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现代大学英语精读第二册Unit10

时间:2006-09-25 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:clian1   字体: [ ]
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Lesson Ten

Pre-class Work  Ⅲ

Read the text a third time. Learn the new words and expression_s listed below.

Glossary1

advocate
v.  to support an idea or a plan

amusement
n.  enjoyment2

antique
adj.  being old and therefore valuable

bicentennial
n.  the day or year exactly 200 years after a particular event

briefing
n.  information or instructions you get before you have to do sth. ; here : news in brief ( without details )

cabinet
n.  a piece of furniture with doors, shelves or drawers for storing things

carriage
n.  a wheeled vehicle, especially a private horse-drawn vehicle

checkerboard
n.  棋格, 方格图案

civil
adj.  of human society; a ~ war: a war between two parties of the same country

compress
v.  to force into less space

condense
v.  to put into a smaller or shortened form

confederate
adj.  belonging to a political union of states: the C ~ army: the Southern army in the American Civil War

convenience
n.  the condition of being suitable to one's needs and easy to reach

defer3
v.  to delay until a later date

diet
n.  a limited range and amount of food you eat when you want to get thinner

digest
n.  a short piece of writing that gives the most important facts from a book, report, etc. 文摘

Dutch
adj.  荷兰的

eagle
n.  a very strong meat-eating bird with a hooked beak4 and very good eyesight

fax
v.  发传真

featureless
adj.  uninteresting, without noticeable features

gorgeous
adj.  (infml) very beatiful

gratification
n.  satisfaction

(be) guaranteed (to)
adj.  (to be) certain (to)

herd5
n.  a group of animals of one kind which lives and feeds together

iceberg6
n.  a large piece of ice floating in the sea, most of which is below the surface

ignore
v.  not to take notice of

infect
v.  to pass on a disease to sb. ; to corrupt7

interstate
n.  (AmE) a very wide road for long distance travel

lane
n.  the two or three parallel areas on a main road which are divided by painted lines to keep fast and slow traffic apart 车道; the fast ~; the lane for going past other vehicles 快车道

liner
v.  to stay a little longer because you do not want to leave

liposuction
n.  the removal of fat from sb's body by the means of suction

microwave
n.  微波(炉)

mph
n.  abbr. for miles per hour

outlet8
n.  s shop through which products are sold; here: (工厂附设的) 门市部

overnight
adv.  during the night; here: (infml) suddenly

pastoral
adj.  typical of  the simple peaceful life in the country; suitable for feeding sheep and cattle

paycheck
n.  a salary check

Pennsylvania
n.  宾西法尼亚州 (US)

Polaroid
n.  商标名: "宝丽来", 一次成像的照相机

pre-digest
v. to make a book or article shorter and simpler for easy use

refresh
v.  to make sb. feel less tired or less hot

revitalize
v.  to put new strength and power into

route
n.  the way from one place to another on a map

salad
n.  a mixture of raw vegetables

scenery
n.  natural surroundings in beautiful and open country

screen
n.  the surface of a computer display 电脑屏幕

skim
v.  to move through (life) quickly, hardly touching9 the surface

slide
v.  to pass by quietly without being noticed

spicy10
adj. (food) having a pleasantly strong taste

subtle
adj.  hardly noticeable unless you pay careful attention

superficially
adv.  on the surface; not deeply or thoroughly11

supermarket
n.  a large shop where a customer can choose from a large number of different kinds of food or other goods

symbolically12
adv.  具有象征意义地

symphony
n.  a musical work for a large group of instruments 交响乐

theme
n.  a short simple tune13 that is repeated and developed in a piece of music 乐曲主题

tour
v.  to visit for pleasure

turnpike
n.  (AmE) a large road for fast traffic, esp. one that drivers have to pay to use

urge
n.  a strong wish for sth.

version
n.  a slightly different copy of the book

VCR
n.  abbr. for video cassette recorder

West Virginia
n.  西弗吉尼亚州 (US) 

Proper Names

Beethoven
贝多芬

Cliff
克利夫

Text A Quick Fix Society

        Janet Mendell Goldstein

Read the text once for the main idea. Do not refer to the notes,dictionaries of the glossary yet.

