3) College Friendship will be among the most satisfying and long-term of one’s life. It’s always exciting to discover how wonderfully diverse college relationships can be.

4) Students should remember that they are at college with an anticipated mission : they shouldn’t waste time on meaningless things .

5) Going to college is not just to get a degree: it is to find out who you really are and what you are really made for .

Related Information.

Task One Discovering the Main Ideas

1 Write down the main idea of the following paragraphs in the space provided. 1) Para 2:

Top students attain academic excellence by mastering a few basic principles that others can easily learn.

2) Para 3:

Top students learn to be organized.

3) Para 4:

Top students know how to schedule their time properly.

4) Para 5:

Top students are very serious about school and very active in class.

5) Para 6:

Students benefit from group study.

2 Read the following statements and then decide whether each of them is true or false based on the information in the text. Write T for True and F for False in the space provided before each statement. 1) T Being bright does not necessarily make one a straight-A student.

2) T A top student knows how to balance between what is more important and what is less important.

3) F One student thinks that learning a new word while brushing his teeth helps him learn the new word best.

(The student does so in order to save time.)

4) T A messy student may waste a lot of time.

5) F Professors may concentrate more on the neatness of an assignment than on its content.

(The student who turns in neat work is a step closer to a high score.)

6) T Students benefit more from group study than from individual study.

7) F Pressure from parents is good for students.

(Encouragement rather than pressure from parents helps students a lot.)

3 Summarize the basic principles that top students master and apply in their studying and put them down in the space provided. Basic Principles That Top Students Master and Apply a. set priorities

b. study anywhere or everywhere c. study at one’s preferred time d. be consistent

Task Two Reading Between the Lines

Read the following sentences carefully and discuss in pairs what the author intends to say by the italicized parts.

1) … it is far more important for a student to know how to make the most of his or her innate abilities. (Para. 1)

Being bright doesn’t necessarily make a student a top student. What is of more importance is that he / she learns how to make the best use of the abilities that he / she is born with.

2) The students at the top of the class attain academic excellence by mastering a few basic principles that others can easily learn. (Para. 2)

Anyone can be a top student if he / she adopts some basic principles that are not difficult to learn.

3) According to one professor, the student who turns in neat work is already on the way to scoring an A. (Para. 5)

One professor said that the student who turns in a piece of neat work is likely to get a very good score.

Task Three Voicing Your Views

Work in groups of threes or fours and discuss the following questions.

1) Do you know any other secrets towards academic excellence besides those mentioned in Text A? If so, share them with your classmates.

Other possible secrets are:

find out the learning strategies that best suit oneself; consult more references; do extra reading;

take a short break when tired; etc.

2) Which is more important to you on your way towards academic excellence, intelligence or diligence (勤奋刻苦)? Why do you think so?

Some students will opt for intelligence because some people hold that one can’t be a top student if he / she is not bright enough. Other students may say that diligent work always pays off.

3) Do you think parental influence is a very important factor in a child’s academic excellence? Why or why not?

Most people will say that good parental influence usually has positive effects on the children because parents are role models and first teachers of their children.

4) Do you often participate in group study? Why or why not?

People are sometimes divided on this question. Most people are positive towards group study because they learn better by discussing homework and problems together. Some may be negative toward group work, as they feel they are most efficient when studying alone. The attitude toward group work has been proven to be related to one’s personality. Text B

Checking Your Vocabulary Word Detective

Play detective and find the required word or phrase in Text B

according to the clues given. Then, make at least two sentences with each of the words or phrases you have found. The number of the paragraph in which the target word or phrase appears is given in brackets.

1) A verb meaning “to ask in payment”: (Para. 1) Write down the target word here: charge