今天，关于「gap year」的话题引发热议。

　　🤔️小作业：

　　1. Why might high school graduates consider taking a gap year?

　　A) They want to focus solely on earning money before starting college.

　　B) They desire to pursue hobbies and interests unrelated to their future careers.

　　C) They wish to start their own businesses before entering college.

　　D)They seek to work, travel, or volunteer in ways that an academic calendar does not permit.

　　2. How does the article suggest employers might view applicants who have taken a gap year?

　　A)PositivelyB) Indifferently

　　C)SkepticallyD)Negatively

　　无注释原文：

　　How Taking a Gap Year Can Shape Your Life

　　From: The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2016

　　If your teenager is talking about taking a year away from the classroom between high school and college, you may have Malia Obama to thank for that. But if they’re not yet talking about whether to follow her lead, they should be.

　　Taking time off between high school and college or sometime during the undergraduate years, as Ms. Obama is doing before she attends Harvard, has plenty of appeal for high school graduates who don’t know what they want out of college or seek to work, travel or volunteer on the sort of schedule that an academic calendar does not allow.

　　Parents, however, often worry themselves sick over such talk. While no one wants to drop a six-figure sum on a teenager who doesn’t want to be in school, there are often nagging doubts over whether students who stop for a bit will ultimately get back on track.

　　Families seeking data on gap years won’t find much. Part of the problem is that federal data on college delay and completion don’t measure all the reasons people started college late. While some people make a deliberate choice to delay college to serve in the military or work or travel, others meander for a few years before deciding to try college after all.

　　A number of researchers have shown a connection between a deliberate choice to take some time off and getting better grades upon return to the classroom. Devin G. Pope, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, saw the link among people who had served at a Mormon mission. Bob Clagett, the former dean of admissions at Middlebury College, saw similar results when he helped inspire number-crunching among students there and at the University of North Carolina.

　　Once college is over, however, we enter the realm of anecdotal evidence when it comes to first jobs. Parents worry that if their children take a gap year, they will appear wayward to employers, which may have more to do with the term than how that year was spent. “It suggests a hole,” said Abigail Falik, founder of Global Citizen Year, which has 115 people working in four countries. She prefers the term bridge year, with its implication of a deliberate connection between one stage of life and the next.

　　In fact, logic would suggest that many people who take a gap year get better jobs after college than people who don’t. If you were hiring entry-level employees, wouldn’t you rather employ the risk-taking 23-year-olds who found their way in the world for a while than the 22-year-olds who have not done much besides going to school?

　　Parents would be wise to adopt that mantra, too, and not just because tens of thousands of tuition dollars may go to waste if a college student has a burning desire to be elsewhere. Even if a gap year does not lead to a job offer and an obvious career track, it can light a spark that ends up burning in a different way many years later.

　　- ◆ -

　　注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

　　含注释全文：

　　How Taking a Gap Year Can Shape Your Life

　　From: The New York Times, Oct. 19, 2016

　　If your teenager is talking about taking a year away from the classroom between high school and college, you may have Malia Obama to thank for that. But if they’re not yet talking about whether tofollow her lead, they should be.

　　如果你家十几岁的孩子说打算在高中和大学的间隙离开课堂一年，那很可能是拜马莉娅·奥巴马（Malia Obama）所赐。但是，他们理应开始考虑要不要跟随她的脚步，如果还没这么想的话。

　　follow one's lead

　　lead表示“实例；范例；榜样”，英文解释为“an example or action for people to copy”，follow sb's lead 表示“效仿某人；跟着某人学，有样学样”举个🌰：If one bank raises interest rates, all the others will follow their lead .要是有一家银行提高利率，所有其他银行都会效仿。

　　Taking time off between high school and college or sometime during the undergraduate years, as Ms. Obama is doing before she attends Harvard, has plenty of appeal for high school graduates who don’t know what they want out of college or seek to work, travel or volunteer on the sort of schedule that an academic calendar does not allow.

　　奥巴马在去哈佛之前休学了。有些高中毕业生不知道是为了什么去上大学，或是希望按照学位课程安排所不允许的方案去找工作、旅行，做义工。像奥巴马那样，在高中升大学或是在本科阶段休学一段时间，这种做法对于他们来说非常有吸引力。

　　Parents, however, often worry themselves sick over such talk. While no one wants to drop a six-figuresumon a teenager who doesn’t want to be in school, there are oftennaggingdoubts over whether students who stop for a bit will ultimately get backon track.

