1.A brief introduction to the author. 2.Background information about the text. 3.Some glossaries of the text. 4.Some extracurricular knowledge. An American professor, writer, columnist(专栏作家) and even executive director(常务董事). In 1938, he graduated from Washington and Jefferson College. Later, he became an English professor at California State University at Northridge, it’s one of the nation’s largest public universities. Moreover , he was also a visiting professor(客座教授) of English and Linguistics( 语 言 学 ) at Stanford University where he had studied medieval lexicography(中世纪词典学) and got a Ph.D.(博士学位). A Piano for Mrs. Cimino “Oscar Wilde’s Earnest: A Chamber Opera for Eight Voices and Chorus.” “Keynesian Pedagogy: An orthodoxy in Search of a Dustbin (1986)” ; “Stalking the Soft Option: Some Notes on Overinflated Grading Standards (1980)”; “Toward a Theory of Reading Sequence (1973)” and so on. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal ?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=ERICSearchResult&_urlTyp e=action&newSearch=true&ERICExtSearch_SearchTy pe_0=au&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=%22Olipha nt+Robert%22 “Letter to a B Student” is an excerpt of a sensitive and thoughtful letter to a student on keeping a sense of perspective on grades. It appeared in Liberal Education in 1986. The purpose of this article, as the author put forward, is to enlighten B students on keeping an appropriate perspective on grades. Now, let me show you some glossaries in this text… A decent(得体的,正派的) grade(in the past). It’s considered that “Gentleman’s C” as an average grade( 平 均 等 级 ) is seriously behind the times(过时,落伍), today’s “average” grade is a “B”. A few years ago, the “Gentleman’s C” prevailed(流 行,盛行) in universities. Gentleman’s agreement n.君子协定 Gentlemanship n.绅士的身份、品格 Zero sum game ( 零 和 游 戏 / 博 弈 ) : A situation in which if one person gains an advantage form it, someone else involved in it must suffer an equivalent disadvantage. 博弈论的英文名为game theory,直译就是“游戏理论”。游戏者 有输有赢,一方所赢正是另一方所输,游戏的总成绩永远是零。“零 和游戏”之所以广受关注,主要是因为人们发现,在社会的方方面面 都有与“零和游戏”类似的局面,胜利者的光荣后面往往隐藏着失败者 的辛酸和苦涩。 Positive sum game 正和游戏(“双赢”或“多赢”) Negative sum game 负和游戏(没有赢家) Usually the plural form(复数 形式 ) “services” is used to refer to the three armed forced, i.e. the army, the navy, and the air force. GI (pl. GIs or GI‘s) is an American soldier , especially an enlisted one(现役军人). GI-Bill or the GI-Bill of Rights is the popular name for the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, which provided US World War II veterans with special assistance. 1944 年 , 《 退 伍 军 人 权 利 法 案 》(Servicemen’s Readjustment Act ,或GI Bill“大兵法案”) 出台。根据这一法案, 政府资助二次大战的退伍军人接受大学教育,旨在帮助退伍军人 更好地适应平民生活。此外,政府还为退伍军人提供医疗,卫生,住 房等方面的优惠政策。这些军人学生就称为GI-Bill students。 At last, I want to share some extracurricular knowledge with you . Grade Description 4-point Equivalent 100-point A Superior 4.0 96-100 A- Superior 3.7 90-95 B+ Good 3.3 87-89 B Good 3.0 83-86 B- Good 2.7 80-82 Grade Description 4-point Equivalent 100-point C+ Satisfactory 2.3 77-79 C Satisfactory 2.0 73-76 C- Satisfactory 1.7 70-72 D Poor 1.0 65-69 F Failure 0.0 0-64 General 上将 Lieutenant/Major/ Brigadier general 中将、少将、准将 Colonel 上校 Lieutenant colonel 中校 Major 少校 Captain 上尉 A 1st lieutenant 中尉 A 2nd lieutenant 少尉 A 1st sergeant 上士 Sergeant 中士 Corporal 下士 Private 列兵 美军上将军衔一般授予兵 种中的最高军事长官。这是美 国美军上将约翰.克拉多克 (John Craddock)。 Educational system 学制 Academic year 学年 Term/ semester 学期 Diploma 文凭 Tuition 学费 University 大学 College 学院 Academy 高等专科院校 Normal school 师范院校 Major 主修课 Minor 辅修课 Specialized course 专业课 Compulsory course 必修课 Optional course 选修课 Dean of studies 教务处长 Dean of students 教导主任 Department chairman 系主任 Professor 教授 Associate professor 副教授 Guest/Visiting professor 客座教授 Lecturer 讲师 http://sfs.scnu.edu.cn/tblogs/zhanghh/article.asp?id =631 http://www.docin.com/p-13036104.html http://www.docin.com/p-43954439.html http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/21599 .html http://www.eric.ed.gov/ http://www.ioffer.com/i/98311405 http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/7116223.html http://money.163.com/05/0907/16/1T2FID8J0025http: //www.putclub.com/article.php?articleid=761K7B_2. html