I resolved to try harder, although I didn't know what that meant because school had always been easy for me. I'd used persistence in finding jobs or scrubbing floors, but not in pushing myself intellectually. Although I chose challenging courses, I was used to coasting toward As.
我决心更加努力,尽管我不知道那意味着什么,因为对我来说学习一直很容易。我在找工作或在擦地板时坚持不懈,但在督促自身学习进步方面没有做到这一点。尽管我选修了具有挑战性的课程,我习惯了不费力地拿到A。
I read the paperbacks more carefully, but my efforts yielded another 77. Again, C-plus for me and Bs and As for my pals, who thanked me profusely. Again, I returned to Dr.Jayne and questioned his judgment irreverently. Again, he listened patiently, discussed the material with me, but wouldn't budge-the C-plus stood. He seemed fascinated by my ardor in discussing the course ideas, but my dreams of a scholarship and extracurricular activities were fading fast.
我更加认真地读了平装本书籍,但我的努力换来了另一个77。我再次得了C+,而我的朋友得了B或A。他们对我千恩万谢。我再次回到杰恩博士身边,毫不客气地质问他的评判标准。他再次耐心地听,并与我讨论起资料,但却毫无回旋余地--C+岿然不动。他看起来对我有关课程思想的讨论有兴趣,但是我要获得奖学金和参加课外活动的梦想迅速消逝了。
One more test before the final. One more chance to redeem myself. Yet another hurdle loomed. The last book we studied, T.S.Eliot's The Wasteland, was available only in hardback. Too expensive for my budget.
期末考试前的最后一次考试。这是提高成绩的又一个机会。然而另一个障碍隐约出现。我们最后学的一本书-T·S·艾略特的《荒原》--只有精装本。这对我来说太贵了。
I borrowed it from the library. However, I knew I needed my own book to annotate. I couldn't afford a big library fine either.
我从图书馆里借了一本。然而,我知道我需要自己的书籍好做注解。我也付不起图书馆较多的罚金。