Unit 1
●Global Reading
✧Structural Analysis of the Text
This text is a piece of narrative writing, in which the author tells about her experience during the first year at university, which at first seems to be very awkward but turns out to be on the right track at last.
In the text, three incidents are narrated by the author: 1) the first is about her going into the wrong classroom; 2) the second is about her falling down in the cafeteria; 3) the last is about her witnessing the same embarrassing fall happening to someone admired by her.
Despite the differences between these three incidents, they actually revolve around one theme: The growth of the author, who is able to draw lessons from the mistakes she has made and finally succeeds in adjusting herself to the college life.
✧Rhetorical Features of the Text
Detailed descriptions of events are everywhere to be seen in this text, which is a dominant feature of narrative writing. Since the description of an event will involve a lot of movements or actions, compound sentences and compound-complex sentences have been used frequently in the text.
For examples:
I first began to wonder what I was doing on a college campus anyway when my parents drove off, leaving me standing pitifully in a parking lot, wanting nothing more than to find my way safely to my dorm room. (Paragraph 1)
I settled into my chair and tried to assume the scientific pose of a biology major, bending slightly forward, tensing my arms in preparation for furious note-taking, and cursing under my breath. (Paragraph 5)
●Detailed Reading
✧Questions
1. Why did the author have the impression that “everyone on campus was watching me”? (Paragraph 1)
→ The author, being over-sensitive, was uneasy with her identity as a freshman. She thought a new student would attract others’ attention, as what she did or said was liable to be too naïve to be right. That feeling is a typical symptom of lacking in self-confidence.
2. Why did the author exclaim “What confidence, what reserve, what muscles!” when she saw the football player? (Paragraph 2)
→ College life was a new experience to the author. That she marveled at the real football player showed her excitement about her new life. And more importantly, her response revealed her admiration of an image which was almost exactly the opposite of her own.  This admiration would later become the motivation of her change.
3. How many questions are used in Paragraphs 3, 4 and 5? Why does the author raise these questions?
→ Four elliptical questions are used in these paragraphs. Being a freshman, the author was not well acquainted with campus life. She was at a loss as to what to do when something unexpected happened. These questions are used to show her bewilderment.
4. Why did she dine on junk food for the next three days? (Paragraphs 6-8)
→ Because she thought she had become the laughing-stock on campus. She couldn’t stand being laughed at by all the students when she turned up in the cafeteria.
5. What was the key lesson Evelyn Herald learned during her first few weeks in college? (Paragraphs 10-14)
→ The key lesson she learned during her first few weeks in college was that she realized she didn’t have to pay too much attention to what other people were thinking about her. The fresh campus life was her big chance to do her own things and be her own person. She might well relax herself and stop worrying about making mistakes because people all grow by trial and error.
✧distinct和distinctiveGroup discussion: What lessons have you learned from Evelyn’s experiences after reading the article “Fresh Start”? Share the experiences when you first came to college.
✧Words and Expressions
Paragraph 1
distinct a.
clearly seen, heard, felt, understood, etc.; noticeable
e.g. Now that the boss was no longer present, there was a distinct change in her attitude.
The children have distinct memories of their grandfather in his last days.
Comparison: distinct & distinctive
distinct: Something that is distinct can clearly be seen, heard, smelled, etc.
e.g. There is a distinct smell of beer in this room.
distinctive: It means having a special quality, character, or appearance that is different and easy to recognize.
e.g. Beer has a very distinctive smell; it’s quite distinct from the smell of wine.
Practice:

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