美語情景對話 第591期:Circle of Friends 朋友圈

Todd: Now, Keiko, maybe you can help me. I teach at university. My students are university students and they are so devoted to their circle, their clubs. Why? Why are they so — To them, it's more important than class.

託德：惠子，我想也許你能幫我。我在大學教課。我的學生是大學生，他們更熱衷於交際圈的活動，爲什麼呢？對他們來說，他們的圈子比課堂學習更重要。

Keiko: Well, I think it's because, in a way they have been like a prisoner, you know, a prisoner of, you know, the cram school. They couldn't have much social life until they get into university, and finally they have this freedom after they got into university and now is there, actually, the first and the last chance to have fun with their friends because after four years they have to start working, and before the school years and university, they have to study everyday, so I think they are trying to get the most out of their school years.

惠子：我想是因爲他們覺得他們之前的生活像囚犯一樣受限制，你知道他們之前要上補習班。在進大學之前他們沒有多少社交生活，上大學以後他們終於自由了，這是他們第一次也是最後一次和朋友們玩樂的機會，因爲四年以後他們就要步入職場，而上大學之前他們每天都要努力學習，所以我認爲他們是在試圖最有效地利用他們的大學生活。

Todd: So, when you were at university, was your circle or club more important to you than your actual studies?

託德：你上大學時，你的交際圈也比學習重要嗎？

Keiko: No, actually, I was a bit different, cause I always heard about how Japanese students don't study hard in university, so I said to myself, OK, I won't be like that.

惠子：並不是這樣的，我的情況有些不同，我經常聽別人說日本學生在大學裏學習並不努力，所以我對我自己說，好，我不會那樣的。

Todd: Oh, wow, that's very admirable.

託德：哦，哇，那值得讚揚。

Keiko: But then, I did, I was one of the university organizers, university festival organizers. I was a member of that. I had done that for two years but also I tried to study as much as I could, which you know, by getting the teaching certificate from primary schools and did my thesis, my graduation thesis. It was very strange because a lot of my friends told me their graduation thesis was about 20 pages long and they just finished it in two weeks.

惠子：所以我就這樣做了，我是大學慶典組織者之一。我是其中一名成員。這項工作我做了兩年，當然我也有盡最大努力學習，你知道，我要獲得小學任教資格證書，還要準備畢業論文。我有許多朋友說他們的畢業論文有20頁長，但是隻用了兩週的時間就完成了，我覺得這很奇怪。

Todd: Man!

託德：天哪！

Keiko: And my professor didn't let us, allow us to do that so we had to spend two years on the research. We had to write at least a hundred pages so I learned quite a lot from that program and I was glad that I could balance out my university life between fun and study.

惠子：我的教授不允許我們那樣做，所以我們要花兩年的時間進行研究。我們的畢業論文至少要寫100頁，而我也從研究項目上學到了很多知識，能平衡大學生活和學習我感到很高興。

Todd: One thing that shocked me at university is that a lot of times kids sleep in class, or they read books. They don't even listen to the professor and the professor doesn't look upset.

託德：大學有一點令我很震驚的是，學生經常會在課堂上睡覺或者看其他的書。學生根本沒有聽教授講課，而那些教授看起來也並不沮喪。

Keiko: Yeah, it's true.

惠子：對，是這樣的。

Todd: Why? Like, how come the professor doesn't get mad?

託德：爲什麼會這樣？教授爲什麼不生氣呢？

Keiko: I think they understand what the students have come through. I mean, I think it depends on the professors. For example, my professor was quite strict but a lot of the professors don't care because they know what they've gone through. They know their situation when they came to university. "Ah, yeah, let them have fun." And if they can still pass the class as long as their in the class, they don't have to do much work and even for the exams they can just pass around the notes, and somebody who ever took the notes, studied in the last two days, and they can just pass the class, so. I guess that's a good way to look at it. I guess that they still have to be responsible for the work at the end.

惠子：我認爲教授瞭解學生們的大學生活。這要取決於教授的態度。舉個例子，我的教授非常嚴格，但是許多教授對此並不在意，因爲他們知道學生們經歷的事情。他們瞭解學生進入大學以後的狀態。他們會想：好，就讓他們開心玩樂吧。如果他們不聽講也能通過考試，那他們就不用做太多功課，學生們在考試前會互相傳遞課堂筆記，所以那些從來不記筆記的人，在考試前兩天突擊一下也能通過考試。我認爲從好的方面來看是這樣的。我想他們最後仍要負責一些工作。

Keiko: Yeah.

惠子：對。

Todd: Well, that's very interesting.

託德：嗯，有意思。

譯文屬僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載

重點講解：
1. be devoted to 愛好的；熱衷的；致力（於…）的；
例句：Horace is so devoted to his garden that he hasn't been away for 10 years.
霍勒斯對他的花園太過上心，都有10年沒出過遠門了。
2. balance out （使）平衡；（使）相抵；（使）抵消；
例句：The strenuous exercise undergone could balance out the increased calories.
所進行的劇烈運動可以消耗掉增加的熱量。
3. be responsible for 對（某事物）負責的；
例句：He is directly responsible for it.
他直接負責那件事。
4. at the end 最後；
例句：At the end, they agreed to her arrangement.
最後，他們同意了她的安排。