作為一名即將赴美攻讀本科的高中生，了解一些基本的大學英文術語對你理解自己面臨的種種選項至關重要。如果你發現自己被生疏的術語所淹沒，這篇推文是幫助你答疑解惑的良方。

1. COLLEGE

人們對于獲得高中之后學位相關活動的概括性詞語。

較為小型的高等教育機構，通常只頒發本科學位（副學士、大專、本科）。對于university之內的college，人們通常指的是university所提供的全部學位的一大類子集，即大學下設的學院。

例句：Liz went to college to find herself, but unfortunately, Seymore the Snowman found her first.

2. UNIVERSITY

通常規模較大的同時頒發本科和研究生學位的高等教育機構。university往往由college組成，將所提供的不同項目或專業分門別類。

例句：Curiously, to be accepted into this university, you must have a working knowledge of acorn trajectories and tartar sauce.

3. CAMPUS

college或university擁有的土地，上有校舍和各種設施。

例句：What does a kid have to do to find a decent place to bowl on this campus?

4. MAJOR

學生在大學專攻的某個學術領域，按照大學設置的學術項目循序漸進學習。很多大學（包括伊利諾伊香檳）可以招收不確定專業的新生，也有不少學生在大學至少會調換一次專業。

例句：AJ needs to decide what his major will be, and Tia needs to stop talking to herself.

5. UNDERGRAD (undergraduate的縮寫)

還未畢業的本科生，或描述此類教育項目的形容詞。

例句：“Undergrad? More like underwear, am I right?!” It was Tony’s first time doing stand-up comedy.

6. FINANCIAL AID

給符合標準學生發放的學費補助或勤工儉學機會。學生可以申請獎學金、助學金、學生貸款或勤工儉學。發放標準可以是基于學生家庭收入、學生學業情況或其他資歷。

例句：It was after midnight when Liz realized with joyous astonishment that “financial aid” spelled “dial a ic nan if” backwards. Now she only needed to find out what that meant.

7. DORM (dormitory的縮寫，通常不用全稱)

在大學里社交、放東西和睡覺的房間。dorm既可以描述房間所在的大樓也可以描述房間本身。這會是你在大學的棲身之所，可能會與室友共享。在伊利諾伊香檳，宿舍正式的稱呼是residence hall。

例句：Between Marco, Reilly, and the ghost, the dorm room was getting pretty crowded.

8. SEMESTER

從秋天到冬天或從冬天到春天的一整段學習時間。每個學年包括兩個semester。如果大學采用semester制，大部分課程的時長是一個semester。

例句：The semester isn’t even halfway over, but already Marco and Reilly have used up all their paper towels. There’s no other way to appease the ghost.

9. QUAD

校園中的一塊大草坪，學生可以在這里玩飛盤、學習或社交。

例句：“Really? Everytime I cross the quad your frisbee just happens to hit my head?” Professor Smith asked Liz.

10. SQUIRRELS

你可能覺得已經見識過松鼠了，但伊利諾伊香檳會讓你大開眼界的。

例句：Lisa was on her way to work when Harold, the baddest squirrel on campus, spotted her and began aiming his acorn.

11. GPA (grade point average的縮寫)

cumulative GPA是你迄今為止所上過課程的平均成績。term GPA某個特定學期的平均成績。

例句：You might forget about your GPA now, but sometime in your junior year, you will remember it again.

12. CREDIT HOUR

credit hours一般提示了某門課程的工作量。典型的3-credit-hour課一周會上三次，每次一小時。

例句：Students need at least 120 credit hours to graduate at the University of Illinois. Liz’s idea to take them all in one semester proved unsuccessful.

13. STUDY ABROAD

在其他國家通過上課或參與官方批準的交換項目以獲得credit hour的行為。

例句：To Rachel’s dismay, that entire semester spent “studying abroad” in the donut shop won’t count toward her graduation requirements.

14. PROFESSOR

大學課程的講師，擁有博士或其他研究生學位。有些教授可能喜歡被稱作Professor，有些則偏好Doctor或其他稱呼，他們一般會在第一堂課時說明這一點。你的大學課程可能并不都由教授來上。

例句：“The more you ‘accidentally’hit me with that frisbee, the more I’ll lower your grade!” Professor Smith shouted.

“The more you lower my grade, the more I’ll ‘accidentally’ hit you!” Liz shouted back.

15. LECTURE

一種授課形式，講師講解課程內容，學生做筆記。

例句：“Hey, if I skip lecture, can I have a copy of your notes?” Rachel asked.

“No!” Marco said.

16. DISCUSSION SECTION

某些課程的lecture會與名為discussion section的交互活動搭配起來。此時學生們會分組完成項目或討論課程內容。discussion sections通常由teaching assistant或TA來指導。

例句：“Well yes, I know we reviewed that problem in our discussion section, but I told you, I wasn’t there—that was the day of the flea circus!” Was no one sympathetic?

17. TA (teaching assistant的縮寫)

具有更高學力的學生（通常為研究生），被大學雇傭以協助教授進行教學活動，同時完成他們自己的學業。

例句：TA also stands for Tricky Anchovy, but that is not the kind of TA we’re defining.

18. RA (resident advisor的縮寫)

與你一起住在宿舍的學生，被大學雇傭來處理宿舍相關事務。提供情感協助、調解糾紛或友誼。

例句：Richard’s easy confidence and impressive charisma, while at times overbearing, quickly made him a popular RA.

19. SYLLABUS

課程目標、要求和評分細則的描述。講師通常在第一堂課時會把syllabus發給學生。

例句：According to his syllabus, 85% of Reilly’s final grade would depend on how much he looked like Spider-Man.

20. SYLLABUS WEEK

學期第一周通常在口頭上被學生們稱為syllabus week，因為許多大學課程的第一課主要是討論syllabus中的課程要求（也意味著沒有很多作業！）。

例句：It’s halfway through syllabus week, and nobody in Richard’s building seems to have noticed that he is a squirrel.

21. GEN ED (general education的縮寫)

大學要求全體學生修習的課程，以讓學生全面發展。學生通常可以從一個較大的范圍選擇課程以滿足general education的要求。

例句：Jen is taking the same gen ed as Ed, and Ed is taking “Ethics of Squirrelhood.”

22. ELECTIVES

elective是非gen ed也非專業要求的課程。elective幫助學生滿足總credit hour的要求或僅僅拓寬他們的視野。

例句：Seeing how many great electives Illinois offers was the greatest discovery of Liz’s life, greater even than finding out she was a robot.

23. DINING HALL

學生可以吃自助早餐、午餐或晚餐的食堂。一般而言，已經購買伙食計劃的學生在dining hall只要刷自己的學生卡就可以直接就餐，否則則會在出門時付款。

例句：All I see in the dining hall is soup, soup, and more soup!

24. ACADEMIC ADVISOR

幫助你選課、調整課時安排并提供職業建議的顧問。

例句：“Dagnabbit!” Tia said. “I thought I was talking to my academic advisor, but it was just Jim in disguise again!”

25. READING DAY

夾在課程截止日和期末考試期第一天的一日，方便學生反復溫習功課。

例句：By reading day, it’s everyone for themselves.