新概念第三册 summary writing 39、41课 急·!

新概念第三册 summary writing 39、41课 急·!

Lesson 39
Nothing to worry about
不必担心

Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音,然后回答以下问题.
What was the difference between Bruce's behaviour and that of other people?
The rough across the plain soon became so bad that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from. Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes, Bruce was not in the least perturbed. Glancing at his map, he informed us that the next village was a mere twenty miles away. It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties. He simply had no sense of danger at all. No matter what the conditions were, he believed that a car should be driven as fast as it could possibly go.
As we bumped over eh dusty track, we swerved to avoid large boulders. The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. We felt sure that sooner or later a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine. Because of this, we kept looking back, wondering if we were leaving a trail of oil and petrol behind us.
What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared, giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes. But there was worse to come. Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure. In response to renewed pleadings, Bruce stopped. Though we all got out to examine the fissure, he remained in the car. We informed him that the fissure extended for fifty years and was tow feet wide and four feet deep. Even this had no effect. Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed, keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course. Before we had time to worry about what might happen, we were back on the plain again. Bruce consulted the map once more and told us that the village was now only fifteen miles away. Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across. Bruce charged at it, but in the middle, the car came to a grinding half. A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine!
New words and expressions 生词和短语
rough
adj. 崎岖不平的
boulder
n. 大石块
pit
v. 使得坑坑洼洼
perturb
v. 使不安
underestimate
v. 低估
swerve
v. 急转变
scoop
v. 挖出
hammer
v. （用锤）击打,锤打
ominously
adv. 有预兆的,不祥的
rip
v. 划破,撕,扯
petrol
n. 汽油
stretch
n. 一大片（平地或水）
obstacle
n. 障碍
clump
n. 丛,簇
fissure
n. （石,地的）深缝
renew
v. 重复
pleading
n. 恳求
gear
n. 汽车排档
astride
prep.骑,跨
crack
n. 缝隙
zigzag
n. “之”字形
shallow
adj. 浅的
grind (ground, ground)
v. 磨擦
halt
n. 停

dashboard
n. （汽车上的）仪表盘
参考译文
穿越平原的道路高低不平,开车走了不远,路面愈加崎岖.我们想劝说布鲁斯把车开回我们出发的那个村庄去.尽管路面布满石头,坑坑洼洼,但布鲁斯却一点儿不慌乱.他瞥了一眼地图,告诉我们前面再走不到20英里就是一个村庄.这并不是说布鲁斯总是低估困难,而是他压根儿没有一点儿危险感.他认为不管路面情况如何,车必须以最高速度前进.
我们在尘士飞扬的道路上颠簸,车子东拐西弯,以躲开那些大圆石.车轮搅起的石块锤击车身,发出不祥的锤击声.我们想念迟早会飞起一个石块把油箱砸开一个窟窿,或者把发动机砸坏.因此,我们不时地掉过头,怀疑车后是否留下了机油和汽油的痕迹.
突然大石块不见了,前面是一片平地,唯一的障碍只有一簇簇灌木丛.这使我们长长地松了口气.但是更糟糕的事情在等着我们,离我们不远处,出现一个大裂缝.我们再次央求布鲁斯小心,他这才把车停了下来.我们纷纷下车察看那个大裂缝,他却呆在车上.我们告诉他那个大裂缝长50码,宽2英尺,深4英尺.这也没有对他产生任何影响.布鲁斯挂上慢档,把两只前轮分别搁在裂缝的两边,顺着弯弯曲曲的裂缝,以发疯的速度向前开去.我们还未来得及担心后果,车已重新开上了平地.布鲁斯又看了一眼地图,告诉我们那座村庄离我们只有15英里了.下一个障碍是一片约半英里宽的浅水塘.布鲁斯向水塘冲去,但车开到水塘当中,嘎吱一声停住了.仪表盘一盏黄灯闪着刺眼的光芒,布鲁斯兴致勃勃地宣布发动机里没油了!

