Three generations go to college together

陜西 殷芝青

主題語境：勵志故事 篇幅：330詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1The first day of school is a special milestone for any student, but for one family in Wisconsin, it's extra special. Two sisters, their mom and grandmother will all be attending Carthage College this fall. Mia and Samantha will attend college this year with their mother Amy and grandmother Christy.

2Amy said,“I'm really proud to be watching my daughters grow up and be more mature and have new experiences, but now also to see my mom accomplish something that she's always wanted to.”

3Mia shared that she always felt her two older role models would return to school someday. To 19-year-old Samantha, their entry to university was rather a surprise.“I was clearly already admitted, and Mia was admitted. And then all of a sudden, they were like,‘Oh, we're going too,’”Samantha remembered.“It was really surprising. I didn't expect it.”

4A mother-of-five, Amy has worked at Carthage College for over two decades but knew she wanted to enroll someday. Calling herself“Carthage's biggest fan”, she said she felt like she now had the time to pursue higher studies.

5As for 71-year-old Christy, she retired three years ago but is still eager to learn. In fact, she still continues to support and volunteer at local nonprofit organizations.Christy said she was also motivated by her son Joshua, who is pursuing his second master's degree.She has decided to go forward with a master's degree in business, design and innovation alongside her daughter.

6The women are inspirational to anyone who doesn't want their age to block their dreams.Amy advised everyone to go after what they want because life is too short.“Put that doubt aside and just go for it,”she said. Christy added,“Never hesitate to follow your fear.In my life, it's led me to my greatest opportunities and it's also built my greatest strengths.If I always stayed in my comfort zone,I wouldn't be where I am today.”Way to go,ladies!

Reading Check

Detail1.Why is the first day of school an extra special milestone for the family in Wisconsin?

A.All the families will go to the same college.

B.Different generations will be schoolmates.

C.Twin sisters will go to college with mom.

D.They all get scholarships this autumn.

Detail2.How did Mia feel about her mother and grandmother's attending college?

A.Calm. B.Excited. C.Motivated. D.Surprised.

Detail3.What do we know about Christy from paragraph 5?

A.She retired at the age of sixty.

B.She has five grandchildren in all.

C.Her majors are the same as Amy's.

D.Her son graduated from the same college.

Inference4.What message does the author want to convey to readers?

A.Follow your heart.

B.Many hands make light work.

C.Rome was not built in a day.

D.There is no royal road to learning.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Difficult sentence in the text

Christy said she was also motivated by her son Joshua, who is pursuing his second master's degree.克里斯蒂說，她的兒子約書亞也激勵了她，他正在攻讀他的第二個碩士學位。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句。句中的she was also motivated by her son Joshua是省略了引導詞that的賓語從句，作動詞said 的賓語；who引導非限制性定語從句，修飾先行詞Joshua。

Ⅱ.Fill in the blanks with the words and phrases in the box in proper forms.

1.Motherhood won't stop me from________my acting career.

2.She failed to________the task because she was in poor health.

3.I didn't really________going out,but I am glad I made the effort.

4.This academic year students will be motivated by________teachers.

5.People will accept suffering that can be shown to________a greater good.

6.Encourage children to________some of their pocket-money to buy presents for their moms.