全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance1

　　valentine

　　n. 情人

　　straighten

　　v. (cause to) become straight or level (使)变直;(使)变*整

　　make one's way

　　go 走去

　　grand

　　a. splendid in size or appearance 宏伟的;壮丽的

　　absorb

　　vt. completely hold the attention of (sb.);take in 完全吸引住…的注意;吸收

　　margin

　　n. 页边空白

　　handwriting

　　n. 笔迹;手写稿

　　reflect

　　vt. be a sign of, show 反映，显示

　　thoughtful

　　a. thinking about what other people need; thinking dee* 体贴的;深思的

　　insightful

　　a. 具有洞察力的'

　　insight

　　n. 洞察力

　　a. happening or coming before or earlier 早先的，先前的

　　owner

　　n. a person who owns sth. 所有人

　　locate

　　vt. find the exact position of; establish in a certain place 找到…的位置;使坐落于

　　correspond

　　vi. exchange letters regularly 通信

　　overseas

　　ad., a. to or in another country 去(在)**(的)，去(在)**(的)

　　fertile

　　a. (of land) able to produce good crops 肥沃的，富饶的

　　romance▲

　　n. love story; love affair 爱情故事;风流韵事

　　bud▲

　　v. 发芽;萌芽

　　haunt▲

　　vt. make (sb.) worry or make (them) sad; (of ghosts) visit (a place) regularly 使担忧，使苦恼;(鬼魂)常出没于

　　take a chance (on sth.)

　　attempt to do sth. in spite of the possibility of failure; take a risk 碰运气;冒险

　　disgust

　　vt. cause a strong and often sick feeling of dislike 使厌恶，使反感

　　schedule

　　vt. arrange for sth. to happen or to be done at a particular time 安排;排定

　　n. 工作日程表，进度表

　　lapel

　　n. (西服上衣的)翻领

　　sustain

　　vt. support emotionally; keep (an effort, etc.) going, maintain **;使(努力等)持续下去，保持

　　slim

　　a. slender; small 苗条的;细小的，微小的

　　blonde

　　a., n. (woman) having fair or yellow hair 金发的(女郎)

　　curl

　　n. 鬈发

　　delicate

　　a. fine, well-formed; soft, tender 精美的;柔软的，娇嫩的

　　chin

　　n. 下巴，颏

　　provocative▲

　　a. 挑逗的;挑衅的

　　curve

　　v. (使)弯曲

　　go sb.'s way

　　go in sb.'s direction 朝某人走去

　　sailor

　　n. 水手，海员;航海者

　　murmur▲

　　v. 轻声说，咕哝

　　gray

　　v. (使)变成灰色

　　tuck▲

　　vt. 把…塞进(某处)

　　more than a little

　　very 很，非常

　　overweight

　　a. too fat or heavy 过胖的，超重的

　　ankle

　　n. 踝;踝节部

　　thrust

　　v. 挤入;插入;猛推

　　heel

　　n. (鞋、袜等的)后跟;脚后跟，踵

　　split

　　v. (cause to) break into two or more parts 裂开;破裂

　　keen

　　a. (of interest, feelings, etc.) strong; deep 强烈的;热切的

　　longing

　　n. earnest desire 渴望

　　companion

　　vt. spend time or go somewhere with (sb.) 陪伴

　　uphold▲

　　vt. support **，维护

　　sensible

　　a. showing or having good sense 通情达理的，理智的

　　glow

　　n. a warm light 光亮，光辉

　　hesitate

　　vi. pause before doing sth. or making a decision 踌躇，犹豫

　　grip

　　v. take a very tight hold (of) 握紧，紧握

　　leather

　　n. (动物的)皮，皮革

　　identify

　　vt. recognize or say who or what (sb./sth.)is 识别

　　grateful

　　a. feeling or showing thanks to another person 感激的

　　be grateful to (sb.) for (sth.)

　　因(某事)而感激(某人)

　　salute▲

　　v. (向…)行举手礼

　　lieutenant▲

　　n. 海军上尉;陆军中尉

　　broaden

　　v. make or become broader (使)变宽;(使)扩大

　　wisdom

　　n. 智慧;明智

　　response

　　n. reaction; answer 反应;回答

　　in response to

　　in answer to 作为对…的回应

　　attractive

　　a. pretty; able to attract 美的;有吸引力的

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance2

　　Part I Pre-reading Task

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. Do you have a favorite love song? What is its name? Who is the singer? Can you sing or hum the tune?

　　2. What is the song you have just heard mainly about?

　　3. Do you think it appropriate to begin this unit with a love song? Why or why not?

　　The following word in the recording may be new to you:

　　rhyme

　　n. 韵;韵味

　　Part II

　　Text?

　　A letter or telephone call comes from someone you have not met, and you find yourself imagining what the person looks like, putting a face to the hidden voice. Are you any good at this? Sometimes it is easy to get it wrong.

　　A VALENTINE STORY

　　Doug Bell

　　John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station.

　　He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose. His interest in her had begun twelve months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he soon found himself absorbed, not by the words of the book, but by the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind.

　　In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond. The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II.

　　During the next year the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She explained: "If your feeling for me has any reality, any honest basis, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always be haunted by the feeling that you had been taking a chance on just that, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain (and you must admit that this is more likely). Then I'd always fear that you were going on writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. No, don't ask for my picture. When you come to New York, you shall see me and then you shall make your decison. Remember, both of us are free to stop or to go on after that — whichever we choose..."

　　When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting — 7:00 p.m. at Grand Central Station, New York.

　　"You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So, at 7:00 p.m. he was in the station looking for a girl who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 12 months, a girl he had never seen, yet whose written words had been with him and sustained him unfailingly.

　　I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

　　A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her golden hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive.

　　I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.

　　As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair pinned up under a worn hat.

　　She was more than a little overweight, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes.

　　The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own.

　　And there she stood. Her pale, round face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly glow. I did not hesitate.

　　My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be grateful.

　　I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment. "I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

　　The woman's face broadened into a smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

　　It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.

　　"Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "and I will tell you who you are."

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3

　　valentine

　　n. 情人

　　straighten

　　v. (cause to) become straight or level (使)变直;(使)变*整

　　make one's way

　　go 走去

　　grand

　　a. splendid in size or appearance 宏伟的;壮丽的

　　absorb

　　vt. completely hold the attention of (sb.);take in 完全吸引住…的注意;吸收

　　margin

　　n. 页边空白

　　handwriting

　　n. 笔迹;手写稿

　　reflect

　　vt. be a sign of, show 反映，显示

　　thoughtful

　　a. thinking about what other people need; thinking dee* 体贴的;深思的

　　insightful

　　a. 具有洞察力的

　　insight

　　n. 洞察力

　　a. happening or coming before or earlier 早先的，先前的

　　owner

　　n. a person who owns sth. 所有人

　　locate

　　vt. find the exact position of; establish in a certain place 找到…的位置;使坐落于

　　correspond

　　vi. exchange letters regularly 通信

　　overseas

　　ad., a. to or in another country 去(在)**(的)，去(在)**(的)

　　fertile

　　a. (of land) able to produce good crops 肥沃的，富饶的

　　romance▲

　　n. love story; love affair 爱情故事;风流韵事

　　bud▲

　　v. 发芽;萌芽

　　haunt▲

　　vt. make (sb.) worry or make (them) sad; (of ghosts) visit (a place) regularly 使担忧，使苦恼;(鬼魂)常出没于

　　take a chance (on sth.)

　　attempt to do sth. in spite of the possibility of failure; take a risk 碰运气;冒险

　　disgust

　　vt. cause a strong and often sick feeling of dislike 使厌恶，使反感

　　schedule

　　vt. arrange for sth. to happen or to be done at a particular time 安排;排定

　　n. 工作日程表，进度表

　　lapel

　　n. (西服上衣的)翻领

　　sustain

　　vt. support emotionally; keep (an effort, etc.) going, maintain **;使(努力等)持续下去，保持

　　slim

　　a. slender; small 苗条的;细小的，微小的

　　blonde

　　a., n. (woman) having fair or yellow hair 金发的(女郎)

　　curl

　　n. 鬈发

　　delicate

　　a. fine, well-formed; soft, tender 精美的.;柔软的，娇嫩的

　　chin

　　n. 下巴，颏

　　provocative▲

　　a. 挑逗的;挑衅的

　　curve

　　v. (使)弯曲

　　go sb.'s way

　　go in sb.'s direction 朝某人走去

　　sailor

　　n. 水手，海员;航海者

　　murmur▲

　　v. 轻声说，咕哝

　　gray

　　v. (使)变成灰色

　　tuck▲

　　vt. 把…塞进(某处)

　　more than a little

　　very 很，非常

　　overweight

　　a. too fat or heavy 过胖的，超重的

　　ankle

　　n. 踝;踝节部

　　thrust

　　v. 挤入;插入;猛推

　　heel

　　n. (鞋、袜等的)后跟;脚后跟，踵

　　split

　　v. (cause to) break into two or more parts 裂开;破裂

　　keen

　　a. (of interest, feelings, etc.) strong; deep 强烈的;热切的

　　longing

　　n. earnest desire 渴望

　　companion

　　vt. spend time or go somewhere with (sb.) 陪伴

　　uphold▲

　　vt. support **，维护

　　sensible

　　a. showing or having good sense 通情达理的，理智的

　　glow

　　n. a warm light 光亮，光辉

　　hesitate

　　vi. pause before doing sth. or making a decision 踌躇，犹豫

　　grip

　　v. take a very tight hold (of) 握紧，紧握

　　leather

　　n. (动物的)皮，皮革

　　identify

　　vt. recognize or say who or what (sb./sth.)is 识别

　　grateful

　　a. feeling or showing thanks to another person 感激的

　　be grateful to (sb.) for (sth.)

