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英语口语教程(Oral Workshop)--高级 Lesson 19

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Lesson19

                   Is it Good to Live in a Large Modern City?

                                         Text

                    I Hate to Live in a Large Modern City

    "Avoid the rush-hour" must be the slogan of large cities the world over. If it is, it's a slogan no one takes the least notice of. Twice a day, with predictable regularity1, the pot boils over. Wherever you look it's people, people, people. The trains which leave or 'arrive every few minutes are packed: an endless procession of human sardine2 tins. The streets are so crowded, there is hardly room to move on the pavements. The queues for buses reach staggering proportions. It takes a bus to get to you because the traffic on the roads has virtually come to a standstill. 

Even when a bus does at last arrive, it's so f ull, it can ' t take any more passengers. This whole crazy system of commuting3 stretches man's resources to the utmost. The smallest unforeseen event can bring about conditions of utter chaos4. A powercut, for instance, an exceptionally heavy snowfall or a minor5 derailment must always make city-dwellers realize how precarious6 the balance is. The extraordinary thing is not that people put up with these conditions, but that they actually choose them in preference to anything else.

   Large modern cities are xoo big to control.They impose their own living conditions on the people who inhabit them CIty-dwellers are obliged by their environment to adopt a wholly unnatural7 way of life. They Iose touch witla the land and rhythm of nature. It is possible to live such an airconditioned existence in a large city that you are barely conscious of the seasons. A few flowers in a public park (if you have the time to visit it) may remind you that it is spring or summer. A few leaves clinging to the pavement may remind you that it is autumn. Beyond that, what is going on in nature seems totally irrelevant8. All the simple, good things of life like sunshine and fresh air are at a premium9. Tall buildings hlot out the sun. Traffic fumes10 pollute the atmosphere. Even the distinction between day and night is lost. The flow of traffic goes on unceasingly and the noise never stops.

    The funny thing about it all is that you pay dearly for the "privilege" of living in a city. The demand for accommodation is so great that it is often impossible for ordinary people to buy a house of their own. Exorbitant11 rents must be paid for tiny flats which even country hens would disdain12 to live in. Accommodation apart, the cost of living is very high. Just about everything you buy is likely to be more expensive than it would be in the country.

    In addition. to all this, city-dwellers live under constant threat. The crime rate in most cities is very high. Houses are burgled with alarming frequency. Cities breed crime and violence and are full of places you would be afraid to visit at night. If you think about it, they are not really fit to live in at all. Can anyone really doubt that the country is what man was born for and where he truly belongs?

II. Read

    Read the following passages. Underline the important viewpoints while reading.

                                  1. Tokyo

    I don't live in Tokyo. I don't even know whether I would like to live there. I love it and hate it-it is one of those places that you can love and hate at the same time.

    The first "fact" about Tokyo, for me, is that there are too many people. I don't mean the fact that more than twelve million people live there. A number like 12,000,000 doesn't mean anything to me.

   In Tokyo there are always too many people in the places where I want to be. That is the important fact for me. Of course there are too many cars. The Japanese drive very fast when they can, but in Tokyo they often spend a long time in traffic jams. Tokyo is not different from London, Paris and New York in.that. It is different .when-one wants to. walk.

    At certain times of the day there are a lot of people on foot in London's Oxford13 Street or near the big shops and stores in other great cities. But the streets near the Ginza in Tokyo always have a lot of people on foot, and sometimes it is really difficult to walk. People are very polite; there are just too many of them.

    The worst time to be in the street is at 11.30 at night. That is when the night-clubs are closing and everybody wants to go home. There are 35, 000 night-clubs in Tokyo, and you do not often see one that is empty. Between ll and 12 everybcdy is looking for a taxi. Usually the taxis are shared by four or five people who live in the same part of the city.

    During the day, people use the trains. Perhaps the first thing you notice in Tokyo is the number of trains. Most people travel to and from work by train, and there is a station at almost every street corner. Tokyo people buy six mi1lion train tickets every day. One station--Shinjuku-has two million passengers each day. At most stations, trains arrive every two or three minutes, but at certain hours there do not seem eo he enough trains. At 8 o,clock in the morning you can see students pushing passeng.ers into the trains. Usually the trains are nearly full when they arrive at the station, so the students have to push very hard. Sometimes the pushers are also pushed in by mistake, and they have to get out at the next station. Some people who are pushed into the train lose their shoes. They, too, get out at the next station, and go back to look for them.