　　但是，这样的谈话往往会令父母担心得要死。如果十几岁的子女不想上学，没人会希望在他们身上投入六位数的求学费用，然而很多人怀疑，如果学生暂停学业一段时间，最终到底还会不会回到求学的轨道上来。

　　sum

　　sum /sʌm/ 除了表示“总数，总和”，还可以表示“金额”，英文解释为“an amount of money”举个🌰：He sold the house for a tidy (= large) sum. 他把房子卖了一大笔钱。

　　nagging

　　nagging /ˈnæɡ.ɪŋ/ 作形容词，1）表示“抱怨的；指责的”，英文解释为“complaining or criticizing”如：a nagging voice 抱怨声。

　　2）表示“令人心烦不已的；纠缠不休的”，英文解释为“used to describe an unpleasant feeling that continues for a long period of time”如：nagging doubts/pain 难以消除的疑虑/令人不得安宁的疼痛。

　　也可以直接作名词，表示“抱怨；指责”，英文解释为“complaining and criticizing”举个🌰：I got sick of her constant nagging. 我对她没完没了的抱怨感到厌烦。

　　on track

　　表示“有望成功；在正轨上”，英文解释为“making progress and likely to succeed”举个🌰：They're on track to make record profits. 他们有望获得创纪录的利润。

　　Families seeking data on gap years won’t find much. Part of the problem is that federal data on college delay and completion don’t measure all the reasons people started college late. While some people make adeliberatechoice to delay college to serve in the military or work or travel, othersmeanderfor a few years before deciding to try college after all.

　　你找不到很多关于间隔年的数据。一个问题是关于延迟上大学和毕业的联邦数据并不涵盖人们延迟上大学的所有原因。虽然有些人是有意延迟上大学，去参军、工作或旅行，也有些人只是晃荡了几年，才最终决定去上大学试试。

　　deliberate

　　deliberate /dɪˈlɪb.ər.ət/ 作动词，表示“仔细考虑；深思熟虑；反复思考”，英文解释为“to think very carefully about sth, usually before making a decision”举个🌰：The jury deliberated for five days before finding him guilty. 陪审团认真讨论了五天才裁定他有罪。

　　作形容词，表示“（常指坏事）有意的，故意的，蓄意的”，英文解释为“(often of something bad) intentional or planned”如：a deliberate attack/insult/lie 蓄意攻击/侮辱/说谎。

　　meander

　　meander /miˈæn.dər/ 1）表示“（河流、道路等）蜿蜒，曲折前行”，英文解释为“If a river, stream, or road meanders, it follows a route that is not straight or direct.”

　　2）表示“漫步，闲逛；徘徊”，英文解释为“to walk slowly without any clear direction”举个🌰：We spent the afternoon meandering around the streets of the old town. 我们一下午都在古镇的街道上闲逛。

　　3）表示“（话题、过程或活动）无目的地进行”，英文解释为“If a text, process, or activity meanders, it has no clear purpose or direction.”举个🌰：The film meanders along with no particular story line. 影片不着边际地展开着，没有明确的故事线索。

　　A number of researchers have shown a connection between a deliberate choice to take some time off and getting better grades upon return to the classroom. Devin G. Pope, a professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, saw the link among people who had served at aMormonmission. Bob Clagett, the formerdeanof admissions at Middlebury College, saw similar results when he helped inspirenumber-crunchingamong students there and at the University of North Carolina.

　　很多研究者发现，故意选择休学一段时间与回到学校后取得更好成绩之间存在联系。芝加哥大学布斯商学院（University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business）的行为学教授德温·G·波普（Devin G. Pope）在参与了摩门教传道活动的人中也发现了这种联系。米德尔伯里学院（Middlebury College）的前招生部主任鲍勃·克拉格特（Bob Clagett）在帮助分析该校和北卡罗来纳大学（University of North Carolina）的学生数据时也发现了类似的结果。

