胡敏读故事记单词托福词汇177

　　177. The prodigy²天才 primarily-professionalism
There was a prodigy whose profession was composing and performing music. He proclaimed that his talent lay in his proclivity³ to use prime number theories to develop his melodies and to call upon his primordial⁴ instincts for creativity. Comments from critics of his music ranged from primitive⁵ to profane⁶. He said that people in his profession must maintain a professional attitude at all times, must understand their priorities, and proceed in their probity⁷ regardless of what others say. Only in this way can professionalism be achieved.
He felt that his primary objective in music was to create art that would speak to the primitive self, to pierce through millions of years of human evolutionary⁸ development and relate to the pristine⁹, elementary essence of what it is to be human.
Those who listened to his music were primarily young intellectuals, those people you find in designer coffee bars discussing existentialist philosophers. His prodigious¹⁰ works were their favorites: the symphonies and piano concertos¹¹. His music was once performed on prime time TV, but the general audience did not appreciate it, and he never had that opportunity again.
He felt that it was his privilege to play and perform. All of the proceeds from his performances went to charity. He couldn’t stand any prodigal¹² use of his earnings¹³. He felt that the Bohemian life was best. Once there was a probe into his finances. He had to be prodded¹⁴ to go to the proceedings¹⁶ because he knew the investigation¹⁷ would bring nothing damaging.
primarily adv.主要地,首先地,基本地
primary adj.第一位的,主要的
prime adj.主要的n.鼎盛时期
prime number 素数
primitive adj.上古的,原始的
primordial adj. 原始的,最初的
priority n.优先,优先权
pristine adj.原始的,未被破坏的
privilege vt.给与…特权,特免
probe vi.调查,查究
probity n.刚直,正直
proceed vi.进行,继续下去
proceeding¹⁵ n.行动,进行
proceeds n.收益
proclaim vt.声明,宣告
proclivity n.倾向,癖性
prod¹ vt.刺激,敦促
prodigal adj.挥霍的,浪费的
prodigious adj.巨大的, 惊人的
prodigy n.非凡之人,天才
profane v.亵渎,玷污
profession n.职业,专业
professional adj.专业的,职业的
professionalism n.专家的地位,特性或方法

1 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

2 prodigy   

n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆

参考例句：

• She was a child prodigy on the violin.她是神童小提琴手。
• He was always a Negro prodigy who played barbarously and wonderfully.他始终是一个黑人的奇才，这种奇才弹奏起来粗野而惊人。

3 proclivity   

n.倾向，癖性

参考例句：

• He has a proclivity toward violence.他有暴力的倾向。
• He has a proclivity for exaggeration.他总爱夸夸其谈。

4 primordial   

adj.原始的；最初的

参考例句：

• It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。
• The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.

5 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

6 profane   

adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污

参考例句：

• He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
• His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

7 probity   

n.刚直；廉洁，正直

参考例句：

• Probity and purity will command respect everywhere.为人正派到处受人尊敬。
• Her probity and integrity are beyond question.她的诚实和正直是无可争辩的。

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

10 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。

11 concertos   

n. [音]协奏曲

参考例句：

• I once heard Brendel play all the Beethoven concertos. 有一次，我听了布伦德尔演奏贝多芬全部的协奏曲。
• The six finalists then played two piano concertos each. 然后，六名决赛选手每人演奏了两首钢琴协奏曲。

12 prodigal   

adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的

参考例句：

• He has been prodigal of the money left by his parents.他已挥霍掉他父母留下的钱。
• The country has been prodigal of its forests.这个国家的森林正受过度的采伐。

13 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

14 prodded   

v.刺，戳( prod的过去式和过去分词 )；刺激；促使；（用手指或尖物）戳

参考例句：

• She prodded him in the ribs to wake him up. 她用手指杵他的肋部把他叫醒。
• He prodded at the plate of fish with his fork. 他拿叉子戳弄着那盘鱼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

16 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

17 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。