My husband and I just got back from a week's vacation a West Virginia. Of course, we couldn't wait to get there, so we tool the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a couple of interstates. "Look at those gorgeous farms!" my husband exclaimed as pastoral scenery slid by us at 55 mph. "Did you see those cows?" But at 55 mph, it's difficult to see anything; the gorgeous farms look like moving green checkerboards, and the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror. For four hours, our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again. Getting there certainly didn't seem like half the fun; in fact, getting there wasn't any fun at all.

So, when it was time to return to home outside of Philadelphia, I insisted that we take a different route. "Let's explore that countyside," I suggested. The two days it took us to make the return trip were filled with new experiences. We toured a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill that fifteen thousand Confederate soldiers had tried to take on another hot July afternoon,one hundred and twenty-five years ago, not knowing that half of them would get killed in the vain attempt. We drove slowly through main streets of sleepy Pennsylvania Dutch towns, slowing to twenty miles an hour so as not to crowd the horses and horse carriages on the their way to market. We admired toy trains and antique cars in country museums and saved 70 percent in factory outlets14. We stuffed  ourselves with spicy salads and homemade bread in an "all-you-can-eat" farmhouse15 restaurant, then wandered outside to enjoy the sunshine and the herds16 of cows—no little dots this time—lying in it. And we returned home refreshed, revitalized, and reeducated. This time, getting there had been the fun.

Why is it that the featureless turnpikes and interstates are the routes of choice for so many of us? Why doesn't everybody try slowing down and exploring the countryside? But more and more, the fast lane seems to be the only way for us to go. In fact, most Americans are constantly in a hurry—and not just to get from Point A to Point B. Our country has become a nation in search of the quick fix—in more ways than one.

Now instead of later: Once upon a time, Americans understood the principle of deferred17 gratification. We put a little of each paycheck away "for a rainy day".
If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin, we saved up for it, and the banks helped us out by providing special Christmas Club and Vacation Club accounts. If we lived in the right part of the country, we planted corn and beans and waited patiently for the harvest. If we wanted to be thinner, we simply ate less of our favorite foods and waited patiently for the scale to drop, a pound at a time. But today we aren't so patient. We take out loans instead of making deposits, or we use our credit card to get that furniture or vacation trip—relax now, pay later. We buy our food, like our clothing, ready-made and off the rack. And if we're in a hurry to lose weight, we try the latest miracle diet, guaranteed to take away ten pounds in ten days... unless we're rich enough to afford liposuction.

Faster instead of slower: Not only do we want it now; we don't even want to be kept waiting for it. This general impatience18, the "I-hate-to-wait" attitude, has infected every level of our lives. Instead of standing19 in line at the bank, we withdraw twenty dollars in as many seconds from an automatic teller20 machine. Then we take our fast money to a fast convenience store(why wait in line at the supermarket?), where we buy a frozen dinner all wrapped up and ready to be put into the microwave...unless we don't care to wait even that long and pick up some fast food instead. And if our fast meal doesn't agree with us, we hurry to the medicine cabinet for—you guessed it—some fast relief. We like fast pictures, so we buy Polaroid cameras. We like fast entertainment,so we record our favorite TV show on the VCR. We like our information fast, too: messages flashed on a computer screen, documents faxed from your telephone to mine, current events in 90-second bursts on Eyewitness21 News, history reduced to "Bicentennial Minutes". Symbolically, the American eagle now flies for Express Mail. How dare anyone keep America waiting longer than overnight?

Superficially instead of thoroughly: What's more, we don't even want all of it. Once, we lingered over every word of a classic novel or the latest best seller. Today, since faster is better, we read the condensed version or put a tape of the book into our car's tape payler to listen to on the way to work. Or we buy the Cliff's Notes, especially if we are students, so we don't have to deal with the book at all. Once, we listened to every note of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Today, we don't have the time; instead, we can enjoy 26 seconds of that famous "da-da-da-DUM" theme—and 99 other musical excerpts22 almost as famous—on our "Greatest Moments of the Classics" CD. After all,why waste 45 minutes listening to the whole thing when someone else has saved us the trouble of picking out the best parts? Our magazine articles come to us pre-figested in Reader's Digest. Our news briefings, thanks to USA Today, are more brief than ever. Even our personal relationships have become compressed. Instead of devoting large parts of our days to our loved ones, we replace them with someting called "quality time", which, more often than not, is no time at all. As we rush from book to music to news item to relationship, we do not realize that we are living our lives by the iceberg principle—paying attention only to the top and ignoring the 8/9 that lies just below the surface.

