英专综合教程6册课文翻译及课后答案Answer to Unit 4.docx

1、英专综合教程6册课文翻译及课后答案Answer to Unit 4Unit 4 Matriculation FixationChinese Translation of Paragraphs1. 两年前的一天，我坐在费城一所医院的大厅里焦急地等待着，一位素不相识的人突然向我讲述了他女儿的大学就读计划。由于那天下午我79岁的老母亲刚动了大手术，还没醒过来，我无法全神贯注地听他的叙述。但是随着他讲述的深入，我却记住了其中的大部分与话题有关的细节。2. 这位女生虽然算不上出类拔萃，但还算出色，她已经被一所一流名牌大学接受，不过没有助学金。与此同时，一所当地的二大学也录取了她，并承诺全免学费。由于家里

2、还有几个孩子排在后面将上大学，经济自然有些紧，这位父亲便说服 女儿接受了第二所大学的录取通知。现在，他担心她某天会 懊 悔 这个决定，因为她将来毕业的学校名气较小，结交不广，为她敞开的大门也少些。虽然她的学位证书使她离通往 成功的黄金大道并不遥远，但却不会把她直接放在这条大道上。 3. 我本世俗百姓，对一些陌生人的婚姻、职业和嗜好最为私密的细枝末节耳熟能详，因此很早便掌握了调解这类危机的必备技巧。我告诉这位男士，我许多高中同学都毕业于这所 二流大学，但他们都过上了丰富而充实的生活。4. 我告诉他，我自己就毕业于费城一所二流大学，和她女儿要就读的学校并无二致，而我也已在世上为自己找到了一小块立足

3、之地。我还告诉他，我的大学岁月是我人生中最快乐的时光，教授们既有才识又很敬业，对他们的教诲和启发我永怀感恩之心。他又追问我的个人情况，我解释说我是个自由 作家，我扼要罗列了自己的资历，还告诉他我对自己的职业生涯也很满意。5. 这位父亲从来没有听说过我，也没有读过我的作品。尽管他对我那可怜的履历佯装兴趣，我依然看出他已经崩溃了。他女儿也计划从事新闻行业，如果走上和我一样的学术道路，最终也会像我一样失败。6. 我始终没有弄明白他为什么去那医院。7. 我之所以提及此事，是因为它折射了在该送孩子上大学的时刻到来时家长们神经质到了什么程度。我知道我在说什么。明年秋天，我的女儿就要上大学了；三年之后，我的

4、 儿子也要跟着上大学。看着他们离开家门，我会难过。这些年，他俩带给了我无尽的欢乐。但是事情总是有两面性的。我的孩子离家后，我将不必再加入到那些令人头脑麻木的讨论，探讨我自己的孩子或者哪个朋友或邻居的孩子上哪所 大学啦，为什么要上那所大学啦。在这个话题上，我已经 彻底落伍了。8. 我对此不感兴趣，并非因为我自私，也不纯粹是因为我瞧不起别人的子女，而是因为我发现，这类关于择校的谈话几乎都很庸俗乏味，不是自吹自擂，就是自我贬损。与此相比，我宁愿聊聊怎么打纸牌。9. 最令人愤慨的是，在有些讨论中，家长显然是想替孩子做主，决定孩子的职业，并从中得到情感上的满足。这些人相信，进入一流大学等于拿到了通向成功

5、的无限期护照和一生财运亨通的保证。这些一心往上爬的傻瓜家长们，在宣告自己孩子的归宿并庆贺自己干了件好事的同时，也流露出了一副普鲁士式的好斗，低声挖苦那些子女天赋不高的父母。天赋不高的父母。对他们而言，抚养孩子最艰难的部分已经熬过去了。孩子初中毕业上了对头的预备学校，交上对头的朋友，参加了对头的活动，现在又瞄准了对头的大学。现在我们可以闪人离开这儿搬到托斯卡纳了。10. 但在现实中，人生并非止步于17岁，也不止步于21岁！在现实生活中，有些孩子虽然接受了最好的教育，但人生却糟糕无比。做我这行的，不少人虽上对了名校，但最终却入错了行。那些最有可能成功的少男少女之中，有些最终将靠福利救济生活，或者沦

