ACT III

I had an interview today, too. 我今天也參加了一個面談。

I had a great interview 我參加了一次很精采的面試。

with Admissions at Columbia University. 與Columbia大學的招生人員。

Really? 真的?

What did they say? 他們說什么?

Will you get into the school? 你會被錄取嗎?

Well, they didn’t say anything for sure. 嗯，他們沒有任何準確的答覆。

But I figure that with my grades and with my personality, 但我想憑我的成績和我的品行，

I’ll have no problem. 我不會有問題。

Columbia’s a terrific school. Columbia是一所很難進的學校。

What are you going to do? 你打算怎么辦?

Do? I don’t know. 怎么辦?我不知道。

I also applied to NYU. 我還申請了紐約大學。

You sound excited about Columbia. 聽起來你對Columbia大學挺有興趣的。

What’s your problem, Mike? 你現在問題在哪，Mike?

Indecision. Indecision. 下不了決心。拿不定主意。

It’s not easy, 實在不容易，

and this is an important decision we have to make. 這又是我們必須做的一個重大決定。

What about you? 你呢?

How was your interview with Michigan? 你跟Michigan大學的人面談得如何?

The interview was fine. 面談得很好。

It’s a great college. 那是一所好大學。

It is. 是的。

My father would like me to go there. 我爸爸希望我去那兒。

He and my Grandpa both went there. 他和我爺爺都曾在哪兒讀書。

Great medical school, too. 而且有很好的醫學院。

I know. 我知道。

You can follow in your father’s footsteps. 你可以跟隨你父親腳步 。

Ah! I’d like to follow in my own footsteps, Mike. 噢，我想走自己的路，Mike。

What do you want to study? 你想學什么?

I’ve been thinking. 我一直在考慮。

I think I want to study journalism 我想學新聞學。

to be a reporter--a newspaperman. 將來當一名記者---一個新聞從業人員。

You do a pretty good job on the Riverdale High School paper. 你在Riverdale高中校刊做得有聲有色。

And I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. 最近我一直就此事想了很多。

Have you discussed it with your parents? 你和父母商量過了?

No. But I have to. 沒有。但有此必要。

OK. Let’s talk. 好，我們談談吧。

Hi, Son. Is everything all right? 嗨，孩子，一切都順利嗎?

Hi, Dad. Everything’s fine. 嗨，爸爸。一切都很好。

I was just waiting for you to get home 我正等你回來

so we could talk. 好跟你談談。

Anything special you want to talk about? 有什么特殊的事要談嗎?

There is, Dad. 有，爸爸。

I’m listening. 那就說吧。

Well, I know you and Mom have given up a lot 嗯，我知道你和媽省吃儉用

to save money for my college tuition. 存錢準備我的大學學費。

We want you to go to college, Robbie. 我們希望你上大學，Robbie。

I know. I do. 我知道。我會的。

But? 那還有什么事?

Well, I’ve thought a lot about which college, 嗯，我為了上哪一個大學想了很多，

and one of them is Columbia. 其中一所是Columbia大學。

Columbia? Why Columbia? Columbia?為什么是Columbia?

First, they have an excellent School of Journalism. 首先，那里有很優秀的新聞研究院。

They do. 是的。

And your friends are planning to go to Columbia? 而且你的朋友們也想去Columbia大學，對嗎?

That’s only part of it. 這只是一部分原因。

It’s complicated. 原因很復雜。

I’ll try to explain. 我會盡量給你解釋。

Mike and I had a hamburger this afternoon, and we talked. 今天下午 Mike和我一起吃漢堡時討論過。

Yes? 是嗎?

Well, we talked about a lot of things. 嗯，我們談了很多。

He applied to Columbia, 他申請了Columbia，

and his interview was very successful. 他的面談很成功。

He thinks he’ll be accepted, 他覺得他會被錄取，

and he really wants to go there. 他確實很想去那兒。

Dean Rafer called me today. Rafer主任今天打電話給我。

He told me he was very impressed with you. 他告訴我他對你印象很好。

He’s a nice man. 他是個好人。

He was very kind. 對人和藹。

He told me 他告訴我

you had some doubts about wanting to go to Michigan. 你對上Michigan大學還有些疑慮。

Yes. I do. 是的，我有疑慮。

I’m just not sure about what I want to do. 我不知道該讀什么。

That’s OK. 沒關系的。

You understand? 你能諒解?

Let me tell you something, Robbie. 讓我告訴你一件事，Robbie。

Something that might be surprising to you. 一件也許會讓你吃驚的事。

What? Tell me. 什么事，說給我聽聽。

Well, Grandpa wanted me to study engineering, like him. 嗯，爺爺希望我像他一樣學工程。

Well, I wasn’t clear about my future, 哦，我對自己的未來也不清楚，

but I knew engineering was not for me. 但我知道工程對我不適合。

What did you tell Grandpa? 那你是如何對爺爺講的?

The truth. 實話實說。

Then you’re not upset 那么你有沒有感到不高興

about my not wanting to go into medicine? 對我不學醫。

I’m not upset at all. 一點也不。

I’m just happy that we’re able to talk about it. 我很高興我們能夠共同商討這件事。

I am too, Dad. 我也一樣，爸爸。

I suppose you want to apply to Columbia. 我猜想你會申請Columbia大學。

Yes, but I also want to apply to several other colleges. 是的，但我還想申請幾所其他的大學。

I thought you wanted to go to Columbia. 我還以為你只想上Columbia大學。

Well, I might want to go to Columbia. 嗯，我也許去Columbia大學。

But I might not. 但也許不去。

I just want to be able to make my own decision. 我只想能夠自己決定。

You’re a real Stewart! 你真是我們Stewart家的人!

And if I think about it long enough, you never know ... 如果我考慮成熟的話，說不定……

Never know what? 說不定什么?

If I make my own decision, 如果我自己作決定，

I might choose Michigan. 我說不定選擇Michigan大學。

Robbie, you’re something! Robbie，你真了不起!

You know, when I was your age, 要知道，當我像你這么大的時候，

I said exactly the same thing to Grandpa. 我跟你爺爺也是這么說的。

Do I want to go to the University of Michigan?

Dad and Grandpa went there.

Or to an lvy League school,

like Columbia University?

Or maybe NYU, the New York University.

Mike applied there.

I’ve also been thinking about going to a state school.

SUNY, the State University of New York at New Paltz.

How can I compare them?

I think I’d like to go to a small school.

But Michigan in Ann Arbor,

Michigan is not small.

Columbia is smaller than Michigan.

SUNY in New Paltz is smaller than either Michigan or NYU.

And Columbia is smaller than SUNY.

It’s a smaller school for undergraduates.

I want to go to a school that is close to Riverdale.

But Michigan is far away.

SUNY is closer to Riverdale.

NYU is closer than SUNY.

And Columbia is the closest.

Wow, that’s a lot to think about.

Which one is the smallest?

Columbia.

Which school is the closest to Riverdale?

Columbia.

Which school is the cheapest?

SUNY at New Paltz.

Which school would you choose?