Module 2 Highlights of my senior year 高中英语外研版选修7 课文文本

HighlightsofMySeniorYear

byJoannaSykes

Icanhardlybelieveit,butmyschoollifeisalmostover.

Prom

nighthascomeandgone,andI'vereceivedmyhighschooldiplomaatlast.It'sagoodthingthattheexamsarefinished.Ifeeltooexcitedtothinkclearly!Itseemsstrangetothinkthatinafewdays'timeI'llbewalkingoutoftheschoolgates

forever

.ThefirstthingI'mgoingtodoistotakealongvacation!

Meanwhile,Ifindmyselflookingbackatmysenioryear,andthinkingaboutallthewonderfulthingsthathavehappened.I'vedecidedtowritethemdownsothatoneday,yearsfromnow,whenIrereadthem,thememorieswillcomeback.

There'ssomuchtoremember.Oneofthebestthingsaboutthisyearhasbeenworkingasanartseditorforthisnewspaper.I'vesoenjoyedit!Ilovewriting,andworkingonthispaperismyfirststeptowardsbecomingajournalist,sothishasbeenarealsuccessforme.

SomethingelseI'vegreatlyenjoyedisworkingasa

peer

mediator

,someonewhohelpsstudentsto

settle

problemsthattheyhavewithotherstudents.Atthestartoftheschoolyear,weweregiventraininginhowtodothis,andit'sclearthatthiskindofworkcanreallyhelppeople.IthinkI'llcontinuetoworkasa

mediator

whenIgotocollege.

DuringtheEastervacation,IwentonashortschoolskiingtriptotheRockyMountains.I'vebeenskiingquiteafewtimes,butneverwiththeschool,andsincetwogoodfriendscameonthetrip,we

hadgreatfunracing

eachotherdowntheskislopes.It'swell-knownthatAmericansare

competitive

,andIdidenjoyitwheneverIwonourraces!

OtherthingsI'mpleasedabout—gettinggoodgradesonmyfinalexams,andreceivingtheseniorprizeforEnglishLiterature.IwasgivenacarbymyparentssoI'vebeenabletodrivetoschool,whichisbrilliant.Andof

course

,I'llneverforgetbeing

electedto

thestudentcouncil.Ireallyenjoyedmeetingtheteachersandtellingthemhowwe,thestudents,feelaboutthings,andwhatwethinkshouldhappenintheschool!

Allthesethingshavebeenwonderful.ButIhavetosay,the

highlight

oftheyearwasthesenior

prom

.ForanAmericangirl,it'ssoimportantthatyouhaveagoodtimeatthe

prom

.Well,Idid!Daniel,aboyinmyEnglishclass,askedmetogotothe

prom

withhim,andIwassopleased—I'dbeenhopinghewouldaskme.Ifoundadressthat

suited

meperfectly,andhadmyhairspeciallydoneonthedayofthe

prom

.Ittooktwohoursbutit

wasworthit

,aseveryonetoldmeIlookedveryelegant!Agroupofus

rented

anicecartotakeustothe

prom

.ThefoodwasdeliciousandIatesomuchthatIhadtostopdancingforawhile!Wesharedatablewithsomegoodfriends,andlaughedandtoldjokesallevening.

It'sagreatpitythat

it'sprobablythelasttimethiswillhappen.

DanielandIdancedmostofthedancestogether.ButthebigsurpriseoftheeveningwaswhenIwas

elected

prom

queen!Thiswassounexpected,andIcan'ttellyouhowgoodthismademefeel!Afterthe

prom

,agroupofusdrovedowntothecoast,andsatonthebeachinourlongdressesand

dinnerjackets

.Ishallneverforgetwatchingthesunriseoverthesea—itwasunforgettable!Afterwards,wewentandhadan

enormous

breakfastinanearbyhotel—itwasaperfectendingtoaperfectschoolyear.

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

Joannahadalotofsuccessesduringhersenioryear.Whatwerethey?

WhydidJoannaenjoythepromsomuch?

LookatsomeAmericanseniorhighclubsandtheirslogans.Readthetextandanswerthequestions.

Whichclubwouldattractstudentswhoenjoymusic?

Whichoftheclubsareforpeopleinterestedinsports?

Ifyouareinterestedinyourappearance,whichclubmightyouchoose?

Ifyoufeelconcernaboutothercreatures,whichclubmightyoujoin?

Ifyou'reinterestedinacting,whichistheclubforyou?

Whichclubmightbeattractivetosomeonewhoisinterestedinpolitics?

Whichclubneedsthehighestintellectualskills,inyouropinion?

Whichclubwouldattractsomeonewhowantstomakemoney?

Ifyouareinterestedinpictures,whichclubmightyoujoin?

Whichisthebestslogan,inyouropinion?

attract;concern;drama;fashion;play;photography;slogan

ConcertBand

Ifyouplayaninstrument,thisistheplaceforyou.

DramaClub

Doesthetheatreattractyou?—Thencomeandjoinusintheschoolplay!

NatureClub

Theclubforthosewholovegrowingthings

FutureBusinessLeadersofAmerica

Tobeagoodbusinessman,youneedtostartyoung!

C.A.R.E

—ConcernforAnimalRightsandtheEnvironment

FashionClub

Forthosewithaloveofclothes

RunningClub

Discoverthepleasuresofrunning!

DebatingClub

Interestedinseriousdiscussion?Ifso,weneedyou.

PhotographyClub

Forkeenphotographersonly

BaseballClub

PlaytheAmericanGame!