　　因(某事)而感激(某人)

　　salute▲

　　v. (向…)行举手礼

　　lieutenant▲

　　n. 海军上尉;陆军中尉

　　broaden

　　v. make or become broader (使)变宽;(使)扩大

　　wisdom

　　n. 智慧;明智

　　response

　　n. reaction; answer 反应;回答

　　in response to

　　in answer to 作为对…的回应

　　attractive

　　a. pretty; able to attract 美的;有吸引力的

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇扩展阅读

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展1）

——全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第7单元课文详解3篇

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第7单元课文详解1

　　Part I Pre-Reading Task

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. What is the passage about?

　　2. What's your impression of the English language?

　　3. Can you give one or two examples to illustrate(说明)the messiness of the English language?

　　4. Can you guess what the texts in this unit are going to be about?

　　The following words in the recording may be new to you:

　　eggplant

　　n. 茄子

　　pineapple

　　n. 菠萝

　　hamburger

　　n. 汉堡牛肉饼，汉堡包

　　Part II

　　Text

　　Some languages resist the introduction of new words. Others, like English, seem to welcome them. Robert MacNeil looks at the history of English and comes to the conclusion that its tolerance for change represents dee* rooted ideas of freedom.

　　THE GLORIOUS MESSINESS OF ENGLISH

　　Robert MacNeil

　　The story of our English language is typically one of massive stealing from other languages. That is why English today has an estimated vocabulary of over one million words, while other major languages have far fewer.

　　French, for example, has only about 75,000 words, and that includes English expressions like snack bar and hit parade. The French, however, do not like borrowing foreign words because they think it corrupts their language. The government tries to ban words from English and declares that walkman is not desirable; so they invent a word, balladeur, which French kids are supposed to say instead — but they don't.

　　Walkman is fascinating because it isn't even English. Strictly speaking, it was invented by the Japanese manufacturers who put two simple English words together to name their product. That doesn't bother us, but it does bother the French. Such is the glorious messiness of English. That happy tolerance, that willingness to accept words from anywhere, explains the richness of English and why it has become, to a very real extent, the first truly globallanguage.

　　How did the language of a small island off the coast of Europe become the language of the planet — more widely spoken and written than any other has ever been? The history of English is present in the first words a child learns about identity (I, me, you); possession (mine, yours); the body (eye, nose, mouth); size (tall, short); and necessities (food, water). These words all come from Old English or Anglo-Saxon English, the core of our language. Usually short and direct, these are words we still use today for the things that really matter to us.

　　Great speakers often use Old English to arouse our emotions. For example, during World War II, Winston Churchill made this speech, stirring the courage of his people against Hitler's armies positioned to cross the English Channel: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."

　　Virtually every one of those words came from Old English, except the last — surrender, which came from Norman French. Churchill could have said, "We shall never give in," but it is one of the lovely — and powerful — opportunities of English that a writer can mix, for effect, different words from different backgrounds. Yet there is something direct to the heart that speaks to us from the earliest words in our language.

　　When Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C., English did not exist. The Celts, who inhabited the land, spoke languages that survive today mainly as Welsh. Where those languages came from is still a mystery, but there is a theory.

　　Two centuries ago an English judge in India noticed that several words in Sanskrit closely resembled some words in Greek and Latin. A systematic study revealed that many modern languages descended from a commonparent language, lost to us because nothing was written down.

　　Identifying similar words, linguists have come up with what they call an Indo-European parent language, spoken until 3500 to 2000 B.C. These people had common words for snow, bee and wolf but no word for sea. So some scholars assume they lived somewhere in north-central Europe, where it was cold. Traveling east, some established the languages of India and Pakistan, and others drifted west toward the gentler climates of Europe, Some who made the earliest move westward became known as the Celts, whom Caesar's armies found in Britain.

　　New words came with the Germanic tribes — the Angles, the Saxons, etc. — that slipped across the North Sea to settle in Britain in the 5th century. Together they formed what we call Anglo-Saxon society.

　　The Anglo-Saxons passed on to us their farming vocabulary, including sheep, ox, earth, wood, field and work. They must have also enjoyed themselves because they gave us the word laughter.

　　The next big influence on English was Christianity. It enriched the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary with some 400 to 500 words from Greek and Latin, including angel, disciple and martyr.

　　Then into this relatively peaceful land came the Vikings from Scandinavia. They also brought to English many words that begin with sk, like sky and skirt. But Old Norse and English both survived, and so you can rear a child (English) or raise a child (Norse). Other such pairs survive: wish and want, craft and skill, hide and skin. Each such addition gave English more richness, more variety.

　　Another flood of new vocabulary occurred in 1066, when the Normans conquered England. The country now had three languages: French for the nobles, Latin for the churches and English for the common people. With three languages competing, there were sometimes different terms for the same thing. For example, Anglo-Saxons had the word kingly, but after the Normans, royal and sovereign entered the language as alternatives. The extraordinary thing was that French did not replace English. Over three centuries English gradually swallowed French, and by the end of the 15th century what had developed was a modified, greatly enriched language — Middle English — with about 10,000 "borrowed" French words.

　　Around 1476 William Caxton set up a printing press in England and started a communications revolution. Printing brought into English the wealth of new thinking that sprang from the European Renaissance. Translations of Greek and Roman classics were poured onto the printed page, and with them thousands of Latin words like capsule and habitual, and Greek words like catastrophe and thermometer. Today we still borrow from Latin and Greek to name new inventions, like video, television and cyberspace.

　　As settlers landed in North America and established the United States, English found itself with two sources — American and British. Scholars in Britain worried that the language was out of control, and some wanted to set up an academy to decide which words were proper and which were not. Fortunately their idea has never been put into practice.

　　That tolerance for change also represents dee* rooted ideas of freedom. Danish scholar Otto Jespersen wrote in 1905, "The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great respecters of the liberties of each inpidual and if everybody had not been free to strike out new paths for himself."

　　I like that idea. Consider that the same cultural soil producing the English language also nourished the great principles of freedom and rights of man in the modern world. The first shoots sprang up in England, and they grew stronger in America. The English-speaking peoples have defeated all efforts to build fences around their language.

　　Indeed, the English language is not the special preserve of grammarians, language police, teachers, writers or the intellectual elite. English is, and always has been, the tongue of the common man.

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第7单元课文详解2

　　Part I Pre-Reading Task

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. What is the passage about?

　　2. What's your impression of the English language?

　　3. Can you give one or two examples to illustrate(说明)the messiness of the English language?

　　4. Can you guess what the texts in this unit are going to be about?

　　The following words in the recording may be new to you:

　　eggplant

　　n. 茄子

　　pineapple

　　n. 菠萝

　　hamburger

　　n. 汉堡牛肉饼，汉堡包

　　Part II

　　Text

　　THE GLORIOUS MESSINESS OF ENGLISH

　　Robert MacNeil

　　The Anglo-Saxons passed on to us their farming vocabulary, including sheep, ox, earth, wood, field and work. They must have also enjoyed themselves because they gave us the word laughter.

　　The next big influence on English was Christianity. It enriched the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary with some 400 to 500 words from Greek and Latin, including angel, disciple and martyr.

　　Indeed, the English language is not the special preserve of grammarians, language police, teachers, writers or the intellectual elite. English is, and always has been, the tongue of the common man.

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第7单元课文详解3

　　Robert MacNeil

　　罗伯特·麦克**

　　Winston Churchill

　　温斯顿·丘吉尔(1874 — 1965，英国***、首相)

　　Hitler

　　***(1889 — 1945，纳粹德国元首)

　　Julius Caesar

　　尤利乌斯·凯撒(100 — 44BC，古罗马将军、***)

　　Britain

　　英国

　　India

　　印度

　　Pakistan

　　巴基斯坦

　　Viking

　　(8 — 10世纪时劫掠欧洲西北海岸的)北欧海盗

　　Scandinavia

　　斯堪的纳维亚

　　England

　　英格兰

　　William Caxton

　　威廉·卡克斯顿(英国印刷商、翻译家)

　　Otto Jespersen

　　奥托·叶斯柏森(1860 — 1943)

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展2）

——全新版大学英语综合教程第一册Unit1课文讲解3篇

全新版大学英语综合教程第一册Unit1课文讲解1

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. Do you know who John Lennon was?

