High 3 · Reading series
Lesson 57 · A Decision with Three Futures
Audio track 57
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I had to decide whether to enter a local program, apply to a distant school, or spend a year working and studying independently. Friends asked which option would make me happiest. I could not know. Each path depended on money, family, learning, and people I had not yet met.
With a counselor, I drew three possible futures. For each, I wrote what attracted me, what support I would need, and what could make me reconsider. The exercise did not turn uncertainty into certainty. It showed which questions I needed to answer before the deadline: costs, housing, and the kind of work each program expected.
I chose to apply to two options while I gathered more information. That was itself a decision, not a refusal to decide. I told my family what I knew and what remained open.
A future is not a single picture waiting to be discovered. Planning helped me make a responsible next step without pretending I could see every year ahead.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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I had to decide whether to enter a local program, apply to a distant school, or spend a year working and studying independently.
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Friends asked which option would make me happiest.
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I could not know.
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Each path depended on money, family, learning, and people I had not yet met.
-
With a counselor, I drew three possible futures.
-
For each, I wrote what attracted me, what support I would need, and what could make me reconsider.
-
The exercise did not turn uncertainty into certainty.
-
It showed which questions I needed to answer before the deadline: costs, housing, and the kind of work each program expected.
-
I chose to apply to two options while I gathered more information.
-
That was itself a decision, not a refusal to decide.
-
I told my family what I knew and what remained open.
-
A future is not a single picture waiting to be discovered.
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Planning helped me make a responsible next step without pretending I could see every year ahead.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我得决定参加本地课程、申请远方学校，还是用一年边工作边自主学习。朋友问哪条路最让我快乐，我不知道。每条路都取决于金钱、家人、所学内容，以及尚未遇见的人。
我和辅导老师画出三种可能的未来，分别写下吸引自己的地方、需要什么支持，以及什么情况会让我重新考虑。练习没有把不确定变成确定，却让我看清截止前须回答哪些问题：费用、住处和各课程期望的学习方式。
我决定先申请其中两项，同时继续收集信息。这本身也是决定，并非拒绝作决定。我告诉家人自己已经知道的事，也说清尚未确定的部分。
未来不是一张等着被找到的单一图片。规划帮我负责任地走出下一步，而不用假装看得见往后每一年。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- independently
- 独立地；可自主工作学习一年。
- option
- 选项；共有三条路径。
- depended on
- 取决于；受到多种条件影响。
- counselor
- 辅导老师；帮助分析。
- attracted
- 吸引；各方案有可取之处。
- support
- 支持；每条路所需不同。
- reconsider
- 重新考虑；条件变化可调整。
- certainty
- 确定性；练习无法凭空制造。
- deadline
- 截止日期；之前须核实关键信息。
- responsible
- 负责任的；下一步无需预知一生。
Background notes (Chinese)
三个选择均有未知条件；学生先比较所需支持和费用，申请两项并继续收集资料。