　　Mormon

　　Mormon /ˈmɔː.mən/ 表示“摩门教教徒”，英文解释为“a member of a religious group called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which began in the US in 1830”

　　dean

　　dean /diːn/ 表示“系主任；学院院长”，英文解释为“an official of high rank in a college or university who is responsible for the organization of a department or departments”举个🌰：She is the new dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences. 她是社会科学院的新任院长。

　　number-crunching

　　number-crunching /ˈnʌm.bəˌkrʌn.tʃɪŋ/ 表示“（简单但费时的）捣弄数字；进行运算”，英文解释为“mathematical work performed by people or computers that is often quite simple but takes a long time”

　　Once college is over, however, we enter therealmofanecdotalevidence when it comes to first jobs. Parents worry that if their children take a gap year, they will appearwaywardto employers, which may have more to do with the term than how that year was spent. “It suggests a hole,” said Abigail Falik, founder of Global Citizen Year, which has 115 people working in four countries. She prefers the term bridge year, with itsimplicationof a deliberate connection between one stage of life and the next.

　　不过，一旦大学结束，我们对于第一份工作的了解往往只能依靠个人经历或传闻。父母们担心，如果孩子经历间隔年，雇主们会觉得他们太任性——这可能更多地是因为这个说法，而非这一年是如何度过的。“它意味着有个空洞，”全球公民年（Global Citizen Year）的创始人阿比盖尔·法利克（Abigail Falik）说。目前该项目有115人在4个国家工作。她更喜欢过渡年（bridge year）这个说法，它表明，这是故意把人生的一个阶段和下一个阶段联系起来。

　　realm

　　realm /rɛlm/ 1）表示“领域；场所”，英文解释为“an area of activity, interest, or knowledge”举个🌰：At the end of the speech he seemed to be moving  into the realms of  fantasy. 讲话的最后，他似乎进入了虚幻的境地。

　　2）表示“王国”（a country ruled by a king or queen）

　　📍beyond the realm of possibility 表示“超出范围，不可能”（not possible），相反的说法：within the realm of possibility 意思就是“在可能的范围”（possible）举个🌰：A successful outcome is not beyond the realms of possibility. 最后取得成功并非没有可能。

　　🎬电影《复仇者联盟2：奥创纪元》（Avengers: Age of Ultron）中的台词提到：In every realm, there's a reflection. 每个国度都有倒影。

　　anecdotal

　　anecdotal /ˌænɪkˈdəʊt(ə)l/ 表示“逸事的；趣闻的；传闻的”，英文解释为“based on anecdotes and possibly not true or accurate”，如：anecdotal evidence 传闻的证据。

　　wayward

　　wayward /ˈweɪ.wəd/ 表示“（尤指某人的行为）反复无常的，任性的，难以管束的”，英文解释为“doing only what you want and often changing your behaviour in a way that is difficult to control”

　　implication

　　implication /ˌɪm.plɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 1）表示“可能的影响（或作用、结果）”，英文解释为“a possible effect or result of an action or a decision”举个🌰：The development of the site will have implications for the surrounding countryside. 这个地点的开发将会影响周围的乡村。

　　2）表示“含意；暗指，暗示”，英文解释为“an occasion when you seem to suggest something without saying it directly”举个🌰：From what she said, the implication was that they were splitting up. 她的话中暗示他们将要分手。

　　In fact,logicwould suggest that many people who take a gap year get better jobs after college than people who don’t. If you were hiringentry-levelemployees, wouldn’t you rather employ the risk-taking 23-year-olds who found their way in the world for a while than the 22-year-olds who have not done much besides going to school?

　　事实上，很多经历过间隔年的人在大学毕业后找到的工作，按道理应该比没经历过的人更好。如果你在招聘初级职员，你会选择一个23岁的敢于冒险花一段时间在世界上寻找自己道路的人，还是一个22岁的除了上学没做过太多事情的人？

　　logic

　　logic /ˈlɒdʒ.ɪk/ 1）表示“逻辑思维，理性思维”，英文解释为“a particular way of thinking, especially one that is reasonable and based on good judgment”举个🌰：I fail to see the logic behind his argument. 我看不出他的论点有什么逻辑依据。

　　2）表示“逻辑学，逻辑推理”，英文解释为“a formal scientific method of examining or thinking about ideas”如：a treatise on formal logic 关于形式逻辑学的论文。

　　entry-level

　　entry level /ˈen.tri ˌlev.əl/ 1）表示“（组织中）最底层的；（工种等）初级水平的”，英文解释为“at or relating to the lowest level of an organization, type of work, etc.”如：entry-level jobs/workers/salaries 初级水平的工作/初级水平的工人／最低的工资。

　　2）表示“（设备）入门级的，适合初级用户的”，英文解释为“used to describe a product that is cheaper or simpler than other similar products, and therefore suitable for someone who has not used or bought one before”

　　Parents would be wise to adopt thatmantra, too, and not just because tens of thousands of tuition dollars may go to waste if a college student has aburningdesire to be elsewhere. Even if a gap year does not lead to a job offer and an obvious career track, it can light asparkthat ends up burning in a different way many years later.