　　2. Have you ever heard the song before?

　　3. What does Lennon think of growing up? Is it easy or full of adventures?

　　4. Can you guess what the texts in this unit are going to be about?

　　The following words in the recording may be new to you:

　　monster

　　n. 怪物

　　prayer

　　n. 祈祷

全新版大学英语综合教程第一册Unit1课文讲解2

　　Text?

　　When we are writing we are often told to keep our readers in mind, to shape what we say to fit their tastes and interests. But there is one reader in particular who should not be forgotten. Can you guess who? Russell Baker surprised himself and everyone else when he discovered the answer.

　　WRITING FOR MYSELF

　　Russell Baker

　　The idea of becoming a writer had come to me off and on since my childhood in Belleville, but it wasn't until my third year in high school that the possibility took hold. Until then I'd been bored by everything associated with English courses. I found English grammar dull and difficult. I hated the assignments to turn out long, lifeless paragraphs that were agony for teachers to read and for me to write.

　　When our class was assigned to Mr. Fleagle for third-year English I anticipated another cheerless year in that most tedious of subjects. Mr. Fleagle had a reputation among students for dullness and i*lity to inspire. He was said to be very formal, rigid and hopelessly out of date. To me he looked to be sixty or seventy and excessively prim. He wore primly severe eyeglasses, his wavy hair was primly cut and primly combed. He wore prim suits with neckties set primly against the collar buttons of his white shirts. He had a primly pointed jaw, a primly straight nose, and a prim manner of speaking that was so correct, so gentlemanly, that he seemed a comic antique.

　　I prepared for an unfruitful year with Mr. Fleagle and for a long time was not disappointed. Late in the year we tackled the informal essay. Mr. Fleagle distributed a homework sheet offering us a choice of topics. None was quite so simple-minded as "What I Did on My Summer Vacation," but most seemed to be almost as dull. I took the list home and did nothing until the night before the essay was due. Lying on the sofa, I finally faced up to the unwelcome task, took the list out of my notebook, and scanned it. The topic on which my eye stopped was "The Art of Eating Spaghetti."

　　This title produced an extraordinary sequence of mental images. Vivid memories came flooding back of a night in Belleville when all of us were seated around the supper table — Uncle Allen, my mother, Uncle Charlie, Doris, Uncle Hal — and Aunt Pat served spaghetti for supper. Spaghetti was still a little known foreign dish in those days. Neither Doris nor I had ever eaten spaghetti, and none of the *s had enough experience to be good at it. All the good humor of Uncle Allen's house reawoke in my mind as I recalled the laughing arguments we had that night about the socially respectable method for moving spaghetti from plate to mouth.

　　Suddenly I wanted to write about that, about the warmth and good feeling of it, but I wanted to put it down sim* for my own joy, not for Mr. Fleagle. It was a moment I wanted to recapture and hold for myself. I wanted to relive the pleasure of that evening. To write it as I wanted, however, would violate all the rules of formal composition I'd learned in school, and Mr. Fleagle would surely give it a failing grade. Never mind. I would write something else for Mr. Fleagle after I had written this thing for myself.

　　When I finished it the night was half gone and there was no time left to compose a proper, respectable essay for Mr. Fleagle. There was no choice next morning but to turn in my tale of the Belleville supper. Two days passed before Mr. Fleagle returned the graded papers, and he returned everyone's but mine. I was preparing myself for a command to report to Mr. Fleagle immediately after school for discipline when I saw him lift my paper from his desk and knock for the class's attention.

　　"Now, boys," he said. "I want to read you an essay. This is titled, 'The Art of Eating Spaghetti.'"

　　And he started to read. My words! He was reading my words out loud to the entire class. What's more, the entire class was listening. Listening attentively. Then somebody laughed, then the entire class was laughing, and not in contempt and ridicule, but with open-hearted enjoyment. Even Mr. Fleagle stopped two or three times to hold back a small prim smile.

　　I did my best to avoid showing pleasure, but what I was feeling was pure delight at this demonstration that my words had the power to make people laugh. In the eleventh grade, at the eleventh hour as it were, I had discovered a calling. It was the happiest moment of my entire school career. When Mr. Fleagle finished he put the final seal on my happiness by saying, "Now that, boys, is an essay, don't you see. It's — don't you see — it's of the very essence of the essay, don't you see. Congratulations, Mr. Baker."

全新版大学英语综合教程第一册Unit1课文讲解3

　　off and on

　　from time to time; sometimes 断断续续地;有时

　　possibility

　　n. 可能(性)

　　take hold

　　become established 生根，确立

　　bore

　　vt. make (sb.) become tired and lose interest 使(人)厌烦

　　associate

　　vt. join or connect together; bring in the mind 使联系起来;使联想

　　assignment

　　n. a piece of work that is given to a particular person(分配的)工作，任务，作业

　　turn out

　　produce 编写;生产，制造

　　agony▲

　　n. very great pain or suffering of mind or body (身心的)极度痛苦

　　assign

　　vt. give as a share or duty 分配，分派

　　anticipate

　　vt. expect 预期，期望

　　tedious

　　a. boring and lasting for a long time 乏味的;冗长的

　　reputation

　　n. 名声;名誉

　　i*lity

　　n. lack of power, skill or ability **，无力

　　inspire

　　vt. fill (sb.) with confidence, eagerness, etc. 激励，鼓舞

　　formal

　　a. (too) serious and careful in manner and behavior; based on correct or accepted rules 刻板的，拘谨的;正式的，正规的

　　rigid

　　a. (often disapproving) fixed in behavior, views or methods; strict 一成不变的;严格的

　　hopelessly

　　ad. very much; without hope 十分，极度;绝望地

　　excessively

　　ad. 过分地

　　out of date

　　old-fashioned 过时的

　　prim

　　a. (usu. disapproving) (of a person) too formal or correct in behavior and showing a dislike of anything rude; neat 古板的，拘谨的;循规蹈矩的;整洁的

　　primly ad.

　　severe

　　a. completely plain; causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, etc. 朴素的;严重的，剧烈的

　　necktie

　　n. tie 领带

　　jaw

　　n. 颌，颚

　　comic▲

　　a. 滑稽的`;喜剧的

　　n. 连环漫画(册)

　　antique

　　n. 古物，古玩

　　tackle

　　vt. try to deal with 处理，应付

　　essay

　　n. 散文，小品文;论说文

　　distribute

　　vt. pide and give out among people, places, etc. 分发，分配，分送

　　finally

　　ad. at last 最终，终于

　　face up to

　　be brave enough to accept or deal with 勇敢地接受或对付

　　scan

　　v. look through quickly 浏览，粗略地看

　　spaghetti

　　n. 意大利式细面条

　　title

　　n. a name given to a book, film, etc. 标题，题目

　　vt. give a name to 给…加标题，加题目于

　　extraordinary

　　a. very unusual or strange 不同寻常的;奇特的

　　sequence

　　n. 一连串相关的事物;次序，顺序

　　image

　　n. a picture formed in the mind 形象;印象;(图)像

　　n. a fully grown person or animal 成年人;成年动物

　　humor

　　n. 心情;幽默，诙谐

　　recall

　　vt. bring back to the mind; remember 回想起，回忆起

　　argument

　　n. 论据，论点;争论

　　respectable

　　a. (of behavior, appearance, etc.) socially acceptable 可敬的;体面的;文雅的

　　put down

　　write down 写下

　　recapture

　　vt. (lit) bring back into the mind; experience again 再现;再次经历

　　relive

　　vt. experience again, esp. in one's imagination 再体验，重温

　　violate

　　vt. act against 违背，违反

　　compose

　　vt. write or create (music, poetry, etc.) 创作

　　turn in

　　hand in (work that one has done) 交(作业)

　　command

　　n.,v.命令，指令

　　discipline

　　n. punishment; order kept (among school-children, soldiers, etc.) 惩罚，处分;纪律

　　what's more

　　in addition, more importantly 而且，此外;更有甚者

　　contempt▲

　　n. 轻视，轻蔑

　　ridicule

　　n. making or being made fun of 嘲笑，嘲弄;被戏弄

　　open-hearted

　　a. sincere, frank 诚挚的

　　hold back

　　prevent the expression of (feelings, tears, etc.) **(感情、眼泪等)

　　avoid

　　vt. keep or get away from 避免

　　demonstration

　　n. act of showing or proving sth. 表明;证明

　　career

　　n. 生涯，事业;职业

　　seal

　　n. 印，图章

　　essence▲

　　n. the most important quality of a thing 本质;精髓

　　congratulation

　　n. (usu. pl) expression of joy for sb.'s success, luck, etc. 祝贺，恭喜

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展3）

——全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第2单元课文讲解3篇

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第2单元课文讲解1

　　Part I Pre-Reading Task

　　Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:

　　1. Who is it about?

　　2. What happened to him one day?

　　3. Do you think it was worthwhile to walk two or three miles to pay back the six and a quarter cents?

　　4. Is the story related to the theme of the unit — values?

　　The following words in the recording may be new to you:

　　dismay

　　n. 沮丧，失望

　　disturb

　　vt. 使不安

　　conscientious

　　a. 认真的，尽职的

　　Part II

　　Text

　　Does being rich mean you live a completely different life from ordinary people? Not, it seems, if your name is Sam Walton.

