Part 1 Fresh and New

大一新生Jack認識了同為菜鳥的Joni，Joni擔心自己不能適應宿舍生活，而從小就在國外學習的Jack卻稱自己經驗豐富……

（It is the first day of college， as two new students wait patiently for orientation to begin.）

Jack： Hi！ Im Jack.

Joni： Hi Jack， Im Joni. Nice to meet you.

Jack： Nice to meet you too. I wonder how long we have to wait around here. I wanna get back and finish setting up my room.

Joni： Arent you excited？

Smart Sentences

① Ive been hitting the books since before I can remember to get to this point. 在這之前我一直都在埋頭苦讀。

hit the books： study hard（用功學習）。例如：

I gotta go home and hit the books. I have finals next week.

Jack： About？

Joni： Starting college， silly.

Jack： Of course！ ①Ive been hitting the books since before I can remember to get to this point.

Joni： Yeah， Im excited too， but Im also scared. Ive never been away from home before.

Jack： ②You dont say？ I studied abroad at an international school for most of my life.

Joni： Wow！ So you mean you lived in a dormitory before？

Jack： ③I lived in my fair share actually. So if you ever need any advice， just lemme know.

Joni： In that case， I have a ton of questions for you.

Jack： OK， shoot.

Joni： What are some 1）pitfalls I should look out for， living with complete strangers for the first time in my life？ ④I have a lot of pet 2）peeves.

Jack： The best advice I could give would be to try and find some common ground with a few of the girls youll be living with. Making friends is the best way to avoid conflicts， because then they wouldnt be strangers anymore， right？

Joni： I guess that makes sense...

Jack： It really is a lot different than living under constant 3）scrutiny from your parents.

Joni： I never felt that way living at home. And I am looking forward to making some great friendships.

Jack： One of your roommates may turn out to be your best friend for years to come， like me and my high school roommate， Sam.

Joni： I dont think Ill have a problem making friends. I was always one of the more popular girls in my school. Im just worried Im gonna miss my mom so much. Didnt you ever get homesick？

Jack： Yeah， at first. I used to lay down in bed， under the covers with a flashlight， 4）clutching a picture of my mom and dad， wishing I was back home again.

Joni： Oh no！ That sounds so sad. How did you get over it？ Jack： I dont think you ever really get over those kind of feelings， you just deal with it after a while.

Joni： “Just deal with it” isnt exactly great advice Jack.

Jack： Well...I guess， over time， ⑤I figured out some good coping mechanisms to use whenever I started to feel sad. Talking to your family on the phone or using a video chat program is usually the best medicine there is. But when that doesnt work， I like playing video games to get my mind off it， or watching movies or something.

Joni： I dont like video games， except for Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds， but I do like movies.

Jack： Do you wanna， maybe， go see a movie sometime？ I know a good 5）indie theater around here.

Joni： Oh， I didnt mean...I meant...Um... Maybe we should get to know each other a little better first. How about a friendly walk to the cafeteria instead？

Jack： I am pretty hungry. Do you know how to get there？

Joni： Not yet...

Jack： Sounds like an adventure. And perhaps the start of a beautiful friendship.

Joni： Well see...Lets go！

我得回家學習去了，我下周期末考試。

② You dont say？ 真的嗎？

You dont say？： a response to sth. that sb. has said， with a little polite surprise or interest， same as “really？”（對他人的話有點驚訝或感興趣的反應，等同于“really？”）。例如：

—Im starting work on a new job next Monday.

我下周一開始新工作。

—You dont say？

真的嗎？

③ I lived in my fair share actually.我在宿舍生活的經驗確實很豐富。

fair share of sth.： more than enough of sth.， used to indicate whats beyond normal（足夠的某事，用以表達超出正常范圍）。例如：

Youve done your fair share of the hard work and now its Todds turn to work on holiday.

你工作已經很努力了，現在該陶德在假日里上班了。

④ I have a lot of pet peeves.我有很多煩心事。

pet peeve： sth. that really annoys sb.（很煩人的事）。例如：

My pet peeve is people who smoke in restaurants. They ruin the taste of the food and harm peoples health.

最招我討厭的是餐館里抽煙的人，此舉既破壞食物的味道，又危害他人的健康。

⑤ I figured out some good coping mechanisms to use whenever I started to feel sad.我想到了一些應對這些消極情緒的方法。

coping mechanism： any effort directed to regain emotional balance after an unpleasant experience（應對方法，多指經歷不愉快后保持情緒平衡）。例如：Working in the ER is very demanding both physically and emotionally and one has to have some coping mechanisms to survive.

在急診室里工作對身體和精神都要求很高，每個人都必須有各自的應對方法。