上期谈到了一些关于如何拿到好成绩的提示，学习没什么捷径好走，所以很多提示听起来像是我们小时候常常被告知的方法，其实用正确的方法踏实努力的学习，就已经是学习的捷径了。这次，我们会书接上回，继续给出更多拿高分的提示。
Take each test three times.
考试三步曲
When done right, taking a test is really three activities: preparing for the test, taking the actual exam, then going over the comments to see what mistakes you made. Each activity furnishes important – and grade-improving – information: The studying gives you practice in questions very similar to the those that will be on the test; the actual test is where the A is earned (at least in the best case); and the review of the comments is an investment in an A on the next test.
正确对待一场考试，可以将考试可以分为三步：准备考试，正式考试，试后复习错题。每一个步骤都有着它的重要意义，也是成绩提升的步骤。准备考试的时候你会全面复习所学的知识，尽可能多的理解掌握这些知识。正式考试自然是争取得A的过程。而试后的复习则是为下一次考试的A做准备。
Always answer the question asked.
有问必答
More points are lost on tests – and, even more so, on papers – by not answering the question asked than by giving the wrong answer. That’s because students often have strong – and wrong – preconceptions about what the professor should be asking. “How can the question be so specific,” they wonder. “How can the professor not be asking a question about last week’s classes, especially since he or she seemed so interested in that topic?” “Can the professor really be asking about that journal article we were supposed to read, or about the discussion in section?” Don’t try to psych out the professor or distrust what you see before your very eyes.
在考试中，一个错误的答案，即使不正确，也还是会比只字不写、一片空白肯定可能拿到零星分数的。这是因为学生经常总是对教授所问的问题先入为主产生错误的偏见。“这个问题怎么会这么偏，这么特殊？”学生常常问。“教授怎么会没考上周课程的内容，何况他上周讲课的时候好像给了许多暗示呀？”，“教授会不会是在考那本让我们自己读的期刊文章，或者问讨论栏里的问题？”不要试图对教授的题目臆想，相信你自己对问题的理解和你所掌握的知识就好了。
Play all four quarters.
按部就班
Many college courses are “back-loaded.” More than half the grade is left to assignments due the last month of the semester: a third test, 15 percent; the term- or research paper, 25 percent; the cumulative final, 30 percent. You get the idea. Pace yourself and don’t run out of gas just as you’re coming into the home stretch.
很多大学课程都是循序渐进、重头戏在后面的。最终成绩中多半取决于一个学期中最后一个月的功课：第三次测验成绩占总成绩的15%；学期或研究论文占总成绩的25%；期末考试占总成绩的30%。大同小异，诸如此类。把这想象成一次长跑，可别虎头蛇尾，导致只在开始的时候冲得太猛。
Do all the “extras.”
额外加分
In some courses, there are special, end-of-the-semester activities that can improve your grade. Review sessions, extra office hours, rewrites of papers, extra credit work – all of these can be grade-boosters. Especially in schools where there are no pluses and minuses, even a few extra points can push your border-line grade over the hump (say, from a B + to an A-minus – that is, an A).
有些课程很特别，课程在学期临终时的活动可能会给你大大加分。复习、额外的答疑时间、重新整理论文、加分项目等等，所有这些都可能成为加分器。特别是在成绩系统没有“+”、“-”（例如：A+，A-）的学校，可能额外的几分会把你的最终成绩推上一个等级：好比你原本是B+的成绩由于加分变成了A-，鉴于学校的上分系统，于是你的最终成绩就是A。
Join a community.
加入社团
Many students improve their grades with “study buddies” or study groups. Try to meet at least once a week – especially in courses in which there are weekly problem sets or quizzes. Students can improve their grades one level (or more) when they commit to working in an organized way with other students.
许多学生会组成“学友”或者参加学习小组以帮助自己学习、提高学习成绩。如果参加了这样的项目，每周至少要组织一次见面活动，特别是针对那些每周都会有思考题目或小测试的课程。如果你的学习小组是井然有序、有组织有计划的话，通常会是提升成绩的好途径。
Resolve to get at least one “A” each semester.
放手一搏
Getting even a single “A” will change the way you think about yourself. You’ll be more confident about your abilities and more hopeful for future semesters. If you’re at all close, in even one course, work really hard to do it. It will change things forever.
即使你并不看好自己的学习，但是只要努力，哪怕只投入在一个学科上，一个学期只拿到一个A，也会改变你对自己的看法。你会对自己的能力更加肯定，变得更加自信，对未来的学习更加充满希望。