　　THE RICHEST MAN IN AMERICA, DOWN HOME

　　Art Harris

　　He put on a dinner jacket to serve as a waiter at the birthday party of The Richest Man in America. He imagined what surely awaited: a mansion, a "Rolls-Royce for every day of the week," dogs with diamond collars, servants everywhere.

　　Then he was off to the house, wheeling past the sleepy town square in Bentonville, a remote Arkansas town of 9,920, where Sam Walton started with a little dime store that grew into a $6 billion discount chain called Wal-Mart. He drove down a country road, turned at a mailbox marked "Sam and Helen Walton," and jumped out at a house in the woods.

　　It was nice, but no palace. The furniture appeared a little worn. An old pickup truck sat in the garage and a muddy bird dog ran about the yard. He never spotted any servants.

　　"It was a real disappointment," sighs waiter Jamie Beaulieu.

　　Only in America can a billionaire carry on like plain folks and get away with it. And the 67-year-old discount king Sam Moore Walton still travels these windy back roads in his 1979 Ford pickup, red and white, bird dogs by his side, and, come shooting season, waits in line like everyone else to buy shells at the local Wal-Mart.

　　"He doesn't want any special treatment," says night manager Johnny Baker, who struggles to call the boss by his first name as a recent corporate memo commands. Few here think of his billions; they call him "Mr. Sam" and accept his folksy ways. "He's the same man who opened his dime store on the square and worked 18 hours a day for his dream," says Mayor Richard Hoback.

　　By all accounts, he's friendly, cheerful, a fine neighbor who does his best to blend in, never flashy, never throwing his weight around.

　　No matter how big a time he had on Saturday night, you can find him in church on Sunday. Surely in a reserved seat, right? "We don't have reserved seats," says Gordon Garlington III, pastor of the local church.

　　So where does The Richest Man in America sit? Wherever he finds a seat. "Look, he's just not that way. He doesn't have a set place. At a church supper the other night, he and his wife were in back washing dishes."

　　For 19 years, he's used the same barber. John Mayhall finds him waiting when he opens up at 7 a.m. He chats about the national news, or reads in his chair, perhaps the Benton County Daily Democrat, another Walton property that keeps him off the front page. It buried the Forbes list at the bottom of page 2.

　　"He's just not a front-page person," a newspaper employee explains.

　　But one recent morning, The Richest Man in America did something that would have made headlines any where in the world: He forgot his money. "I said, 'Forget it, take care of it next time,'" says barber Mayhall. "But he said, 'No, I'll get it,' and he went home for his wallet."

　　Wasn't that, well, a little strange? "No sir," says Mayhall, "the only thing strange about Sam Walton is that he isn't strange."

　　But just how long Walton can hold firm to his folksy habits with celebrity hunters keeping following him wherever he goes is anyone's guess. Ever since Forbes magazine pronounced him America's richest man, with $2.8 billion in Wal-Mart stock, he's been a rich man on the run, steering clear of reporters, dreamers, and schemers.

　　"He may be the richest by Forbes rankings," says corporate affairs director Jim Von Gremp, "but he doesn't know whether he is or not — and he doesn't care. He doesn't spend much. He owns stock, but he's always left it in the company so it could grow. But the real story in his mind is the success achieved by the 100,000 people who make up the Wal-Mart team."

　　He's usually back home for Friday sales meetings, or the executive pep rally Saturday morning at 7 a.m., when Walton, as he does at new store openings, is liable to jump up on a chair and lead everyone in the Wal-Mart cheer: "Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Louder!"

　　And louder they yell. No one admits to feeling the least bit silly. It's all part of the Wal-Mart way of life as laid down by Sam: loyalty, hard work, long hours; get ideas into the system from the bottom up, Japanese-style; treat your people right; cut prices and margins to the bone and sleep well at night. Employees with one year on board qualify for stock options, and are urged to buy all they can.

　　After the pep rally, there's bird hunting, or tennis on his backyard court. But his stores are always on his mind. One tennis guest managed to put him off his game by asking why a can of balls cost more in one Wal-Mart than another. It turned out to be untrue, but the move worked. Walton lost four straight games.

　　Walton set up a college scholarship fund for employees' children, a disaster relief fund to rebuild employee homes damaged by fires, floods, tornadoes, and the like. He believed in cultivating ideas and rewarding success.

　　"He'd say, 'That fellow worked hard, let's give him a little extra,'" recalls retired president Ferold F. Arend, who was stunned at such generosity after the stingy employer he left to join Wal-Mart. "I had to change my way of thinking when I came aboard."

　　"The reason for our success," says Walton, in a company handout, "is our people and the way they're treated and the way they feel about their company. They believe things are different here, but they deserve the credit."

　　Adds company lawyer Jim Hendren: "I've never seen anyone yet who worked for him or was around him for any length of time who wasn't better off. And I don't mean just financially, although a lot of people are. It's just something about him — coming into contact with Sam Walton just makes you a better person."

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第2单元课文讲解2

　　mansion▲

　　n. a large house, usu. belonging to a rich person (豪华的)宅邸，大厦

　　remote

　　a. far away in space or time 遥远的

　　dime

　　n. (**、***的)10分硬币

　　billion

　　num.(美、法)十亿;(英、德)**

　　discount

　　n. amount of money which may be taken off the full price 折扣

　　pickup

　　n. a light van having an open body with low sides 小卡车，轻型货车

　　muddy▲

　　a. covered in mud 沾满泥的;泥泞的

　　sigh

　　vi. 叹气，叹息

　　billionaire

　　n. ****;大富翁

　　carry on

　　behave in a wild or improper way; conduct; continue 举止随便;进行;继续做

　　folk

　　n. (usu.pl) people in general 人们;人民

　　get away with

　　do (sth.) without being caught or punished 做(某事)而未被发觉或未受惩罚

　　shell

　　n. (AmE) 枪弹;炮弹;壳

　　local

　　a. of a particular place 地方的，当地的

　　treatment

　　n. 对待;待遇

　　corporate▲

　　a. 公司的

　　memo▲

　　n. a note of sth. to be remembered 备忘录

　　folksy

　　a. simple and friendly 友好的'，坦率的

　　mayor

　　n. *

　　by/from all accounts

　　according to what everyone says 人人都说

　　cheerful

　　a. (of a person) happy in a lively way; (of sth.) making one feel happy 愉快的;令人愉快的

　　blend

　　v. mix together thoroughly (将…)混合

　　blend in

　　mix harmoniously 融洽，十分协调

　　flashy

　　a. attracting attention by being too smart and decorated 浮华的，华而不实的

　　throw one's weight around

　　(infml) 盛气凌人

　　reserve

　　vt. keep for a special use; book (a seat, room, table, etc.) 将…留作专用;预定

　　pastor

　　n. 牧师

　　barber

　　n. 理发师

　　open up

　　(infml) 开门;打开

　　democrat

　　n. ***人;****者

　　employee

　　n. 雇员，受雇者

　　headline

　　n. (报纸上的)标题

　　wallet▲

　　n. 皮夹子

　　hold to

　　keep to 遵守，不改变

　　celebrity

　　n. famous person 名人

　　stock

　　n. 资本;股票，证券

　　on the run

　　in flight; continuously active 奔逃，逃避;忙个不停

　　steer

　　v. 驾驶

　　steer clear of

　　keep away from 避开，避免

　　reporter

　　n. **

　　schemer

　　n. 阴谋家

　　scheme

　　n. 阴谋;计划

　　ranking

　　n. 地位;等级

　　rank

　　v. (将…)列为(某等级)

　　make up

　　form, constitute 构成，组成

　　executive

　　n., a. 经营管理方面的(人员);行政方面的(人员)

