Ken:    Hi students, welcome to the Chat Room. I'm Ken.

Rachel: And I'm Rachel.

Ken:   Today's lessonnis about Evan and Joy, who fell in love during their second year of university. Hey Rachel, isn't there a name for a second-year university student?

Rachel: There sure is. The name is sophomore, and it means wise fool. So Evan and Joy fell in love during their sophomore year.

Ken:   What about first, third, and fourth-year university students ? Do they have other names?

Rachel: Yes. A first-year student is called a freshman. Ken: Freshman? Doesn't than means a male student?

Rachel: Well, technically, but freshman is used as a unisex name.

Ken:    大学一年级的学生叫做freshman.虽然字尾的man表示男人，但freshman 是个男女通用的字。大二的学生叫做sophomore. OK, what about third and fourth-year students?

Rachel: The third-year student is called junior, and fourth-year student? A senior. We should keep in mind, however, that those four-year terms are used in both universities and high schools. So when you say you're a senior, someone might ask you whether you're a high school senior or a college senior. Ken:And if you're a high school senior, you're also called a 12th grader.

Rachel: That's right.

Ken:    美国的高中大多是四年，所以freshman/sophomore/junior/senior也可以表示高中四个年级不同的名称。还有我们要注意的是，常常听到高一的同学说 I'm in the first grade、高二的同学说：I"m in the second grade,这样讲是错的，因为first grade 是代表小学一年级，second grade 是小学二年级。如果你是高二的学生，你必须要讲 I'm a second-year high school student, 或者 I'm a high school junior,也可以说 I'm in the eleventh grade.