When did it all begin, this urge to do it now, to get it over with, to skim the surface of life? Why are we in such a hurry to save time? And what are we going to do with all the time we save besides, of course, rushing out to save some more? The sad truth is that we don't know how to use the time we save, because all we're good at is saving time... not spending time.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying we should go back to growing our own vegetables or making our own clothes. I'm not even advocating a mass movement to cut all our credit cards into little pieces. But I am saying that all of us need to think more seriously about putting the brakes on our "we-want-it-all-and-we-want-it-now" lifestyle before we speed completely out of control. Let's take the time to read every word of that story, hear every note of that music, and enjoy every subtle change of that countryside. Let's rediscover life in the slow lane.

 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 glossary of7xy     
n.注释词表;术语汇编
参考例句:
  • The text is supplemented by an adequate glossary.正文附有一个详细的词汇表。
  • For convenience,we have also provided a glossary in an appendix.为了方便,我们在附录中也提供了术语表。
2 enjoyment opaxV     
n.乐趣;享有;享用
参考例句:
  • Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同,我们这次访问更加愉快了。
  • After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话,这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。
3 defer KnYzZ     
vt.推迟,拖延;vi.(to)遵从,听从,服从
参考例句:
  • We wish to defer our decision until next week.我们希望推迟到下星期再作出决定。
  • We will defer to whatever the committee decides.我们遵从委员会作出的任何决定。
4 beak 8y1zGA     
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻
参考例句:
  • The bird had a worm in its beak.鸟儿嘴里叼着一条虫。
  • This bird employs its beak as a weapon.这种鸟用嘴作武器。
5 herd Pd8zb     
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起
参考例句:
  • She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
  • He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见,只是人云亦云。
6 iceberg CbKx0     
n.冰山,流冰,冷冰冰的人
参考例句:
  • The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
  • The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
7 corrupt 4zTxn     
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的
参考例句:
  • The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
  • This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。
8 outlet ZJFxG     
n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄
参考例句:
  • The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
  • Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。
9 touching sg6zQ9     
adj.动人的,使人感伤的
参考例句:
  • It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
  • His letter was touching.他的信很感人。
10 spicy zhvzrC     
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的
参考例句:
  • The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
  • Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。
11 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
12 symbolically LrFwT     
ad.象征地,象征性地
参考例句:
  • By wearing the ring on the third finger of the left hand, a married couple symbolically declares their eternal love for each other. 将婚戒戴在左手的第三只手指上,意味着夫妻双方象征性地宣告他们的爱情天长地久,他们定能白头偕老。
  • Symbolically, he coughed to clear his throat. 周经理象征地咳一声无谓的嗽,清清嗓子。
13 tune NmnwW     
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整
参考例句:
  • He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子,并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
  • The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
14 outlets a899f2669c499f26df428cf3d18a06c3     
n.出口( outlet的名词复数 );经销店;插座;廉价经销店
参考例句:
  • The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
15 farmhouse kt1zIk     
n.农场住宅(尤指主要住房)
参考例句:
  • We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
  • We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。
16 herds 0a162615f6eafc3312659a54a8cdac0f     
兽群( herd的名词复数 ); 牧群; 人群; 群众
参考例句:
  • Regularly at daybreak they drive their herds to the pasture. 每天天一亮他们就把牲畜赶到草场上去。
  • There we saw herds of cows grazing on the pasture. 我们在那里看到一群群的牛在草地上吃草。
17 deferred 43fff3df3fc0b3417c86dc3040fb2d86     
adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从
参考例句:
  • The department deferred the decision for six months. 这个部门推迟了六个月才作决定。
  • a tax-deferred savings plan 延税储蓄计划
18 impatience OaOxC     
n.不耐烦,急躁
参考例句:
  • He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢,他显得不耐烦。
  • He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。
19 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
20 teller yggzeP     
n.银行出纳员;(选举)计票员
参考例句:
  • The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
  • The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。
21 eyewitness VlVxj     
n.目击者,见证人
参考例句:
  • The police questioned several eyewitness to the murder.警察询问了谋杀案的几位目击者。
  • He was the only eyewitness of the robbery.他是那起抢劫案的唯一目击者。
22 excerpts 2decb803173f2e91acdfb31c501d6725     
n.摘录,摘要( excerpt的名词复数 );节选(音乐,电影)片段
参考例句:
  • Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句
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