现代大学英语精读2 unit 1.docx
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现代大学英语精读2unit1
现代大学英语精读第二册Unit01
窗体顶端
窗体底端
LessonOne
Pre-classWork
Readthetextathirdtime.Learnthenewwordsandexpressionslistedbelow.
Glossary
accomplishment
n.theactoffinishingsth.completelyandsuccessfully;achievement
acquire
v.togain;togetforoneselfbyone'sownwork
arrogantly
adv.behavinginaproudandself-importantway
aspirin
n.阿司匹林(解热镇痛药)
assume
v.totakeasafact;tosuppose
available
adj.abletobeusedoreasilyfound
bachelor
n.~'sdegree:
thefirstuniversitydegree
beanpole
n.(infml)averytallandthinperson
bull
n.amalecow
certify
v.tostatethatsth.istrueorcorrect,esp.aftersomekindoftest
civilized
adj.educatedandrefined;havinganadvancedculture
client
n.apersonwhopaysforhelporadvicefromapersonororganization
continuity
n.thestateofbeingcontinuous
cyanide
n.氰化物
democratic
adj.basedontheideathateveryoneshouldhaveequalrightsandshouldbeinvolvedinmakingimportantdecisions民主的
disaster
n.asuddeneventsuchasaflood,storm,oraccidentwhichcausesgreatdamageorsuffering.Here:
acompletefailure
drugstore
n.(AmE)ashopwhichsellsmedicine(andavarietyofotherthings)
enroll
v.toofficiallyarrangetojoinaschooloruniversity
expertise
n.skillinaparticularfield
expose
v.toenablesb.toseeorexperiencenewthingsorlearnaboutnewbeliefs,ideas,etc.
faculty
n.(AmE)alltheteachersofauniversityorcollege
fragment
n.asmallpieceofsth.
generate
v.toproduce
grind
v.tocrushintosmallpiecesorpowderbypressingbetweenhardsurfaces
hip
n.thefleshypartofeithersideofthehumanbodyabovethelegs
humanity
n.thequalitiesofbeinghuman
implicitly
adv.inanimpliedway含蓄地
inevitable
adj.certaintohappenandimpossibletoavoid
literal
adj.inthebasicmeaningofaword
maintain
v.tocontinuetohaveasbefore
Neanderthal
n.anearlytypeofhumanbeingwholivedinEuropeduringtheStoneAge
nevertheless
adv.inspiteofthat;yet
peculiar
adj.belongingonlytoaparticularperson;special;odd
penetrating
adj.showingtheabilitytounderstandthingsclearlyanddeeply
pest
n.(infml)anannoyingperson
pharmacy
n.ashopwheremedicinesarepreparedandsold.Here:
thestudyofpreparingdrugsormedicines
philosophy
n.thestudyofthenatureandmeaningofexistence,reality,etc.哲学
pill
n.asmallsolidpieceofmedicinethatyouswallowwhole
preside
v.tolead;tobeincharge
professional
adj.relatingtotheworkthatapersondoesforanoccupation,esp.workthatrequiresspecialtraining
pursuit
n.theactoftryingtoachievesth.inadeterminedway
push-button
adj.usingcomputersorelectronicequipmentratherthantraditionalmethods
qualified
adj.havingsuitableknowledgeorexperienceforaparticularjob
rear
v.tocareforapersonorananimaluntiltheyarefullygrown
resources
n.possessionsintheformofwealth,property,skills,etc.thatyouhave资源
savage
n.anuncivilizedhumanbeing
scroll
n.Here:
acertificateofanacademicdegree
semester
n.oneofthetwoperiodsintowhichtheyearisdividedinAmericanhighschoolsanduniversities(=terminBrE)
sensitive
adj.abletounderstandorappreciateart,musicorliterature
shudder
v.toshakeuncontrollablyforamoment
specialize
v.tolimitallormostofone'sstudytoparticularsubjects专修
species
n.(infml)atype;asort
specimen
n.Here:
apersonwhoisunusualinsomewayandhasaqualityofaparticularkind
spiritual
adj.relatedtoyourspiritratherthantoyourbodyormind
store
v.tokeep
suffice
v.tobeenough
ProperNames
Aristotle
亚里士多德
Bach
巴赫
Chaucer
乔叟
Dante
但丁
Einstein
爱因斯坦
Hamlet
哈姆雷特
Homer
荷马
LaRochefoucauld
拉罗什富科
Shakespeare
莎士比亚
Virgil
维吉尔
TextA
AnotherSchoolYear—WhatFor?
JohnCiardi
Readthetextonceforthemainidea.Donotrefertothenotes,dictionariesortheglossaryyet.
Letmetellyouoneoftheearliestdisastersinmycareerasateacher.ItwasJanuaryof1940andIwasfreshoutofgraduateschoolstartingmyfirstsemesterattheUniversityofKansasCity.Partofthestudentbodywasabeanpolewithhairontopwhocameintomyclass,satdown,foldedhisarms,andlookedatmeasiftosay"Allright,teachmesomething."TwoweekslaterwestartedHamlet.Threeweekslaterhecameintomyofficewithhishandsonhiships."Look,"hesaid,"Icameheretobeapharmacist.WhydoIhavetoreadthisstuff?
"Andnothavingabookofhisowntopointto,hepointedtominewhichwaslyingonthedesk.
