Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.

旁白：听一段学生和教授之间的对话。

Student: Professor, I know you're swamped with grading finals, but thanks for making the time today.

学生：教授，我知道您忙着批改期末考试，但谢谢您今天抽出时间。

Professor：No problem. So, what can I help you with?

教授：没问题。 那么，我能帮你什么呢？

Student: Actually, something's been on my mind lately. And I'm a little worried.

学生：其实，最近有些事情一直在我脑海里。 而且我有点担心。

Professor：Really? Your final paper was great.

教授：真的吗？ 你的期末论文写得很好。

Student: That's a relief. Actually, that's not it.

学生：那真是松了一口气。 其实，不是这样的。

Student: The thing is, I'm not so sure about what I should do after college.

学生：问题是，我不太确定大学毕业后该做什么。

Professor：This is certainly not the first time I've heard that one, mostly from students whose major areas of study are directed toward humanities.

教授：这绝对不是我第一次听到这种情况，主要是来自那些主修人文学科的学生。

Professor：And I'm sure the same goes for many of my colleagues, in the humanities as well.

教授：而且我相信我的许多同事在文科领域也是如此。

Student: Yeah well. I'm starting my last semester.

学生：是啊，好吧。 我开始我的最后一个学期了。

Student: And when I think about graduating, I get a little nervous.

学生：当我想到毕业时，我有点紧张。

Student: I mean I’ve always known kind of in the back of my mind that it's tough to get a job right out of college with a concentration in English.

学生：我的意思是，我一直在心里隐隐约约知道，专攻英语的毕业生刚毕业时找工作是很难的。

Student: I mean Now I just don't see how something like an engaging discussion of 21th century literature will let me put much on any job application.

学生：我的意思是 现在我真的看不出像21世纪文学的有趣讨论能让我在任何工作申请中写上什么。

Professor：Do you have any special interests other than literature?

教授：除了文学之外，你还有其他特别的兴趣吗？

Student: Well, I love to write and computers.

学生：嗯，我喜欢写作和电脑。

Student: They're not just a hobby for me.

学生：它们对我来说不仅仅是一个爱好。

Student: I really like learning about them.

学生：我真的很喜欢学习它们。

Student: In fact, my friends say I got a real knack for them.

学生：事实上，我的朋友们说我对它们有真正的天赋。

Professor：Ok,so, what about have you ever considered technical writing as a career?

教授：好的，那么，你有没有考虑过将技术写作作为职业？

Professor：You have to be a very effective written communicator to write about how to use computer software and hardware.

教授：你必须是一个非常有效的书面沟通者才能写关于如何使用计算机软件和硬件的内容。

Professor：You are an excellent writer.

教授：你是一个出色的作家。

Professor：Look I'm not saying that you should pursue a career as a technical writer.

教授：听着，我不是说你应该追求成为一名技术作家。

Professor：I just want you to realize that it's not the specific subject matter you've learned that's the key here.

教授：我只是想让你明白，这里关键的不是你所学的具体学科内容。

Professor：Think about what your interests are and the skills you've picked up, like the ability to write critically and to read a text and think critically about it.

教授：想想你的兴趣是什么，以及你所掌握的技能，比如批判性写作的能力和阅读文本并进行批判性思考的能力。

Professor：Just think of your education in terms of skills and knowledge.

教授：只需从技能和知识的角度来看待你的教育。

Student: That will make sense.

学生：那样说得通。

Professor：And then, of course, there's graduate school.

教授：然后，当然，还有研究生院。

Student: Yeah, I've considered it.

学生：是的，我考虑过。

Professor：If you went on to graduate school and earned your PhD and became a professor, you'd never have to stop talking about 18th century literature.

教授：如果你继续上研究生，拿到博士学位，成为一名教授，你就永远不用停止谈论18世纪文学了。

Professor：You even get paid for it.

教授：你甚至还会为此付薪。

Student: I don't know, though.

学生：不过，我不知道。

Student: I feel like that's what I should do, but my hearts really not in it. At least not now.

学生：我觉得那是我应该做的，但我真的没有心情去做。 至少现在不是。

Professor：That's fine. In fact, I know several graduate students who came in straight from their undergraduate studies who maybe should have thought about their choices a bit more carefully before registering.

教授：没关系。 事实上，我认识几位直接从本科阶段进入研究生阶段的研究生，他们在注册之前可能应该更仔细地考虑一下自己的选择。

Professor：But anyway, yeah, a lot of people don't go to graduate school right after undergrad.

教授：不过，总之，是的，很多人并不会在本科毕业后立刻去读研究生。

Professor：Many need that break. It's normal.

教授：很多人需要那段时间。 这是正常的。

Professor：But that of course doesn't rule out grad school for good.

教授：但这当然并不意味着你永远不去研究生院。

Professor：But then I would suggest you think about some careers that might interest you, write some of them down and we'll talk about it next week, see what might be a good fit, how you'd approach trying to find a job in those areas.

教授：但是我建议你考虑一些可能会让你感兴趣的职业，把它们写下来，我们下周再谈谈，看看哪些可能适合你，你打算如何在这些领域找工作。

Student: Sounds great.

学生：听起来不错。