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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
by Marcus Maurice
Shanghai in the late 1920s and early 1930s was a great place to be. This paradise for adventurers had only been an actual city since the 15th century, when it was little more than a muddy town on the edge of a river. Then, a wall was built around Shanghai and it gradually became an important port for the Yangtze and Huangpu Rivers, and began to grow in size and population. In 1927, Old Shanghai had a population of over two million, by far the largest in China, and it was the most industrialized city in Asia. As it expanded, Shanghai became a center for thinkers and the bourgeois1 in China.
As a port city, Old Shanghai had the best and worst of everything. To some people, it was known as a place of sin, while others saw it as the "Paris of the East." So many merchants, sailors, and people from other countries and cultures clustered in Shanghai that it had the makings of an international metropolis2. The term "to shanghai someone" even appeared, meaning "to drug and ship someone off to sea to work as a sailor." The term evolved and later came to mean "tricking someone out of something."
Soon, the Sino-Japanese War destroyed this utopia. In 1937, the Japanese battled for Shanghai and won. They occupied the city until the surrender that put an end to World War II in 1945. It would take years for Shanghai to get back on its feet.
单字小铺
1. shanghai vt.（用麻醉药等）使人失去知觉而劫持上船当水手；诱骗
2. adventurer n. 冒险家
3. muddy a. 泥泞的
4. industrialized a. 工业化的
5. bourgeois n. 中产阶级
6. merchant n. 商人
7. metropolis n. 大都市
8. drug vt. 下药
9. evolve vi. 演化
10. Sino-Japanese War 中日战争（即甲午战争）
11. utopia n. 乌托邦（理想的国度∕地方）
12. battle vi. 作战
13. surrender n. & vi. 投降，屈服
surrender to... 向……投降∕屈服
词组小铺
1. have a population of + 数字 有……（数字）的人口
2. see A as B 视 A 为 B
= view/regard/look on/think of A as B
3. put an end to... 终结……
精解字词词组
1.on the edge of... 在……的边缘
= on the verge3 of...
例： While standing4 on the edge of the Grand Canyon5, it felt like I could see the whole world.
（站在大峡谷的边缘，我感觉自己彷佛可以看到全世界。）
2.by far... 最……
注意:
by far 视为副词词组，通常用来修饰最高级形容词或副词，表示『最』之意。
例： Alaska is by far the coldest state in America.
（阿拉斯加是美国最冷的一州。）
3.expand vi. & vt. 扩张
例： The company set up a branch in Hong Kong to expand its business.
（这家公司设立香港分公司以扩张其事业版图。）
4.cluster vi. 群集
例： A group of children clustered around the man handing out free balloons.
（一群小孩围绕在着分送免费气球的人身边。）
5.have the makings of... 具有成为……的素质
making n. 要素，素质
例： That young girl has the makings of a supermodel.
（那个年轻女孩有成为超级名模的素质。）
6.ship sb off to... 将某人运送到……
例： Paul was shipped off to the army as soon as he turned 19.
（保罗刚满十九岁就被送去当兵。）
7.trick sb out of... 骗走某人的……
trick sb into V-ing 欺骗某人（做）……
例： The old man was tricked out of all his savings6 by the con7 man.
（那位老先生被骗徒骗走他所有的积蓄。）
例： Helen tricked Barry into lending her NT$500 by saying she lost her purse.
（海伦谎称掉了钱包而骗贝瑞借给她五百元台币。）
8.get back on one's feet 某人重新振作
例： It took Mark a year to get back on his feet after the breakup.
（马克花了一年时间才从分手中重新振作起来。）
中文翻译
1920 年代末期到 1930 年代初期的上海是个好地方。这个冒险家天堂一直到十五世纪才真正具有城市的雏形，这时的上海只不过是个河岸边的泥泞小城。之后，上海周围盖起了城墙，渐渐成为扬子江和黄埔江重要的港口，城市规模和人口也开始成长。1927 年，老上海有两百多万人口，是当时全中国人口最多的都市，也是亚洲最工业化的城市。随着上海扩张，上海成为中国知识分子和中产阶级的中心。
身为一座港口城市，老上海有所有最好和最坏的一面。对某些人来说，它是罪恶的渊薮，但也有人视其为『东方的巴黎』。很多商人、船员和来自不同国籍与文化的人齐聚上海，使它具备了国际性都会的必要条件。当时甚至出现了 "to shanghai someone" 这个词，表示将某人下药、运送出海当船员。这个词后来演变成骗走某人的东西之意。
不久后，中日战争摧毁了这个乌托邦。1937 年，日本争夺并取得上海。他们占领上海一直到 1945 年日本投降，结束了第二次世界大战。上海花了好几年才恢复其往日荣光。
收听单词发音 |
1
bourgeois
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| adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子 | |
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2
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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3
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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4
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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5
canyon
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| n.峡谷，溪谷 | |
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savings
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| n.存款，储蓄 | |
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7
con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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