　　pep

　　n. (infml) keen activity and energy 劲头，活力

　　rally

　　n., v. *

　　pep rally

　　a gathering intended to encourage the listeners 鼓舞士气的会议

　　opening

　　n. the act of becoming or making open, esp. officially (正式的)开张，开幕

　　liable

　　a. likely (to do sht.) 有可能做…的

　　yell▲

　　v. shout loudly 喊叫

　　lay down

　　establish 制定;设立

　　loyalty

　　n. being true and faithful (to) 忠诚

　　system

　　n. 系统

　　qualify

　　v. (使)具有资格

　　option

　　n. 期权，购买(或出售)权;选择**

　　stock option

　　优先认股权

　　court

　　n. 球场

　　scholarship

　　n. 奖学金

　　tornado

　　n. 龙卷风

　　cultivate

　　vt. improve by care, training or study; develop 培养，陶冶

　　reward

　　v. give (sth.) to sb. in return for work or services 奖赏

　　retired

　　a. (of a person) having stopped working, usu. because of age 退休了的

　　retire

　　v. (使)退休

　　stun▲

　　vt. make (sb.) very surprised 使惊吓

　　generosity

　　n. the quality of being willing to give money, help, etc. 慷慨，大方

　　stingy

　　a. unwilling to spend money 吝啬的

　　employer

　　n. 雇佣者，雇主

　　aboard

　　adv., prep. on or into (a ship, train, aircraft, bus, etc.) 在(船、车、飞机等)上

　　come aboard

　　(fig) become a new member of an organization 入伙，加盟

　　handout

　　n. information given out in the form of a printed sheet, leaflet 印刷品，宣传品

　　deserve

　　vt. be worthy of 应受，值得

全新版大学英语综合教程第二册第2单元课文讲解3

　　Art Harris

　　阿特·哈里斯

　　Rolls-Royce

　　罗尔斯-罗伊斯汽车

　　Bentonville

　　本顿维尔(**地名)

　　Arkansas

　　(**)阿肯色州

　　Sam Moore Walton

　　萨姆·穆尔·沃尔顿

　　Wal-Mart

　　沃尔玛公司

　　Jamie Beaulieu

　　杰米·鲍尤

　　Ford

　　福特汽车

　　Johnny Baker

　　乔尼·贝克

　　Richard Hoback

　　理查德·霍巴克

　　Gordon Garlington III

　　戈登·加林顿第三

　　Mayhall

　　梅霍

　　Benton County

　　本顿县(**地名)

　　Forbes

　　福布斯(杂志名)

　　Jim Von Gremp

　　吉姆·冯·格雷姆普

　　Ferold F·Arend

　　费罗尔德·F·阿伦德

　　Jim Hendren

　　吉姆·亨德伦

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展4）

——21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册单元10课文及词汇讲解3篇

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册单元10课文及词汇讲解1

　　Neil Postman

　　Author's Note: Having sat through two dozen or so graduation speeches, I have naturally wondered why they are so often so bad. One reason, of course, is that the speakers are chosen for their eminence in some field, and not because they are either competent speakers or gifted writers. Another reason is that the audience is eager to be done with all the ceremony so that it can proceed to some serious reveling. Thus any speech longer than, say, fifteen minutes will seem tedious, if not entirely pointless. There are other reasons as well, including the difficulty of saying something inspirational without being b****. Here I try my hand at writing a graduation speech, and not merely to discover if I can conquer the form. This is precisely what I would like to say to young people if I had their attention for a few minutes.

　　If you think my graduation speech is good, I hereby grant you permission to use it, without further approval from or credit to me, should you be in an appropriate situation.

　　Members of the faculty, parents, guests and graduates, have no fear. I am well aware that on a day of such high excitement, what you require, first and foremost, of any speaker is brevity. I shall not fail you in this respect. There are exactly eighty-five sentences in my speech, four of which you have just heard. It will take me about twelve minutes to speak all of them and I must tell you that such economy was not easy for me to arrange, because I have chosen as my to//www.oh100/picplex subject of your ancestors. Not, of course, your biological ancestors, about whom I know nothing, but your spiritual ancestors, about whom I know a little. To be specific, I want to tell you about two groups of people whose influence is still with us. They were very different from each other, representing opposite values and traditions. I think it is appropriate for you to be reminded of them on this day because, sooner than you know, you must align yourself with the spirit of one or the other.

　　The first group lived about 2,500 years ago in the place we now call Greece, in a city they called Athens. We do not know as much about their origins as we would like. But we do know a great deal about their accomplishments. They were, for example, the first people to develop a complete alphabet, and therefore they became the first truly literate population on earth. They invented the idea of political democracy, which they practiced with a vigor that puts us to shame. They invented what we call philosophy. And they also invented what we call science, and one of them—Democritus by name—conceived of the atomic theory of matter 2,300 years before it occurred to any modern scientist. They composed and sang epic poems of unsurpassed beauty and insight. And they wrote and performed plays that, almost three millennia later, still have the power to make audiences laugh and weep. They even invented what, today, we call the Olympics, and among their values none stood higher than that in all things one should strive for excellence. They believed in reason. They believed in beauty. They believed in moderation. And they invented the word and idea which we know today as ecology.

　　About 2,000 years ago, the vitality of their culture declined and these people began to disappear. But not what they had created. Their imagination, art, politics, literature, and language spread all over the world so that, today, it is hardly possible to speak on any subject without repeating what some Athenian said on the matter 2,500 years ago.

　　The second group of people lived in the place we now call Germany, and flourished about 1,700 years ago. We call them the Visigoths, and you may remember that your sixth-or seventh-grade teacher mentioned them. They were spectacularly good horsemen, which is about the only pleasant thing history can say of them. They were marauders—ruthless and brutal. Their language lacked subtlety and depth. Their art was crude and even grotesque. They swept down through Europe destroying everything in their path, and they overran the Roman Empire. There was nothing a Visigoth like better than to burn a book, desecrate a building, or smash a work of art. From the Visigoths, we have no poetry, no theater, no logic, no science, no humane politics.

　　Like the Athenians, the Visigoths also disappeared, but not before they had ushered in the period known as the Dark Ages. It took Europe almost a thousand years to recover from the Visigoths.

　　Now, the point I want to make is that the Athenians and the Visigoths still survive, and they do so through us and the ways in which we conduct our lives. All around us—in this hall, in this community, in our city—there are people whose way of looking at the world reflects the way of the Athenians, and there are people whose way is the way of the Visigoths. I do not mean, of course, that our modern—day Athenians roam abstractly through the streets reciting poetry and philosophy, or that the modern-day Visigoths are killers. I mean that to be an Athenian or a Visigoth is to organize your life around a set of values. An Athenian is an idea. And a Visigoth is an idea. Let me tell you briefly what these ideas consist of.

　　To be an Athenian is to hold knowledge and, especially, the quest for knowledge in high esteem. To contemplate, to reason, to experiment, to question—these are, to an Athenian, the most exalted activities a person can perform. To a Visigoth, the quest for knowledge is useless unless it can help you to earn money or to gain power over other people.

　　To be an Athenian is to cherish language because you believe it to be humankind's most precious gift. In their use of language, Athenians strive for grace, precision, and variety. And they admire those who can achieve such skill. To a Visigoth, one word is as good as another, one sentence indistinguishable from another. A Visigoth's language aspires to nothing higher than the cliche.

　　To be an Athenian is to understand that the thread which hold civilized society together is thin and vulnerable; therefore, Athenians place great value on tradition, social restraint, and continuity. To an Athenian, bad manners are acts of violence against the social order. The modern Visigoth cares very little about any of this. The Visigoths think of themselves as the center of the universe. Tradition exists for their own convenience, good manners are an affectation and a burden, and history is merely what is in yesterday's paper.

　　To be an Athenian is to take interest in public affairs and the improvement of public behavior. Indeed, the ancient Athenians had a word for people who did not. The word was idiotes, from which we get our word idiot. A modern Visigoth is interested only in his own affairs and has no sense of the meaning of community.

　　And, finally, to be an Athenian is to esteem the discipline, skill, and taste that are required to produce enduring art. Therefore, in approaching a work of art, Athenians prepare their imagination through learning and experience. To a Visigoth, there is no measure of artistic excellence except popularity. What catches the fancy of the multitude is good. No other standard is respected or even acknowledged by the Visigoth.

　　Now, it must be obvious what all this has to do with you. Eventually, like the rest of us, you must be on one side or the other. You must be an Athenian or a Visigoth. Of course, it is much harder to be an Athenian, for you must learn how to be one, you must work at being one, whereas we are all, in a way, natural-born Visigoths. That is why there are so many more Visigoths than Athenians. And I must tell you that you do not become an Athenian merely by attending school or accumulating degrees. My father-in-law was one of the most committed Athenians I have ever known, and he spent his entire * life as a dress cutter on Seventh Avenue in New York City. On the other hand, I have known physicians, lawyers, and engineers who are Visigoths of unmistakable persuasion. And I must also tell you, as much in sorrow as in shame, that at some of our great universities, perhaps even this one, there are professors of whom we may fairly say they are closet Visigoths. And yet, you must not doubt for a moment that a school, after all, is essentially an Athenian idea. There is a direct link between the cultural achievements of Athens and what the faculty of this university is all about. I have no difficulty imagining that Plato, Aristotle, or Democritus would be quite at home in our classrooms. A Visigoth would merely scrawl obscenities on the wall.

