13 The freshman challenge

THE FRESHMAN CHALLENGE 新生的挑战
Hi! My name is Adam and I’m a freshman at senior high school. Going from junior high school to senior high school is a really big challenge. The first week was a little confusing.嗨！我叫亚当，是高中一年级的新生。从初中过渡到高中真是一项巨大的挑战。第一周有点让人迷茫。
First, I had to think very carefully about which courses I wanted to take. The school adviser helped me choose the suitable ones: maths, English, chemistry, world history, and Chinese. I know that Chinese is a very difficult language, but I hope to be fluent when I graduate. My adviser recommended that I should sign up for advanced literature because I like English and I’m good at it.首先，我必须非常认真地考虑我想选哪些课程。学校的指导老师帮我选择了适合我的课程：数学、英语、化学、世界史和中文。我知道中文是一门非常难学的语言，但我希望毕业时能说得很流利。因为我喜欢英语而且成绩不错，我的指导老师建议我选修高级文学。
I had to choose extra-curricular activities, too. I tried to join the school football team, but the coach told me that I didn’t play well enough. Obviously, I was unhappy, but I won’t quit. I’ll find a way to improve on my own so that I can make the team next year. I joined a volunteer club instead. Every Wednesday, we work at a soup kitchen and hand out food to homeless people in the community.我还得选一些课外活动。我想参加学校足球队，但教练说我踢得不够好。显然，我很不开心，但我不会放弃。我会自己想办法提高，这样我明年就能加入球队了。不过，我还是参加了一个志愿者社团。每周三，我们会在食品救济站里干活，把食物分发给社区里的无家可归者。
I know I’ll have to study harder as a senior high school student and get used to being responsible for a lot more. I’m a bit worried about keeping up with the other students in my advanced course, and it’ll be quite difficult to get used to all the homework. Still, I’m happy to be here. Studying hard isn’t always fun, but I’ll be well prepared for university or whatever else comes in the future.我知道作为一名高中生，我必须得更加努力地学习，学会习惯对更多的事情负责。我有点担心在高级课程中无法跟上其他学生，而且要适应所有的作业会相当困难。不过，我还是很高兴来到这里。努力学习并不总是有趣的，但我会为未来上大学或是任何其他的事情做好充分准备。