Step into independence新生开学第一课：走向独立(中英文对照)

9月第一周，各大高校已陆续进入开学季。近日，清华大学在校园内拉起“家长止步”的警戒线，其提倡新生独立报到的举措引发公众热议。有人认为这是新生学习独立的第一步，很有教育意义。

When Tsinghua University’s new 2013 freshmen arrived on campus late last month, the first question they were confronted with at the registration desk was: “Did you come alone or with your parents?”
八月末清华大学迎来了2013届新生，他们在报到时遇到的第一个问题便是：“你是自己来的还是跟父母一起来的？”

According to statistics released after the first batch of the freshmen enrolled in the university, more than half of the 539 students came alone. In a letter to freshmen this year, Chen Jining, the president of Tsinghua University, encouraged them to “start this new adventure by standing on your own two feet.”
根据清华大学公布的数据显示，在该校第一批报到的539名新生中，有超过半数的人独自来报到。今年，清华大学校长陈吉宁在致2013级新生的信中，鼓励他们“自主自立地开始新的奋斗历程。”

To help freshmen grow up, some universities have thought of new methods. At Tsinghua, for example, freshmen need to register and find their dormitory by themselves. The process requires two to three hours, during which volunteers take parents on a tour of the campus.
为帮助新生们尽快成长，高校纷纷出台了一系列新举措。例如，清华大学要求新生独自报到并入住宿舍。这一流程通常需要两三个小时，而在这段时间里，志愿者会带领学生家长来参观校园。

At Zhejiang University, a banner hanging in the information center says “Parents let go please; let us escort your children.” Lu Guodong, dean of undergraduate studies at Zhejiang University, coined the slogan.
今年，浙江大学的问询处挂起条幅：“请家长放手,让我们护航”。而这条标语的发起人正是浙大本科生院副院长陆国栋。

“Often parents like to do things or make decisions for their children. In their eyes, children never grow up,” said Lu.
陆国栋说：“家长们总是会为子女着想，替他们做决定。在父母眼里，他们永远是长不大的孩子。”

“But at university, growing up is the goal for all students. Growing up is the biggest success. In China, students grow up too slowly as parents are always in charge. Students never think about what path they should take and why,” said Lu.
陆国栋说：“但在大学里，所有学生都要学着成长。成长就是最大的成就。中国的学生成长较慢，因为家长总是大包大揽。学生们从不思考应该选择走什么样的道路以及为何要做出这种选择。”

Zhang Yanxue, a senior student studying Chinese language and literature at the Communication University of China, is the president of the Self-improvement Society. Together with the other members of the society, Zhang welcomes freshmen at Beijing Railway Station. Although most students can finish the registration process by themselves, their parents usually prefer accompanying them to the university.
来自中国传媒大学中文系的大四学生张颜雪是该校自强社的社长。张颜雪和社团成员一同在北京火车站迎接新生。尽管大部分学生可以独立完成报到流程，但是家长都坚持要陪孩子报到。

“This is the third time I’ve welcomed freshmen and I didn’t see much change in that regard,” Zhang said. “The number of students who came alone is the same as in previous years. I saw two girls who came without their parents, that was really impressive.”
张颜雪说：“我是第三次接新生了，但这点依旧没怎么变。今年独自报到的学生数量同前几年一样。我看到有两名女生独自来校报到，的确让我印象深刻。”

Later, another girl arrived at the railway station with all her luggage and looked around for her university’s welcome team. She was Jin Hongting, 19, from Hebei province and will study industry and business administration at Beijing Union University.
随后，又有一名女生拎着行李下了火车，四下寻找自己学校的新生接待人员。这位女生名叫金红婷（音译），今年19岁，来自河北省。她即将开始在北京联合大学工商管理专业的学习生活。

Jin soon found the welcome team, but when they offered to carry her luggage she politely refused their help. “It’s not heavy. I can do this myself,” she said.
金红婷很快就找到了新生接待人员，但是当他们主动帮她提行李时，金红婷委婉地拒绝了，她说：“行李不重，我自己可以。”

When asked why she came alone, Jin said: “It only takes four hours from my hometown to Beijing. There’s no need to bother my parents to help me.”
当被问到为何独自来报到时，金红婷说：“从家到学校仅需四个小时，没必要麻烦父母。”

Sometimes, however, the distance between university and home is so great that many parents are too worried to let their children travel alone. To reassure parents, Renmin University of China introduced a new method. It asks senior students to return to their hometown and accompany freshmen back to the campus. This helps freshmen get used to living independently.
然而有时，新生要到离家很远的地方去上学，许多家长不放心让孩子独自远行。为了让家长放心，中国人民大学推荐了一个新办法。学校号召高年级学长回家，然后同新生结伴返校。这样能够帮助新生尽快适应独立生活。

“Students should have an independent character and a dream. Learning how to use that independent character to achieve their dream and finish tasks assigned by the country is very important,” said Tsinghua University President Chen.
清华大学校长陈吉宁说：“学生们应该拥有独立的人格和梦想。学会用独立的人格去成就梦想，并完成国家所赋予的使命，这点至关重要。”来源:《21世纪英文报》1019期