Unit 3An American Love Affair.docx

Unit 3An American Love Affair.docx

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Unit3AnAmericanLoveAffair

Unitthree:

AnAmericanLoveAffair

BrockYates

 Text

TranslationfromEnglishintoChinese

TranslationfromChineseintoEnglish

KeytoVocabularyandStructure

KeytoReadingPractice

（Introductions:

Automobileshavegreatlycontributedtotheprosperityofourmoderneconomyandbroughtpeoplemuchconvenience.Buttheyareamixedblessing.Theyhavecausedplentyofproblemsthatwehavetolivewith,suchaspollution,roadaccidents,trafficcongestion,etc.ThetexttellsusanAmerican'sattitudestowardscars.Canyousummarizetheirbasicarguments?

）

1.MyfatherwasaBuickman.PriortotheGreatDepressionhehadbeenaStutzman.Butlikethousandsofotherupwardandmobilecitizens,hefacedasevereadjustmentinhisautomotivetastesbecauseofthattragicshiftintheeconomy.Tothedayhedied,hisBuicksweremorethanmundanetransportationmodules.Theydefinedhimintheclassstructure-betteroffthanaPontiacman,notaswelloffasaCadillacman-andofferedhiminstantidentificationonthesociallandscape.EquallywellpositionedweretheFordmenandtheChryslermen.

2.Theseloyalties,hardwonandsupremelyvalued,formagranite-likefoundationforthespecialbondweAmericansenjoywithourautomobiles.Isitlove?

Thewordmaybeoverwrought,butAmericansreverethesemachinesaboveallothers-notonlyasobjectsof20thcenturyrollingsculpturebutalsoassocialamulets.ThefirstBuickIrememberwasashiningblacksedanwithacresofmohairupholsteryandanewfangledcolumn-mountedshifter.Myfatherlikedtobragthatitwouldgo120milesanhour.TheverythoughtofsuchvelocityelectrifiedmenandlentcredencetomynicknamingthesmartbeastBlackBeauty,afterthemysteriousmachinepilotedbytheGreenHornetinsidetherecessesofthefamilyPhilco.

3.Unlikethetelephone,thetelevisionorthepersonalcomputer,allofwhichhavestronglyalteredthehumanconditioninthiscentury,carsenjoyanthropomorphicstatus.Somebecomemembersofthefamily,mechanicalpets.Wegivethemnames.

4.Wepreentheminourdriveways,cursethemwhentheyfailandlamenttheirpassingattrade-intime.

Thisisaloveaffairthatannoysenvironmentalists,safetyadvocatesandsocialengineerswhobelievethatthepathtoparadiseisoverlaidwiththeshiningrailsofmasstransit.Theyseeuspackedintofuturisticbicycles,notbehindthewheelsofwhatonefeveredcriticdenouncedas"insolentchariots".Thisattitudeisnotnew.Themobilityrepresentedfirstbytherailroad,thentheautomobile,hastraditionallyunsettledtheprivilegedclasses.TheDukeofWellington,brilliantonthebattlefieldbutnotedforhisdisdainforthegreatunwashed,opposedthedevelopmentoftheBritishrailwaysystem150yearsagobecausetrainswouldonlyencouragethecommonpeopletomovearoundneedlessly".Becausetheacceptedpartylineisthatautomobilespollute,kill,maimanddisplacepopulationsatacontemptiblerate,thesoonertheyareexcisedfromtheplanet,thebetter（andtakewiththemtheclutterofshoppingmalls,drive-ins,andjunk-foodstores）.

5.Whiletheautomobileissurelyguiltyofmanysins,itscriticschoosetoignorethatithasbeenthegreatliberator,permittingmonumentalpopulationshifts,citytosuburb,easttowest,southtonorthand,morerecently,northbacktosouth,asmillionsofcitizenssoughtimprovedeconomicopportunities.Sprawlingnewmetropolitancomplexes-LosAngeles,Orlando,Atlanta,Charlotte,Dallas,LasVegas,Phoenix-haverisenupbasedonlayoutsthataccommodatetheauto.Theconfigurationshavenotbeenperfect（norhavethemasstransitalternatives）,butthefactremainsthatmassivegrowthisbeingenjoyedbysouthernandwesterncitiesbuiltaroundcars.Whileenvironmentalistsfret,themultitudesdriveon.

6.Therearemorethan175millionlicenseddriversinAmerica,wheelingnearly200millionvehiclesover3.9millionmilesofroadsandstreets.Hoppingaboardtheircars,pickups,motorcycles,motorhomesandsportutilities,theyrollnearly2.4trillionmileseveryyear.About15millionbrand-newcarsandlighttruckspourontothehighwaysannually.Stockcarracingisthefastest-growingsportinthenation.Theautomobileindustryemploysmoreworkersthananyothermanufacturer-2.3million

7.Tobesure,carshurtpeople,butrecentadvancesinbodystructures（doorbeams）,passengerpackaging（airbags）andbrakes（discs,antilock）havemadethemsignificantlysafer.Inthepast30years,deathshavedroppedfrom5.3to1.7per100millionmilesdriven（astatisticthatincludesfatalitiesinvolvingfarmimplements,trucks,motorcycles,bicycles-anyvehicleonapublicroad）.

8.Yes,thecarpollutes,butadvancesinfuelqualityandefficiency,andinmicroprocessedorenginetechnology,haveradicallycutemissions.Experts