　　And so, whether you were aware of it or not, the purpose of your having been at this university was to give you a glimpse of the Athenian way, to interest you in the Athenian way. We cannot know on this day how many of you will choose the way and how many will not. You are young and it is not given to us to see your future. But I will tell you this, with which I will close: I can wish for you no higher compliment than that in the future it will be reported that among your graduating class the Athenians mightily outnumbered the Visigoths.

　　Thank you, and congratulations.

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册单元10课文及词汇讲解2

　　sit through

　　remain seated until the end of; be present at 一直坐到…结束;出席

　　be/have done with

　　have finished with; be finished with 结束;完毕

　　first and foremost

　　most importantly; above all else 最重要的;首先

　　align oneself with sb.

　　join sb. as an ally; come into agreement with sb. 与某人结盟;与某人一致

　　put...to shame

　　cause shame to (sb./sth.); show (sb./sth.) to be inferior by comparison 使(某人/某事)蒙羞;使(某人/某事)相形见绌

　　sweep down

　　move steadily with great force or speed 席卷;突袭

　　usher in

　　introduce or mark the beginning of a new period, fashion, generation, etc. 引进(新时期、新一代等);标志着(新时期、新时尚、新一代)的开始

　　known as

　　generally recognized as; called or labeled as 公认为;被称为

　　hold...in high esteem

　　have a very favorable opinion of; show great respect to 给…以好评;对…非常尊敬

　　aspire to

　　desire strongly to achieve (sth.); have ambition for (sth.) 渴望取得;对…抱有雄心

　　take interest in

　　be keen to know more about (sth.) or be involved in (it) 对…感兴趣

　　catch the fancy of sb./sb.'s fancy

　　please sb.; appeal to sb. 合某人的心意;吸引某人

　　have to do with

　　be connected with; be related to 与…有联系;与…有关

　　at home

　　at ease as if in one's own home; familiar 自在;无拘无束;熟悉

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册单元10课文及词汇讲解3

　　Neil Postman

　　**·波斯特曼

　　Greece

　　希腊(欧洲巴尔干半岛南部国家)

　　Athens

　　雅典(希腊首都)

　　Democritus

　　德谟克利特(460—370 BC，古希腊唯物**哲学家，原子论创始人之一)

　　Athenian

　　雅典人

　　Visigoth

　　西哥特人(公元5世纪**侵****并在法国和西班牙建立王国的条顿族人)

　　the Dark Ages

　　黑暗时代(公元5世纪至11世纪，欧洲中世纪的早期)

　　Plato

　　柏拉图(427—347 BC，古希腊哲学家)

　　Aristotle

　　亚里士多德(384—322 BC，古希腊哲学家和科学家，柏拉图的学生)

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展5）

——21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册第8单元课文讲解60篇

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册第8单元课文讲解1

　　Bill Heavy

　　When my father rings, I hurry down to the front door of my condo. There he is, in corduroy pants, the tread worn off the knees, and a shirt I outgrew in tenth grade. He's come to help me put in a new garbage disposal. Actually, I'm helping him. His mechanical gene passed over his only son, on its way to some future generation. At 39, I've made my peace with this.

　　My father hasn't been to my place since he helped me paint four years ago. The truth is, I'm often not sure how to talk to him. But this time it will be easy. We have a job to do.

　　In minutes he has taken over the whole enterprise, lying under the sink and squinting up into the machinery. And suddenly I am 12 years old again, watching him fix things and feeling useless.

　　As a child, I identified so strongly with my mother that I thought my father was just a long-term house guest with pking privileges. She and I are bookish, introverted worriers. My father is an optimist who has never had a sleepless night in his life.

　　Like most fathers and sons, we fought. But there was no cooling-off period between rounds. It was a cold war lasting from the onset of my adolescence until I went off to college in 1973.I hated him. He was a former navy fighter pilot, with an Irish temper and a belief that all the problems of the world—including an overprotected son who never saw anything through to completion—could be cured by the application of more discipline.

　　At a time when an eighth-grader's social status was measured in the fraction of an inch of hair kissing his collar, my father would march me down to the barbershop on Saturdays and triumphantly tell the man with the scissors. "Just leave him enough to comb." I would close my eyes, determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Without even thinking about it, I froze him out of my life, speaking only when spoken to. I learned to use silence like a knife. My one communique for an entire dinner was usually a sarcastic "May I be excused now? I have homework."

　　I lay awake at night imagining him being transferred by the gas company he worked for to an oil rig in the North Sea. But it didn't happen, and soon all that remained was the contest of wills.

　　I went off to college, but he was still in my head. I could hear his voice every time I fell short in anything. Only when I began seeing my freelance articles in print did I begin to feel that I was slipping beyond his reach and into my own life.

　　Eventually I discovered that there is no anti-inflammatory agent like time. Now I wondered, could this aging 74-year-old be the giant who once thundered up the stairs to pk me, of whom I was so afraid that I wet my pants? In his place was someone I worried about, whom I dressed in my down hunting jacket for his annual pilgrimage to the Army-Navy game. My profession, which he had once ridiculed, saying, "Gee, do you think there's any money in it?" now became a source of pride when fellow Rotarians mistook him for Bill Heavy "the writer." It was as if now that I no longer needed so desperately to please him, I had succeeded. We had become two old veterans from opposing armies, shaking hands years after the fighting, the combat so distant as to be a dream.

　　Before we can install the disposal, we have to snake out the pipes. Soon we get stuck trying to figure out how a gasket fits.

　　"Ah," he says finally, "we're going to have to call a plumber."

　　This is not how I remember him. He used to be so stubborn, the kind of guy who could make IRS examiners throw up their hands in frustration and let him off. Now that I have his mind-set and don't want to give up, it's as if he's acquired mine.

　　He says, "Besides, I gotta get home. Your mother and I have to be at a dinner party at 7:30."

　　"Don't you pay for the plumber," he says. "Putting this thing in is part of my Christmas present to you."

　　Though we've failed to install the disposal, it's been oddly satisfying. At last we're on even ground. Maybe he wasn't the best father. Maybe I wasn't the best son, but I realize I will never be ready to cope with his leaving. I know that I'm luckier than some of my friends, whose fathers died while they were still locked in the battle that neither really wanted.

　　The plumber comes two days later. He secures the disposal in its place as easily as I buckle my belt.

　　Not long ago, I started badgering my parents to get their estate in order. They didn't want to deal with it. I finally wrote them a letter saying if I were a parent, I would want to make * sure the IRS got as little of my money as possible. I knew this would push my father's buttons. It worked. They met with a lawyer.xc

　　Later, my father and I lunch at a restaurant near my office so he can fill me in on the details. "One thing I don't want you to worry about is what'll happen to me," he says, with the satisfied air of a man who has taken care of business. "The Navy will cremate me for free."

　　"And what about the ashes?" I ask, concerned only with practical things. It is as if we are talking about how to get rid of the old disposal.

　　"They scatter them at sea." He turns away, looking around for our waiter. Something breaks inside me. When he turns back, I am crying, hot tears springing up in my eyes so suddenly I'm almost choking.

　　"I don't want you to die," I manage to say. "I don't want them to scatter your ashes. I'll scatter your ashes."

　　"Oh, Bill," he says, taken aback, totally at a loss about what to say. "I just didn't want to burden you with it."

　　I have no way to tell him that I want to be burdened with it, that it is my birth right to be burdened with it. "I know," I say.

　　I don't even look around to see if anybody is watching. I don't care. I reach across the table for his hand and hold it, trying to stop the tears.

