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发表于 2016-7-10 10:51:53
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Phrases and Expressions
be composed of
be formed from a group of substances or parts 由......组成
e.g. A diet composed entirely of processed foods is not good for you.
due to
as a result of, caused by, because of 由于，因为
e.g. A lot of her unhappiness is due to boredom.
lie in 在于
e.g. The very essence of justice lies in the right of every man to a fair trial.
in view of
considering 鉴于，考虑到
e.g. In view of this, the decision may not be easy.
on behalf of
instead of someone, or as their representative 代表......
e.g. On behalf of the company as a whole, I would like to thank you for all your work.
take...seriously
consider a subject, situation or person to be important and worth a lot of attention or respect 认真对待
e.g. You don't take anything seriously, do you? It's just one big joke to you.
PASSAGE II Let the Questions In
Proper Names
Blaise Pascal
帕斯卡(1623-1662，法国数学家、物理学家、哲学家，概率论创立者之一，提出帕斯卡定律)
Ed
(男子名)埃德(Edward, Edgar, Edwin 的昵称)
Socrates
苏格拉底(469--399BC，古希腊哲学家)
William Wordsworth
威廉.华兹华斯(1770-1850，英国诗人，作品歌颂大自然，开创了浪漫主义新诗风，于1843年被封为桂冠诗人)
Wisconsin
(地名)威斯康星州(美国州名，位于美国中北部)
New Words
awaken *
v. wake someone up 唤醒
e.g. My holiday in Paris awakened my passion for French food.
backward *
adv. towards the back, the beginning, or the past 向后
e.g. This will be seen as a step backward.
bay *
n.
1) 海湾;
2) 绝境，走投无路的处境
continual *
adj. repeated often and over a long period 不停的，频频的
e.g. I've had continual problems with this car ever since I bought it.
cornstalk
n. 玉米秆
creep *
v. (crept, crept) move slowly, quietly or stealthily 缓行，潜行
e.g. Back I go to the hotel and creep up to my room.
crunch
v. (使某物)发出刺耳的碎裂声
define *
v. show clearly the edge of something 画出轮廓，勾勒
distraction *
n. 分心，(注意力)分散
e.g. They were in a state of extreme distraction when their daughter went missing.
drift *
v. move slowly, especially as a result of outside forces, with no control over direction 漂流，漂移
e.g. After the meeting, people drifted away in twos and threes.
drum *
v. tap or beat continuously 敲击
e.g. He drummed his fingers on the leather top of his desk.
dusk *
n. the time just before night when the daylight has almost gone but when it is not completely dark 黄昏，傍晚
e.g. We arrived home at dusk.
era *
n. a period of time that is marked by particular events or developments 年代，时代
e.g. They had worked for peace during the long era of conflict.
fleeting
adj. passing quickly, not lasting long 疾逝的，短暂的
fragility *
n. 脆弱
e.g. The collapse of the bank is a reminder (提醒物) of the fragility of the world's banking system.
frostbitten
adj. 被冻伤的，冻硬的
harsh *
adj. unpleasant, unkind, cruel or unnecessarily severe 极严厉的，无情的
e.g. We thought the punishment was rather harsh for such a minor offense.
liberty *
n. the right or power to do as one chooses 权利
e.g. These laws will restrict our ancient rights and liberties.
motel *
n. 汽车旅馆
nothingness
n. a state where nothing is present, or where nothing is present that is important or gives meaning to life 虚无，不存在
e.g. As she got older it was the fear of nothingness in her life that disturbed her most.
obstinate
adj. refusing to change one's opinion or behavior 固执的
outward *
adj. relating to how people, situations or things seem to be, rather than how they are inside 外面的
e.g. The book details the outward circumstances of her life but fails to reveal anything of her inner self.
overhead *
adv. above one's head 在头顶上
e.g. Now there were only the stars overhead.
perpetually *
adv. continuously, uninterruptedly 持久地，没完没了地
e.g. Animals and plants are perpetually evolving (演变).
plot *
v. make a plan of 计划
e.g. She's plotting with her sister to play a trick on her brother.
precede *
v. come, go, or happen (just) before 先于，位于......之前
e.g. Look at the information that precedes the paragraph in question.
presidential
adj. of a president 总统的
pressing
adj. urgent or needing to be dealt with immediately 紧急的，紧迫的
e.g. The fight against drugs is regarded as a pressing issue.
priest *
n. 教士，牧师
reflection *
n. deep and careful thought 深思，考虑
e.g. After days of reflection she decided to write back.
rural *
adj. of, in or suggesting the countryside 农村的，田园的
e.g. These plants have a tendency to grow in the more rural areas.
satisfactory *
adj. good enough for a purpose 令人满意的
e.g. It seemed a very satisfactory arrangement.
shudder
v. shake uncontrollably from fear, cold or strong dislike 发抖，战栗
span *
n. the period of time between two dates or events during which something exists, functions, or happens 一段时间，持续时间
e.g. The batteries (电池) have a life span of six hours.
superficial *
adj. on the surface, not deep 肤浅的,浅薄的
e.g. He had no more than a superficial knowledge of music.
thankfulness
n. 感谢，感激
thinker
n. 思考者;思想家
e.g. He was known for being an original thinker.
tide *
n. 潮水
unexamined
adj. 未经考虑的，未经权衡的
windowpane
n. a single piece of glass in a window 窗玻璃
wither
v. become dry or dead 干枯，枯萎
Let the Questions In
I have a friend whose whole life plan consists of keeping questions at bay. "Keep yourself surrounded by sound," Ed says. "Always keep moving."