After-schoolActivities

InAmerica,thedevelopmentofsocialskills

isconsideredas

importantasthedevelopmentofintellectualskills.Tohelpstudents

develop

thesesocialskills,schoolsofferalargenumberof

after-school

activities,inotherwords,activitiesthattakeplaceoutsideclassroomlessons.Whendecidingwhichstudentstoaccept,employersandcollegeslookforstudentswhohaveskillsinseveralareas.Examgradesareveryimportant,butsoarethe

after-school

activities.Bytakingpartintheseactivities,studentsshowtheirspecialtalents,their

ability

tolead,andtheir

ability

togetonwithothers.

Competitive

sports,forexample,baseball,areprobablythemostpopularofallthe

after-school

activities.Thisisbecause,formanyAmericanparents,itisimportantthattheirchildren,particularlyboys,learnhowtocompetesuccessfully.Youngpeopleareencouragedtotakepartinteamsportssuchasfootballandbasketball,sincethesegamesteachyoutohavethe"winningspirit".Forsomestudentsandtheirparents,highschoolsportis

considered

moreimportantthanacademicachievements.

Duringthelongsummerholidays,itisacustomforAmericanchildrentospendseveralweeksatsummercamps.Therearethousandsofcamps,andtheycanbefoundalloverthecountry.Whatthesecampsofferisanopportunitytotakepartinmanydifferentkindsof

outdoor

activities,forexample,horseridingand

waterskiing

.Olderteenagers

aremorelikelytoget

summerjobsorgocampingwithagroupoffriends.Manygobackpackinginthemountainsofthewest.

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

Whatareafter-schoolactivities?Canyougivesomeexamples?

Whyareafter-schoolactivitiesconsideredsoimportant?

Whyarecompetitivesportsconsideredsoimportant?

Whathappensinsummercamps?

ReadingPractice

Lookatthetitleofthepassage.Whichofthewordsintheboxdoyouexpecttoseeinthepassage?

alphabet;airmail;bachelor;bedding;compulsory;dormitory;dynamic;faith;geometry;luggage;mailbox;polish;sew;sob;washroom;zipper

Nowreadthepassageandcheck.

MySchooldays

Theysaythatschooldaysarethehappiestdaysofyourlife,butnotforme!Myfatherworkedabroad,soIwassenttoa

boarding

schoolwhenIwasseven.Likemostschoolchildren,Ihadalreadybeento

nursery

school.Icould

recite

the

alphabet

,andreadsomesimplebooks,butthiswasmyfirstexperienceofthe

institution

myparentscalled"bigschool".Infact,theonlypreparationIhadforthisadventurewaswatchingasmymother

sewed

mynametagintomyshirts,trousersand

woollen

sweaters.

Iarrivedwithone

suitcase

,myonly

luggage

foraterm.IwasshowntothedormitorywhereIwouldsleepwithfiveother

innocent

boys.Thebeddingwasa

pillow

,asheet,andathin

quilt

.Thereweretwo

worn

armchairs

,afew

shabby

cushions

,anelectric

kettle

toheatwaterfortea,somepostersfor

decoration

butno

curtains

.The

washroom

hada

basin

anda

bathtub

,butnoheating.I'mashamedtoadmitthatIsobbedasIfellasleepthatnight.

Irememberthatmyfirstlessonwas

arithmetic

.Myfirsttaskwasto

multiply

sevenbythree.Nooneexplainedwhy!Ittookmeyearstounderstandthegreatermysteryof

algebra

,

geometry

,and

concepts

suchas

cubic

metres,

acres

and

grams

.

Wehada

dynamic

Englishteacher,a

bachelor

whohadplentyoftimeforusboysandinspiredmylife-longloveofliterature.Therewasalsoateacherof

botanical

science,whointroducedmetomypassionforflowersandplants.Wespenthoursstudyingthestructureofleavesunderthe

microscope

.

School

regulations

werestrict.Being

punctual

forclasseswasessential,noonewasallowedtobelate.Sportwascompulsory,andeveryweekwehadtogoforafive-kilometrerun,wearingjusta

T-shirt

andapairofshortsevenonfreezingcoldNovemberdays.Weallhadtoattendmorningassemblyevery

weekday

,exceptforboysofotherfaiths,whowereallowedtostayintheirclassrooms.Iwantedtobecomea

Catholic

simplysoIcouldstaywithmybooks!

Buttherewerealsosomanysillyrulestofollow,which

irritated

oreven

upset

me.Forexample,everyonehadto

polish

theirshoeseveryday,andnoonewasallowedtrouserswith

zippers

,only

buttons

!OnSundays,itwascompulsorytowritehome.EverydayIwouldcheckmy

mailbox

,lookingforwardtomy

mummy

's

airmail

letter.ButmyparentslivedinAsiaand,tomygreatdisappointment,Ionlygotareplyoncea

fortnight

.

Ileftelevenyearslater,withmyschoolleaving

certificate

,anda

scholarship

tostudyatOxfordUniversity.Manypeopletalkabouttheirhappinessatschool,butforme,ateighteen,allIfeltwasasenseofliberation.

CulturalCorner

Readthepassageandanswerthequestions.

Doyouthinkcheerleadingisaseriousactivity?Saywhy/whynot.

Whatpartdoesdanceorgymnasticsplayinyoureducation?

TheAmericanArtofCheerleading

Whatisa

cheerleader

?

A

cheerleader

isamemberofateamthatdancesanddoesgymnasticsbeforeandduring

competitive

gamessuchasbaseball.Theydothisinordertoencouragecrowdsto

cheer

theirsportsteams.Theteamiscalleda

cheerleading

squad

.

Cheerleading

onlyexistsinAmerica,andtodayitismostlygirlsthatdoit.

Whatisthehistoryof

cheerleading

?

Cheerleading

beganinall-mencollegesinthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturies.Astimepassed,moreandmorecollegesstarted

cheerleading

,andmorewomenstarteddoingitthanmen.Itwasnotu