Mid-term time is midterms time. You know, that special week in the semester when you get to find out—in many courses, for the first time—how you’re really doing. Many students think that the midterm goes on only for the 50 minutes you’re sitting on your butt in the lecture room. But really, there are things you can do in advance of the midterm, during the midterm, and even after the midterm to notably improve your performance.
期中时也就是期中考试的时间。你知道，这个一学期中特殊的一周你发觉，对于许多课程，你第一次明白你学的怎么样。许多学生认为期中考不过是屁股老老实实坐在教室里50分钟。但事实上，在期中考前、期中考试中、甚至期中考试后，有些事情如果你好好做都能够提升你的期中考表现。
AFTER:
期中考试后：
1. Feed on the feedback. Many students, when they get their tests back, shove them into their backpack (or worse, throw them in the trash), never to read the comments on their essays or the corrections to their problems. Big mistake. The comments or corrections you get back are one of the few times that you get one-to-one feedback from your professor. Don’t waste it—no matter how painful it is to take a peek.
1. 试后反馈。许多学生考试后再次拿回考试试卷的时候，会塞进背包（或者更糟糕，丢进垃圾桶里），从来都不读读文章上的评语或是试题的纠正改错。大错特错。你所得到的点评或是改错恰恰是你极少从教授那里得到的一对一辅导。别浪费了——不论看一眼是多么心痛。
2. Get some face time. If, after looking over the comments, there are things you don’t understand (as there almost invariably are), take the opportunity to go see the professor or TA and refine your understanding. If you’re a little shy about seeing the professor in person, you might try e-mail or even Skype. In any case, be sure to bring along your exam paper and any specific questions you might have. That way, your meeting will be focused and will be of greatest use to you.
2. 面对面时间。如果，在看过点评后，仍然有不解之处（这总是一成不变的出现），抓住这个机会去拜访教授或者助教帮助自己理解。如果你太腼腆不好意思和教授面对面，也许试试发电邮甚至可以试试网络视频电话Skype。无论如何，记得带上你的试卷，问教授任何你有疑惑的具体问题。那样，免谈才会有重点也会对你有极大的益处。
3. Make some resolutions. Even though it’s not New Year’s, getting-back-your-exam time is a good time to make strategic changes if things aren’t going 100 percent according to plan. There’s still plenty of time left in the semester, and, more important, there’s plenty of percentage left in the grade: usually, there are still ten weeks left in the semester, and, typically, the midterm counts only 30 percent of the grade. So pinpoint your errors (did you not understand some basic concepts? did you miss too many lectures? did you not do all the homeworks or problem sets? or did you simply not study enough?) and resolve to make strategic changes so you’ll do even better on the next test. The good student vs the persistent student, and the persistent student doesn’t throw up his or her hands at the midpoint in the course.
3. 下决心，定计划。 虽然现在不是新年之际，如果事情没有按照计划那样百分百的进行，拿回试卷的时候正是改变策略的好时机。其实这学期还剩很多时间，更重要的是，最终成绩还有很大比例的一部分待定：一般情况下，一个学期期中过后还有十周，通常期中占最终成绩的30%。所以定位你的错误（不理解基本概念？逃了太多课？没完成所有的作业或测试卷？或仅仅是没认真学习？）制定策略上的变更解决问题，这样在下次测试中你就会取得更好的结果。好学生对阵坚持不懈的学生，而坚持不懈的学生不会半途而废。