When he is driving, he keeps the radio on in his car. When he walks in the house (he lives alone), he turns on the radio or the television. He never allows himself to be alone with himself.
Drumming fingers on the windowpane, it's as if he senses a presence at the window. He doesn't like to go out into the country. He avoids the mountains, the wind, the quiet fields. They make him nervous. He likes to keep busy.
A strange thing about life in America—it often seems designed to block our questioning.[1] It's so busy, it can rush us into death before we've ever had a chance to stop and think. We might never really stop to ask, "Why?"
"Life," Blaise Pascal wrote in an earlier era, "is a search for continual diversion." That is, for distraction, for keeping the mind occupied with superficial things, for keeping out the voices.
Which voices? The voices that ask questions.
What am I doing on this planet, with the hot sun resting on my face, the wind blowing through my hair? Where am I going? What am I trying to accomplish with my life? Why am I here?
Human beings are thinking, question-asking animals. We cannot live like cats or dogs. We keep asking ourselves that simple question, "Why?"
The questioning impulse in us is our deepest instinct. It is deeper even than the hunger for food. Deeper than the drive to sleep. This instinct to ask questions keeps intruding even during sleep.
More than anything else, to live, you must pay attention to such questions and form some satisfactory answers to them. To truly live is to take charge of your liberties and decide what you intend to do with the short span of years that you are given[2].
Bill, another friend of mine, was giving a lecture in Wisconsin some time ago in one of those little rural towns that hosts a branch of the state university. He went for a walk across the late October fields, just to be alone.
Geese were flying against the gray clouds overhead. He could see his breath, it was so cold, and his feet crunched the frostbitten earth. Rows of cornstalks lay withering as far as his eye could see, out to the woods.
As dusk gathered in the dark shadows, my friend suddenly saw the story line [3] of his life—the way he had been living—saw it as if it belonged to someone else, and he didn't like it. He felt autumn dying all around him.
Bill knew he needed a new start. In which direction, he didn't yet know. When he got back to his motel room to prepare his lecture, his heart was pounding. He has never forgotten that walk in the fields, where in the silence, a question awakened him.
If that question had not arisen, he says, he might still be where he was. It makes him shudder.
Moments of questioning creep up on us. They are rare. We need to seize them. At such moments, a person may fix a goal, plot a course, or determine a whole life. Some thinkers call these defining moments[4] —times when we fill our whole lives with meaning, purpose, goals. The times when we take charge and don't merely drift with the tide[5]. We all have such moments. Presidential candidates certainly have had them. We all have.
William Wordsworth wrote of them:
Not for these I raise
The song of thanks and praise;
But for those obstinate questionings
Of sense of outward things,
Fallings from us, vanishings...[6]
Even my friend Ed—who keeps perpetually busy, perpetually surrounded by sound—has such moments.
His answer, his decision, is just to keep moving, just to keep himself in sound, to drive out the questions.
"The unexamined life is not worth living," Socrates wrote some 23 centuries ago. That is a harsh judgment on my friend and on all of us.
Often we do not allow the questions to rise up to full height and meet us. We keep too busy to allow ourselves to take that long valuable look down the years—backward maybe, forward certainly.[7]
I have often found that air travel is the best time for doing that. It may not seem that I am doing anything. My mind isn't exactly "working." And yet, in fact, the wonder of being alive sweeps over me. And its fragility. And the beauty of it. And the need to concentrate my energies.
In any case, I always feel a sense of thankfulness, since to "ex-sist" (to stand forth out of nothingness, as the Latin roots of the word suggest) is to be receiving a moment-by-moment gift from God.[8]
Your own views, though[9], may be less religious.
However diverse our perspectives, such moments of reflection have become too rare today. And yet the need to take charge of our fleeting lives—to decide who we will be and what we will try to do—is just as pressing as it ever was for Socrates and for all those others who have preceded us.
Take [10] the time to let the questions in, an old priest once counseled me. I took his advice and never regretted that I did. (900 words)
Phrases and Expressions
consist of
be made up of
e.g. University examinations are held in May or June and consist of one three-hour written paper in each of the chosen subjects.
creep up on
seem to come sooner than you expect 不知不觉地来临或消逝
e.g. Somehow, the end of the term had crept up on us.
in any case
no matter what happens 无论如何
e.g. We have to go past your house in any case, so we'll take you home.
keep /hold /have... at bay
prevent. . . from coming near 牵制，不使......前进
e.g. She left the light on at night to keep her fears at bay.
keep out
prevent. . . from getting into a place 不让入内
e.g. Warm clothing will keep out the cold.
take charge (of)
take control of a situation, organization, or group of people
e.g. She took charge of the family business when her father died. |
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