving as a conclusive clue that passion does not disappear completely and some young people still pursue their passion. The word occurs over and over again and it is like the line of central idea and the whole article develops and focuses on this idea.
2) The kid from the back of room is mentioned at the beginning as example to show that the college students have no passion just because they are puzzled about their future and their parents may not tell them what passion is and how to pursue passion. When mentioned again at the end of passage, it indicates some students are still pursuing their passion and the kid is just one. 3) The sentence “Never sell your passion for a paycheck” is the most important sentence. The whole article centers on this idea. 4) It can be divided into three paragraphs. Part I (1—4): Current college students are under all kinds of pressure and have no time to pursue passion. Part II (5—13): It explains why many college students don’t pursue passions. Part III (14—16): Fortunately, college students’ passion has not disappeared completely. 5) The main idea of this article is that college is a place for students to pursue their passion whether their passion is art, music or any other thing. The most important thing for college students is to discover their interest. They come to college to receive education rather than to get a diploma to get a job. Many students are obsessed much with money so they have no time to pursue their passion. Fortunately, some students are still pursuing their passion and it’s a good thing.
Text A
Consolidation Exercises Text Comprehension 1. True or False Statement 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) F
5) F
2. Question Answering 1) Because these college seniors were going to graduate from university and they had just talked with their financial aid counselor and found they would pay a lot after they graduated which was a great pressure to them so they felt confused and spiritless. 2) Because most students get more and more practical and they come to college to obtain a diploma for finding a good job instead of getting an education or to pursue their childhood passion. 3) The author thinks the competitive parents give too much pressure to their children, which is very harmful to children’s development and that may be the reason why many college students lose passion. 4) It seems most students are going to do the kind of job which is safe, risk free, but with a good starting salary. 5) University education plays a very important role in one’s lifetime. It not only increases one’s knowledge, widens ones’ horizon and it will also help to develop one’s character.