上高中時，我要知道這些就好了

祝莉麗

Stretch1） your brain. Take a class that scares you at least once during high school. Dont let preconceptions2） about the class or the teacher sway3） you from taking a class that you know you can do well in. The experience will definitely make you a stronger student and prepare you for future academic challenges. If you can face those challenges and enjoy them， you will succeed.

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Dont sweat4） your grades too much. Getting a B is not the end of the world. In fact， its kind of a good thing. I started college at a top university with straight As since seventh grade， and it was hard to deal with not being able to repeat that. I shied away5） from taking some harder courses I might have done well in because I was afraid of doing poorly. Now， I can fully accept that if I try my hardest in a class and get a B+； that is still something to be proud of.

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Ask for help. Learn how to forge6） relationships with teachers. Ask for help on a concept youre trying to grasp after class； meet with your English teacher to talk about an upcoming essay. Getting comfortable with talking to teachers will help when you get to college. You will need help outside of class sometimes， and you have to be able to ask for it and interact with your professors.

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Find your own de-stressing7） routine. Another essential skill to begin building in high school is how to manage work and stress. Maybe you deal with stress by going for a run， or taking a break to watch a silly sitcom. Talk with a friend for a while or play with your dog. Find out what relaxes you and take short breaks from amounts of work that seem unmanageable to de-stress. Youll find that it will be easily manageable.

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Spend your summers wisely. Dont take on a full-time job the first summer you decide to work—forty hours a week will be a huge shock and youll have plenty of time for that in the future. Do find something to do that will make the ten weeks worthwhile. Look for programs that take you to interesting places， internships that will be good experience， or a job that will give you insight into something you might be interested in.

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Dont focus too much on popularity. While the idea of the clique8） is definitely high school specific， there are still loose9） groups in college. Fortunately these are not based on the vague10） idea of "popularity" and instead on things you actually have in common—your fraternity11） or sorority12）， where you live， classes， sports， clubs and activities. You do have to be active about making friends， especially at a larger school， but those friends may be much more of a reflection of your values than kids you hung out with in high school because they were your group. Everyone wants to be popular in high school， but dont waste too much time worrying about it. In four years， youll be in a completely new situation， and no one will care what clique you were in high school.

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Join a（n） club/team/activity. Extracurriculars13） are what make your time in high school worthwhile. A lot of what you learn you will forget or have to learn again in college， but the experience of being on a team or president of a club or writing for the newspaper is what you will remember. Youll learn a whole lot about dealing with others， and about yourself and your own limits.

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Accept that you may get rejected. Just because you dont get into your "top choice" college doesnt mean you wont have a completely fulfilling experience. Just make sure you try to make the most of it.

Teen Topics

青春話題·成長之惑

Sometimes high school seems like a necessary evil， which steps between elementary school and college. I remember feeling like I was just ready to finish studying and that was only the beginning of sophomore year. Now at the end of my college journey， I know that while I did well in high school， there are some things in particular that made high school and college easier for me. And there are still more things I could have done to make my high school experience more fun， more manageable and more beneficial.

有時候，高中就像一個躲不開的惡魔，橫亙在小學與大學之間。我記得那時感覺自己都準備好完成高中學業了，可其實高中二年級才剛剛開始。現在我的大學生涯已接近尾聲，我開始明白，雖然我在高中階段表現優異，但還有一些尤為重要的事情能讓我的高中和大學過得更為輕松。我本來還可以做更多的事情，讓我的高中生活更有趣，更可控，更讓自己受益。

充分發揮你的聰明才智。高中時至少上一門令你害怕的課程。別讓對課程或授課老師的成見影響你去上一門明知自己能學好的課程。這種經歷將必然讓你成為一名更強的學生，也能助你做好準備去迎接未來的學業挑戰。如果你能直面那些挑戰并樂在其中，你就會取得成功。

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不要為了分數過度擔心。得到一個B并不意味著世界末日的到來。事實上，這在某種程度上也是件好事。我從七年級開始成績就一直全優，并以這樣的成績上了一所頂級大學，因此如果不能重現那樣的成績，我就會很難接受。為此我不再選修一些比較難但我也可能會學好的課程，因為害怕成績不好。現在，我完全能夠接受以下這種看法：如果我在課堂上全力以赴，即使得了B+，那也仍是件值得驕傲的事情。

