“间隔年”受青睐

“间隔年”受青睐

作者：袁丹纯

来源：《疯狂英语·新阅版》2020年第11期

今年各国许多高中毕业生因疫情选择了“间隔年”，来看看学生、家长和专家怎么说。

1. envisage /nvzd/ v. 设想

2. scenario /snɑri/ n. 方案;设想

3. deferral /dfrl/ n. 延期;推迟

4. scrutiny /skrutni/ n. 认真彻底的审查 5. detrimental /detrmentl/ adj. 不利的;有害的

Devon Tyrie had a plan for the academic year. The Massachusetts native wanted to take a gap

year between graduating from high school and starting university， combining volunteer work，

international travel and internships. But with this year's social distancing rules and travel

restrictions， it's clear that her year will not pan out as envisaged.

Tyrie， 18， says she's had to make a decision based on worst-case scenarios. She's applied for a

deferral to the next academic year. “It's kind of tough right now， not knowing， but I'm doing my

best to make a plan，” says Tyrie.

Taking a gap year between high school and university is fairly common in many parts of

Europe， the UK， Australia and New Zealand. In the US， the practice is less common， but

attracted mainstream attention in 2016 when Barack Obama's daughter Malia took a gap year before

attending Harvard University. Critics point out that the gap year is often an opportunity reserved for

the wealthy. Yet the concept—together with its pros and cons—is under increased scrutiny now as

students all over the world weigh up their options for the year ahead.

In a recent study on university access，statistics have shown that this year witnesses an

increasing number of university applicants who prefer to defer a place in favour of a gap year.

Gabriel Hostin， 17， had decided that he would take a gap year before attending Harvard. In

terms of the immediate future， he's looking at domestic volunteer programmes including community

work closer to the New York area， where he's from. For his peers who are going straight to

university， he says there's concern about not being able to be on the campus when the academic year

starts. “For me， that's not college although I can study online，” says Hostin.

Kim， whose daughter took a gap year in the Republic of Korea through a US-government

funded initiative， says that for a gap year to be valuable， it needs to be educational and ideally

have a structured component. However， it needs to take caution as well. Having an unplanned and

unstructured gap year can be detrimental to students， says Kim， because they're more likely to lose

their momentum and decide not to attend college altogether.

For those who struggle to find meaningful activities， experts suggest thinking about using the

skills they have to help organizations that might benefit.

Ⅰ. Difficult sentences

1. Yet the concept—together with its pros and cons—is under increased scrutiny now as students

all over the world weigh up their options for the year ahead. 翻译：但是当全世界的学生都在琢磨下一年的计划时，他们越来越认真地考虑（间隔年）这个想法及其优缺点。

分析：本句是一个主从复合句，as students all over the world weigh up their options for the

year ahead 为时间状语从句，weigh up为谓语动词， 意为“琢磨”。在翻译be under increased

scrutiny这个介词短语的时候，为了符合中文多动词的特点，我们可以将此处的名词scrutiny转变成动词“考虑”，同时增加“学生”作为主语，并改变句序，译为“学生越来越认真地考虑这个想法及其优缺点”， 使其翻译更加地道。

2. Having an unplanned and unstructured gap year can be detrimental to students， says Kim，

because they're more likely to lose their momentum and decide not to attend college altogether.

翻译：Kim说，一个无计划、无组织的间隔年对学生是有害的，因为学生更有可能因此失去动力，决定不再上大学。

分析：Having an unplanned and unstructured gap year是非谓语作主语;because they're more

likely to lose their momentum and decide not to attend college altogether为原因状语从句，解释前面所提到对学生有害的观点。其中be more likely to do sth表示“更有可能做某事”。

Ⅱ. Useful sentence pattern

But with this year's social distancing rules and travel restrictions， it's clear that her year will not

pan out as envisaged.

翻译：但是有了今年的社交距离限制和旅行限制等措施，很清楚的是，她的计划不会像预期的那样顺利开展。

分析：本句使用了with...的结构，意为“有了……”。

Practice：句式仿写

有了她的帮忙，我们的困难很快就得到解决了。

假定你是李华，今年高三毕业。你的好朋友Paul毕业后打算参加“间隔年”，写信咨询你对“间隔年”的看法，以及毕业后的计划。

内容要点： 1. “间隔年”的利弊及你的看法;

2. 你的计划：是否会参加“间隔年”，会做什么。

注意：

1. 词数150左右，开头和结尾已给出，不计入总词数;

2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯;

3. 每段的段首或段尾需出现主题句。

Dear Paul，

Glad to hear from you. Learning that you have made a decision to take a gap year after

graduation， I am writing to share with you my idea on the gap year.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours，

Li Hua

写作导引

这是一篇说明文的写作，要求学生谈谈“间隔年”的利与弊，并且说出自己毕业后的计划。这些写作要求和本文内容是紧密相关的。我们可以通过整合同主题阅读材料的内容和语言来梳理写作思路和积累素材。