NewasIwastothefaculty,Icouldhavetoldthisspecimenanumberofthings.Icouldhavepointedoutthathehadenrolled,notinadrugstore-mechanicsschool,butinacollegeandthatattheendofhiscoursemeanttoreachforascrollthatreadBachelorofScience.Itwouldnotread:
QualifiedPill-GrindingTechnician.Itwouldcertifythathehadspecializedinpharmacy,butitwouldfurthercertifythathehadbeenexposedtosomeoftheideasmankindhasgeneratedwithinitshistory.Thatistosay,hehadnotenteredatechnicaltrainingschoolbutauniversityandinuniversitiesstudentsenrollforbothtrainingandeducation.
Icouldhavetoldhimallthis,butitwasfairlyobvioushewasn'tgoingtobearoundlongenoughforittomatter.
Nevertheless,IwasyoungandIhadahighsenseofdutyandItriedtoputitthisway:
"Fortherestofyourlife,"Isaid,"yourdaysaregoingtoaverageouttoabouttwenty-fourhours.Theywillbealittleshorterwhenyouareinlove,andalittlelongerwhenyouareoutoflove,buttheaveragewilltendtohold.Foreightofthesehours,moreorless,youwillbeasleep."
"Thenforabouteighthoursofeachworkingdayyouwill,Ihope,beusefullyemployed.Assumeyouhavegonethroughpharmacyschool—orengineering,orlawschool,orwhatever—duringthoseeighthoursyouwillbeusingyourprofessionalskills.Youwillseetoitthatthecyanidestaysoutoftheaspirin,thatthebulldoesn'tjumpthefence,orthatyourclientdoesn'tgototheelectricchairasaresultofyourincompetence.Theseareallusefulpursuits.Theyinvolveskillseverymanmustrespect,andtheycanallbringyoubasicsatisfactions.Alongwitheverythingelse,theywillprobablybewhatputsfoodonyourtable,supportsyourwife,andrearsyourchildren.Theywillbeyourincome,andmayitalwayssuffice."
"Buthavingfinishedtheday'swork,whatdoyoudowiththoseothereighthours?
Let'ssayyougohometoyourfamily.Whatsortoffamilyareyouraising?
Willthechildreneverbeexposedtoareasonablypenetratingideaathome?
Willyoubepresidingoverafamilythatmaintainssomecontactwiththegreatdemocraticintellect?
Willtherebeabookinthehouse?
Willtherebeapaintingareasonablysensitivemancanlookatwithoutshuddering?
WillthekidsevergettohearBach?
"
ThatisaboutwhatIsaid,butthisparticularpestwasnotinterested."Look,"hesaid,"youprofessorsraiseyourkidsyourway;I'lltakecareofmyown.Me,I'mouttomakemoney."
"Ihopeyoumakealotofit,"Itoldhim,"becauseyou'regoingtobebadlystuckforsomethingtodowhenyou'renotsigningchecks."
FourteenyearslaterIamstillteaching,andIamheretotellyouthatthebusinessofthecollegeisnotonlytotrainyou,buttoputyouintouchwithwhatthebesthumanmindshavethought.IfyouhavenotimeforShakespeare,forabasiclookatphilosophy,forthecontinuityofthefinearts,forthatlessonofman'sdevelopmentwecallhistory—thenyouhavenobusinessbeingincollege.Youareonyourwaytobeingthatnewspeciesofmechanizedsavage,thepush-buttonNeanderthal.Ourcollegesinevitablygraduateanumberofsuchlifeforms,butitcannotbesaidthattheywenttocollege;ratherthecollegewentthroughthem—withoutmakingcontact.
Noonegetstobeahumanbeingunaided.Thereisnottimeenoughinasinglelifetimetoinventforoneselfeverythingoneneedstoknowinordertobeacivilizedhuman.
Assume,forexample,thatyouwanttobeaphysicist.Youpassthegreatstonehallsof,say,M.I.T.,andtherecutintothestonearethenamesofthescientists.Thechancesarethatfew,ifany,ofyouwillleaveyournamestobecutintothosestones.Yetanyofyouwhomanagedtostayawakethroughpartofahighschoolcourseinphysics,knowsmoreaboutphysicsthandidmanyofthosegreatscholarsofthepast.Youknowmorebecausetheyleftyouwhattheyknew,becauseyoucanstartfromwhatthepastlearnedforyou.
Andasthisistrueofthetechniquesofmankind,soitistrueofmankind'sspiritualresources.Mostoftheseresources,bothtechnicalandspiritual,arestoredinbooks.Booksareman'speculiaraccomplishment.Whenyouhavereadabook,youhaveaddedtoyourhumanexperience.ReadHomerandyourmindincludesapieceofHomer'smind.ThroughbooksyoucanacquireatleastfragmentsofthemindandexperienceofVirgil,Dante,Shakespeare—thelistisendless.Foragreatbookisnecessarilyagift;itoffersyoualifeyouhavenotthetimetoliveyourself,andittakesyouintoaworldyouhavenotthetimetotravelinliteraltime.Acivilizedmindis,inessence,onethatcontainsmanysuchlivesandmanysuchworlds.Ifyouaretoomuchinahurry,ortooarrogantlyproudofyourownlimitations,toacceptasagifttoyourhumanitysomepiecesofthemindsofAristotle,orChaucer,orEinstein,youareneitheradevelopedhumannorausefulcitizenofademocracy.
IthinkitwasLaRochefoucauldwhosaidthatmostpeoplewouldneverfallinloveiftheyhadn'treadaboutit.Hemighthavesaidthatnoonewouldevermanagetobecomehumaniftheyhadn