Four Years of College: Why?
我为什么要上四年大学
Before entering college, I worked for a year as a security guard, a cashier in a liquor store, an orderly at New England Deaconess Hospital, and an art assistant at a Barnes and Noble Bookstore.1
上大学前我工作了一年，当过警卫、酒店收款员，在新英格兰狄康纳斯医院当过卫生员，在伯恩斯和诺布尔书店当过艺术装璜工。
As a guard I worked nights, slept days, and soon felt I was sleeping my life away. At the liquor store I often had to serve unruly customers who were always right,2 and at the Deaconess I got some of the worst jobs, with no real chance of advancement.
? 在伯恩斯和诺布尔书店当过艺术装璜工。当警卫时我晚上工作白天睡觉。没多久我就感到是在把生命睡掉。在酒店干活时我常常不得不侍候这样一些顾客，他们态度蛮横却从来都是“常有理”。在狄康纳斯医院里我有时候干最次的活，简直看不到有出头的机会。
At Barnes and Noble I was happiest, especially making signs and displays for the store, but I was eventually displaced by a former worker with a degree in art.3
在巴恩斯和诺布尔书店那段时间是我一生中最愉快的，特别是为店里画广告和布置展品时更是如此，但是最终我还是被人抢去了饭碗，那人过去是店里的职工，只是现在得了艺术学位。
This was enough for me, and I didn’t want it to happen again. For this reason and several others, I signed up for four years of college.
这一下可真够我受的，我不希望这种事情再发生。由于这个原因，再加上其它一些因素，我报了名准备读四年大学。
I also knew that I would finally be making my parents happy. Both college graduates,4 they wanted me to be one also. They told me for years about the advantages of a college degree over a high school diploma.
我也知道我最终会使父母感到高兴的。他们俩都大学毕业，希望我也和他们一样。多年来他们一直对我讲大学学位如何胜过中学文凭。
I can still hear my mother saying, “ go to college and get a degree. You need a degree now, and besides, you’ll be proud of yourself.” I can still hear myself, though, saying that I wanted to see if I could make it5 on my own — without college.
我耳边仿佛还响着母亲的话音：“上大学得个学位吧，你需要个学位，那样你自己会感到自豪。”可我也还记得自己说过的话，我说我想试试不上大学是否也能成功。
They were persistent but not demanding,6 and allowed me my year of discovery, if I wanted it. Now I know they were right and can see that they are relieved that I decided on more school.7
父母虽然老是劝我，但并不强求，如果我真想试试，他们允许我去试一年，看看结果如何。现在我明白他们的话是对的，可以想象我继续深造的决定会使他们心里一块石头落地。
Another important reason for returning was my desire to learn more about many subjects. I have always loved reading, especially Richard Wright8 and Langston Hughes, 9 and so I hope to enjoy the literature courses.
我继续上学的另一个重要原因是想进修许多课程。我一直喜欢读书，尤其是读理查德?莱特和朗斯顿?休斯的书，因此我会喜欢文学课程。
I’m curious about the Literature of other countries, especially of Africa, and I plan to elect some black studies courses during the four years. In physical education I hope to continue with my interest in scuba diving,10 and I want to spend more time running track, as I did in high school.
我也想了解其它国家的文学，尤其是非洲国家的，我打算在四年中选修几门黑人研究课程。体育方面我喜欢带水下呼吸器潜泳，想继续搞下去；我想花更多时间练习跑步，在中学时我经常这样做。
For my science requirement,11 I’ll probably take biology, especially because I sometimes think of becoming a veterinarian. Possibly studying biology will help me to make a final decision.
至于理科方面，我也许要选生物学，特别是因为我时常想当一名兽医，学习生物学也许能帮我作出最后的抉择。
At this time, however, I seem most sure about my choice of an art major — a very important reason for my coming to college. I started drawing when I was very small; cats, dogs, reindeer, and Santa Claus were my specialties then.12
可是，此时此刻，我选择艺术作主科，看来是肯定无疑了――这也是我上大学的十分重要的原因。我很小就开始画画，那时最爱画猫呀、狗呀、驯鹿呀、圣诞老人呀什么的。
and in junior year my watercolor of the Boston Marathon13 won ＄100 in a citywide contest. My plan right now is to go into commercial art, possibly drawing magazine advertisements for clothing. liuxuepaper.com
中学时我的作品经常展出，我三年级画的波士顿马拉松赛水彩画参加全市比赛获得一百美元奖金。现在我计划搞商业广告，也可能给杂志画服装广告。
I know this will take a commitment,14 though, because lots of people have some artistic talent, but few are able to carry out the extra effort to make it pay off.15 Right now, the Art Department seems to be where I belong.
我深深懂得，要搞好这项工作需要一种献身精神，因为很多人不乏某种艺术天赋，但很少有人能付出更多的精力，将其艺术天赋充分发挥出来。现在看来，我似乎更适合进艺术系学习。
I have one more reason for coming to school — myself. I want to feel better about myself and more optimistic when I look to the future. I have seen my parents struggle for their degrees while raising six children, and I have seen how much their effort improved our standard of living.
我上大学还有个原因――那就是为了我自己。我希望在瞻望未来时自己能更有信心、更为乐观。我曾目睹父母一边抚养六个孩子一边努力奋斗求得学位的情景，我也看到，由于他们的奋斗，全家的生活水平有了很大的提高。liuxuepaper.com
Being younger than they were when they started, and without anyone yet to take care of,16 I should be able to make good use of my time right now and make a better life. For me, just working from job to job wasn’t enough, but college seems like plenty right now.17
我比他们当年开始奋斗时年纪更轻，而且没有任何人需要我照顾，我现在应当充分利用时间抓紧学习，使将来的生活过得更好一些。对我来说，过去那样从一个工作换到另一个工作的生活并不踏实，而现在上大学看来要充实得多。