One of the first questions an American college student often gets is, “What are you majoring in?” Meaning, what academic subject are you spending most of your time studying?
美国大学生经常被问到的第一个问题之一是：你要选什么主修？这意思是，你要花最多时间读哪一个科目？
A typical answer would be “chemistry,” “pre-law,” “journalism,” “sociology,” or “English.”
我们通常会听到的典型答案是例如化学、法律、新闻、社会学、或英语。
What is not typical is an answer such as “Keepin’ It Real” or “Grand Romantic Gestures.”
“脚踏实地”或“浪漫之举”这样的主修并不会是典型答案。
That’s right: “Grand Romantic Gestures.” It’s an actual course of study at the University of Maryland. But only for Elizabeth Limberakis.
“浪漫之举”是马里兰大学一门真正的科目，它但只开给林博奥克斯。
You see, Maryland is one of a growing number of U.S. colleges that allows students to custom-design their own majors, tailored to their interests. As The New York Times reports, Limberakis happens to be interested in the study of love.
根据《纽约时报》报道，林博奥克斯对研究爱情有兴趣。
At Wesleyan College in Georgia, a little more than half of the undergraduate students individualize their majors, as it’s called.
在乔治亚州的卫斯里安学院，超过一半的大学生将他们的主修科目“个人化”。
A number of University of Washington students do too, after receiving a warning from the university that cooking up your own academic program does not mean you can design a “light” major just to get an easy degree.
华盛顿大学的一些学生也这么样，但学校警告他们，自己打造自己的学术项目不代表你就可以“随便”设计一个主修，好让你轻松拿学位。
Instead, that university makes clear, individualized studies are for “the intellectually curious, reflective and highly self-directed students who embrace learning for its own sake.”
相反的，华盛顿大学说得很明白，个人化的学科是给那些“在知识上充满好奇、进行反思、自动自发的学生，他们为了个别目的拥抱学习”。
In fact, many colleges require those who invent their own majors to take classes in at least three widely-different disciplines.
事实上，许多大学要求那些创造自己主修的学生在至少三种不同领域修课。
Even the “Keepin’ It Real” major at the University of Maryland was a more serious undertaking that it sounds.
就连马里兰大学的“脚踏实地”主修也比听起来严肃得多。
The Times says it included courses in pop culture and the “purity of art,” because the student was planning an undefined entertainment career.
《纽约时报》报道，“脚踏实地”主修包括了流行文化和纯艺术，因为那名大学生计划从事演艺相关事业。 |