英语美文.docx

英语美文.docx

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英语美文

1、SavingmoneyforCollegeonMyOwn

Finally,Ienteredtheinstitution.Becauseofmycarefulsavings,Ididnothavetoworkduringtheschoolyear.Then,summercameanditwastimetoworkharderthanever.Icontinuedworkingasawaitressatnight,instructedtenniscampsseveralmorningsaweekandworkedasasecretaryforafewhoursintheafternoons.Beingalittleoverzealous,Ialsodecidedtotakeaclassatacommunitycollege.Thisclassatthecommunitycollegesavedme$650.itwasanexhaustingsummerandmademeanxioustoreturntomyrelativelyeasylifeatcollege.

Duringmysecondandthirdyearsofundergraduateschooling,Idecidedtoworkaboutfivehoursperweekinthecampusadmissionsofficeansweringphones.Thisprovidedalittlespendingmoneyandkeptmefromdrainingmysavings.TheoverallsituationlookedhopefulasIapproachedmysenioryearaslongasIcouldmakeasmuchmoneyasIhadtheprevioussummer.IwantedtogotoIsraeltostudyfor3weeks,butIhesitatedinmakingthisdecisionbecauseitwouldcostme$1,600moretogetthecreditsinIsrael.AbouttwoweekslatermyMomcalledtotellmethatIhad$1,600inthebankthatIhadforgottenabout!

Oneofmyconcernsaboutthistripwasnotonlythecost,butthelossoftimetomakemoney;however,ImadeasmuchthatsummerinthetenweekswhenIwasathomeasIhadmadeduringthefourteenweekswhenIwasathomethesummerbefore.Thewayeverythingworkedtogethertomakethistripfeasiblewasoneofthemostexcitingthingsthathaveeverhappenedtome.

Thisexperiencehasshapedmeinmanyimportantways.ThefirstthingthatIlearnedwastheimportanceofastrongworkethic.Workinglonghoursdidalottomoldmycharacterandhelpedmelearnthevalueofadollar.Italsomademelearnhowtocraftcreativesolutionstodifficultdilemmas.

WheneverIamoverwhelmedorafraidofthefuture,Icanremembermy$64,268miracle.

2、Competition

Itisaplainfactthatweareinaworldwherecompetitionisgoingoninallareasandatalllevels.Thisisexciting.Yet,ontheotherhand,competitionbreezeapragmaticattitude.Peoplechoosetolearnthingsthatareuseful,anddothingsthatareprofitable.Todays'collegeeducationisalsoaffectedbythisgeneralsenseofutilitarianism.Manycollegestudentschoosebusinessnorcomputingprogrammingastheirmajorsconvincedthatthisprofessionsarewherethebigmoneyis.Itisnotunusualtoseethecollegestudentstakingaparttimejobsasawarmingupfortherealbattle.IoftenseemyfriendstakingGREtests,workingonEnglishorcomputercertificatesandtakingthedrivinglicencetogetalicence.Well,Ihavenothingagainstbeingpractical.Asthecompetitioninthejobmarketgetsmoreandmoreintense,studentsdohavereasonstobepractical.However,weshouldneverforgetthatcollegeeducationismuchmorethanskilltraining.Justimagine,ifyourutilitarianismisprevailsoncampus,livingnospaceforthecultivationofstudents'minds,ornurturingoftheirsoul.Wewillseeuniversityistrainingoutwelltrainedspiritlessworkingmachines.Ifutilitarianismprevailssociety,wewillseepeoplebondbymind-forgedmedicalslostinthemoney-makingventures;wewillseehumalitylossingtheirgraceanddignity,andthatwouldbedisastrous.I'dliketothinksocietyasacourageandpeoplepersumedforprofitorfameasahoresethatpullsthecourage.Yetwithoutthedriverpickingdirectionthecouragewouldgostraightandmayevenendoutinaprecarioussituation.Acertificatemaygiveyousomeadvantage,butbroadhorizons,positiveattitudesandpersonalintegrities,theseareassetsyoucannotacquirethroughanyquickfixedway.Intoday'sworld,whetherhighestlevelofcompetitionisnotofskillsorexpertise,butvisionandstrategy.Yourintellectualqualitylargelydetermindshowfaryoucangoinyourcareer.

3、collegestudents'idols

Successfulentrepreneurshavesurpassedpopstarsascollegestudents'idols,arecentFudanUniversitysurveyhasfound.

Inthesurvey,whichsampled150studentsfromdifferentgradesanddepartments,96chosesuccessfulentrepreneursastheiridols,91addedscientistsandscholarstothelist,whileonlysome75optedforstarsofstageandscreen.

Theresultstoppledtheoldperceptionthatyoungcollegestudentsaremostimpressedbythestarsofshows.

Fudan'sstudentsseemednottobeinfluencedtoomuchbypopularTVshowsandnewstars,despitethelatestSupergirl,ShangWenjiehavinggraduatedfromtheuniversitylastyear.

"It'snormalforstudentstohavetraditionalideasaboutthequalitiesanidolshouldhave.Theythinkofidolsaspeoplewhohavemadeagreatcontributiontosociety.Thesekindsofideasaren'teasilychangedbyTVshows,"saidZhenZhiwei,asecond-yearpost-graduatestudentwhoconductedthesurvey.