    Although they are usually crowded, Japanese trains are very good. They always leave and arrive on time. On a I.ondon train you would see everybody reading a newspaper. In Tokyo trains everybody in a seat seems to be asleep. Some Japanese make a irain journey of two hours to go to work, so they do their sleeping on the train. But if a train journey lasis only five minutes, and if they have a seat, thcy will also go to sleep. They always wake when they arrive at their station.

    The last time I went to Tokyo, I went there from Osaka in great comfort. The blue-and-white trains which run evcrv?half-hour between the two cities are not only very fast but very comfortable. There are no pushers; only those who have reserved seats can travel on the train. It was not possible to run more trains on the old lines, so the Japanese built a special linc for the new fast trains. It is a very good line indeed. You can eat and drink without difficulty at 220 kilometres an hour-you know the speed because there is a speedometer inside the carriage.

    In Tokyo, I stood outside the station for five minutes. Three fireengines-the

very latest kind with every moclern fitting -raced past on the way to one of the many fires that Tokyo has every day. The peopie who passed on foot included some of the loveliest girls in the world in the latest European dresses or the finest Japanese kimonos. Businessmen passed in big new cars, and. among them, in a small Honda, there was a geisha in the clothes and hair arrangement of hundreds of years ago. Tokyo has so many surprises that none of them can really surprise me now. Instead, I am surprised at myself: I must go there next week on business, and I know that I shall hate the city and its twelve million people. But I feel like a man who is returning to his long-lost love.

                   2. What Kind of City Should Beijing Be?

    The C. P. C. Central Committee Secretariat has proposed that Beijing

should become:

    (1) a model in public security, social order and moral standards for the whole country and one of the best in the world;

    (2) a first-rate modern city with a fine environment, high standards of cleanliness and good sanitation14;

    (3) the nation's most developed city in culture, science and technology, with the highest educational standard in the country; and

    (4) a city with a thriving economy, providing its residents wit.h stability

in life and all kinds of conveniences.

                        3. Duo Duo Bar, Where Many Meet

    A small coffee shop on Xidan Street, barely wider than a hallway, has become a haunt for many young people in downtown Beijing.

    The Duo Duo Coffee Bar has a charm of its own. Its red walls adorned15 with reed and bamboo hats and a spider web hanging from its dark ceiling remind one of the sunsets, perhaps at lakeside in a light drizzle16. This is the atmosphere in which people sip17 a cup of coffee, tea or wine while chatting with their friends.

    Duo Duo (Chinese for many) is owned by two yotrng men, Zhang Keyu, a technician, and Lu Wei, an artist.

    "We started this coffee bar not only for making money," said Zhang, 27, in a soft voice. "We want to offer our young friends a place for social contact. If what we earn is enough for paying the tax, we are satisfied.

    "Before opening this bar, we often heId weekend parties at home in which we chatted, sang and danced. Then an idea occurred ta us to open a coffee shop so that we could know more people and more about the society.

    "Without wasting any time, Lu Wei and I took out all our savings18 to refurnish this room. Our friends did what they could to help us. Lu Wei did the decoration himseif, using a lot of reed, which is what his name means. Within a month, this mini-coffee room opened its door to the public."

    The atmosphere appealed mostly to young people. A university graduate, for instance, needed a place to hold a farewll party. The young owners offered the bar to him free of charge and suspended their business for the night. The young man invited 20 friends. And the party was a great success.

    "Making friends is more important than making money," Zhang observed. Being a full-time19 technician, Zhang has to work in his company by day and work in his coffee bar by night. He hires no employees. His friends volunteer to serve in this shop.

    A fashion designer whose nickname is also Duo Duo came in one day. "I'm glad my name is the same as this lovely bar's. I wish I had as many friends as it has,?she said.

    Pierre was a French student on a study tour in Beijing. He enjoyed himself in the bar so much that he could not heip dancing like Charlie Chaplain and blowing on the suona, a Chinese wind instrument.

    "Business has been good since the bar opened last year, but there were minor troubles when two or three rascals20 said they could not pay for their drinks. All we could do was ask them to write down their names on our credit list. Sometimes a rude fellow would drop in and talk too loudly. But the quiet atmosphere here would soon make him feel out of place and he would leave. I wish I could write a novel about society based on what I've seen and heard in this bar," Zhang said.

    It was already midnight. Xidan Street was asleep and empty. But the lights in Duo Duo still beckoned21 lonely walkers. Inside the room,customers were still chatting or humming.

                            4. Night Life Thrives

    in northern China people are asieep by midnight, but in Guangzhou most of the city's residents are still awake at that hour, living it up.

