Unit 1 Text A College—A Transition Point in My Life
1 When I first entered college as a freshman, I was afraid that I was not able to do well in my studies. I was afraid of being off by myself, away from my family for the first time. Here I was surrounded by people I did not know and who did not know me. I would have to make friends with them and perhaps also compete with them for grades in courses I would take. Were they smarter than I was? Could I keep up with them? Would they accept me?
2 I soon learned that my life was now up to me. I had to set a study program if I wanted to succeed in my courses. I had to regulate the time I spent studying and the time I spent socializing. I had to decide when to go to bed, when and what to eat, when and what to drink, and with whom to be friendly. These questions I had to answer for myself.
3 At first, life was a bit difficult. I made mistakes in how I used my time. I spent too much time making friends. I also made some mistakes in how I chose my first friends in college.
4 Shortly, however, I had my life under control. I managed to go to class on time, do my first assignments and hand them in, and pass my first exams with fairly good grades. In addition, I made a few friends with whom I felt comfortable and with whom I could share my fears. I set up a routine that was really my own — a routine that met my needs.
5 As a result, I began to look upon myself from a different perspective. I began to see myself as a person responsible for myself and responsible for my friends and family. It felt good to make my own decisions and see those decisions turn out to be wise ones. I guess that this is all part of what people call “growing up.”
6 What did life have in store for me? At that stage in my life, I really was not certain where
I would ultimately go in life and what I would do with the years ahead of me. But I knew that I would be able to handle what was ahead because I had successfully jumped this important hurdle in my life: I had made the transition from a person dependent on my family for emotional support to a person who was responsible for myself.
大学——我一生中的转折点
作为一名一年级新生初进大学时，我害怕自己在学业上搞不好。我害怕独自一人在外，因为我是第一次远离家人。在这里，周围都是我不认识的人，而他们也不认识我。我得和他们交朋友，或许还得在我要学的课程上跟他们在分数上进行竞争。他们比我更聪明吗？我跟得上他们吗？他们会接受我吗？
我很快就认识到，我的生活现在就取决于我自己了。如果我要在学业上取得成功，我就必须制定一份学习计划。我必须调整花在学习上的时间和花在社交上的时间。我必须决定什么时候上床睡觉，什么时候吃什么，什么时候喝什么，对什么人表示友好。这些问题我都得自己回答。
开始时，生活有点艰难。我在怎样利用时间上犯了错误。我在交朋友上花的时间太多了。我还在怎样选择大学里的第一批朋友上犯了一些错误。
然而不久，我就控制住了自己的生活。我做到了按时上课，完成并交上了第一批作业，而且以相当好的成绩通过了前几次考试。此外，我还交了一些朋友，跟他们在一起我感到很自在，我能把我担心的事告诉他们。我建立了一种真正属于我自己的常规——一种满足了我的需要的常规。
结果，我开始从一个不同的视角看待我自己了。我开始把自己看作是一个对自己负责也对朋友和家人负责的人。凡事自己做决定并看到这些决定最终证明是明智的决定，这种感觉