　　父母们也应该明智地相信这些箴言，不只是因为如果一名大学生强烈地想去其他地方，那么，勉强留在学校就是白白浪费数万美元的学费。即使间隔年没有让你获得一份工作或找到明确的事业方向，它也可能点亮星星之火，在多年后以不同的方式燃烧成熊熊大火。

　　mantra

　　mantra /ˈmæntrə/ 1）表示“准则”，英文解释为“You can use mantra to refer to a statement or a principle that people repeat very often because they think it is true, especially when you think that it not true or is only part of the truth.”举个🌰：Listening to customers is now part of the mantra of new management in public services. 倾听顾客的要求是当今公用事业新型管理准则中的一部分。

　　2）表示“老话，口头禅，口号”，英文解释为“a word or phrase representing a rule or principle which someone often uses, but which other people often find annoying or boring”

　　3）还可以解释为“（佛教和印度教中的）祷语”，英文解释为“A mantra is a word or phrase repeated by Buddhists and Hindus when they meditate, or to help them feel calm.”

　　burning

　　burning /ˈbɜː.nɪŋ/ 除了表示“燃烧的”，还可以表示“（愿望、需求等）强烈的，迫切的”，英文解释为“A burning desire, need, etc., is one that is very strong.”如：a burning ambition 勃勃野心。

　　light a spark

　　spark /spɑːk/ 作名词，1）表示“火花，火星；电火花”，英文解释为“a very small piece of fire that flies out from something that is burning, or one that is made by rubbing two hard things together, or a flash of light made by electricity”

　　2）表示“愤怒/灵感/生命的火花（等等）”，英文解释为“a feeling or quality that causes excitement”举个🌰：They kept running into each other and eventually realized there was a spark between them. 他们不断遇到对方，终于意识到他们之间有火花。

　　spark作动词，表示“引发”，英文解释为“If one thing sparks another, the first thing causes the second thing to start happening.”举个🌰：My teacher organized a unit on computer science that really sparked my interest. 我的老师编排了一个关于计算机科学的单元，它真正激发了我的兴趣。

　　此前，《后浪》和「青年」文中标题中就用到：Bilibili's May 4th Youth Day video sparks discussion on social media 引发热议。

　　📍“spark”表示一瞬间的光亮或能量的释放，引申为激发某种感情或兴趣。同根词：sparkle（闪耀），常用短语：spark a debate（引发辩论）

　　类似的还有：

　　📍stir表示“激发，激起（强烈的感情）；引起（强烈的反应）”，英文解释为“to make someone have a strong feeling or reaction”举个🌰：The poem succeeds in stirring the imagination. 这首诗能够激发起想象力。

　　📍provoke也表示“激起，引起”，英文解释为“to cause a reaction or feeling, especially a sudden one”，如：provoke debate/discussion 激起辩论/讨论。

　　📍spur 鼓动；激励；鞭策；刺激；鼓舞”，英文解释为“If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.”举个🌰：It's the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats. 是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。

　　🎬电影《龙之心3：巫师的诅咒》（Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse）中的台词提到：To spur the clans to war. 激励部族发起战争。

　　📍trigger表示“发动；引起；触发”，英文解释为“to make sth happen suddenly”举个🌰：Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction. 坚果可以引起严重的过敏反应。

　　- 词汇盘点 -

　　follow one's lead、 sum、 nagging、 on track、 deliberate、 meander、 Mormon、 dean、 number-crunching、 realm、 anecdotal、 wayward、 implication、 logic、 entry-level、 mantra、 burning、 light a spark

　　- 词汇助记 By ChatGPT -

　　Following the dean's lead, a Mormon number-cruncher found his realm in logic. His mantra, "light a spark," set him on track, summing up life's implications beyond anecdotal evidence. His deliberate, yet wayward meandering from entry-level to burning issues, ignited a spark in others.