雙語文摘如果你去三藩市

　　在那之前幾十年，三藩市的中文名字舊金山對很多中國人來說，或多或少就是美國的代名詞。接下來，小編給大家準備了,歡迎大家參考與借鑑。

　　“If you’re going to San Francisco…”

　　“如果你去三藩市……”

　　“…be sure to wear flowers in your hair.” The above lyric was made famous by a 1967 song which topped the charts in the U.S., when San Francisco was at the cutting edge of the American counterculture movement.

　　“……記得在鬢間簪滿鮮花。”這句歌詞源於1967年曾榮登美國歌曲排行榜首位的老歌《三藩市》。而那一年的三藩市San Francisco，正處在美國反文化運動的最前沿。

　　Many decades before that, the traditional Chinese language name for San Francisco 舊金山 literally “Old Gold Mountain” was , for many Chinese, more or less synonymous with America itself. San Francisco was the gateway and first port of call for many if not most Chinese visitors, workers , and migrants during the 19th century.

　　在那之前幾十年，三藩市的中文名字舊金山對很多中國人來說，或多或少就是美國的代名詞。19世紀，三藩市是很多如果即使不是大多數中國遊客、工人和移民進入美國的門戶城市或第一落腳點。

　　In recent years, apart from skyrocketing numbers of tourists from the Chinese mainland, the other big influx of Chinese into the U.S. is students. The bulk of these are enrolled in college and university degree programs, but the numbers in secondary school are also growing quickly.

　　近年來，除中國內地遊客的數量呈火箭式增長外，中國赴美的另一大主力人群是學生，其中，以進入高校進修學位的大學生為主，但高中生的數量也在迅速攀升。

　　A new book, “Preparing to Study in the U.S.A.: 15 Things Every International Student Should Know” is highly recommended for students as well as parents considering post-secondary education in the U.S..

　　在這裡，我要向考慮去美國接受高中以上教育的學生和家長推薦一本新書—— 《赴美留學準備：國際學生必知的15件事》。

　　Although its 15 chapters include one on “admissions”, the focus of the book is primarily not the admissions process, but rather all the other issues which would-be exchange students should consider when selecting schools as well as preparing for life and study there.

　　全書共分15個章節，其中“錄取”獨立成章。但本書講述的重點並非錄取的流程，而是準留學生在擇校和準備異地生活期間所要考慮的其他所有問題。

　　Each chapter contains a “Frequently Asked Questions” section at the end, and the book is filled with useful advice and tips, some of which may come as a shock to readers in China.

　　書中在每章結尾處均設有“常見問題”，全書充滿各種有益的建議和提示，其中某些還可能會讓中國讀者大跌眼鏡。

　　For example, in the “Admissions” chapter: “Students should avoid agents or anyone who charges a fee. The free information and counselling provided by an EducationUSA adviser can help enormously.” EducationUSA has branches in some 170 countries worldwide. This will no doubt also come as unwelcome advice to the thousands of educational consultants and agents in China who are charging hefty fees – sometimes with added bonuses for success — to assist with admission into elite US colleges.

　　以“錄取”一章為例：“學生應避開任何收費的中介機構或個人。EducationUSA的顧問可提供免費資訊和諮詢，幫助良多。”EducationUSA在全球170多個國家設有分支機構。對中國數以千計的盈利性——有時甚至會為辦入名校而收取獎金——的留學顧問和中介來說，這個建議無疑不受歡迎。

　　As the opening chapter explains, the U.S. has 4,700 colleges and universities. Despite the rapid growth in international student enrollment up 72% since 2000, international students still represent only slightly more than 4% of the total nationwide enrollment of 21 million.

　　在書的開篇中可以看到，全美共有4,700所大學和學院。儘管外國留學生的人數在迅速增加自2000年起上升了72%，但在全美2,100萬入學新生中所佔的比例只有4%出頭。

　　To put that in another way, international students are still a very small minority on any US college campus. This makes for a challenging social and cultural adjustment process for most of them.

　　換言之，在任何美國校園中，留學生仍是極少數群體，因此，他們中的大多數仍需然會面臨社會及文化適應上的挑戰。

　　Another big adjustment awaits in the classroom, given America’s tradition of liberal education, which strives to develop independent, critical thinking, innovation and problem-solving, questioning, debate and discussion. This is a far cry from what most Chinese students have experienced up to and including secondary school.

