Section A
The humanities: Out of date? Background information 1the humanities
The humanities are a group of academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative. The humanities, called social sciences, include history, anthropology, communication studies, cultural studies, law, language, literature, philosophy,religion,music and theater,etc.
Through exploration of the humanities,students learn how to think creatively and critically,to reason,and to ask questions.Because these skills allow students to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to business models and politics,humanistic subjects have been at the heart of a liberal arts education.Today,humanistic knowledge continues to provide the ideal foundation for exploring and understanding the human experience.However,with the economic downtrend,many colleges and universities intend to cut liberal arts courses to save money,and students also try to take natural science courses to help them seek job opportunities.Whether or not studying courses in the humanities has thus become a controversial question.
2 self-awareness
Self-awareness isn’t a quality that you demonstrate by telling a story,but rather it has to do with how you tell the story and your ability to communicate what you learned.Being able to explain to the admissions committee why you value one accomplishment above others,what you learned from a setback,or the deeper meaning of your career goals,is evidence of self-awareness.Furthermore,the self-aware individual has knowledge of both his strengths and weaknesses.
3 James Cameron
World-famous director of the movie,Titanic.The film received 14 Academy Award nominations and was awarded 11 Oscars（奥斯卡奖).
4 Sally Ride
An American physicist and former NASA(m美国国家航空航天局) astronaut.In 1983,at age 32,she became the first American woman and then youngest American to enter space.
5 Bruce Lee
A Chinese-American actor,martial arts instructor,philosopher,film director,film producer,and screenwriter.He was considered the most influential martial artist and a cultural icon.Born in San Francisco,he was raised in Hong Kong until his late teens.He moved back to the United States at 18 and studied philosophy at Washington University.
6 Gwyneth Paltrow
An American actress and singer.She gained worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakesperar in Love(1998),for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress.
7 Renee Zellweger
An American actress and producer.She received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
8 Matt Damon
An American actor and screenwriter.He and his friend Ben Affleck won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award（金球奖） for Best Screenplay for their work—Good Will Hunting(1997).He also got multiple Best Actor nominations.
9 Harold Varmus
An American Nobel Prize-winning scientist and the 14th and current Director of the National Cancer Institute.He was a co-recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on the origins of cancer.
10 Michael Eisner
An American businessman.He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.
Detailed study of the text
1 when the going gets tough,the tough take accounting.(Para.1)
Meaning:When conditions or situations become difficult,determined people choose to study the subject of accounting,hoping they can more easily find a job in the future.
when the going gets tough:when the situation becomes difficult当形势变得严峻时 When the going gets tough,women can get as tough as men.当形势变得严峻时，女人可以变得跟男人一样坚强。
NOTE A more common saying in the similar strcture is”When the going gets
tough,the tough get going “.this is an informal expression and an old motto meaning”When the situation becomes difficult,strong people take the necessary action to deal with it(艰难之路唯勇者行)”.Now people often creative use the motto,by only quoting the first part”When the going gets tough…”.The author is very witty to use”take accounting”here to be humorous and sarcastic.
accounting:n.[U] the work if accounting or the methods they use 会计；会计学 Students’major objective is to be financially well off.Accordingly,today the most popular course is not literature ir history but accounting.学生的主要目的是在经济上富裕。因此，当今最流行的课程不是文学或历史，而是会计。 take accounting:choose to study the subject of accounting选择会计学
2When the job market worsens,many students calculate they can’t major in English
or history(Para.1)
Meaning:When there are fewer iob openings,many college students make a judgment from the situation and think they can’t study English or history as their major.
Meaning beyond words :Many students will not take the classes that won’t help them locate a decent job later. calculate:vt.
1) make a judgment about what is likely to happen using the available information估计；预测；推测
It’s difficult to calculate the long-term effects of these changes in the law.这些法律上的变化带来的长期影响是难以预测的。 2）find out how much sth. will cost, how long sth. will take, etc. by using numbers 计算，核算
Nowadays the accountants in enterprise use computers to calculate the cost of production with accuracy. 如今，企业财会人员利用电脑来计算准确的生产成本。
Major in: (AmE)study sth. as your main subject at college or university 主修（某一）科目
The high demand for persons with knowledge about computers is why chose to major in computer science at the university.对具有电脑知识人才的高需求是我选择在大学主修计算机科学的原因。
3They have study something that boosts their prospects of landing a job.(Para.1)
Meaning:They have to study something that improves their chances of success in finding a job.
Boost:vt. increase or improve sth. to make it more successful 促进；推动；使兴旺
Some countries hope that warmer weather and more rain will boost their farm output.一些国家希望更温暖的天气和更多的降雨能提高他们的农业产量。 Prospect：n. sth. that is possible or likely to happen in the future, or the possibility itself 可能的事情；很可能发生的事情；前景
Career prospects in science and technology are virtually unlimited.科
技类职业的前景几乎是无可限量的。
4The data show that as students have increasingly shouldered the
ever-rising cost of tuition, they have defected from the study of the humanities and toward applied science and “hard” skills that they bet will lead to employment. (Para.2)
Meaning: The facts and information show that as students have spent increasingly more money on tuition, they have turned away from the humanities to some practical courses that they believe will enable them to get a job more easily. Defect:
Vt. leave a country, political party, or organization to go to another one 背叛；叛逃
He defected from the party in the late 1970s.他在20世纪70年代后期背叛了该党。
N． a fault in sb. or sth. 缺点；欠缺；不足之处
Stammering is probably an inherited defect. 口吃可能是一种遗传缺陷。 Defect deficiency 1在表示“人的缺点，设计制造方面的缺点或缺陷”时，名词defect和deficiency的词义相近。
Physiological defect/deficiency生理缺陷
The new car had to be withdrawn from the market because of a mechanical defect.这款新汽车因有机械缺陷，必须被撤出市场。
The deficiency of this plan is very clear, so it can’t possibly succeed.这项计划的缺陷是很明显的，所以它不可能成功 2但表示“缺少，不足”（shortage）时，只可用deficiency
There are serious deficiencies in the number of suitable aircraft符合要求的飞机数量严重不足
During the war children suffered from a deficiency of food.战争期间孩子们遭受了缺乏食物之苦。 Applied： a. used for Describing educational subjects when they are studied for their practical uses （学科）应用的，实用的
Industry leaders want scientists to engage in basic research, not applied research.产业领导者们希望科学家们从事基础研究，而不是应用研究。
Bet：vt. be fairly sure that sth. is true, that sth. will happen,ect., although you can’t prove this 肯定
I bet the train will be late. 我敢打赌，列车会晚点
V. risk money on the result of a race, game, competition or other future event 下赌注；与??打赌
I bet my life that he will take my money and life. 我敢用我的命打赌，他将拿着我的钱离开。
5In other words, a college education is more and more seen as a means
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