Jack Hawkins was the football coach at an American college，and he was always trying to find good players，but they were not always smart enough to be accepted by the college。
One day the coach brought an excellent young player to the dean of the college and asked that the student be allowed to enter without an examination。“Well”the dean said after some persuasion，“I would like to ask him a few questions first。”
Then he turned to the student and asked him some very easy questions，but the student did not know any of the answers。
At last the dean said，“Well，what is five times seven？”
The student thought for a long time and then answered，“Thirtysix。”
The dean threw up his hands and looked at the coach in despair，but the coach said earnestly，“Oh，please let him in，sir！He was only wrong by two。”
他的得数只比正确答案多二
杰克？霍金斯是美国一所学院的橄榄球队教练，他竭力想物色好球员。但是好球员学业不行，院方不愿录取。
有一天，教练带着一位优秀的年轻球员去见院长，希望院方同意他免试入学。经过一番劝说后院长说：“那我想先问问他几个问题。”
然后他转向学生，问了几个非常简单的问题。可是那个学生一个也答不上来。
最后院长说：“那么，五乘七得多少？”
学生想了很久，然后回答说：“三十六。”
院长摊开双手失望地看了看教练。可是教练认真地说：“噢，录取他吧，先生！他的答案只比正确答案多二。”
excellent[ekslnt]adj。优秀的，卓越的，杰出的
例：Brooks is an excellent composer。布鲁克斯是一位杰出的作曲家。
throw up把……向上抛〔推，举〕；呕吐
例：All the crowd cheered and threw their hats up in the air。整个人群都欢呼起来，把帽子抛向空中。
earnestly[：nistli]adv。认真地，诚挚地
例：You will never become good at tennis，unless you work at it earnestly。除非你努力下功夫，否则你将永远打不好网球。
关于coach的习惯用语有：
a slow coach动作[头脑]迟钝的人，落后分子
drive a coachandfour through找出漏洞；挑剔其文字上的严重错误以达到打击（某一法规等）的意图；钻空子，逃避法律、协定、条约、规章等
ride in the marrowbone coach[谑]坐“两脚车”去，步行
关于despair的习惯用语有：
abandon/give oneself to despair只会悲观失望
（be）the despair of令……毫无办法的人[物]；令……望尘莫及的人[物]
drive sb。to despair使某人陷于失望，逼得某人走投无路
fall into despair陷入绝望
out of despair出于绝望
the despair of my life使我感到毫无办法的人[事]
yield to despair断念；绝望
despair of对……感到绝望，放弃……的希望
9.New Year Resolution
Hoping to excite students’interest in our reading center，I asked each teacher to write a New Year’s resolution on a special form and send it to me。
After I posted the resolutions on the bulletin board in the reading center，one young teacher stopped by，looked at them for a few minutes，then left abruptly。Passing two teachers on their way in，she stormed，“My resolution is not posted-and mine was one of the first ones in！”
I could not help but overhear，and the tone of her voice sent me flying to my desk in search of a misplaced resolution。Looking rapidly through stacks of papers，I uncovered hers。It reads，“I resolve not to let little things upset me。”
新年决心书
为了激励同学们对我们阅览中心的兴趣，我请每位老师在一张特制的表格上写一篇新年决心书交给我。
我将决心书张贴在阅览中心的布告牌上之后，一位年轻老师停下来看了几分钟，便抽身走开了。她越过两位老师闯了进来，大发雷霆道：“我的决心书竟然没有贴出来――而我的是第一批交上来的。”
我在旁边听到了，看她气势汹汹的样子，我吓得赶紧跑回办公室去找那份放错了地方的决心书，飞快浏览了几叠纸之后，我打开了她的那一份，上面写着：“我决心不再为一些小事而烦恼。”
resolution[rez lju：n]n。正式决定，决议；决心，决定
例：He is always making good resolutions but he never carries them out。他决心经常下得很大，但从不实行。
abruptly[brptli]adv。突然地，唐突地
storm[st：m]n。暴风雨[雪]；强烈如暴（风）雨般的东西vt。＆vi。袭击，猛攻vi。闯入，狂怒
例：A storm arose during the night。夜间起风暴了。
stack[stk]vt。＆vi。堆积n。堆，垛；大量，一大堆
例：They are specially packaged so that they stack easily。它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
upset[pset]vt。＆vi。打翻，弄翻；打乱，扰乱；使苦恼，使心烦，使不适
例：The news upset him emotionally。这消息使他心烦意乱。
做决定的一些常用表达法
decide to do，decide on，make a decision，settle on，come to a settlement，determine on，determine to do，resolve to do，make one’s mind，make a plan，plan to do
BBS公告牌系统
BBS是Bulletin Board System的缩写，指在PC机上运行的一种通信软件，使用户能通过调制解调器（modem）登录，检查消息，在话题组中交流，进行实时交谈（real time chat），有时还能访问Internet。
BBS是一个其他用户能够相连的主机系统，提供消息与文件交换服务。拨号电话线路是常用的BBS访问途径，用户登录到系统后可以读出发送消息，或者装载和拆卸文件。单独的用户能够在户外操作BBS，公司能够通过建立BBS向客户或雇员提供消息、文件和最新消息，许多BBS提供特殊意义的信息。例如，Macrocosm USA在加利福尼亚州Cambria运行的BBS提供环境与社会方面的变化信息。