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May: I’ve been so stressed these days.
Gucci: What’s the matter? Are you OK?
May: I don’t know where to go for college, and what to major in.
Gucci: Don’t worry. You have plenty of time to decide.
May: And I also want to get scholarships to help me pay for the tuition. I want to get the burden off my family.
Gucci: You always worry too much about everything. Take it easy, honey. You are good enough. You can go to the ideal college.
May: OK, OK. I’m so sorry. By the way, for you, is it more important to make money or to enjoy your work?
Gucci: In a perfect world, I would enjoy my work if I do not have to do much, and make lots of money!
May: OK, honey, stop dreaming. You should face the reality.
Gucci: That’s only a joke. To be honest, I have to improve my English, because my English is not good enough. I still get confused about some simple grammars. Since you are quite good at it, do you have any suggestions?
May: En, first you should be concentrated on what the teacher said in class. Second, I suggest you to take an additional course in some training center.
Gucci: Is the training center helpful?
May: I think so. Because I’ve taken one to improve my oral English during summer vacation.
Gucci: So what’s the name of that training center?
May: It is called Joy Chain. The teachers there are excellent, and you’re gonna like it.
Gucci: OK, I’ll have a try. Thank you so much.
听看学
阿美：我这几天压力很大。
古奇：怎么啦?你还好吧?
阿美：我不知道去哪里上大学，也不知道学什么专业。
古奇：不要担心。你还有很多时间考虑呢。
阿美：而且我还想获得奖学金来帮我支付学费。我希望能够减轻家里的负担。
古奇：你总是担心每一件事情。放松点，亲爱的。你非常优秀，你能考上你理想的大学的。
阿美：好的，好的，非常不好意思。那我问一下，对你来说，是挣钱更重要还是做自己喜欢的工作更重要?
古奇：在理想的状态下，如果我不用做什么就能挣很多钱，那我就会喜欢我的工作。
阿美：好的，亲爱的，别做梦了。你应该面对现实。
古奇：那只是个玩笑而已。说实话，我得补补我的英语了，因为我的英语还不够好。我仍然会对一些简单的语法感到困惑。你的英语那么好，你能给我一些建议吗?
阿美：嗯，首先，你上课的时候要专心听讲。其次，我建议你去培训中心上额外的课程。
古奇：培训中心有用吗?
阿美：我是这么认为的，因为我暑假的时候报了一个班提高英语口语。
古奇：那个培训中心叫什么啊?
阿美：叫快乐连锁。那儿的老师非常棒，你会喜欢的。
古奇：好的，我会试试的。非常感谢你。
经典背诵 Recitation
May: I’ve been so stressed these days. Because I don’t know where to go for college, and what to major in. Gucci said that I always worried a lot. In fact, I also want to get scholarships to help me pay for the tuition so that I can get the burden off my family.
生词小结
stressed adj. 有压力的
major vi. 主修
scholarship n. 奖学金
burden n. 负担
ideal adj. 理想的
additional adj. 额外的
语素 Material
The American Education System
Formal education in the U.S. consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary and secondary education, which forms public education, is free and compulsory. In America, there are more public elementary and secondary schools than private ones, while private colleges and universities outnumber public ones. There is not a national system of education in the United States. It is the state that establishes policies for the education within its boundary, so many variations can be found in the education system of the 50 states. Elementary and secondary education in the U.S. covers 12 years for ages 6 through 18. All the states have laws that require children to go to school, generally until the age of 16, unless they are severely handicapped.
美国教育体制
美国正规的教育由初等、中等和高等教育组成。初等和中等教育属公立教育，是免费和义务的。在美国，公立的中小学要多于私立的，而私立大学却比公立大学多。美国没有全国统一的教育体制，而是由各州为自己的辖区制定教育政策，因此50个州的教育体制相差很大。美国初等和中等教育共12年，从6岁到18岁。所有州都立法要求孩子们上学，通常要求上到16岁，除非他们严重残疾。
American University Academic Scholarships
Scholarships and Prizes are donated by individuals, private organizations, professional bodies or academic departments. They are awarded to students for their:
outstanding academic performances;
outstanding achievement in non-academic field;
outstanding services to the university or the community.
The majority of scholarships and prizes are awarded based on academic performance and recipients are nominated by their respective departments.
美国大学奖学金
奖学金是由个人、私人团体、专业机构或学术部门提供的。奖学金被颁发给符合以下条件的学生：
有杰出的学术成绩;
在非学术领域有杰出的成就;
对学校或社团做出过杰出贡献。
大部分奖学金都依据学术成绩而发放，获得者由各自所在的院系提名。
