英语沙龙：人生新起点

Entering the New Room of Your Life

It must be one of the most frequently¹ asked questions in the English language—“What do you want to be when you grow up?” And for most of us the answer is simple—“I don't know.” And that's just fine. For teenagers all over the world it is difficult to imagine life outside the familiar school grounds and comfortable family home.

But when the university entrance exams finish and high-school graduation wraps² up, it is time to move on to a whole new stage in one's life—adulthood. One day when you are 40, you may look back on your life and wonder exactly how you became an adult. When did you change? Quite often the answer will lie between your first day of university and the first day of your professional³ career. While you cannot pinpoint⁴ an exact time, somewhere in the “roommate days” or “dorm days” you learnt things far more valuable than anything you could learn in a classroom.

For it is in this time we learn independence-Mum and Dad can't take care of you anymore;responsibility—you have to clean your own bedroom and make your own meals; maturity— suddenly joking about “girl's germs” doesn't seem so funny when you actually have a girlfriend or boyfriend; respect—you should take care of John's computer, he spent a lot of money on it; and budgeting—should you spend your last $50 on new shoes or pizza? And a big part of the living-away-from-home process is communication. High-class celebrities⁵ and highly⁶ paid psychologists⁷ are always telling us, to fix our relationship problems, “the key is communication.”

And nothing can provide better training in developing⁸ communication than living with other people. "Whose dirty socks are these?” “Where is your share of the rent money?” “Let's have a party on Friday night!” “I think I'm going to break-up with my boyfriend.” This special period of time is guaranteed to make you feel every emotion possible, but at the same time it will provide you with the best memories you could ever dream of. When the “dorm days” come to an end, we finally know where we belong in the world. And finally, we know exactly what we want to be when we grow up.

1 frequently   

adv.常常，屡次，经常地，频繁地

参考例句：

• Please write to me frequently.请经常给我来信。
• I like that you should call on me frequently.我喜欢你经常来拜访我。

2 wraps   

n.[通常为复数]外衣( wrap的名词复数 )；（拍摄电影时）完成拍摄；[电影、电视]拍摄（或录音）完成；毯子v.包( wrap的第三人称单数 )；覆盖；用…包裹（或包扎、覆盖等）；卷起

参考例句：

• Tom wraps a book in a newspaper. 汤姆把书包在报纸里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The car is being returned by truck, under wraps. 汽车正在秘密地用卡车运回。 来自辞典例句

3 professional   

adj.专业的；职业的；n.专业人员；职业运动员

参考例句：

• He is a professional tennis player.他是一名职业网球运动员。
• I need a professional to sort out my finances.我需要专业人士为我管理财务。

4 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

5 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

6 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

7 psychologists   

n.心理学研究者，心理学家( psychologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• However, psychologists distinguish between'sound" and "noise".'sound" is measured physically in decibels. 然而，心理学家把声音与噪声做了区别，声音实际上可以用分贝来测量，而噪声却不能用同样的方法来测量。 来自中级百科部分
• Using a scientific way, these psychologists set up experiments. 这些心理学家利用科学的方式做了很多实验。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

8 developing   

adj.发展中的

参考例句：

• Transport has always been the key to developing trade.运输一直是发展贸易的关键。
• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。