当晚，Robbie和Philip进行了一次长谈。他坦诚的讲出了自己对申请大学这
一问题的想法。Philip表示理解他做的决定。

    Philip： Hi ， Son. Is everything all right ？

    Robbie： Hi ， Dad. Everything's fine. I was just waiting for you
to get home so we could talk. Philip： Anything special you want to talk
about ？

    Robbie： There is ， Dad. Philip： I'm listening. Robbie： Well ，
I know you and Mom have given up a lot to save money for my college tuition.
Philip： We want you to go to college ， Robbie. Robbie ： I know. I do.
Philip： But？

    Robbie： Well ， I've thought a lot about which college ， and one
of them is Columbia. Philip ： Columbia ？ Why Columbia ？

    Robbie： First， they have an excellent School of Journalism. Philip
： They do. And your friends are planning to go to Columbia ？

    Robbie： That's only part of it. It's complicated. I'll try to explain.
Mike and I had a hamburger this afternoon ， and we talked. Philip： Yes？

    Robbie： Well ， we talked about a lot of things. He applied to Columbia，
and his interview was very successful. He thinks he'll be accepted， and
he really wants to go there. Philip ： Dean Rafer called me today. He
told me he was very impressed with you. Robbie： He's a nice man. He was
very kind. Philip ： He told me you had some doubts about wanting to go
to Michigan. Robbie ： Yes. I do. I'm just not sure about what I want
to do. Philip ： That's OK. Robbie： You understand ？

    「语言点精讲」

    1. Well ， I know you and Mom have given up a lot to save money for
my college tuition. 嗯，爸爸，我知道你和妈妈为攒钱供我上大学，做出不少
牺牲。

    give up ：放弃，牺牲（享受）。

    tuition ：这里指学费。

    2. I know. I do.我知道。我真的知道。

    “I do. ”是“I do know.”的简略，do表强调。

    3. But？

    然而？这里相当于But what's on your mind ， anyway ？（知道归知道，
不过你是想说……？）

    4. Well ， I've thought a lot about which college ， and one of them
is Columbia.嗯，我想了很久上哪所大学好，其中有一所就是哥伦比亚大学。

    I've thought a lot about…：关于…我想了很久。这里用现在完成时，表
示一个在过去开始而延续到现在，或可能延续到将来的动作或情况，一般表示延
续的时间较长。

    5. That's only part of it. It's complicated. I'll try to explain.
这只不过是一部分理由。事情很复杂，我会尽力解释一下。

    complicated ：难以理解的，难以说清楚的，复杂的。

    explain ：解释，说明…的含义（或原因、理由）；

    6. He thinks he'll be accepted他认为他会被录取入学的。

    be accepted ：这里指被大学录取，相当于be permitted to enter.

    7. He told me he was very impressed with you. 他对我说他对你的印象
很不错。

    He told me（that）…：他告诉我…，后面接的是间接引语，用来转述别人
的话。又如Philip说的：He told me you had some doubts about wanting to
go to Michigan. （他告诉我说你对于是否上密歇根大学还拿不定主意。）

    be impressed with you ：对你留有好印象，对你印象很深。