Fresh Start

deliberation
careful consideration; thorough examination of a matter
e.g. After much deliberation, we found that nothing could be done. Our deliberation failed to produce a decision.
Part II.(paras.2-9):a few incidents during her first days of college a. attending the wrong class b. falling down in front of the large crowd in the cafeteria
glimpse (more commonly catch a glimpse of): to see by chance, just for a moment e.g. I glimpsed the Town Hall clock as we drove quickly past.
discreetly :with discretion; prudently and with wise self-restraint e.g. He picked up what seemed to be the smallest bottle and discreetly asked the price. The detective is following at a discreet distance. Cf. discretely: separately; disjunctively
Global reading questions:
Is this text a narration, argumentation or exposition? Please clarify “who”, “when”, “what”, “why”, “how”.
What is the prevailing tone of the text?
c. seeing the football player fall down in the cafeteria
Cf. glance; glwenku.baidu.commpse
glance : to look at something quickly e.g. As I was making the speech, I glanced at the clock.
the quality of being slow and unhurried in speech, thought, or movement deliberate v. adj.
scribble
to write (usu. something that is hard to read) carelessly or in a hurry e.g. She scribbled a note to the milkman. to write meaningless marks e.g. She can’t write yet, but she loves to scribble with a pencil.
Part three (paras. 10-14)
What was the key lesson Evelyn Herald learned during her first few weeks in college? What lessons have you learned from the author’s story?
distress n.
a. great suffering of the mind or body; pain or great discomfort e.g. the sick man showed signals of distress. Your thoughtless behavior has caused us all a great deal of distress. b. suffering caused by lack of money e.g. a company in financial distress
scrawl : to write in a careless, awkward and
unskillful way
grope: to search blindly or uncertainly
e.g. He groped for the door handle in the dark. We are groping after the truth. A tricky question left him groping for an answer. The spy groped about for the information.
fumble v. (use the hands awkwardly in
doing sth. or in search of sth.)
nourishment: something that nourishes; food
e.g. Plants get nourishment from the soil. nourish v. to give sb. what is needed in order to live, grow, and stay healthy e.g. a nourishing drink./ a well-nourished baby/ undernourished (of a person) to keep a feeling, plan, etc. alive; entertain e.g. She still nourishes the hope of a trip abroad.
Part One (para.1)
What is the first scene of the narration? How did the girl feel when she came to the college campus?
What was her plan?
distinct: clearly seen, heard, felt, understood, etc.; noticeable
be preoccupied with: with the mind fixed on
something, esp. something worrying, so that one pays no attention to anything else
retelling
How did the writer feel the first day on campus after her parents had left? (para 1) What mistakes did she make on her first class day? What was her reaction? (para 2-7) What was the first mistake? What was the second mistake? What was the mistake made by another college student ? What was his reaction? (para 8) What were the writer’s thoughts on making mistakes? (para 9-12)
e.g. Now that the boss was no longer present, there was a distinct change in her attitude. cf. distinctive Anything clearly noticed is distinct: There is a distinct smell of beer in this room. A thing or quality that is clearly different from others of its kind is distinctive or distinct from: Beer has a very distinctive smell; it's quite distinct from the smell of wine.
collapse
to fall down or inwards suddenly as a result of pressure or loss of strength or support to fall helpless or unconscious to fail suddenly and completely; break down to fold into a shape that takes up less space
Cf. clasp grasp grip
clasp: to take and/or hold firmly inside your hand or arms e.g. The little girl was clasping a large doll. grasp: to catch onto and hold firmly, esp. with your hands e.g. I was able to save myself by grasping a rope. grip: to take and keep a very tight hold of something, esp. with your fingers or with a tool. e.g. He gripped my arm in fear.
Fresh Start
Unit 1
Pre-reading questions:
What impressed you most on your first day at college?
What feelings were you overwhelmed on that day, so far as you can remember? Would you walk us through a typical day of yours on campus? How can we identify a freshman from a senior?
reserve: self-restraint in expression; the habit of not showing one’s feelings or thoughts
e.g. Being a man of reserve, Mr. York was never popular with his colleagues. reserved ~ a. (typical of people) who do not like to talk about themselves or to show their feelings; shy reserve v. reservation n.
preoccupation
the state of being preoccupied e.g. Such an excessive ~ with one’s health can’t be normal. something that takes up one’s attention e.g. He’s got so many ~s at the moment that he ignores his family completely.
clutch: vt. to hold or grasp tightly; vi. to try to grasp or seize e.g. The frightened woman clutched her bags to her breast.
He clutched at the rope we had thrown to him but could not reach it. grasp; seize; catch;