2015年ESL之日常生活 29 Getting an Online Degree

ESL Podcast 1155 – Getting an Online Degree 

Carlos: So where are you planning on attending college? 

Torrie: I’ve picked Harford University. 

Carlos: The only Harford University I’ve heard of is a degree mill. 

Torrie: I’m sure it’s not the same one. The Harford University I’m attending is accredited¹, at least I’m pretty sure it is. The best part of going to Harford is I’ll never have to attend classes on campus. I can do all of my coursework online. 

Carlos: You want to attend an online university? There are some legitimate² ones that offer good distance education, but many have low admissions standards and don’t provide a very good education. 

Torrie: Not Harford. It’s a good degree- granting institution and they even give you credit for relevant life experience. I won’t need to take very many courses to graduate. 

Carlos: That sounds pretty fishy³ to me. 

Torrie: Don’t worry. My transcript⁴ and degree will be indistinguishable from those from a traditional university, without nearly as much work. 

Carlos: That should tell you something. How is their job placement rate? 

Torrie: I’m not sure, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be as competitive as any other college graduate. 

Carlos: If you say so. What are you doing right now? 

Torrie: I’m playing a video game stealing cars. At Harford, that’s considered relevant life experience. Cool, huh? 

Carlos: Yeah, cool. 

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse 

1 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

2 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

3 fishy   

adj. 值得怀疑的

参考例句：

• It all sounds very fishy to me.所有这些在我听起来都很可疑。
• There was definitely something fishy going on.肯定当时有可疑的事情在进行中。

4 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。