6、落于贫民区，需要父母的接济。父母的责任并不止于孩子离开家门之时，父母的责任永远不会完结，这就是为什么大自然赋予你当父母的职责。11. 第二类人是数目更为庞大的强迫症患者，他们突然意识到，自己平庸的孩子将不会有出息。17年没有好好读过书，没有参观过博物馆，没有修过的高级预备课程，现在终于酿成恶果，那些步入阿默斯特学院、巴德学院和杜克大学宏伟的演讲大厅之梦瞬间化为乌有。这些家长们羞愧难当，无地自容，咕哝着那些名不见经传的学校名字，他们的孩子正 要灰溜溜地到那儿读书了。毫无例外，这些学校在人们闻所未闻且都无人知晓的小镇上，连它们所在州的首府也只有那些勇闯险关节目的多次获 胜者才知道。脸色凝重的家长似

7、乎在说，市场说了算，我的孩子是笨蛋 ！12. 然而，现实总能打乱老鼠和门萨策划得最糟糕的计划。有些孩子开窍较晚，有些孩子则在竞争不太激烈的环境中表现更优秀。许多人虽然没有名校的学位，但在社会上照样成就斐然。同样，你也不应该仅仅因为孩子没跨过人生第一道、甚至第二十道栏杆，就不认他。马蒂斯40多岁才成名，比尔盖茨、大卫格芬、迈克尔戴 尔、格雷顿卡特和麦当娜 都曾在大学中途辍学 。罗纳德里根曾就读的是很小的尤里卡学院，沃伦巴菲特上的则是内布拉斯加州林肯市的足球学校。即便你可能读过弗斯科特菲茨杰拉德（其本人于1917年从普林斯顿退学）小说中的故事，人生并非一出独幕剧，通常还有第二幕和第五幕，更不要说续

8、篇了。上述择校问题之荒唐程度，莫过于人们按规定参观大学校园时看到的景象了。家长们根本不清楚自己想要什么，特别是在那些引人注目、名声在外的学校。最近我们到麻省理工学院参观，我看了30秒钟招生办公室摄制的视频，该段视频自嘲地说该校是个书呆子工厂。随后，我妻子和女儿继续观看视频，听它向申请的学生保证说，麻省理工学院生产的是人间难觅的书呆子，而我则在校园漫步。我真的看到了很多书呆子。我这么说并非指责他们什么。13. 那天早晨晚些时候，一位导游带我们一群人参观了校园。走到一处，她指给我们一个餐厅说，学生可以在那里买到便宜的快餐。“一顿多少钱？”一位母亲兴奋地问。“八美元，”导游回答道。这位妇女不禁打了个

9、哆嗦，说每天晚餐八美元实在太贵了。 14. “你得花四万美元才能送你的孩子到这里上学，”我插了一句，“请先不要担心晚餐的价格 。”15. 自从今年秋天参观了这个校园之后，这件事就成了我的一个重要的保留话题。现在，每当我被卷入有关大学择校的无休止的讨论时，我就表示校园餐厅价格的持续监管，尤其是帕尼尼三明治的价格，也应成为大学择校的一项重要参考指标。那些听过我的类似言论的人，也无从判别我到底是感觉迟钝，脾气乖戾，还是纯粹是个白痴。不过，我们可以这么说：我从来就不是上麻省理工学院的那块料。Section Four Consolidation ActivitiesI. Text Comprehensi

10、on1. Decide which of the following best states the authors purpose.A. To tell his personal experience in college selection procedures.B. To offer his philosophy about college selection and ones future career or success in life.C. To describe the importance of parents role in childrens college educat

11、ion.Key: B 2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.1). The primary reason for the father to choose a local, second-echelon university for his daughter is based on economic considerations. T2). The authors success as a freelance writer is largely due to his

12、 education in a prestigious university. F3). It is implied, though not stated, that all parents (including the author himself) undergo a critical time when their children are going to college. T4). Ensuring that their children enter one of the top universities is the ultimate objective of some paren

13、ts. T5). The parents who recognize their childrens incapability to make the cut have never expected their children to go to prestigious universities. T6). The campus tour of MIT enabled the author to change his attitude about college selection. TII. Writing StrategiesWritten in a personal and inform

14、al style, this essay has a number of subtopics that are carefully introduced. What are these subtopics? The essay begins with the authors unexpected encounter with a stranger in a hospital, and ends with his tour of MIT campus. How do these two incidents help to connect all the subtopics to the them

15、e of the essay?The essay has the following subtopics as main components:1) the authors own situation and experiences in college education and college selection (Paragraphs 38); 2) his probe into and comments on the two classes of college selection obsessives (Paragraphs 912). The two incidents are r

