内容发布更新时间 : 2024/11/5 21:59:46星期一 下面是文章的全部内容请认真阅读。
(a) What sort of business thrives best in your part of the country?
In my part of the country, light industries and electronics companies thrive. (b) Which sort of plants thrive in a hot climate?
In a hot climate you can see tropical fruit and vegetables thrive and also tropical plants and trees. (c) Why do you think some couples thrive on conflict?
It is difficult to understand why some couples thrive on conflict. Maybe each one wants to compete with the other or maybe they enjoy “kissing and making up” after the conflict.
7 Translate the paragraphs into Chinese. If you ask me, real life is not all it’s cracked up to be. Twelve years at school and three years at university, teachers banging on about opportunities in the big wide world beyond our sheltered life as students, and what do I find?
Try as I might to stay cheerful, all I ever get is hassle, sometimes with people (especially boys, god, when will they grow up?), but mostly with money. It’s just so expensive out here! Everyone wants a slice off you. The Inland Revenue wants to deduct income tax, the bank manager wants
repayments on my student loan, the landlord wants the rent, gas, water, electricity and my mobile bills keep coming in, and all that’s before I’ve had anything to eat. And then some bright spark calls me out of the blue, asking if I’m interested in buying a pension. At this rate, I won’t even last till the end of the year, let alone till I’m 60.(? 翻译时可以根据上下文增译,即增加原文暗含了但没有直接表达出来的意思。如最后一句译文加了“领养老金”,点出了与上一句的关联。)
依我看,现实生活与人们想象的不一样。我们上了12年的中、小学,又上了3年的大学,这期间老师们一直在没完没了地谈论在安宁的学生生活之外那个广阔天地里的各种机会,可我遇到的又是什么呢?
无论我怎么想保持心情愉快,麻烦事总是接踵而来:有时是跟人争吵(尤其是跟男孩,天哪!他们什么时候才能长大?),但通常是为钱发愁。这个地方什么东西都很贵!人人都想从我身上拿点钱去:国税局要收个人所得税,银行经理要我偿清学生贷款,房东催我交房租、燃气费、水费、电费,手机账单也不断地寄来。所有这些还没算上吃饭的钱。更可气的是,不知从哪里冒出一个自作聪明的家伙冷不丁地给我打电话,问我要不要买养老金。照这样下去,我连今年都活不过去了,更别提活到60岁领养老金了。 8 Translate the paragraphs into English.
我认为,选修第二专业并不适合每一位本科生。我大学本科主修英语专业,大一时就开始辅修经济学了。无疑,我是班里最用功的学生。我竭尽全力想同时达到两个不同专业的要求,但还是有不及格的时候。因为经济学需要良好的数学基础,我不得不花大量时间钻研数学,因而忽略了英语学习。
第二学期,《英国文学》及《宏观经济学》两门课不及格给我敲响了警钟,这可是我一生中第一次考试不及格,这大大打击了我的自信心。虽然我不是一个容易向命运低头的人,在暑假结束的时候,我还是决定放弃经济学,以免两个专业都难以完成。当我只需修一个专业的时候,一切似乎又回到了正轨。 (if you ask me; odds; try as … might; sap one’s confidence; given that; bow to fate; come to a close; for fear that; now that)
If you ask me, taking a second major isn’t good for every undergraduate. In my freshman year as an English major, I took economics as my minor. By all odds, I was the most hardworking student in my class. But try as I might to meet the requirements of the two different subjects, I still couldn’t do well enough to pass all the exams. Given that the study of economics required a good command ofmathematics, I had to spend so much time on math that I neglected my English major.
Failing English Literature and Macroeconomics in the second semester sounded the alarm for me. This was the first time I did not pass a course in my life, which had greatly sapped my confidence. Although I was not a man who would easily bow to fate, as the summer break came to a close, I decided to give up economics for fear that I would fail in both subjects. Now that I had only one subject to attend to, everything seemed to be on the right track again.
Translation of the passages Active reading (1)
大学毕业找工作的第一要义:别躺在沙发上做梦
今年夏天,超过65 万的大学生毕业离校,其中有许多人根本不知道怎么找工作。在当今金融危机的背景下,做父母的该如何激励他们?
七月,你看着21 岁英俊的儿子穿上学士袍,戴上四方帽,骄傲地握着优等学士学位证书,拍毕业照。这时,记忆中每年支付几千英镑,好让儿子吃好、能参加奇特聚会的印象开始消退。总算熬到头了。等到暑假快要结束,全国各地的学生正在为新学期做准备的时候,你发现大学毕业的儿子还歪躺在沙发上看电视。他只是偶尔走开去发短信,浏览社交网站Facebook,去酒吧喝酒。这位前“千禧一代”的后裔一夜之间变成了哼哼一代的成员。他能找到工作吗?