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册第8单元课文讲解2

　　condo

　　n. an apartment in a block of apartments of which each is owned by the people who live in it 公寓套间

　　corduroy

　　n. & a. 灯芯绒(的)

　　tread

　　n. grooved part on the surface 棱纹

　　outgrow

　　vt. grow too large or too tall for (esp. one's clothes); grow faster or taller than 长大(或长高)而穿不下(原有的衣服等);长得比…快(或高)

　　garbage

　　n. rubbish, refuse 垃圾

　　garbage disposal

　　(装于厨房洗涤槽排水管内的)污物碾碎器

　　mechanical

　　a. 1. of, connected with, produced by machines 机械的';与机械有关的;由机械制成的

　　2. 手工操作的;技工的

　　squint

　　vi. look sideways or with half-shut eyes or through a narrow opening 瞟;眯着眼看;由小孔窥视

　　vt. punish (a child) by slapping on the buttocks with the open hand or a slipper, etc. (用巴掌或拖鞋等)打(小孩的)屁股

　　introverted

　　a. (性格)内向的;不爱交际的

　　worrier

　　n. person who worries a lot 担心的人，发愁的人

　　optimist

　　n. a person who is always hopeful and looks upon the bright side of things 乐观的人;乐观**者

　　cooling-off period

　　a period of time when two people or groups who are arguing about sth. can go away and think about how to improve the situation (争执双方冷静下来考虑如何改善关系的)冷却期

　　onset

　　n. the beginning (esp. of sth. unpleasant) (尤指不快之事的)开始

　　navy

　　n. 海军

　　fraction

　　n. 1. a small part, bit, amount, or proportion (of sth.) (某物的)小部分，一点儿，少许;片断

　　2. 分数;小数

　　collar

　　n. part of a garment that fits around the neck 衣领

　　barbershop

　　n. place where a man gets his face shaved and hair cut 理发店

　　triumphantly

　　ad. joyfully, satisfactorily (at a success or victory) 得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地

　　communique

　　n. official announcement 公报

　　sarcastic

　　a. 讽刺的，嘲笑的，挖苦的

　　rig

　　n. a large structure in the sea used for drilling oil wells 钻井架;钻塔

　　freelance

　　a. **作家的;**职业者做的

　　anti-inflammatory

　　a. 抗炎的，消炎的;息怒的

　　agent

　　n. substance, natural phenomenon, etc. producing an effect 剂;自然力;动因

　　down

　　n. fine, soft feathers of young birds 羽绒

　　pilgrimage

　　n. 1. a journey to a sacred place or shrine 朝圣;朝觐

　　2. a journey to a place associated with sb. /sth. one respects 到敬仰的某处之行

　　ridicule

　　vt. make fun of; mock 嘲弄;嘲笑

　　gee

　　int. (used to express surprise, admiration, etc.) (用以表示惊奇、赞赏等)哎呀，嘿

　　oppose

　　vt. fight or complete against in a battle, competition, or election 反对;反抗;与…较量

　　snake

　　vt. 用长铁丝通条疏通(管道)

　　stuck

　　a. not able to move or continue doing sth. 不能动的;不能继续做某事的;被卡住的

　　gasket

　　n. 垫圈;衬垫;密封垫

　　plumber

　　n. workman who fits and repairs water-pipes, bathroom articles, etc. 管子工

　　mind-set

　　n. mentality, way of thinking 心态;思想倾向

　　buckle

　　n. (皮带等的)搭扣，搭钩

　　vt. 用搭扣把…扣住(或扣紧、扣上)

　　badger

　　vt. pester;nag persistently 纠缠;烦扰

　　estate

　　n. all the money and property that a person owns, esp. that which is left at death 财产;(尤指)遗产

　　cremate

　　vt. burn (a corpse) to ashes 火化(尸体)

　　aback

　　ad. backwards 向后地;退后地

　　birth right

　　与生俱来的**

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册第8单元课文讲解3

　　put in

　　install 安装

　　pass over

　　move past without touching; overlook; fail to notice 掠过;忽视;不注意

　　make one's peace with

　　settle a quarrel with;accept 与…讲和;接受

　　identify with

　　regard oneself as sharing the characteristics or fortunes with 与…认同

　　see through

　　not give up (a task, undertaking, etc.) until it is finished 把(任务等)进行到底

　　freeze out

　　exclude (sb.) by a cold manner, competition, etc. (以冷淡态度、竞争等)排斥(某人)

　　in print

　　(of a person's work) printed in a book, newspaper, etc. (指作品)已印出;已出版

　　throw up one's hands

　　show that one is annoyed or has given up hope with sb. or sth. that causes trouble (因厌烦等而)突然举起双手;认定无望而放弃尝试

　　let off

　　excuse; not punish; not punish severely 原谅;不惩罚;对…从轻处理

　　push sb.'s buttons

　　start sb. in action 使某人行动起来

　　fill sb. in (on sth.)

　　give sb. full details (about sth.) 对某人提供(有关某事的)详情

　　for free

　　without charge or payment 不要钱;免费

　　get rid of

　　become free of 扔掉，处理掉;摆脱

　　be taken aback

　　be startled 吃惊

　　at a loss

　　perplexed, uncertain 困惑;不知所措

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展6）

——21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册Unit9课文及词汇讲解 (菁选3篇)

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册Unit9课文及词汇讲解1

　　Robert Temple

　　One of the greatest untold secrets of history is that the'"modern world" in which we live is a unique synthesis of Chinese and Western ingredients. Possibly more than half of the basic inventions and discoveries upon which the "modern world" rests come from China. And yet few people know this. Why?

　　The Chinese themselves are as ignorant of this fact as Westerners. From the seventeenth century onwards, the Chinese became increasingly dazzled by European technological expertise, having experienced a period of amnesia regarding their own achievements. When the Chinese were shown a mechanical clock by Jesuit missionaries, they were awestruck. They had forgotten that it was they who had invented mechanical clocks in the first place!

　　It is just as much a surprise for the Chinese as for Westerners to realize that modern agriculture, modern shipping, the modern oil industry, modern astronomical observatories, modern music, decimal mathematics, paper money, umbrellas, fishing reels, wheelbarrows, multi-stage rockets, guns, underwater mines, poison gas, parachutes, hot-air balloons, manned flight, brandy, whisky, the game of chess, printing, and even the essential design of the steam engine, all came from China.

　　Without the importation from China of nautical and navigational improvements such as ships' rudders, the compass and multiple masts, the great European Voyages of Discovery could never have been undertaken. Columbus would not have sailed to America, and Europeans would never have established colonial empires.

　　Without the importation from China of the stirrup, to enable them to stay on horseback, knights of old would never have ridden in their shining armor to aid damsels in distress; there would have been no Age of Chivalry. And without the importation from China of guns and gunpowder, the knights would not have been knocked from their horses by bullets which pierced the armor, bringing the Age of Chivalry to an end.

　　Without the importation from China of paper and printing, Europe would have continued for much longer to copy books by hand. Literacy would not have become so widespread.

　　Johann Gutenberg did not invent movable type. It was invented in China. William Harvey did not discover the circulation of the blood in the body. It was discovered — or rather, always assumed — in China. Isaac Newton was not the first to discover his First Law of Motion. It was discovered in China.

　　These myths and many others are shattered by our discovery of the true Chinese origins of many of the things, all around us, which we take for granted. Some of our greatest achievements turn out to have been not achievements at all, but simple borrowings. Yet there is no reason for us to feel inferior or downcast at the realization that much of the genius of mankind's advance was Chinese rather than European. For it is exciting to realize that the East and the West are not as far apart in spirit or in fact as most of us have been led, by appearances, to believe, and that the East and the West are already combined in a synthesis so powerful and so profound that it is all-pervading. Within this synthesis we live our daily lives, and from it there is no escape. The modern world is a combination of Eastern and Western ingredients which are inextricably fused. The fact that we are largely unaware of it is perhaps one of the greatest cases of historical blindness in the existence of the human race.

　　Why are we ignorant of this gigantic, obvious truth? The main reason is surely that the Chinese themselves lost sight of it. If the very originators of the inventions and discoveries no longer claim them, and if even their memory of them has faded, why should their inheritors trouble to resurrect their lost claims? Until our own time, it is questionable whether many Westerners even wanted to know the truth. It is always more satisfying to the ego to think that we have reached our present position alone and unaided, that we are the proud masters of all abilities and all crafts.

　　We need to set this matter right, from both ends. And I can think of no better single illustration of the folly of Western complacency and self-satisfaction than the lesson to be drawn from the history of agriculture. Today, a handful of Western nations have grain surpluses and feed the world. When Asia starves, the West sends grain. We assume that Western agriculture is the very pinnacle of what is possible in the productive use of soil for the growth of food. But we should take to heart the astonishing and disturbing fact that the European agricultural revolution, which laid the basis for the Industrial Revolution, came about only because of the importation of Chinese ideas and inventions. The growing of crops in rows, intensive hoeing of weeds, the "modern" seed drill, the iron plow, the moldboard to turn the plowed soil, and efficient harnesses were all imported from China. Before the arrival from China of the trace harness and collar harness, Westerners choked their horses with straps round their throats. Although ancient Italy could produce plenty of grain, it could not be transported overland to Rome for lack of satisfactory harnesses. Rome depended on shipments of grain by sea from places like Egypt. As for sowing methods — probably over half of Europe's seed was wasted every year before the Chinese idea of the seed drill came to the attention of Europeans. Countless millions of farmers throughout European history broke their backs and their spirits by plowing with ridiculously poor plows, while for two thousand years the Chinese were enjoying their relatively effortless method. Indeed, until two centuries ago, the West was so backward in agriculture compared to China, that the West was the Underdeveloped World in comparison to the Chinese Developed World. The tables have now turned. But for how long? And what an uncomfortable realization it is that the West owes its very ability to eat today to the adoption of Chinese inventions two centuries ago.