Butstudentsdohavenewstandardsforselectingidols.Somestudentsvotedforordinarypeopleandevenfictionalcharacters,suchasHarryPotter.

"Itrevealsthediversityofstudents'standards,"Zhensaid."Undertheinfluenceofpopculture,somestudentsnowviewfictionalfiguresastheiridols.Theyseethesamequalitiesinthosefictionalfiguresasinotherrealpeople.

"Wearealsodelightedtoseethatmoreandmorestudentsareconcernedwiththerolesordinarypeopleplayinsociety.Wealth,socialstatusandfamearenottheonlystandardstheyusetoselectidols."

Thesurveyalsorevealedthat57%collegestudentsdonotwanttobeidolsforothers.

"Theresultcanberegardedasagoodillustrationforwhymostofthemchoosesuccessfulentrepreneursandscholarsastheiridols,"saidZhen."Theyhavehighexpectationsforidols,sotheybelievethattobeanidolmeanshavingtotakeonmoreresponsibilitiesandpressurethanotherpeople,andtheyarenotreadytotakesomuchresponsibilityyet."

4、ChineseUndergraduatesintheUS

Eachyear,eliteAmericanuniversitiesandliberalartscolleges,suchasYale,Harvard,Columbia,AmherstandWellesley,offeranumberofscholarshipstoChinesehighschoolgraduatestostudyintheirundergraduateprograms.Fouryearsago,IreceivedsuchascholarshipfromYale.

WhataretheseChineseundergradslike?

Mostcomefrommiddle-classfamiliesinthebigurbancentersofChina.Thegeographicaldistributionishighlyskewed,withShanghaiandBeijingheavilyover-represented.Outsidethemainpool,anumberofYalestudentscomefromChangshaandNingbo,swhereseachyearAmericanYalegraduatesaresenttoteachEnglish.

TheoverwhelmingmajorityofChineseundergraduatesintheUSmajorinscience,engineeringoreconomics.Manywereacademicsuperstarsintheirhighschools-goldmedallistsininternationalacademicOlympiadsorprizewinnersinnationalacademiccontests.OnceonUScampuses,manyofthemdecidetomakeresearchalifelongcommitment.

Lifeoutsidetheclassroomconstitutesanimportantpartofcollegelife.AtAmericanuniversitiestheaveragestudentspendslessthanthirteenhoursaweekinclass.ManyChinesestudentsusetheirsparetimetopickupsomeextrapocketmoney.AtYale,oneofthemostcommoncampusjobsiswashingdishesinthedininghalls.VirtuallyallChineseundergraduatesatYaleworkpart-timeinthedininghallsatsomepointintheircollegeyears.Astheygrowinageandsophistication,theyupgradetobetter-payingandlessstressfulpositions.Themorepopularandinterestingjobsincludeworkingasacomputerassistant,mathhomeworkgrader,investmentofficeassistantandlaborresearchassistant.Thelatterthreeoftenleadtostimulatingsummerjobs.

StudentactivitiesareanotherprominentfeatureofAmericancollegelife.Eachweektherearecountlessstudent-organizedeventsofallsorts-athletic,artistic,cultural,politicalorsocial（i.e.justforfun）.Newstudentorganizationsareconstantlybeingcreated,andChineseundergradscontributetothisferment.SportloomsmuchlargeronUScampusesthaninChina.AtYale,intramuralsportsfromsoccertowaterpolotakeplaceallyearlong;henceathletictalentisarealsocialasset.OneoftheChinesestudentsatYaleseveralyearsagowasaversatilesportsman.Hisathletictalentsandenthusiasticparticipationinsportingevents,combinedwithhisotherfinequalities,madehimapopularfigureinhisresidentialcollege.

5、September11,atthefiringmomentforUSstudents

Everygenerationhasitsdefiningmoment,aneventsoextraordinarythatpeoplewillforeverrememberexactlywhattheyweredoingatthemomentithappened.ForAmericancollegestudents,themorningofSeptember11,2001wassuchamoment.

　　Itwasabright,clearTuesdaymorninginLawrence,earlyinthefallsemesterattheschoolwhereIteach,theUniversityofKansas.Myjournalismstudentscametotheir8:

30classesclutchingradiosfornewsabouttheairlinerthathadcrashedintotheWorldTradeCenterinNewYorkCity.

　　EventhoughKansasisinthecentralUnitedStates,manyuniversitystudentshavefamilymembersandfriendsinNewYorkandWashington."Aretheysafe?

"wasthefirstquestion:

asthetowerscrumbled,itbecameclearthatthousandshaddied.Suddenlynoonefeltsafe.

　　Americanuniversitiesquicklyorganizedasupportnetworkfortheirforeignstudents.AttheUniversityofKansasanystudentwhofeltunsafeorthreatenedcouldstayinthehomeofaLawrenceresident.TerroristscouldtoppleAmericanbuildings,theimplicationwas,buttheycouldnotshaketheAmericanspiritoftolerance,mutualrespectandneighborliness.

　　Inthedaysthatfollowed,collegestudentsdidnotwaittoask"Whatcanwedo?

"--theyjustdidit.Manyhelpedorganizefunddrives.Somegaveblood,infactsomuchthattheblo