这就是成千上万家庭所面临的景象:今年夏天,超过65 万大学生毕业,在当今金融危机的背景下他们中的大多数人不知道自己下一步该做什么。父母只会唠叨,而儿女们则毫无缘由地变成了叛逆者,他们知道自己该找份工作,但却不知道如何去找。
来自米德尔塞克斯郡的杰克·古德温今年夏天从诺丁汉大学政治学系毕业,获得二级一等荣誉学士学位。他走进大学就业服务中心,又径直走了出来,因为他看见很多人在那里排长队。跟他一起
住的另外5 个男孩也都跟他一样,进去又出来了。找工作的压力不大,虽然他所认识的大多数女生都有更清晰的计划。
他说:“我申请政治学研究工作,但被拒了。他们给的年薪是1 万8 千镑,交完房租后所剩无几,也就够买一罐煮豆子,可他们还要有研究经历或硕士学位的人。然后我又申请了公务员速升计划,并通过了笔试。但在面试时,他们说我‘太冷漠’了,谈吐‘太像专家治国国论者’。我觉得自己不可能那样,但我显然就是那样的。”
打那以后他整个夏天都在“躲”。 他能够轻松复述《交通警察》中的若干片段,他白天看电视的时间太多,已经到了影响健康的地步。跟朋友谈自己漫无目标的日子时,他才发现他们的处境和自己的并没有两样。其中一位朋友在父母的逼迫下去超市摆货,其余的都是白天9 点到5 点“无所事事”,晚上去酒吧喝酒打发时间。要么,干脆就在酒吧工作?这样还可以挣些酒钱。“我不想在酒吧工作,我上的是综合性中学,我拼命读书才考上了一所好大学。到了大学,我又埋头苦读,才得到一个好学位。可现在我却跟那些没上过大学的朋友处在同一个水平线上,他们整天给客人倒酒,干无聊的活。我觉得自己好像兜了一圈,又回到了原来的起点。
他的母亲杰奎琳·古德温为他辩护。她坚持认为她的儿子已经尽力了,她自己中学毕业后一直都在工作,可是她和她的丈夫发现,建议儿子如何继续找工作是件很棘手的事情。她说,“我一直都必须工作。现在找工作很难,因为如果你有了学位,学位就会为你提供新的机会,至少你自己会这么想。”
虽然现在她对儿子的态度还比较温和,但是她心里很清楚,去南美度三星期的假之后,他的休假就结束了。他可能还得付房租,分担家庭开支。她说,“在某个时候他们总该长大成人,我们已经帮了他们交了大学的学费,所以他们也该给我们一点点回报了。南美度假就是一个分水岭,他回来以后如果找不到工作,那就打圣诞节零工好了。”
心理治疗师盖尔·林登费尔德是《情感康复策略》的作者。她说古德温家长的说法是很恰当的,从上大学到工作的转换对孩子和父母来说都很艰难,关键是他们要在支持理解孩子和不溺爱孩子之间取得平衡。
“父母的主要任务就是支持他们,如果他们教导孩子该如何做就会引起矛盾,”她说。“如果有熟人,一定要找他们想办法。但很多父母心太软了。必须限制孩子的零花钱,要求他们交房租,或分担日常生活或养宠物的花销。父母要过正常的生活,不要让孩子随便用你们的银行卡或者榨干你们的情感能量。”
为他们支付职业咨询费、面试交通费及书费是好事,但不能催得太紧。林登费尔德建议:虽说父母不能太宽容,但是如果孩子找工作遇到了挫折,父母应该体谅他们,宽容他们几天甚至几周——这要看他们受打击的程度来决定。等他们缓过来之后,父母就该坚决要求孩子继续求职。
男孩更容易困在家里。林登费尔德相信男人比母亲和姐妹更容易帮助他们的儿子、侄子、或朋友的儿子。她说,由于男人和女人处理挫折的方式不同,孩子们需要跟男人谈话,才能度过难关。
她强烈支持他们去酒吧工作:那是克服毕业冷漠症的一剂良方。这工作好不好要取决于你如何看待它。就是在酒吧打工的时候,林登费尔德找到了她的第一份工作,当航拍助手。她说在酒吧工作是拓展人际关系的绝好机会,肯定比赖在家里看电视更容易找到工作。
她说:“给超市上货也一样。如果干得好,你就会被人发现的。如果你聪明、活泼,对顾客彬彬有礼,你很快就会升职。所以,把它看作是机会,那些最终能成功的人士都有在超市上货的经历。”
你的儿子或女儿可能不会干好莱坞影星们干过的活,比如像乌比·戈德堡那样去停尸房给死人化妆,或者像布鲁斯·威利斯那样在核电站当警卫,但即便是布拉德·皮特也曾经不得不穿上宽大的鸡套装站在墨西哥快餐连锁店El Pollo Loco 的门口招揽生意。他们中没有一个人因为这些经历而变得越来越穷。 Active reading (2)
依我看
依我看,现实生活与人们想象的不一样。我们上了12 年的中、小学,又上了3 年的大学,这期间老师们一直在没完没了地谈论在安宁的学生生活之外那个广阔天地里的各种机会,可我遇到的又是什么呢?
