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Quiz 1: Vocabulary Focus
  1. If you your goals, you will eventually achieve them.
  2. I keep getting on how to do this. Please help me.
  3. A poor students like to just and not try anything.
  4. She has a interest in history.
  5. I learned how to do web design by .
Quiz 2: Comprehension Q's
Answer the following questions about the interview.
Quiz 3: Questions for You!
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Audio Notes Mixer #108 What makes a good student?

keen interest

A good student has a keen interest.

When you have a keen interest, that means you are very interested in something. You are perhaps very passionate about it. Notice the following:

  1. I have a keen interest in ancient history.
  2. Parents have a keen interest in their children.

nothing comes easy

I think that nothing comes easy in life.

The phrase 'nothing comes easy' means that if you want something, you have to work for it. People sometimes use the phrase 'nothing comes easy' to try to motivate someone who is discouraged about something. Notice the sample dialogue:

A: This paper is going to take a lot of work.
B: Well, as they say, nothing comes easy in life.

stick to it (stick with it)

If you really want to learn, you have to stick to it.

When you stick to something, that means you do not give up and you keep trying. For example, if you are learning how to cook and having trouble, you might need to stick to it, and not give up before you show improvement. Notice the following:

  1. I did not like the book at first but I stuck with it, and now I love it.
  2. The class is hard now, but if I stick to it, I am sure I will learn a lot.

get hung up

Students get hung up on ideas.

When you get hung up on something, that means you have a hard time understanding it or accepting it. People often get hung up on new ideas or concepts that seem strange to them. Notice the example:

  1. I got hung up on this one concept in class but I eventually got it.
  2. He was hung up that his wife made more money than he did.

sit back

If you just sit back, you're not going to learn.

When you sit back, that means you do to try to participate. You sit and observe but you do not actively try to be apart of something. To sit back, also means to sit and observe without doing much. Notice the following:

  1. After a long day I just like to sit back and relax.
  2. In lecture I just usually sit back and sleep. I never ask questions.

trial and error

Anytime you learn something, it's trial and error.

Trial and error means to try something and then to learn from the mistakes that are made. When something is trial and error, the participants expect to make mistakes and know that this is how they will learn. Notice the following:

A: How did you learn how to cook?
B: It was all just trial and error. I would try something and see how it tasted.