ACT III

I had an interview today, too. 我今天也参加了一个面谈。

I had a great interview 我参加了一次很精采的面试。

with Admissions at Columbia University. 与Columbia大学的招生人员。

Really? 真的?

What did they say? 他们说什么?

Will you get into the school? 你会被录取吗?

Well, they didn’t say anything for sure. 嗯，他们没有任何准确的答覆。

But I figure that with my grades and with my personality, 但我想凭我的成绩和我的品行，

I’ll have no problem. 我不会有问题。

Columbia’s a terrific school. Columbia是一所很难进的学校。

What are you going to do? 你打算怎么办?

Do? I don’t know. 怎么办?我不知道。

I also applied to NYU. 我还申请了纽约大学。

You sound excited about Columbia. 听起来你对Columbia大学挺有兴趣的。

What’s your problem, Mike? 你现在问题在哪，Mike?

Indecision. Indecision. 下不了决心。拿不定主意。

It’s not easy, 实在不容易，

and this is an important decision we have to make. 这又是我们必须做的一个重大决定。

What about you? 你呢?

How was your interview with Michigan? 你跟Michigan大学的人面谈得如何?

The interview was fine. 面谈得很好。

It’s a great college. 那是一所好大学。

It is. 是的。

My father would like me to go there. 我爸爸希望我去那儿。

He and my Grandpa both went there. 他和我爷爷都曾在哪儿读书。

Great medical school, too. 而且有很好的医学院。

I know. 我知道。

You can follow in your father’s footsteps. 你可以跟随你父亲脚步 。

Ah! I’d like to follow in my own footsteps, Mike. 噢，我想走自己的路，Mike。

What do you want to study? 你想学什么?

I’ve been thinking. 我一直在考虑。

I think I want to study journalism 我想学新闻学。

to be a reporter--a newspaperman. 将来当一名记者---一个新闻从业人员。

You do a pretty good job on the Riverdale High School paper. 你在Riverdale高中校刊做得有声有色。

And I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. 最近我一直就此事想了很多。

Have you discussed it with your parents? 你和父母商量过了?

No. But I have to. 没有。但有此必要。

OK. Let’s talk. 好，我们谈谈吧。

Hi, Son. Is everything all right? 嗨，孩子，一切都顺利吗?

Hi, Dad. Everything’s fine. 嗨，爸爸。一切都很好。

I was just waiting for you to get home 我正等你回来

so we could talk. 好跟你谈谈。

Anything special you want to talk about? 有什么特殊的事要谈吗?

There is, Dad. 有，爸爸。

I’m listening. 那就说吧。

Well, I know you and Mom have given up a lot 嗯，我知道你和妈省吃俭用

to save money for my college tuition. 存钱准备我的大学学费。

We want you to go to college, Robbie. 我们希望你上大学，Robbie。

I know. I do. 我知道。我会的。

But? 那还有什么事?

Well, I’ve thought a lot about which college, 嗯，我为了上哪一个大学想了很多，

and one of them is Columbia. 其中一所是Columbia大学。

Columbia? Why Columbia? Columbia?为什么是Columbia?

First, they have an excellent School of Journalism. 首先，那里有很优秀的新闻研究院。

They do. 是的。

And your friends are planning to go to Columbia? 而且你的朋友们也想去Columbia大学，对吗?

That’s only part of it. 这只是一部分原因。

It’s complicated. 原因很复杂。

I’ll try to explain. 我会尽量给你解释。

Mike and I had a hamburger this afternoon, and we talked. 今天下午 Mike和我一起吃汉堡时讨论过。

Yes? 是吗?

Well, we talked about a lot of things. 嗯，我们谈了很多。

He applied to Columbia, 他申请了Columbia，

and his interview was very successful. 他的面谈很成功。

He thinks he’ll be accepted, 他觉得他会被录取，

and he really wants to go there. 他确实很想去那儿。

Dean Rafer called me today. Rafer主任今天打电话给我。

He told me he was very impressed with you. 他告诉我他对你印象很好。

He’s a nice man. 他是个好人。

He was very kind. 对人和蔼。

He told me 他告诉我

you had some doubts about wanting to go to Michigan. 你对上Michigan大学还有些疑虑。

Yes. I do. 是的，我有疑虑。

I’m just not sure about what I want to do. 我不知道该读什么。

That’s OK. 没关系的。

You understand? 你能谅解?

Let me tell you something, Robbie. 让我告诉你一件事，Robbie。

Something that might be surprising to you. 一件也许会让你吃惊的事。

What? Tell me. 什么事，说给我听听。

Well, Grandpa wanted me to study engineering, like him. 嗯，爷爷希望我像他一样学工程。

Well, I wasn’t clear about my future, 哦，我对自己的未来也不清楚，

but I knew engineering was not for me. 但我知道工程对我不适合。

What did you tell Grandpa? 那你是如何对爷爷讲的?

The truth. 实话实说。

Then you’re not upset 那么你有没有感到不高兴

about my not wanting to go into medicine? 对我不学医。

I’m not upset at all. 一点也不。

I’m just happy that we’re able to talk about it. 我很高兴我们能够共同商讨这件事。

I am too, Dad. 我也一样，爸爸。

I suppose you want to apply to Columbia. 我猜想你会申请Columbia大学。

Yes, but I also want to apply to several other colleges. 是的，但我还想申请几所其他的大学。

I thought you wanted to go to Columbia. 我还以为你只想上Columbia大学。

Well, I might want to go to Columbia. 嗯，我也许去Columbia大学。

But I might not. 但也许不去。

I just want to be able to make my own decision. 我只想能够自己决定。

You’re a real Stewart! 你真是我们Stewart家的人!

And if I think about it long enough, you never know ... 如果我考虑成熟的话，说不定……

Never know what? 说不定什么?

If I make my own decision, 如果我自己作决定，

I might choose Michigan. 我说不定选择Michigan大学。

Robbie, you’re something! Robbie，你真了不起!

You know, when I was your age, 要知道，当我像你这么大的时候，

I said exactly the same thing to Grandpa. 我跟你爷爷也是这么说的。

Do I want to go to the University of Michigan?

Dad and Grandpa went there.

Or to an lvy League school,

like Columbia University?

Or maybe NYU, the New York University.

Mike applied there.

I’ve also been thinking about going to a state school.

SUNY, the State University of New York at New Paltz.

How can I compare them?

I think I’d like to go to a small school.

But Michigan in Ann Arbor,

Michigan is not small.

Columbia is smaller than Michigan.

SUNY in New Paltz is smaller than either Michigan or NYU.

And Columbia is smaller than SUNY.

It’s a smaller school for undergraduates.

I want to go to a school that is close to Riverdale.

But Michigan is far away.

SUNY is closer to Riverdale.

NYU is closer than SUNY.

And Columbia is the closest.

Wow, that’s a lot to think about.

Which one is the smallest?

Columbia.

Which school is the closest to Riverdale?

Columbia.

Which school is the cheapest?

SUNY at New Paltz.

Which school would you choose?