无论我怎么想保持心情愉快,麻烦事总是接踵而来:有时是跟人争吵(尤其是跟男孩,天哪!他们什么时候才能长大?),但通常是为钱发愁。这个地方什么东西都很贵!人人都想从我身上拿点钱去:国税局要收个人所得税,银行经理要我偿清学生贷款,房东催我交房租、燃气费、水费、电费,手机账单也不断地寄来。所有这些还没算上吃饭的钱。更可气的是,不知从哪里冒出一个自作聪明的家伙冷不丁地给我打电话,问我要不要买养老金。照这样下去,我连今年都活不过去了,更别提活到60 岁领养老金了。
我那时还不想出去工作。我的意思是,我并不是个中途辍学者,但我知道自己以后可能不得不退学。许多人认为“生活不是野餐”,“没有免费的午餐”。但既然我拿到了优等生文凭,我想我应该继__续攻读硕士学位。实际上,我已经瞄上了伦敦经济学院的课程,这是一所顶尖的学校,能给我的履历表增添一段光彩的经历。但当我跟妈妈谈起这件事时,她说她没法继续供我上学了。我大概能理解她的心情,这不仅仅是因为我学的是经济学。15 年来,为了能让我上学,她含辛茹苦。这些年来,父亲大部分时间都不在家。就算在家,他也没钱。他把钱都拿去赌狗、喝酒了。我听了妈妈的话,向命运低下了头。
依我看,不管人们说什么,幸运的是世上还是有很多好心人。麦克就是其中的一个。大学毕业时,我想如果我回家,妈妈会觉得她有责任照顾我。所以,我就收拾行李去伦敦找工作。
我想找金融和投资方面的职位,因为你知道这样我就可以用上我的专业知识。可是那时候已经没有这样的工作了,我又不愿意做乏味的办公室工作,复印文件、端茶倒水什么的。
无论你走到伦敦的什么地方,你都能找到一个好酒吧。有一天,我意识到这个城里没有人会雇我,我走进位于特荷街的索尔兹伯里酒吧去喝一杯,顺便吃点东西。店主麦克正在店里,他一只手倒酒,一只手做三明治,同时还洗酒杯。他真的好像有三只手。他好像也认识所有的客人,叫得出常客的名字。
他跟他们打招呼,帮他们调好酒后问一句:“今天还喝这个,是吧?”我觉得他看起来蛮酷的,他在做着他最擅长做的事情:为那些口渴的顾客服务,没人能比得上他。所以我就走上前去问他要不要雇人。好吧,长话短说,某个周五的午餐时间我开始在那个酒吧打工。这份工作要求很高,但我喜欢干。
顾客好像觉得我挺逗乐的,这也让我感觉好一些。有位穿西服的中年常客总要半品脱苦啤酒,一份火腿泡菜三明治,面包皮要消掉。他叫托尼。我一看见他进来,不等他开口就开始准备他的午餐,他也是那些好心人之一。
依我看,一个人没钱的时候花钱最容易。我开始琢磨怎么花第一个月的薪水了。我住的公寓房租很贵,我挣的钱刚够支付第一个月的大笔账单,但是我估计还能剩点钱好好犒劳一下自己。我想,何不买张CD 或买盆花草装点一下房间?