    Television and radio blast and blare away until two in the morning. Cinemas are multi-purpose. Besides showing films, they present video shows, dances and they have a bar.

    "I love the rich and coloarful night life in this southern city," a young Beijinger said when he came to Guangzhou for a business trip. "Sometimes when I come to the city, ,I visit the night bazaars22.there."

    "I usually go shopping in the evening because I work during tbe day," a middle-aged23 woman said. "Furthermore, after supper,I like visiting the night bazaars. It's a.knid of entertainment."

    As most people in Guangzhou don't go to bed until far into the night, they usually eat a midnight snack. After shopping or leaving a concert, people often get a snack on the way home.

    "I would like to spend 5 yuan ( $1.35) to sit down and relax and eat something in the evening," Xiao Zheng, a taxi driver said. "Meanwhile, I might .spend another five yuan to have my car washed, ?he added.

    In Guangzhou, there are car washing services near some of the big bazaars which are popular with the drivers.

    A lot of Guangzhou residenis take a second job at night to earn extra money.

    College teachers have part-time jobs lecturing at night schools. Engineers

sometimes work on a project for another corporation. College students act as tutors.

    Problems also exist in the South China city.

    Prostitution is a bigger problem in Guangzhou than elsewhere in the country. And smuggling24 has increased recently.

                         5. Problem for Beijingers

    Improving public toilets has long been a .erious problem in Beijing, as well as the rest of China.

    There is a wry25 saying among Chinese people, "Follow the smell if vou want to find a toilet."

    "About 80 per cent of Beijing's public toilets fit the saying," admitted Xue Baoyi, an official from Beiiing Sanita tion Bureau in 1989.

    But at the we:tern gate of the chinese History Museum near Tian'anmen. Square, there is an unusual "luxury" toilet of ahout 300 square metrea, in wltich there are rockeries, fountains, fresh flowers, a sofa and piped music. The standard of cleanliness is extremely high.

    But visitors have to pay 0.3 yuan. Some say the clean toilet is worth the price, but others complain that they can not afford it.

    In Beijing there are now 40 such toilets at tourist sites.

    On the opposite side of the museum, by the southern gate of Zhongshan Park, is situated26 another fairly clean pay toilet. Since last March, Liu Zhaomin, a retired27 sanitation worker from the West City District Cleaning Team, and his wife have contracted to keep the facility clean, and the once dirty and foul-smelling toilet has become one of the cleanest in Beijing.

    The old couple charge 0.03 yuan per person, but disabled people and students are admitted free. Outside the toilet they also provide water and help people take care of their belongings-all for free.

    Their service not only earns the old couple about 800 yuan monthly, but it also saves the government money. The toilet fees pay for maintenance

    There are no public toitets in some areas of the city. About 200 WCs in downtown area have to have soil carried away manually, mostly by old workers who are near retirement28, and it is now very difficult to recruit young people to do this job. Because of a shortage of manpower, tools and disinfectant, it's very hard to keep those public toilets clean.

    "WC service in Beijing has four key problems," said Xue. "There are no places and money for building public toilets. And most of them are in a very poor condition, and are badly managed."

    Xue also said that the users should take care of public toilets. Many newly-

painted walls in WCs are already dirty.

                         6. The Countryside in Spring

    We need never feel dull in the country. No matter how often we walk down the same road, over the same fields, or through the same woodland paths, there is always something new, somthing fresh to see.It may be a little plant that has come up since last we visited the place: a hedge that was just a lot of brown sticks may now be covered with flowers. We may find a bird's nest deep in a bush, and, if we are careful not to frighten the birds, as the days pass, see first the little eggs, and then the baby birds.

    We never know what we may see, or find, when we start out for a country walk. But we must learn to use our eyes, keep them wide open, or we shall pass by many a pretty or interesting plant, or miss the sight of some little wild animal, who sees us well enough, and will keep perfectly29 still and quiet so that we should not notice him, until we are quite out of sight. The wild children of the woods and fields are easily frightened, and if we want to get to know them, we must do as they do, and learn to be quiet and keep very still when watching them at work or play. All the year round, from the first warm breath of Spring till the last icy wind of Winter, we shall always find something to please and interest