　　It would be better if the nations and the peoples of the world had a clearer understanding of each other, allowing the mental chasm between East and West to be bridged. After all they are, and have been for several centuries, intimate partners in the business of building a world civilization. The technological world today is a product of both East and West to an extent which until recently no one had ever imagined. It is now time for the Chinese contribution to be recognized and acknowledged, by East and West alike. And, above all, let this be recognized by today's schoolchildren, who will be the generation to absorb it into their most conceptions about the world. When that happens, Chinese and Westerners will be able to look each other in the eye, knowing themselves to be true and full partners.

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册Unit9课文及词汇讲解2

　　untold

　　a. not told to anyone 未说过的，未被讲述的;未透露的

　　synthesis

　　n. (pl syntheses / -si:z /) the combining of separate things, esp. ideas, to form a complex whole 综合，结合，综合体

　　Westerner

　　n. a native or inhabitant of the West, i.e. Europe and North America **人，欧美人

　　onwards

　　ad. forward in time or space 向前

　　dazzle

　　vt. (often passive) to impress sb. greatly through beauty, knowledge, skill, etc. 使昏眩;使惊奇;使赞叹不已;使倾倒

　　amnesia

　　n. partial or total loss of memory [医] 记忆缺失;遗忘(症)

　　regarding

　　prep.with reference to; concerning 关于;至于;就…而论，在…方面

　　awestruck

　　a. suddenly filled with wonder and respect or fear 充满敬畏(或畏怯、惊奇)之心

　　astronomical

　　a. of astronomy 天文学的;天文的，天体的

　　decimal

　　a. based on or counted in tens or tenths 小数的;十进位的

　　wheelbarrow

　　n. (also barrow) an open container for moving small loads in, with a wheel at one end, and two legs and two handles at the other 手推车;独轮车

　　multi-stage

　　a. having many stages (火箭、导弹等)多级的

　　underwater

　　a. situated, used or done below the surface of the water 在水下的;供水下用的;在水中操作(或生长)的

　　parachute

　　n. 降落伞

　　hot-air

　　a. filled with heated air 热空气的

　　brandy

　　n. a strong alcoholic drink usu. made from wine 白兰地(酒)

　　whisky

　　n. (US or Irish whiskey) a strong alcoholic drink made from malted grain, esp. barley or rye 威士忌酒

　　importation

　　n. the act of bringing goods, services, ideas, etc. from a foreign country into one's own country 进口;输入

　　nautical

　　a. of ships, sailors or sailing 船舶的;海员的;航海的

　　navigational

　　a. relating to the action, process or art of finding the position and direct the course of a ship, an aircraft, a car, etc., using maps, instruments, etc. 航行的;航海的`;航空的

　　navigation

　　n. 航行;航海;航空

　　rudder

　　n. a vertical piece of wood or metal at the back of a boat, used for steering (船的)舵

　　compass

　　n. (also magnetic compass) a device for finding direction. with a needle that always points to the north 罗盘(仪)，指南针

　　multiple

　　a. having or involving many inpiduals, items or types 多个(或多项、多种)的

　　n. <数> 倍数

　　multiplyvt. 乘，使相乘

　　mast

　　n. an upright post of wood or metal used to support a ship's sails 船桅，桅杆

　　voyage

　　n. a long journey, esp. by sea or in space 航行，(尤指)航海;航天

　　colonial

　　a. of, relating to or possessing a colony or colonies **地的;拥有**地的

　　stirrup

　　n. either of a pair of metal or leather loops that hang down from a horse's saddle to support a rider's feet 马镫

　　knight

　　n. (欧洲中世纪的)骑士;(近代英国的)爵士(品位低于从男爵，其名前称号用 Sir)

　　armo(u)r

　　n. (formerly) a protective, usu. metal, covering for the body, worn when fighting 盔甲

　　damsel

　　n. (arch) a young woman who is not married (古)(诗)少女，姑娘;闺女

　　chivalry

　　n. (in the Middle Ages) the ideal qualities expected of a knight, such as courage, hono(u)r and concern for weak and helpless people 骑士品质(或气概、精神、道德标准、信条等)(如勇武、荣誉感、侠义、扶持弱小、慷慨、谦恭、尊敬女性、对敌人宽容等);骑士**

　　gunpowder

　　n. explosive powder used esp. in bombs or fireworks 火药

　　bullet

　　n. a small missile with a pointed end that is fired from a gun **

　　literacy

　　n. the ability to read and write 识字，有文化;读写能力

　　movable

　　a. that can be moved 可动的，活动的

　　circulation

　　n. the movement of blood round the body from and to the heart 血液循环

　　circulate

　　v. (使)环行;(使)环流;(使)循环

　　borrowingn. a thing borrowed, esp. money or a word taken by one language from another 借用;采用;借用物;借用词语

　　downcast

　　a. (of a person, an expression, etc.) depressed; sad 垂头丧气的;沮丧的

　　all-pervading

　　a. present and seen or felt everywhere 遍及各方面的;无孔不入的

　　inextricable

　　a. so closely linked that separation is impossible (绳结等)解不开的;分不开的

　　inextricably

　　ad. 紧密地;不可分割地

　　gigantic

　　a. of very great size or extent; huge 巨大的;庞大的

　　originator

　　n. a person who originates; inventor 创始人;发明者;创作者

　　inheritor

　　n. a person who receives money, property etc. as a result of the death of the previous owner 继承人;后继者

　　resurrect

　　vt. 1. bring (sb.) back to life again 使(某人)复活

　　2. revive (a practice, etc.); bring back into use 使(某种做法等)重新流行;重新唤起对…的记忆;重新使用

　　ego

　　n. an inpidual's idea of oneself, esp. in relation to other people or to the outside world 自我，自己

　　unaided

　　a. not assisted by sb./sth; without help 无助的;**的

　　folly

　　n. being foolish; lack of wisdom 愚笨，愚蠢

　　complacency

　　n. (usu. derog) a calm feeling of satisfaction with oneself, one's work, etc. 自满(情绪)，沾沾自喜

　　self-satisfaction

　　n. (derog) a feeling of being too pleased with oneself and one's own achievements 沾沾自喜，自鸣得意

　　handful

　　n. a small number 少数，少量

　　pinnacle

　　n. the highest point; the peak 顶峰，极点，顶点

　　mo(u)ldboard

　　n. a curved metal plate in a plow, which turns over the earth from the furrow (农)犁壁

　　Strap

　　n. a strip of leather, cloth or other flexible material, often with a buckle, used for fastening sth., keeping sth. in place, carrying sth. or holding onto sth. 带，条带;皮带;布带;铁皮条

　　transport

　　vt. take sth./sb. from one place to another in a vehicle 运输，运送;输送;搬运

　　overland

　　ad. across the land; by land, not by sea or air 横越**地;经由陆路

　　satisfactory

　　a. of an acceptable nature or standard; good enough for a purpose 令人满意的;可喜的;恰当的

　　shipment

　　n. a cargo or goods transported, esp. by ship 装载(或交运)的货物(量)

　　sow

　　v. put or scatter seed in or on the ground; plant land with seed 播种，种;撒播(种子);播种于(土地)

　　effortless

　　a. needing little or no effort 不需要努力的;不(大)费劲的;容易的

　　backward

　　a. having made or making less than normal progress 落后的

　　underdeveloped

　　a. (of a country, etc.) not having achieved a high level of economic development 未充分发展的;不发达的;落后的

　　adoption

　　n. the act of taking over sth. and having or using it as one's own 采取，采纳，采用

　　chasm

　　n. a very wide difference between people, groups, etc., esp. one that is unlikely to change (感情、兴趣、意见等的)大差别，大分歧

　　intimate

　　a. (of people) having a very close and friendly relationship 熟悉的;亲密的;密切的

　　fundamental

　　a. that need to be known or learned first; most important 基本的，根本的;重要的

21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册Unit9课文及词汇讲解3

　　bring...to an end

　　cause...to end 使…完结(终了、结束)

　　or rather

　　(used to correct sth. one has said previously, or to give more accurate information)more exactly; more truly; it would be better to say 或者确切点说

　　lose sight of

　　fail to consider (sth.); forget (sth.) 忘记;忽略

　　set...right

　　put...right; rectify 校正;纠正

　　take...to heart

　　consider seriously; be much affected or upset by (sth.) 认真考虑(某事);关注(某事);对(某事)想不开;为(某事)忧虑(或伤心、烦恼)

　　come about

　　happen, esp. in a way that seems impossible to prevent 发生，产生

　　for lack of

　　because there is not enough 因缺乏

　　come to the attention of

　　draw (sb.'s) attention 引起…的关注

　　compared to/with

　　examined to see how people or things are alike and how they are different 与…相比

　　by/in comparison to/with

　　(when) compared with/to 与…相比

　　look...in the eye(s)/face

　　look at (sb.) steadily without shame or embarrassment (心地坦然地)直视(某人)，正视(某人)

全新大学英语综合教程第1册课文讲解Romance3篇（扩展7）

——21世纪大学英语读写教程第4册第8单元课文讲解 (菁选3篇)