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尋求幫助。學會與老師建立聯系。若你在努力掌握某個概念，就在課后去尋求幫助吧；你還可以去找你的英語老師，聊一下即將要寫的論文。如果能夠與老師們輕松自在地交談，這對你上大學之后有好處。屆時你時不時地會在課外需要幫助，并且你必須有能力去尋求幫助，有能力與你的教授們交流。

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找到你自己的常規減壓方式。在高中階段要開始打造的另一個必備技能就是學會如何處理學業和壓力。或許，你應對壓力的方法是出去跑步，或看無厘頭情景喜劇休息一下。去和一個朋友談會兒心，或和你的小狗玩兒。找到讓你放松的方法，從看似難以應對的繁重學業中抽出身來，暫時休息一會兒，給自己減壓。你會發現你的學業變得更容易搞定。

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明智地度過你的暑假。在你決定出去打工的第一個暑假，不要去找全職工作——每周工作40個小時對你將是個巨大的沖擊，而且將來你會有大把時間去做全職工作。一定要做一些能讓這十周的假期變得有意義的事情。找一些能把你帶到有趣地方的項目，一些將讓你擁有很棒經歷的實習工作，或者找一份能讓你洞悉自己可能感興趣的事情的工作。

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不要太關注人氣。縱然“小團體”無疑是高中生活的典型現象，但大學里也有很多自由度很高的組織。幸運的是，這些組織并非基于“人氣”這種模糊的概念，而是基于你們實際擁有的共同特點——你們參加的兄弟會或女生聯誼會，你們的住所、所學的課程、從事的運動、加入的社團和活動等。你的確需要積極地交朋友，特別是在規模較大的學校里。但那些朋友更多的是你自身價值觀的體現，而不是高中時因為同在一個小團體而和你出去玩的那些孩子。每個人都希望在高中擁有高人氣，但不要浪費太多時間擔憂這個。四年后（編注：美國高中為四年制），你將身處一個全新的環境，沒有人會在意你高中時屬于哪個小團體。

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加入一個社團/小組/活動。課外活動會讓你的高中時光過得有價值。你學的很多知識都會被遺忘或者還得在大學重學一遍，但是參加小組活動、做一個社團的團長或為報紙撰寫文章將會成為你難忘的經歷。你會了解到很多關于待人接物、關于自身以及自身局限性的東西。

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要接受你可能會被大學拒絕錄取的事實。你沒有被“第一志愿”大學錄取并不意味著你不會擁有完整、充實的大學經歷。你只需確保自己全力以赴即可。

1. stretch [stret?] vt. 使充分發揮；使竭盡所能

2. preconception [?pri?k?n?sep?n] n. 事先形成的看法；先入之見；成見

3. sway [swe?] vt. 影響；左右；使改變看法

4. sweat [swet] vt. 為……擔心（或煩惱）

5. shy away： 避開；回避

6. forge [f??d?] vt. 締造；建立

7. de-stress [?di? ?stres] vi. 放松，減輕壓力

Finally， remember to have fun. Your life does not depend on high school—not on the academics and not on the popularity aspect. Do your best， but leave time for fun with friends. You will have plenty of time to work hard in college and beyond. Be prepared， but dont stress out too much about it. If you can make your high school experience fun， you will have no problem doing the same for your life in college and beyond.

最后，記得要開心。決定你人生的并不是高中時光——不是你在高中的學業表現，也不是你在高中時的人氣值。要全力以赴，但同時也要留出時間與朋友共享歡樂。在大學和以后的日子里，你還會有大把的時間去努力奮斗。做好準備，但也不要對此感到過分緊張。如果你能讓自己的高中生活充滿歡樂，那么在大學和以后的日子里，做到這一點就更沒問題了。

Teen Topics

青春話題·成長之惑

8. clique [kli?k] n. 派系；小集團

9. loose [lu?s] adj. （分組、安排、組織等）不嚴密的；松散的

10. vague [ve?ɡ] adj. （記憶或想法）模糊的，不清晰的

11. fraternity [fr??t??n?ti] n. （美國男大學生）聯誼會，兄弟會

12. sorority [s??r?r?ti] n. （美國大學里的）女子聯誼會，女子俱樂部

13. extracurricular [?ekstr?k??r?kj?l?（r）] n. 課外活動