发工资的那天正好是我的生日,除了麦克和托尼,我在伦敦就没有别的朋友了。如果你知道我那时还没有男朋友,你就会理解我为什么觉得对不起自己了。我给自己定了些鲜花,让卖花的人附上一张卡片,上面写道:“给你我所有的爱。无名氏”。我生日那天最精彩的瞬间就是送花人到达公寓时大惑不解的眼神。
那周晚些时候,托尼像往常一样来了,在酒吧里坐下。“你怎么了?今天怎么不见你笑啦?”我跟他聊了…… 嗯,差不多什么都跟他说了:钱、硕士学位、生日等等。他很同情我。
托尼离开搁脚凳和旁边几个人说话。记住:索尔兹伯里酒吧是在市中心,这里所有的顾客都在银行、保险或证券市场工作。第二天,他拿着几张价值共2 万英镑的支票来到酒吧,他对我说:“这是给你的创业贷款,你唯一的贷款担保是我对你的信任,相信有一天你赚了钱会把钱还给我们。如果你还不了钱,那就太糟了,金融生意就是这样。但是,我相信你还得了。”
我没说话,我怕我自己要哭了。世上这么好的人能有几个?
那些花怎么处理?我叫花店改送到妈妈那里去了,我生日那天鲜花正好送到她家。她最该得到这些鲜花,不是吗?
依我看,回顾这些年的经历,我发现人一辈子只需要一两次的转折就能成功。就算吃苦受累也不要紧,那还是值得的。
在索尔兹伯里酒吧干了一年之后,我去了伦敦经济学院深造。拿到硕士学位之后,我在一家投资银行找到了一份工作。我把那两万英镑投进了证券市场,在2008 年金融崩盘之前卖掉了所有的股票。
我把托尼和其他投资者的钱还了,付给他们10% 的年息,并成立了自己的公司。公司的生意好得超乎意料,至今还红红火火。托尼给我写了一封感谢信。他出了车祸,现在不能走路了。我还给他的钱正好可以用来改造房子,房子改造后他就可以坐着轮椅在家里自由活动了。下面是他信里写的话:“我从事银行业35 年来最好的投资就是给你的这笔贷款,你连本带利地偿还了贷款,我对你的信任和你的诚实都获得了百倍的回报。依我看,在人身上投资能带来你最希望看到的回报。”
依我看,他说得对。你说呢?
Unit 2
Active reading (1)
Danger! Books may change your life Culture points
Lewis Carroll (1832–1898) is the pen-name of Charles Dodgson. He was a priest, a mathematician whotaught at Oxford University, a photographer, humorist and writer of children’s literature. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) was immediately successful, a masterpiece which revolutionized children’s literature, giving coherence and logic through wit and humour to unlikely or impossible episodes in which imaginary creatures embody recognizable human characteristics. He is also known for Through the Looking Glass and
what Alice found there (1871) and nonsense poems, such as The Hunting of the Snark (1876).
William Cowper (1731–1800): a notable English poet, writer of hymns and letter-writer. He wrote gentle, pious, direct poems about everyday rural life and scenes of the countryside which have been seen as forerunners of the Romantic movement: Coleridge called Cowper “the best modern poet”. He translated Homer’s Greek epics. The Odyssey and The Iliad into English. Another example of his verses which have become common sayings is “God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform…”
John Steinbeck (1902–1968): American novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962. The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is a well-known, long tragic novel about an American family of farmers who are driven off their land in Oklahoma by soil erosion in the famous “dust bowl” era. They flee to California to
what they hope will be a better life. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a film in 1940. Other well-known novels include Of Mice and Men (1937), Cannery Row (1945), The Pearl (1947), East of Eden (1952) and an account of a personal rediscovery of America, Travels with Charlie (1962).
John Irving (1942– ): American novelist and screenwriter who taught English at college and was a wrestling coach. The Fourth Hand (2001) is a comic-satirical novel about a TV journalist, Wallington, whose hand is seen by millions of viewers to be bitten off by a circus lion. A surgeon gives him a hand transplant (a third hand) but the wife of the dead donor wants to visit her husband’s hand and have a child by Wallington, who feels where his original hand used to be (the fourth hand).
Audrey Niffenegger (1963– ): American college professor who teaches writing to visual artists and shows students how to make books by hand. Her first novel, The Time Traveller’s Wife (2003) –
filmed in 2009 – is a science fiction and romance bestseller about a man who travels uncontrollably in time to his own history and visits his wife in her childhood, youth and old age. His wife needs to cope with his absences and dangerous life while he travels. The story is a metaphor for distance and miscommunication in failed relationships.
Paul Torday (1946– ): a British businessman who worked for a company that repaired ship’s engines for many years. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2007) was his first novel. It is a political satire and comedy about a dull civil servant who becomes involved in a plan to populate the desert with Scottish salmon. Politicians manage the media to “spin” this as a plan they support in order to divert attention from problems in the Middle East. There are themes of cynicism and belief, and East-West culture clashes.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008): a Russian writer who was imprisoned in Soviet labour camps in 1945; after eight years, he was exiled to Kazakhstan and not freed until 1956, when he became a teacher. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but not receive it until 1974. He went