College courses aren’t all “Econ 1011)” and “The History of Europe: 1500-Present”. A trend among many colleges and universities is to offer courses that are slightly off the beaten track2). Many of these courses draw their themes from pop culture or sports, or they may be the brainchildren3) of professors who want to share their passion with students. They may be no less serious than traditional courses, but they certainly cover new academic ground. Students take these offbeat4) courses for a variety of reasons—hoping for an easy A, to try something fun, or to explore a new interest.

　　大学里开设的课程并不都是像“经济学导论”和“欧洲史：1500年至今”这样的课程。目前在许多高校中有一种趋势，就是开设一些稍微偏离常规的课程。在这些课程中，许多都是从流行文化或体育运动中选取主题，这些主题也可能是那些想与学生分享自己激情的教授们的想法。这些课程可能不比传统的课程逊色，而它们的确涉及到了新的学术领域。学生们之所以选修这些非正统的课程，理由可谓多种多样——有的希望轻松地得到A，有的想尝试一下好玩的东西，或是想探索新的兴趣领域。

　　1) You can boldly go where no other philosophy student has gone before in Georgetown University’s “Philosophy and Star Trek5)” course, where students discuss the nature of time travel, the ability of computers to think and feel, and other philosophical dilemmas facing the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

　　在乔治城大学开设的“哲学与《星际旅行》”课上，你可以大胆地向其他任何学哲学的学生都未曾涉足的领域进军。在这门课上，学生们讨论时间旅行的性质、计算机思考与感知的能力，以及“进取号星舰” 乘务组所面临的其他哲学困境。

　　2) Discover how Brick really felt when Opal left him for his neighbor’s best friend’s sister in the University of Wisconsin’s course entitled “Daytime Serials: Family and Social Roles.” Students analyze the plots, themes, and characters of daytime soaps and discuss their impact on modern life.

　　在威斯康星大学开设的名为“日间连续剧：家庭与社会角色”的课上，你可以去探究当奥帕尔离开布里克而去和他邻居好朋友的妹妹在一块儿时，布里克真正的感受是什么。学生们在课上分析日播肥皂剧的故事情节、主题和人物，并讨论他们对现代生活的影响。

　　3) If you’ve been longing to research how hot dogs, theme parks, and the five-day workweek have impacted American leisure culture, check out the University of Iowa course “The American Vacation”. This course pays particular attention to how American families’ varying backgrounds shape their vacation experiences.

　　如果你一直渴望研究热狗、主题公园以及每周五天的工作日制度如何影响美国人的休闲文化，那就办好手续，去听一听衣阿华大学开设的“美国人的假期”这门课程吧。该课程格外关注了美国家庭的不同背景如何决定其度假方式。