us in the country.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 regularity sVCxx     
n.规律性,规则性;匀称,整齐
参考例句:
  • The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
  • He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。
2 sardine JYSxK     
n.[C]沙丁鱼
参考例句:
  • Every bus arrives and leaves packed as fully as a sardine tin.每辆开来和开走的公共汽车都塞得像沙丁鱼罐头一样拥挤。
  • As we chatted,a brightly painted sardine boat dropped anchor.我们正在聊着,只见一条颜色鲜艳的捕捞沙丁鱼的船抛了锚。
3 commuting d2c3874ec246fb1858841223ffe4992e     
交换(的)
参考例句:
  • I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
  • Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说,不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。
4 chaos 7bZyz     
n.混乱,无秩序
参考例句:
  • After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后,城市一片混乱。
  • The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。
5 minor e7fzR     
adj.较小(少)的,较次要的;n.辅修学科;vi.辅修
参考例句:
  • The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
  • I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。
6 precarious Lu5yV     
adj.不安定的,靠不住的;根据不足的
参考例句:
  • Our financial situation had become precarious.我们的财务状况已变得不稳定了。
  • He earned a precarious living as an artist.作为一个艺术家,他过得是朝不保夕的生活。
7 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
8 irrelevant ZkGy6     
adj.不恰当的,无关系的,不相干的
参考例句:
  • That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
  • A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上,一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。
9 premium EPSxX     
n.加付款;赠品;adj.高级的;售价高的
参考例句:
  • You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
  • Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后,清水便因稀而贵了。
10 fumes lsYz3Q     
n.(强烈而刺激的)气味,气体
参考例句:
  • The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
  • Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。
11 exorbitant G7iyh     
adj.过分的;过度的
参考例句:
  • More competition should help to drive down exorbitant phone charges.更多的竞争有助于降低目前畸高的电话收费。
  • The price of food here is exorbitant. 这儿的食物价格太高。
12 disdain KltzA     
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑
参考例句:
  • Some people disdain labour.有些人轻视劳动。
  • A great man should disdain flatterers.伟大的人物应鄙视献媚者。
13 Oxford Wmmz0a     
n.牛津(英国城市)
参考例句:
  • At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
  • This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。
14 sanitation GYgxE     
n.公共卫生,环境卫生,卫生设备
参考例句:
  • The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看,这个地段非常糟糕。
  • Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。
15 adorned 1e50de930eb057fcf0ac85ca485114c8     
[计]被修饰的
参考例句:
  • The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
  • And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。
16 drizzle Mrdxn     
v.下毛毛雨;n.毛毛雨,蒙蒙细雨
参考例句:
  • The shower tailed off into a drizzle.阵雨越来越小,最后变成了毛毛雨。
  • Yesterday the radio forecast drizzle,and today it is indeed raining.昨天预报有小雨,今天果然下起来了。
17 sip Oxawv     
v.小口地喝,抿,呷;n.一小口的量
参考例句:
  • She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
  • Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。
18 savings ZjbzGu     
n.存款,储蓄
参考例句:
  • I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假,那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
  • By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时,他的存款已全部用完。
19 full-time SsBz42     
adj.满工作日的或工作周的,全时间的
参考例句:
  • A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
  • I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作,我不知道她是如何对付的。
20 rascals 5ab37438604a153e085caf5811049ebb     
流氓( rascal的名词复数 ); 无赖; (开玩笑说法)淘气的人(尤指小孩); 恶作剧的人
参考例句:
  • "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔,不过我喜欢流氓。
  • "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物,是流氓,是恶棍。
21 beckoned b70f83e57673dfe30be1c577dd8520bc     
v.(用头或手的动作)示意,召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He beckoned to the waiter to bring the bill. 他招手示意服务生把账单送过来。
  • The seated figure in the corner beckoned me over. 那个坐在角落里的人向我招手让我过去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
22 bazaars 791ec87c3cd82d5ee8110863a9e7f10d     
(东方国家的)市场( bazaar的名词复数 ); 义卖; 义卖市场; (出售花哨商品等的)小商品市场
参考例句:
  • When the sky chooses, glory can rain into the Chandrapore bazaars. 如果天公有意,昌德拉卜的集市也会大放光彩。
  • He visited the shops and bazaars. 他视察起各色铺子和市场来。
23 middle-aged UopzSS     
adj.中年的
参考例句:
  • I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
  • The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。
24 smuggling xx8wQ     
n.走私
参考例句:
  • Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
  • The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
25 wry hMQzK     
adj.讽刺的;扭曲的
参考例句:
  • He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸,打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
  • Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马,噘了噘嘴。
26 situated JiYzBH     
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的
参考例句:
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
  • She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。
27 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
28 retirement TWoxH     
n.退休,退职
参考例句:
  • She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
  • I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。
29 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
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