Joyce earns degree

江西 丁黎明

一个人花七十多年的时间去等待自己想要的东西，是不是很漫长？然而，根据乔伊斯所说的，实现梦想永远都不会太晚。

主题语境：做人与做事 篇幅：353词 建议用时：7分钟

1Seventy-one years is a long time to wait for something you've always wanted.Yet according to Joyce DeFauw, it's never too late to make your dreams come true!

2Joyce is a 91-year-old mother of nine, grandmother of 17, and great-grandmother of 24.You'd think she would be exhausted and ready to put her feet up in retirement, but you'd be wrong.Instead, Joyce just made history as one of the oldest graduates of Northern Illinois University when she graduated in 2022.

3Back in 1951, Joyce enrolled in NIU hoping to get a degree in home economics.She almost made it to graduation, but she said she got married.Putting her degree on hold,Joyce had three babies in three years before her husband passed away a few years later.

4She spent five years as a widow before remarrying and having six more children,including two sets of twins.She clearly had her hands full, yet she never stopped thinking about that unfinished college degree.

5Joyce mentioned this feeling of unfinished business to her children, who were supportive.They bought her a computer and urged her to finish the degree.Finally, in 2019, she decided the time was right! She enrolled in NIU and took online courses towards a general studies bachelor's degree.Every day she sat down and did some school work,even when it was hard and she felt like giving up.“A lot of times I would have quit.I almost did,” she admitted.“There were just too many people who knew about it.I didn't want to let them down.I quit once and I don't want to do it again.” So Joyce soldiered on!

6Her hard work paid off when she finally donned her cap and gown and graduated with the class of 2022.The new graduate praised the teachers and staff at NIU for helping and encouraging her every step of the way.Between the professors and her family, she felt very supported throughout her academic journey.“She has beautifully shown that earning a degree is life-changing at any age, and that it's never too late to pursue new knowledge,”NIU President Dr Lisa Freeman said.

Reading Check

Detail1.What can we learn about Joyce from the first two paragraphs?

A.She already wants to retire.

B.She gets her degree at the age of 90.

C.She is too late to achieve her dream.

D.She is the oldest graduate of the university.

Detail2.Why does Joyce insist on getting her degree at her age?

A.To have her dream come true.

B.To tell us nothing is impossible.

C.To set an example for her children.

D.To make herself known to many people.

Vocabulary3.What do the underlined words“ soldiered on” in paragraph 5 mean?

A.Seized.

B.Transformed.

C.Kept going.

D.Concentrated on.

Inference 4.What is NIU President Dr Lisa Freeman's attitude to Joyce' study?

A.Unclear.

B.Doubtful.

C.Neutral.

D.Approving.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Text-centered chunks

enroll in (使)加入；参加

pass away 去世

let sb down 让某人失望

pay off 得到回报

urge sb to do 敦促某人做……

give up 放弃

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence in the text

Putting her degree on hold, Joyce had three babies in three years before her husband passed away a few years later.搁置学业后，乔伊斯在三年内生了三个孩子，几年后她的丈夫去世了。

【点石成金】本句中，Putting her degree on hold 是现在分词作状语；Joyce had three babies in three years是句子的主干；before在句中作连词，引导时间状语从句。