Part 1 Adjustment Period

Leo： Ugh…

Penny： Whats wrong？

Leo： ①Oh， its just this course list is gonna be a hard pill to swallow.

Penny： Oh yeah？ Whats so 1）daunting about it？

Leo： Just the fact that Im gonna have no free time whatsoever.

Penny： But isnt that what college is all about？ Studying， working hard and preparing for the real world？

Leo： But thats just it！ The real world isnt just about studying. From what I gather， socializing and networking are equally as important.

Penny： ②I beg to differ. My parents taught me that studying comes before all else.

Leo： Geez！ Sounds like they kept you on a pretty tight leash.

Penny： Whats that supposed to mean？ Im not a dog！ I dont wear a leash！

Leo： I just mean it seems like you mustve led a very 2）sheltered life， surrounded by more books than friends.

Penny： ③You couldnt be further from the truth. I was practically Ms. Popularity in high school.

Leo： So how did you have time to hang out with all your friends， if you were studying all the time？

Penny： We studied together sometimes， but mostly just chatted online.

Leo： Sounds like you were just popular in the cyber-world， as opposed to the real world.

Penny： Whats the difference？ We live in a digital age， dont we？

Leo： True. But that doesnt mean…

Penny： Whatever. ④I had friends. Scratch that. I have friends. Lots， in fact. And your 3）insinuation that I dont is completely 4）baseless. As is your idiotic belief that studies are not a top priority.

Leo： ⑤Dont put words in my mouth！ I happen to think that studying is a top priority， just not the top priority.

Penny： This is all just 5）semantics. ⑥You can do your thing and not study so hard， while my friends and I study our butts off and hopefully get into a good graduate school one day， which will eventually lead to an upper management job， while youre busy 6）toiling away， ever so slowly inching your way towards utter 7）mediocrity.

Leo： Wow. We each see the world so differently.

Penny： You mean you dont want to succeed in life？

Leo： I believe we are put on this earth for an 8）allotted period of time， and what we do with that time rests 9）squarely on our own shoulders. It all depends on what success means to you personally.

Penny： Most people have a list of things they want to accomplish in life， and most of those lists start with graduating college.

Leo： Well， if your idea of a fulfilling life is study， study， study and work， work， work until you die， then thats your 10）prerogative. But I intend to have fun， join some clubs， and make lots of friends before being 11）smothered by the responsibilities of adulthood.

Penny： So what are you gonna do about your schedule？

Leo： Screw the schedule—I could always change my major， or maybe take a semester off to see the world. Carpe Diem！ You know， seize the day！！

Penny： Well， have fun with that. I just hope the mistakes you make dont come back to haunt you one day.

Leo： Or perhaps the mistakes I make here will teach me 12）invaluable lessons， which will eventually help me make my toughest decisions down the road. Well just have to wait and see， wont we？

Smart Sentences

① Oh， its just this course list is gonna be a hard pill to swallow. 噢，只是課程的安排真的讓人難以忍受。

a hard pill to swallow： have to accept a failure or an unpleasant piece of news（不得不承受的苦事，接受失敗）。例如：

Four hours of commute everyday to work is a hard pill to swallow.

每天上下班花四個(gè)小時(shí)在路上是件苦事。

② I beg to differ. 我不同意。

I beg to differ： used to emphasize your disagreement politely（用以禮貌地表達(dá)不同意見）。例如：

I understand you two favor Shelly for the position， but I beg to differ. Shelly is too stubborn for the job.

我知道你們都贊成謝麗坐這個(gè)位置，恕我不同意，我覺得她太固執(zhí)，不適合這個(gè)工作。

③ You couldnt be further from the truth. I was practically Ms. Popularity in high school. 你大錯(cuò)特錯(cuò)。我在高中可是風(fēng)云人物。

Cant be further from the truth： used to express disagreement with others（用以表達(dá)不同意對方的話）。例如：

—I think shopaholics dont do much harm besides spending more money on things.

我覺得有購物癮的人除了多花點(diǎn)錢，不會有什么壞處。

—You couldnt be further from the truth. This is a serious mental disorder.

你說的不對，這可是嚴(yán)重的心理障礙。

④ I had friends. Scratch that. I have friends. 我有朋友。不對，我一直有朋友。

scratch that： used to ask others to ignore ones previous statement（用以要求他人不理睬自己之前的話）。例如：

Jessica hates apple and mango. Scratch that. She hates fruit.

杰西卡討厭蘋果和芒果。不對，她討厭水果。

⑤ Dont put words in my mouth！ 不要把這些話強(qiáng)加于我！

put words in sb.s mouth： suggest sb. has said things that he/she didnt mean to（硬說某人說過某些與其想法不相符的話）。例如：

—Do you know they said you disagreed with the new vacation policy？

你知道他們說你不贊成新的度假政策嗎？

—Thats not true. How could they put words in my mouth？

沒有的事兒，他們怎么能硬說我說過那些話呢？

⑥ You can do your thing and not study so hard， while my friends and I study our butts off and hopefully get into a good graduate school one day， which will eventually lead to an upper management job， while youre busy toiling away， ever so slowly inching your way towards utter mediocrity. 你可以繼續(xù)不認(rèn)真學(xué)習(xí)，我和我的朋友會埋頭苦讀，終有一天我們將進(jìn)入一所好的研究院，最后讓我們找到一份高級的工作。而你卻要辛苦打拼，以蝸牛般的速度前行最終走向平庸。

study sb.s butt off： study very hard，slang （學(xué)習(xí)非常努力、辛苦；俚語）例如：

John has studied his butt off over the past two years to get into Peking University.

在過去兩年約翰為了上北大而努力學(xué)習(xí)。

toil away： work very hard doing unpleasant work（辛辛苦苦，勞累）。例如：

Coal miners have been toiling away in the black deeps.

煤礦工人在黑暗的底層長期辛勞。