听播客学英语 30 去上大学

 　　In English, it is the little words that cause the problems. Big words – like “misappropriation” or “truthfulness” – are easy. If you do not understand what they mean, you can look them up in a dictionary. But little words – like “up”, “down”, “on” and “off” – are difficult because they have so many possible meanings. We often join these little words to a verb, to make a phrasal verb. There are hundreds of phrasal verbs in English. In spoken English, we use phrasal verbs all the time.

　　Today, we look at the little word “off”. If I say, “I am going off to work “ it means that I am leaving home to go to work. Very often we leave out the verb “go”, and we say simply, “I am off to work“, or “We are off to Paris at the weekend”, or “He is off to visit his mother“. And if I say “I am off work“, it means that I am not at work; perhaps I am ill, or I am taking a day’s holiday. “A day off“ means a day when I do not have to go to work. So you see, “off” can have the meaning “going away from somewhere”, or “not being at the place where I normally¹ am”. There is a quiz on the website about sentences and expressions using the word “off”.

　　So now you will understand exactly what I mean when I say that my son is “off to University“. He has left home to go to University. About 40% of young people in England go to University, generally when they are 18 or 19 years old. Some young people stay at home and go to a University in their own town. But most want to be off – they want to leave home and go to a University where they can live independently. If they want to get as far away from their parents as possible, they choose a University like Exeter in the far south-west of England or Aberdeen in Scotland².

　　The University academic year starts at the end of September or the beginning of October. On the motorways³, you can see cars loaded with personal possessions, computers, stereos⁴, skateboards and bicycles and other things which a young student needs. In the car are Mum and Dad, and their son or daughter who is off to University in a distant part of the country.

　　When they arrive at the University, they find hundreds of similar families. All the car parks are full, and it takes half an hour to find a parking space. Probably the University has arranged a room for the new student in a Hall of Residence⁵. So Mum and Dad and the new student set off to find the right room, and then to find the key to the room, and finally to carry all the student’s possessions from the car to the room. Then comes the difficult bit. Mum and Dad want to stay. They want to help their son or daughter to unpack⁶; they want to meet other parents of new students; they want to explore the University. But the new student has other ideas. He or she wants the parents to go as soon as possible. University life cannot start while Mum and Dad are still there.

　　So Mum and Dad set off for home. The new student starts a new life of making new friends, going to student parties and (from time to time) going to lectures and doing some work. And Mum and Dad worry about whether the new student is all right – will he eat too much junk food? will he phone home sometimes to say that all is well? will he remember to change his socks? (The answers to these three questions are “yes”, “no” and “sometimes”).

　　Going off to University is an important step in a young person’s life. It marks the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood⁷. Mum and Dad know this, and when they return home they do something which they have wanted to do for years. They spend a whole day cleaning and tidying their son or daughter’s bedroom!

　　I must be off now. Goodbye!

1 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

2 Scotland   

n.苏格兰

参考例句：

• He has been hiking round Scotland for a month.他围着苏格兰徒步旅行了一个月。
• Scotland is to the north of England.苏格兰在英格兰之北。

3 motorways   

n.高速公路( motorway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Most of Britain's motorways radiated from London. 英国的大多数公路从伦敦向四方延伸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cuba is well served by motorways. 古巴的高速公路四通八达。 来自辞典例句

4 stereos   

立体声( stereo的名词复数 )； 立体声音响器材

参考例句：

• Stereos have been the ordinary household products. 立体声音响装置已经成为普遍家庭用品。
• What do you do when you're not buying stereos?Finance revolutions? 你不买音响的时候都干些什么？融资革命吗？

5 residence   

n.住处，住宅；居住，(合法)居住资格

参考例句：

• They are only allowed one month's residence.他们获准只逗留一个月。
• He took up residence in Australia.他去澳大利亚居住。

6 unpack   

vt.打开包裹（或行李），卸货

参考例句：

• I must unpack before dinner.我得在饭前把行李打开。
• She said she would unpack the items later.她说以后再把箱子里的东西拿出来。

7 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。