Auditing classes at university is an ideal way of learning or trying out new areas of study without committing yourself.
在大学里，蹭课是一种理想的学习方式，你可以不受约束地去尝试学习的新领域。
You can study alongside fellow students without any obligation to participate in formal assessments or gain credits for your degree.
你可以和其他同学一起学习，而完全不必去参加什么正式的学业评定，或是为自己的学位赚学分。
The trend of auditing university classes has swept across universities. Recently, Fudan Postgraduate, a publication by Fudan University, even released a map guide on its campus. Altogether, it features 25 courses, including details of lectures, venues, times and recommendations. Students can design their own auditing route based on a handy map.
蹭课文化已经席卷了各大高校。近日，复旦大学校刊《复旦研究生报》甚至还推出了一张“复旦蹭课地图”。地图上共标出25门公共课，其中包含课程细节、上课地点、时间以及推荐理由。有了这样一份便携地图，学生们便可以设计出自己的蹭课路线图。
“It is relaxing for us to take individual modules or units on a casual basis without committing ourselves to completing those studies in order to gain credits, a degree or an award,” said Zhu Yanni, 22, a postgraduate majoring in environment management at Fudan University.
正在复旦大学环境管理专业攻读硕士学位、22岁的朱燕妮（音译）说：“可以随意选择个性的学习单元或模块，完全不必为了挣学分、拿学位或奖学金而硬着头皮去完成这些学业，这让我们感到很放松。”
Zhu, editor of the guide, said that she has benefited from the trend herself – she successfully moved from a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry to her current one after auditing classes.
朱燕妮同时也是改版“地图”的编辑之一，她表示自己从这种蹭课文化中受益颇多——在一番蹭课之后，她成功地将专业从本科时的生物化学转成了现在的环境管理。
“Visiting classes helped me a lot. The teachers of outstanding courses seldom teach strictly according to textbooks, which is attractive to students. Their tutoring methods have expanded my mind,” Zhu said.
她说：“旁听生涯带给我很大的帮助。由于大多精品课的老师不按教材上课，这样对于听课的学生而言就更有吸引力。他们的辅导方法也开阔了我的思想。”
Other students audit purely out of interest. Shi Shuai, 22, a senior majoring in administration management at Shantou University, attended courses in economics and finance for one year.
还有一些学生蹭课纯粹是兴趣使然。来自汕头大学行政管理专业的大四学生、22岁的石帅（音译）就旁听了一年时间的经济、金融类课程。
“It is a great way to explore professional knowledge outside your major,” said Shi, who acquired the basics of accounting and finance management.
已经掌握会计及财务管理基础知识的石帅表示：“这是一种探索本专业外的其他专业知识的绝佳途径。”
“When you study by yourself in a library, you can’t enjoy live group discussions or coursework particularly designed for students.”
“当你在读书馆上自习时，你无法感受到现场小组讨论或是一些专为学生设计的就业培训。”
Despite the advantages of learning in an open environment, university administrators remind us that there are still rules to follow.
尽管在一个开放的环境中学习可谓益处颇多，高校的管理者却提醒我们蹭课让要有章可循。
Not all classes accept outsiders, especially minority language classes and science modules. These are often taught in small groups to ensure the effectiveness of learning, or require special equipment and individual instruction, which is only available to registered students who pay tuition fees.
并非所有课程都向旁听者敞开大门，尤其是是小语种课程以及科学课程模块。它们通常会采用小组授课方式以保证学习效果，或是需要特殊设备及个性化教学，而这些课程只对那些交付学费的在册学生开放。
Regulations vary across departments and universities. According to Huang Xiaoxiong, a journalism teacher at Fudan University, students need to ensure that auditing a class is permitted. “It is about basic manners. You need to let the teacher know about your existence,” he explained.
不同大学、不同学院之间的规章制度而各不相同。来自复旦大学新闻系的黄晓雄（音译）老师称，学生需要确保蹭课是符合规定的。他解释说：“这事关基本礼貌的问题。你需要让老师知道你的存在。”
Even if a teacher allows students to audit a class, visitors should be careful not to occupy the teacher’s time.
即使一位老师欢迎学生来蹭课，旁听者也要注意，不要占用老师的时间。
“It’s polite to greet the teacher when attending a course. Participate in discussions, but do not distract others,” Huang added. “It’s okay to hand in homework assigned by the teacher, but expect general advice rather than careful correction.”
黄晓雄表示：“听课时要礼貌地向老师问好。参加讨论而不是去打断别人。可以上交老师布置的家庭作业，但预计得到的会是一般性的建议，而非细致的批改。”
Auditing classes aimlessly or beyond one’s ability can be a waste of time, warns Xu Jun, 27, HR manager at Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group. “It’s good to audit some classes. But you have to manage your time well, as you can’t get any academic credit or formal recognition for these courses,” Xu suggested.
广州汽车工业有限公司人力资源部经理、27岁的徐军（音译）提醒道：“盲目或不自量力的蹭课可能是在浪费时间。去旁听一些课程这很好。但你必须同时管理好自己的时间，对于这些课而言，你既修不到学分也得到不正式认可。”
“Even though your interests are important, your degree is the first thing to consider at university.”
“尽管个人兴趣很重要，但学位是你在大学的头等大事。”