16、espectively related with the first and the second subtopics: the encounter puts the author and the man in a similar situation (both the man and the author have kids who are going to attend college); the campus tour provides support to the authors comments on the matter.The two incidents help to clar

17、ify the subtopics by means of full and progressive explanation of the authors attitude towards the matter (the authors college days, his high school chums, examples of failures and successes, etc.)III. Language Work1. Explain the underlined part(s) in each sentence in your own words.1). Money being

18、tight, with other college-bound children in the family queue, the man had persuaded his daughter to accept the second universitys offer. Not having much money; children who are going to college2). Now he was worried that she would one day rue this decision regret not having studied in the first-clas

19、s university3). I . had managed to carve out a nice little niche for myself. find a job which was very suitable4). Three years later my son will follow suit. go to college too5). Some of those boys and girls most likely to succeed are going to end up on welfare or skid row. are going to be poor, liv

20、ing on welfare, without a job or a place to live, and often drinking too much alcohol6). A second, far more numerous class of obsessives consists of people who suddenly realize that their Brand X children arent going to make the cut. measure up to a certain standard7). Seventeen years of unread text

21、books, unvisited museums, and untaken AP courses are now finally taking their toll . having a bad effect 8). During a recent visit to MIT, I watched the first thirty seconds of an admissions office video poking fun at the universitys reputation as a nerd factory. making jokes about; a place where bo

22、ring personalities are fostered9). At one juncture, she pointed out a restaurant where students could grab a fast, inexpensive meal. At one point10). .sedulous monitoring of on-campus restaurant prices should be a vital component of the winnowing procedure, particularly vis-a-vis panini. the process

23、 of reducing a large number of universities to a much smaller number; with regard to2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.1). The only illumination (illuminate) was from a skylight.2). The golden autumn light provided the inspiration (inspire) for the painting.3). There

24、 was a biographical (biography) note about the author on the back of the book.4). She was utterly devastated (devastate) when her husband died.5). Shes neurotic (neurosis) about her weight she weighs herself three times a day.6). Its infuriating (infuriate) when people keep spelling your name wrong,

25、 isnt it?7). Hes obsessive (obsess) about punctuality8). Liz has a fixation (fixate) with food.9). The medical examination before you start work is obligatory (oblige).10). Her controversial speech was punctuated with noisy interjections (interject) from the audience.3. Fill in the blank(s) in each

26、sentence with a phrase taken from the box in its appropriate form.Explaining1 | Filling1 | Filling2 | Explaining2 | Proof-reading | Clozein jeopardy | screw up | in question | flat outtick off | take a toll | sotto voce | winnow downdragoon into | follow suit | fork over | stem from1). Ive been drag

27、ooned into giving the after-dinner speech.2). I stayed at home on the night in question.3). The lives of thousands of birds are in jeopardy as a result of the oil spillage.4). When one airline reduces its prices, the rest soon follow suit .5). I screwed up my exams last year.6). The problems of the

28、past few months have taken a toll on her health and there are shadows beneath her eyes.7). Their disagreement stemmed from a misunderstanding.8). The remark was uttered sotto voce.9). We had to fork over ten bucks to park near the stadium.10). Tick off each item on the list as you complete it.11). A

29、 list of 12 candidates has been winnowed down to a shortlist of three.12). She told him flat out that she would not go to the show.4. Explain the meaning of the underlined part in each sentence.1). Spending time with ones family is never an unalloyed pleasure. a one-hundred-percent pleasant experien

30、ce2). I cant stand his belligerence. his wish to argue with people all the time3). She gave a bashful smile as he complimented her on her work. embarrassed 4). When his parents died, he found himself $100,000 better off. had $100, 000 more than he had in the past5). The CIA was monitoring his phone

31、calls. secretly listening to6). Northbound traffic is moving very slowly because of the accident. Traffic which is traveling north7). She had a look of utter devastation on her face. extreme shock and sadness8). In his closing remarks, the chairman thanked everyone who had helped concluding9). If yo

32、u have not signed a contract, you are under no obligation to pay them any money. it is not necessary for you to10). There was a screech of brakes and the bus shuddered to a halt. shook violently and stopped5. Correct the errors in the following passage. The passage contains ten errors, one in each indicated line. In each case, only one word is involved. Corrections should be done as fo