　　而在教室裡，還有另外一件事等著他們去適應，那就是美式的自由教育傳統。美式教育旨在開發獨立性、批判性思維，培養創新及解決問題的能力，鼓勵提問、辯論和討論。這與大多數中國學生在上高中以前，甚至是讀高中時的經歷都有很大區別。

　　No discussion of US university education today can avoid the ferocity of the competition for admission to top schools. It’s no surprise, then, that half of the universities and colleges with the largest enrollment of international students are public ie state schools rather than private institutions. The only Ivy League school in the top 25 in terms of international student enrollment is Columbia.

　　談到名校激烈的入學競爭，就無法迴避當今美國大學教育的話題。毫無意外，吸納留學生最多的學校半數以上都是公立學校即州立學校，而不是私立機構。而留學生人數排名靠前的25所學校中，只有哥倫比亞大學屬於常春藤盟校。

　　As an interesting piece of historical trivia, the chapter on US higher education points out that of the 8 Ivy League schools, all but one were founded when the US was still a British colony.

　　該書關於美國高等教育的章節記錄了一段有趣的史實：八所常青藤盟校除一所外，其餘都始建於英殖民地時期。

　　There was explosive growth in post-secondary school enrollment in the U.S. from 1965-2000: up 265% , versus roughly 45% population growth during that period. From 5.92 million in 1965, the ranks of college students swelled to 15.31 million in 2000. That’s equivalent to roughly half the adult population of the U.S.

　　1965年至2000年，美國高中以上教育機構的入學率呈爆炸性增長：漲幅高達265%，而同期的人口增長率僅為45%。大學生總量從1965年的592萬增加到2000年的1,531萬，幾乎相當於全美成年人口的一半。

　　In recent years, roughly 25% of graduating U.S. high school seniors apply for 7 or more colleges or universities.

　　最近幾年，大約25%的美國高中畢業生都會申請7所以上的大學。

　　The book compares salient differences between state and private schools. It highlights some important aspects, including risks, of student life on campus.

　　該書還就國立及私立學校間的顯著差異作出做出了對比，重點關注了包括在校生活風險等側面的問題。

　　The authors discuss the overwhelming importance of sports in campus life, and the impact it has on the student community, including the language of college sports, which is huge. Like it or not, this is something international students will confront and need to adjust to.

　　作者們還探討了體育運動在校園生活中的絕對重要性，及其對學生社團，包括大學體育語言所帶來的巨大影響。無論你喜歡與否，這都是留學生將要面對和適應的問題。

　　The American university with the largest enrollment of students from China on a single campus is The University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana. With 4,500 Chinese students trying to cope with sports mania, the university has begun Chinese language broadcasts of the university’s football games. That’s a good start.

　　美國招收中國留學生最多的單體大學是伊利諾伊大學厄巴納―香檳分校。考慮到在校4,500名中國留學生對體育熱的適應需求，學校已開始用中文廣播校橄欖球賽的盛況。這是一個好的開端。

　　I fully understand the magnetic appeal of higher education in the U.S. for parents and students in the Chinese mainland with the resources to afford the relatively high costs the average annual cost for a private 4-year college is US$42,419; and some range much higher than that.

　　我完全理解美國高等教育對有能力負擔相對較高費用的中國內地學生及其父母所具有的超強吸引力四年制美國私立大學的平均學費為42,419美元，有些還更高。

　　At the same time, I’ve often wondered how newly arrived Chinese students cope with what is an enormously different cultural, social and academic milieu.

　　同時，我也時常好奇初來乍到的中國學生是如何適應差異巨大的文化、社會和學術環境的。

　　Understandably, many seem to stick together with other Chinese students, or other Asian students.

　　可以理解的是，很多中國留學生似乎還是願意與本國學生或其他亞裔學生抱團。

　　Books like this new one address a very important need: to help guide the process of selecting a school which is a good fit for the individual student, and offering some pointers on ways to prepare to adapt and adjust, avoiding pitfalls along the way.

　　這本書及同類的書籍滿足了一個重要的需求，即指導學生按部就班地選擇最適合自己的學校，為他們提供做好適應和調整準備的建議，幫助他們少走彎路。