Today I’d like to give you some idea about how life at an American university or college might be different from the way it is in your country. To be sure, the student body on a U.S. campus is a pretty diverse group of people. First of all, although most students start college at around the age of 18, you will see students in their 30s and 40s and even occasionally in their 60s and 70s. Students on a U.S. campus come from a wide variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many students work at least part-time, and some of them work full-time. Some of the students live in dormitories on campus, some have their own apartments usually with other students, and others live at home. Some colleges and universities have students from many different racial and ethnic minorities. Some schools have a fairly large foreign student population. So you can see that one meets all kinds of people on a U.S. college or university campus.

Now that you have some general ideas of differences in the student body population. I’d like to talk a few minutes about what I think an average student is. Foreign students are often surprised at how poorly prepared American students are when they enter a university. Actually, at very selective schools the students are usually very well prepared, but at less selective schools, they may not be as well prepared as students in your country are. Schools in the States simply admit a lot more students than is usual in most other countries. Also, most young American university students have not traveled in other countries and are not very well-versed in international matters. Foreign students usually find them friendly but not very well-informed about their countries or cultures.

What kind of academic experiences will this so-called “average” student have? The average undergraduate student takes five classes a semester and is in class about 15 hours a week. If he or she takes a class that has a laboratory, this will require two or three more hours. Many introductory undergraduate classes are given in large lectures of 100 or more students. However, many of these classes will have small discussion groups of 15 to 20 students that meet once a week. In these smaller groups, a teaching assistant will lead a discussion to help clarify points in the lectures. Other kinds of classes ---- for example, language classes --- will be much smaller so that students can practice language. In general, American professors are informal and friendly with their students, and, as much as possible, they expect and invite participation in the form of discussion. A large amount of reading and other work is often assigned to be done outside class, and students are expected to take full responsibility for completing these assignments and asking questions in class about those areas they don’t understand. As a rule of thumb, students spend two to three hours preparing for each hour they spend in class. American professors often encourage their students to visit them during office hours, especially if the students are having problems in the class.  (Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)

78. __________, various socioeconomic backgrounds and large foreign student population are the four examples to show how diverse the student body on a U.S. campus is.

79. Why are most American college students found to be poorly-knowledgeable about foreign counties and cultures?

Because they_____________________.

80. Name at least two kinds of classes that students take based on their sizes.

_________________________________________________.

81. What are students responsible for in terms of their assignments？

_________________________________________________.
78. Students of all/different ages , different racial and ethnic minorities

79. haven’t travelled abroad and are not well-versed in international matters / haven’t travelled abroad and know little about international matters..

80.
Introductory class(es)/ Lecture(s); language class(es)

81. Completing them (outside class) and asking questions in class .