Eric和Patty是好朋友，也是大学同学。他们中午一起吃饭，聊起了校园生活。

Professor: In this first part, we will learn how to ask what classes someone is taking.

Patty: Hi Eric! Are you having fun at college?

Eric: Yes, it's great. How many classes are you taking?

Patty: I'm taking four classes. Are you taking a lot of classes?

Eric: I'm taking three classes.

Professor Bowman, Eric怎么只选三门课？美国大学生的日子也太轻松了吧！

Professor: Well Winnie, maybe they are taking hard classes and have to study a lot.

这么说也有道理。可能正是因为课程难度大，所以他们才只选几门课。

Professor: Let's listen and find out what their classes are.

Patty: What classes are you taking?

Eric: Well, I'm taking English classes.

Patty: I see. Well I'm taking a lot of science classes, like chemistry.

Eric: Chemistry? Wow, that sounds hard. You must have a lot of work.

Patty选修化学课，这门课可不好学。可是Professor Bowman， Eric为什么要选英文课呢？英语不是他的母语么？这算不算投机取巧？

Professor: Well Winnie, some English classes are hard, even for Americans. Students have to read very hard books.

原来如此。那么，在美国大学里，学生们是不是每天都要上课呢？

Professor: Well, let's listen to Eric and Patty talking about when they have classes.

Patty: What's your schedule like?

Eric: It's great! I only have classes from Monday to Thursday!

Patty: You don't have any classes on Friday?

Eric: No, so I can have fun with my friends on Thursday night.

Eric不光选修英文课，而且一个礼拜只上四天课，这怎么可能？

Professor: Yes, some students have easy schedules. Now let's listen to them talking about their professors.

Eric: Who is your chemistry professor?

Patty: I got Professor Franklin for chemistry. He's really great!

Eric: Who did you get for math?

Patty: I got Professor Martinez for math. He's good, but the TA is so boring. TA? TA是什么？

Professor: A TA is a "teaching assistant." They are older students who help professors teach the younger students.

哦，TA就是Teaching Assistant的缩写，也就是助教的意思。Patty说她很喜欢自己的数学教授，不过教授的那位助教却非常沉闷无聊。

Professor: Right. You know, if my students don't study hard enough, sometimes I'll get a mean TA to help me teach.

我们不认真，你就要找个厉害的TA，那我们如果特别认真，你就会找个特别帅的TA喽？

Professor: No. If I get a cute TA, everyone will have a crush on him and study less. Now Eric and Patty are going to talk about what clubs they are in.

Eric: What do you do outside of class?

Patty: I'm in some fun clubs.

Eric: What kind of clubs are you in?

Patty: I do all kinds of things. I do some academic clubs, but other clubs are just for fun.

哇, Patty 可真行，加入了这么多课外社团。Professor, 美国大学中都有那些社团呢？

Professor: Some clubs are academic. Students study together for tests or discuss current events. Some clubs are just for fun. They do things like yoga and hip hop dancing.

瑜珈社和街舞社，听起来真不错！不知道Eric加入了什么社团没有！

Eric: I'm only in a hip hop dancing club. It's really fun.

Patty: A dancing club? I love hip hop music, and I love dancing.

Eric: You should join. It's not full, and there are plenty of spaces left.

Patty: I think I will. It would be fun to do a club together.

Eric只参加了街舞社？他这个人，课只选了三门，每周只上四天课，连跟学习有关的课外社团也不参加。唉，他过得也太轻松了吧！

Professor: Well, Eric may be busy for other reasons. Tune in next time and we'll learn more about student life.

这次的美语三级跳就播送到这里。