文档介绍：Unit 1
Active reading (1)
Catching crabs
Language points
1
and we all started to get our heads down
(Para 1)
To get ones head down means to concentrate and focus on studying. In other British informal contexts,
it can mean to sleep. Note also, to keep ones head down means to continue to do something quietly,
especially when there is trouble happening around you.
Unit 1 Discovering yourself
2 Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year. (Para 1)
This is a conversational elliptical sentence. A standard way of saying this is: The most important things,
of course, were the final exams in April and May in the following year.
3 No one wanted the humiliation of finishing last in class, so the peer group pressure to work hard
was strong. (Para 1)
Peer group pressure is the pressure to conform that people, especially children and young people, often
feel from the immediate group of those around them who are of the same age or status.
4 Libraries ... were standing room only until the early hours of the morning, and guys wore the bags
under their eyes and their pale, sleepy faces with pride, like medals proving their diligence. (Para 1)
The expression standing room only means there are no more seats available because the place is crowded.
This expression is often used in public performances, for sports events and on public transport to mean
that you have to stand because the place is packed with people.
Bags under their eyes refer to loose dark areas of skin that you get when you have not had enough sleep.
The expression guys wore the bags under their eyes with pride means that the students were proud that
their tired appearance showed how hard they had been studying, and the bags under their eyes were like
medals.
5 It wasnt always the high flyers with the top grades who knew what they were going to do. (Para 2)
A high flyer refers to someone who has achieved a lot and has the ability and determination