2018-01-26

【Aiden in English】

        Okay. It wasn’t that bad. I guess…

        End of the second marking period of the 9^th grade. Grades are in. I’m not too happy.

        Although I maintained an A average for every class, it was a bit of a struggle. Two classes, Latin and Biology, were narrowly passed with some nervous moments near the end of the marking period. Speaking of which, semester changes had just come around, and a lot of people were freaking out about new classes. I didn’t have any changes, but some newcomers got shuffled into my classes, possibly due to schedule issues.

        New marking period, new me…just kidding. You know, whenever a milestone regarding time is reached, like New Year’s Day or Thanksgiving, everyone wants to be different, be someone else. 

        Personally, these objectives aren’t exactly all reliable or even helpful. The boost of moral energy from the New Year barely can last through three weeks for most people. Besides, a New Year’s resolution should be smaller, daily, and change character, not long-term physical attributes.

        With that all said, I want to be a better student…still kidding. I will stubbornly say my study habits are alright. Although it doesn’t involve studying every night, I have easily kept up in certain areas. Others, not so much. However, this allows me to prioritize my classes and refocus my energy. Why study a math course of Pre-Calculus that you barely try and still end up with a 95%? Move the priority to a more needing section, like biology. Realizing that it may be more difficult than I thought, I kind of added a bit more effort into that class, and came out with an A. Not bad, but I know I can pour in some more effort into that area.

        So, in conclusion, the major takeaway from a shaky first semester of high school is to manage your resources. Resources include time, activities, as well as energy. Why spend an entire night looking through math notes and previous assignments when the entire point of math is to apply fundamentals and the skills you already have? Other than formulas, the only other things you need are basics and a charged calculator.

        Therefore, look in the direction of science, where there are no basics (at least, not this level). Memorize the characteristics of DNA and how the replication process occurs. Memorize the positions and valence electrons of carbon on the periodic table. Spend energy on taking notes, watching videos, and asking friends for answers. 

        That is the biggest change I will make next semester of the 9th grade.

【紅霞譯文】

        馬馬虎虎，沒那麼糟糕，我估計……

        高一第二學制結束，成績全部達標，而我並不太滿意。

        儘管本人每門平均成績都達到A以上，但得來實屬不易，拉丁語和生物學兩門功課死活讓我揪心揪肺，直到本學制末了總算有了交代，按說高中新生活不過剛剛開始，很多學生仍對新修課程茫然無知，好在我所選定的科目沒啥改動，倒是班上進進出出冒出不少陌生面孔，可能因課時變化所致。

        新學制、新姿態……吹個牛皮而已，要知道一旦到了像元旦或感恩節這樣的里程碑時刻，人人都想標新立異與眾不同。

        在我看來，即興而設的目標並不十分靠譜甚至毫無用處，辭歲感言多半撐不過仨周，畢竟新年決心本為日間小小心願，藉以抒發志向，根本不會持之以恆。

        既然大家都這麼認為，我想成為一位出色的學生……繼續開個玩笑。我執意說自己的學習方法對路，即使不必每晚複習，本人照樣能輕鬆把握某些課程進度，而其它課程則沒那麼容易，這反倒教我合理分配精力，好鋼用在刀刃上。假如在初級微積分上毋庸費力就能考過95分，何苦還要多花功夫？不如優先考慮較勁的科目，譬如生物學，之前無法想象難度多大，因此我非得加倍努力才能拿下A，目的達到了，但我清楚在這方面應投注更多力氣。

        綜上所述，高一上學期之所以波動起伏，其關鍵問題在於支配資源，這裡資源指的是時間、活動及精力。數學充其量是門基礎學科，你一旦融會貫通，為什麼還要把整個晚自習時間耗在查看課堂筆記和以往作業上呢？除了公式之外，唯一需要的東西只有基本原理和充電的計算器。

        因此索性把目光瞄準科學，那可沒有什麼基礎知識好談（至少在現有水平上），記住脫氧核糖核酸的特性及其複製過程；死背元素周期表中碳的歸屬和價電子數；好好寫筆記、看錄像、跟朋友討答案。

        這是高一下學期我所面臨的最大變化。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2011: 嘮叨(Blah-Blah-Blah)

2009: 阿魯巴—開心之島(One Happy Island, Aruba)

Crosslink(相關博文):

2017: Second Marking Period of Eighth Grade(初三第二學制)