Lesson 41
Illusions of Pastoral peace
宁静田园生活的遐想
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音,然后回答以下问题.
What particular anxiety spoils the country dweller's visit to the theatre?
The quiet life of the country ahs never appealed to me. City born and city bred. I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window, or something you occasional visit during the weekend. Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of hem has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV -- virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.
If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You never have to travel miles to see your friends. They invariably lie nearby and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning. As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home. The cit dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many of the exotic items as they can carry. Nor is the city without its moments of beauty. There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country. It has always been a mystery to me who city dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.
New words and expressions 生词和短语
illusion
n. 幻想,错觉
pastoral
adj. 田园的
breed (bred, bred)
v. 培育
rapture
n. 欣喜
extol
v. 赞美,颂扬
superior
adj. 优越的
cockcrow
n. 鸡叫
twitter
v. （鸟）吱吱叫,嘁嘁喳喳叫
glint
v. 闪烁
pasture
n. 牧场
idyllic
adj. 田园诗的
virtually
adv. 几乎,差不多
dubious
adj. 可疑的,怀疑的
privilege
n. 特权
misery
n. 苦难
acquaintance
n. 熟人
treat
n. 难得的乐事,享受
dweller
n. 居住者
stagger
v. 摇晃,蹒跚
exotic
adj. 导乎寻常的,外来的
glow
n. 白炽光
descend
v. 缩进,隐藏
descend
v. 缩进,隐藏
obstinately
adv. 固执地,顽固地
参考译文
宁静的乡村生活从来没有吸引过我.我生在城市,长在城市,总认为乡村是透过火车车窗看到的那个样了,或偶尔周末去游玩一下景象.我的许多朋友都住在城市,但他们只要一提起乡村,马上就会变得欣喜若狂.尽管他们都交口称赞宁静的乡村生活的种种优点,但其中只有一个人真去农村住过,而且不足6个月就回来了.即使他也仍存有幻觉,好像乡村生活就是比城市生活优越.他滔滔不绝地大谈友好的农民,洁净的空气,贴近大自然的环境和悠闲的生活节奏.他坚持认为,凌晨雄鸡第一声啼叫,黎明时分小鸟吱喳欢叫,冉冉升起的朝阳染红树木、牧场,此番美景无与伦比.但这种田园诗般的乡村风光仅仅是一个侧面.我的朋友没有提到在电视机前度过的漫长寂寞的冬夜——电视是唯一的娱乐形式.他也不说商店货物品种单调,以及那些每天不得不从乡下赶到城里工作的不幸的人们.人们为什么情愿每天在路上奔波4个小时去换取值得怀疑的乡间的优点,我是无法理解的.要是他们愿意住在本来属于他们的城市,则可以让他们省去诸多不便与节约大量开支.
如果你愿舍弃乡下生活那一点点乐趣的话,那么你会发出城市可以为你提供生活最美好的东西.你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好几英里,因为他们都住在附近,你随时可以同他们聊天或在晚上一起娱乐.我在乡村有一些熟人,他们每年进城来看一回或几回戏,并把此看作一种特殊的享受.看戏在他们是件大事,需要精心计划.当戏快演完时,他们又为是否能赶上末班火车回家而犯愁.这种焦虑,城里人是从未体验过的.坐公共汽车几站路,就可看到最新的展览、电影、戏剧.买东西也是一种乐趣.物品种繁多,从来不必用二等品来凑合.乡里人进城采购欣喜若狂,每次回家时都买足了外来商品,直到拿不动方才罢休,连走路都摇摇晃晃的.城市也并非没有良辰美景.寒冷潮湿的冬夜里,广告灯箱发出的暖光,会给人某种安慰.周末,当成千上万进城上班的人回到他们的乡间寓所之后,空旷的街市笼罩着一种宁静气氛,没有什么能比此时的宁静更令人难忘了.城里人对这一切心里很明白,却偏要执拗地装出他们喜欢住在乡村的样子,这对我来说一直是个谜.