糾結的專業抉擇

A Major Decision

Jasmine： Hey， you made it！

Aladdin： Yeah. It was tough finding my way around campus， but once I tracked down the right parking lot it was smooth sailing from there.

Jasmine： So， college， huh？ It feels 1）weird being on our own， doesn’t it？

Aladdin： I know， but I can still hear my parents’ words 2）echoing in the back of my head. ①They’re saying：“Don’t slack off， don’t be lazy. And for God’s sake， choose a real Major already.”

Jasmine： A real Major？ What do you mean？

Aladdin： Well， for the moment， my Major is Liberal Arts.

Jasmine： What does that mean exactly？ Isn’t it like a 3）hodgepodge of different subjects？

Aladdin： It’s like a more a general area of study， for those who aren’t ready to commit a single course of study yet.

Jasmine： You mean you still don’t know what you wanna do for a living？

Aladdin： I’m weighing my options.

Jasmine： But without a specific Major， you’re not gonna have any options in a 4）cutthroat job market.

Aladdin： That’s one way of thinking about it. Another way to see it is that tons of students choose a focused Major to start out their college careers， only to realize that they want to do something completely different with their lives.②So they end up having to change their Majors and start all over again， with years of tuition wasted on courses they never really wanted or needed in the first place.

Jasmine： Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.

Aladdin： My mom changed her Major twice and got a job before graduation， so she didn’t even get a diploma at first. Then 20 years later， she quits her 5）cushy advertising 6）gig and goes back to school again to get a degree in psychology. The fact is， at age 50， she still was not sure what she wanted to do in life. So how come 99% of university students seem so convinced that they’re on the right path， when the decision-making part of our brains is not even fully formed yet？

Jasmine： ③It’s all about getting a head start on life.

Aladdin： But there’s no deadline as far as choosing a path in life. ④As much as our parents and teachers try to pressure us into making this life-changing decision， I rather hold off for now and see how the chips fall.

Jasmine： But what do you hope to accomplish by putting off your career choice？

Aladdin： Ideally， I hope a career chooses me.

賈絲明：嘿，你做到了。

阿拉?。菏茄?，在大學校園里要找到路挺艱難的，但一旦我找到了那個對的停車場，就能順順當當地到達這里。

賈絲明：那么，大學了呢。獨自一人，感覺很奇怪，不是么？

阿拉丁：我知道，但我依舊可以聽到我父母的話在我腦海里回響。他們說：“不要懈怠，不要偷懶?？丛谏系鄣姆萆希迷邕x一個真正的專業?！?/p>

賈絲明：真正的專業？你是什么意思？

阿拉?。耗壳拔业膶I是人文科學。

賈絲明：確切地說，那意味著什么呢？這不就像不同專業（混合而成）的大雜燴嗎？

阿拉?。哼@更像通才教育，是為那些還沒準備好選定一門學科的人設置的。

賈絲明：你的意思是你依舊不知道你想做什么來謀生？

阿拉?。何艺跈嗪馕业倪x擇。

賈絲明：但是如果沒有一個確切的專業，在殘酷的就業市場，你將不會有任何選擇權。

阿拉?。哼@是看待這件事的（其中）一種方式。另一種看待這件事的方式是很多學生在開始他們的大學生涯時選擇了確切的專業，可是他們卻發現（生活中）他們想要做（與他們專業）完全不同的工作。所以他們最終不得不換專業，從頭再來。他們浪費了幾年的學費去學習自己一開始就不想要或不需要的課程。

賈絲明：這聽起來好像是你的經驗之談。

阿拉丁：我的媽媽換了兩次專業，在畢業之前她就找到一份工作，所以她一開始甚至連畢業證都沒拿到。20年之后，她辭去了輕松的廣告工作，重新回到學校讀書，（最終）獲得心理學學位。事實上，她在50歲的時候依然不確定自己這輩子想要干什么工作。那么為什么99%的大學生看起來會如此確信自己走的路是對的？而我們（這些大學生）腦子里負責決策的那部分甚至都還沒完全成形呢！

賈絲明：這都是關于搶得先機的問題。

阿拉丁：但就選擇生活的道路而言是沒有截止期限的。我們的父母和老師試圖給我們施加壓力讓我們作出改變（我們）人生的抉擇，我寧愿暫時拖延，看看結果怎樣。

賈絲明：但是拖延你的職業選擇，你想要取得什么成就呢？

阿拉?。豪硐氲卣f，我希望職業選擇我。

Smart Sentences

① They’re saying： “Don’t slack off， don’t be lazy. And for God’s sake， choose a real Major already.”

他們說：“不要懈怠，不要偷懶。看在上帝的份上，趁早選一個真正的專業?！?/p>

slack off： become lazy or less intense（放松，懈怠）。例如：

With the Thanksgiving shopping wave almost over， everyone is slacking off.

隨著感恩節購物潮接近尾聲，大家都松懈了。

② So they end up having to change their Majors and start all over again， with years of tuition wasted on courses they never really wanted or needed in the first place.

所以他們最終不得不換專業，從頭再來。他們浪費了幾年的學費去學習自己一開始就不想要或不需要的課程。

in the first place： at the beginning of a situation（首先，一開始）。例如：

I didn’t think we should take on the project in the first place.

我覺得我們一開始就不應該接受這個項目。

③ It’s all about getting a head start on life.

這都是關于搶得先機的問題。

head start： an early start that confers an advantage（領先，有利的開

端）。例如：

Most parents believe that their kids will get a head start in life if they can get in to a good kindergarten.

大多數父母相信，如果他們的孩子能進入一家好的幼兒園，就等于孩子們有了一個好的開端。

④ As much as our parents and teachers try to pressure us into making this life-changing decision， I rather hold off for now and see how the chips fall.

我們的父母和老師試圖給我們施加壓力讓我們作出改變（我們）人生的抉擇，我寧愿暫時拖延，看看結果怎樣。

hold off： delay doing sth.（推遲，拖延）。例如：

Margie was asked to hold off her retirement until the end of the stadium construction project next June.

他們希望瑪吉能推遲退休，直到明年六月完成體育場建設項目。