英语日常会话：申请大学时的作文写作 [含声频]

来自世界不同地方的六位学生在美国相遇。他们都是交换学生，到美国大学就读一个学期，学习英语，了解美国文化，同时修专业课程。英语“日常会话” (Everyday Conversations)系列围绕这六位学生在美国的经历展开。这套材料适于中级或中级以上英语水平的学生使用。

今天他们当中的两个人（Akinyi和Ajay） 在谈如何写好申请大学所需要的作文。

Akinyi: Hi, Ajay. Thanks for meeting me to talk about your college essay writing experience. Jana and Lucía told me you wrote a fantastic college essay.

Ajay: Well, it wasn’t that great. Is this for your cousin who’s applying to college in the U.S?

Akinyi: Yes, it is. Is there any advice you can give my cousin about writing her college essay?

Ajay: Sure. The first thing is to start early. She should plan on revising the essay many times. And that takes time. Her essay won’t be a masterpiece the first time. And if she pressures herself to write perfectly the first time, she might end up with bad writer’s block.

Akinyi: I think that may have happened to me when I tried to write my essay.

Ajay: It’s not uncommon, especially if you put pressure on yourself. Another great tip is to be concise. Her essay shouldn’t ramble on. She should avoid purple prose.

Akinyi: Only a writer would use the phrase “purple prose.” I haven’t heard that in a while.

Ajay: Well, journalists like being succinct!

Akinyi: It’s a great skill to have as a writer. We have to write succinct memos in my business classes. It can be really hard. So, any other advice for my cousin?

Ajay: I think it’s really important for her to be genuine and write about herself and show her personality in her essay.

Akinyi: That’s good advice. Thank you! I’m going to call her now and tell her all of your advice.

让我们来学习一些词语（也可阅读英文解释）：

To revise：修改(文字/文章)

A masterpiece ：杰作

To end up with：落得……结果

Writer’s block是指写作过程中思路受阻，一时写不出或不知如何继续写的状态。

When you put pressure on yourself的意思是，当你给自己带来压力的时候。比如，期待做到出类拔萃或者把某事做得既快又好。由于压力，你会感到紧张和焦虑。

Concise ：简明的，即不要包含多余和非必需的信息，而是用不多的字句说明事情。

To ramble on ：谈话或写文章漫无边际，主题涣散

Purple prose:：华丽空洞的文章

用succinct来形容某事被表述得非常简练或一个人说话言简意赅。

To be genuine ：真诚，诚恳

有兴趣听更多英语对话吗？请浏览“英语学习”专题网页。