《如果你去三藩市》文摘:
I fully understand the magnetic appeal of higher education in the U.S. for parents and students in the Chinese mainland with the resources to afford the relatively high costs (the average annual cost for a private 4-year college is US$42,419; and some range much higher than that).
我完全理解美国高等教育对有能力负担相对较高费用的中国内地学生及其父母所具有的超强吸引力(四年制美国私立大学的平均学费为42,419美元,有些还更高。)
“…be sure to wear flowers in your hair.” The above lyric was made famous by a 1967 song which topped the charts in the U.S., when San Francisco was at the cutting edge of the American counterculture movement.
“……记得在鬓间簪满鲜花。”这句歌词源于1967年曾荣登美国歌曲排行榜首位的老歌《三藩市》。而那一年的三藩市(San Francisco),正处在美国反文化运动的最前沿。
To put that in another way, international students are still a very small minority on any US college campus. This makes for a challenging social and cultural adjustment process for most of them.
换言之,在任何美国校园中,留学生仍是极少数群体,因此,他们中的大多数仍需然会面临社会及文化适应上的挑战。
In recent years, roughly 25% of graduating U.S. high school seniors apply for 7 or more colleges or universities.
最近几年,大约25%的美国高中毕业生都会申请7所以上的大学。
Many decades before that, the traditional Chinese language name for San Francisco (旧金山) (literally “Old Gold Mountain”) was , for many Chinese, more or less synonymous with America itself. San Francisco was the gateway and first port of call for many if not most Chinese visitors, workers , and migrants during the 19th century.
在那之前几十年,三藩市的中文名字(旧金山)对很多中国人来说,或多或少就是美国的代名词。19世纪,三藩市是很多(如果即使不是大多数)中国游客、工人和移民进入美国的门户城市或第一落脚点。
No discussion of US university education today can avoid the ferocity of the competition for admission to top schools. It’s no surprise, then, that half of the universities and colleges with the largest enrollment of international students are public (ie state schools) rather than private institutions. The only Ivy League school in the top 25 in terms of international student enrollment is Columbia.
谈到名校激烈的入学竞争,就无法回避当今美国大学教育的话题。毫无意外,吸纳留学生最多的学校半数以上都是公立学校(即州立学校),而不是私立机构。而留学生人数排名靠前的25所学校中,只有哥伦比亚大学属于常春藤盟校。
In recent years, apart from skyrocketing numbers of tourists from the Chinese mainland, the other big influx of Chinese into the U.S. is students. The bulk of these are enrolled in college and university degree programs, but the numbers in secondary school are also growing quickly.
近年来,除中国内地游客的数量呈火箭式增长外,中国赴美的另一大主力人群是学生,其中,以进入高校进修学位的大学生为主,但高中生的数量也在迅速攀升。
Although its 15 chapters include one on “admissions”, the focus of the book is primarily not the admissions process, but rather all the other issues which would-be exchange students should consider when selecting schools as well as preparing for life and study there.
全书共分15个章节,其中“录取”独立成章。但本书讲述的重点并非录取的流程,而是准留学生在择校和准备异地生活期间所要考虑的其他所有问题。
The authors discuss the overwhelming importance of sports in campus life, and the impact it has on the student community, including the language of college sports, which is huge. Like it or not, this is something international students will confront and need to adjust to.
作者们还探讨了体育运动在校园生活中的绝对重要性,及其对学生社团,包括大学体育语言所带来的巨大影响。无论你喜欢与否,这都是留学生将要面对和适应的问题。
For example, in the “Admissions” chapter: “Students should avoid agents or anyone who charges a fee. The free information and counselling provided by an EducationUSA adviser can help enormously.” (EducationUSA has branches in some 170 countries worldwide.) This will no doubt also come as unwelcome advice to the thousands of educational consultants and agents in China who are charging hefty fees – sometimes with added bonuses for success — to assist with admission into elite US colleges.
以“录取”一章为例:“学生应避开任何收费的中介机构或个人。EducationUSA的顾问可提供免费信息和咨询,帮助良多。”(EducationUSA在全球170多个国家设有分支机构。)对中国数以千计的盈利性——有时甚至会为办入名校而收取奖金——的留学顾问和中介来说,这个建议无疑不受欢迎。
At the same time, I’ve often wondered how newly arrived Chinese students cope with what is an enormously different cultural, social and academic milieu.
同时,我也时常好奇初来乍到的中国学生是如何适应差异巨大的文化、社会和学术环境的。
Another big adjustment awaits in the classroom, given America’s tradition of liberal education, which strives to develop independent, critical thinking, innovation and problem-solving, questioning, debate and discussion. This is a far cry from what most Chinese students have experienced up to and including secondary school.
而在教室里,还有另外一件事等着他们去适应,那就是美式的自由教育传统。美式教育旨在开发独立性、批判性思维,培养创新及解决问题的能力,鼓励提问、辩论和讨论。这与大多数中国学生在上高中以前,甚至是读高中时的经历都有很大区别。
In recent years, roughly 25% of graduating U.S. high school seniors apply for 7 or more colleges or universities.
最近几年,大约25%的美国高中毕业生都会申请7所以上的大学。
Understandably, many seem to stick together with other Chinese students, or other Asian students.
可以理解的是,很多中国留学生似乎还是愿意与本国学生或其他亚裔学生抱团。
The book compares salient differences between state and private schools. It highlights some important aspects, including risks, of student life on campus.
该书还就国立及私立学校间的显著差异作出做出了对比,重点关注了包括在校生活风险等侧面的问题。
本文链接:http://www.phenglish.cn/reading/2016-12-06/249.html