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1、Unit 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
2、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
3、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 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
4、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
5、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
6、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
7、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
8、幕和第五幕,更不要说续篇了。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
9、道。这位妇女不禁打了个哆嗦,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
10、Comprehension1. Decide which of the following best states the author's 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 children
11、s college education.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 la
12、rgely due to his 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 objecti
13、ve of some parents. 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 per
14、sonal and informal 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 subto
15、pics to the theme 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
16、 incidents are respectively 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 incide
17、nts help to clarify 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.
18、1). Money being tight, with other college-bound children in the family queue, the man had persuaded his daughter to accept the second universitys offer. à Not having much money; children who are going to college2). Now he was worried that she would one day rue this decisionà regret not hav
19、ing studied in the first-class university3). I . had managed to carve out a nice little niche for myself.à find a job which was very suitable4). Three years later my son will follow suit. à go to college too5). Some of those boys and girls most likely to succeed are going to end up on welf
20、are or skid row.à are going to be poor, living 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.à measure up t
21、o a certain standard7). Seventeen years of unread textbooks, unvisited museums, and untaken AP courses are now finally taking their toll . à 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 reput
22、ation as a nerd factory.à making jokes about; a place where boring personalities are fostered9). At one juncture, she pointed out a restaurant where students could grab a fast, inexpensive meal.à At one point10). .sedulous monitoring of on-campus restaurant prices should be a vital compone
23、nt of the winnowing procedure, particularly vis-a-vis panini.à the process 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 go
24、lden autumn light provided the inspiration (inspire) for the painting.3). There 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
25、 day.6). Its infuriating (infuriate) when people keep spelling your name wrong, 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 noi
26、sy interjections (interject) from the audience.3. Fill in the blank(s) in each 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 |
27、 winnow downdragoon into | follow suit | fork over | stem from1). Ive been dragooned 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
28、 soon follow suit .5). I screwed up my exams last year.6). The problems of the 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
29、 near the stadium.10). Tick off each item on the list as you complete it.11). A 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
30、 family is never an unalloyed pleasure.à a one-hundred-percent pleasant experience2). I cant stand his belligerence.à his wish to argue with people all the time3). She gave a bashful smile as he complimented her on her work.à embarrassed 4). When his parents died, he found himself $10
31、0,000 better off.à had $100, 000 more than he had in the past5). The CIA was monitoring his phone calls.à secretly listening to6). Northbound traffic is moving very slowly because of the accident.à Traffic which is traveling north7). She had a look of utter devastation on her face.
32、24; extreme shock and sadness8). In his closing remarks, the chairman thanked everyone who had helpedà concluding9). If you have not signed a contract, you are under no obligation to pay them any money.à it is not necessary for you to10). There was a screech of brakes and the bus shuddered
33、 to a halt.à 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 follows:Wrong word: underline the wrong word and write the correct word in t
34、he blank.Extra word: delete the extra word with an “×.”Missing word: mark the position of the missing word with a “” and write the missing word in the blank.Ivy Retardation It didnt down on me that there might be a few holes in my education until I was about 35. Id just bought a house, the pipe
35、s needed fixing, and the plumber was standing in my kitchen. There he was, a short, beefy guy with a thick Boston accent, and I suddenly learned that I didnt have the slightest idea what to say to someone like him. So alien was his experience to me, so unguessable his value, so mysterious his very l
36、anguage, that I couldnt succeed in engaging him in a few minutes of small talk before he got down to work. Fourteen years of higher education and a handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness. “Ivy retardation,” a friend of mine calls this. I coul
37、d carry out conversations with people from other countries, in other languages, but I couldnt talk to the man who was standing in my own house.Its not surprising that it took me so long to discover the extent of my miseducation, because the latest thing an elite education will teach you is its own i
38、nadequacy. The first disadvantage of an elite education, as I learned in my kitchen that day, is that it makes you incapable of talking to people who dont like you. Elite schools pride themselves on their diversity, but that diversity is almost entirely a matter of ethnicity and race. With respect i
39、n class, these schools are largely homogeneous. At the same time, because these schools tend to cultivate liberal attitudes, they leave their students in the paradoxical position of wanting to advocate on behalf of the working class while being unable to hold a simple conversation with anyone in it.
40、The second disadvantage is that an elite education inculcates a false sense of self-worth. Getting to an elite college, being at an elite college, and going on from an elite college all involve numerical rankings: SAT, GPA, GRE. You learn to think for yourself in terms of those numbers. They come to
41、 signify not only your fate, but your identity; not only your identity, but your value. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in ones intellect or knowledge. There is something wrong with the smugness and self-congratulation that elite schools connive at from the moment the fat envelopes come in
42、the mail. From orientation to graduation, the message is clear: You deserve everything your presence here is going to enable you to get. When people say that students at elite schools have a strong sense of entitlement, they mean that those students think they deserve more than other people because
43、their SAT scores are high. But they dont. Graduates of elite schools are not more valuable than stupid people, or talentless people, or even lazy people. Their pain does not hurt more. Their souls do not weigh more. If I were religious, I would say, God does not love them more.(1) dawn(2) values(3)
44、minutes(4) on(5) last(6) arent(7) to(8) of(9) something(10) higher6. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word.Confucius and Socrates Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551479 B.C.) and Socrates (469399 B.C.) lived only a hundred years apart, and during their (1) lifetimes there
45、 was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas, and how these ideas in (2) turn shaped their societies. Both philosophers lived in (3) times of conflict, though there was more warfare in Gree
46、ce than in (4) China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the (5) Greek city-states were small and urban.The (6) urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical than Kong Zi. (7) Unlike Kong Zi, Socrates was not asked by rulers how to govern effectively. Thu
47、s, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues (8) like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Kong Zi, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went on to (9) government. Kong Zi suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the (10) conduct
48、of life: “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” He assumed that all men were equal at (11) birth, though some had more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men (12) apart.Socrates (13) focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose o
49、f man was to seek wisdom. He believed that some people had more (14) potential to develop their reason than others (15) did. Like Kong Zi, he believed that the superior class should rule the (16) inferior classes. For Socrates, the family was (17) of no importance, and the community of (18) little c
50、oncern. For Kong Zi, however, the family was the center of society, with family relations (19) considered much more important than political relations.(20) Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes. IV. Translation1. Translating SentencesTranslate the following sentenc
51、es into English, using the words or phrases given in brackets.1). 他是家里的长子, 所以也是唯一得到过父母全身心照顾的孩子。(undivided attention)à Being the eldest son in the family, he was the only one to have gained the undivided attention of his parents.undivided adj.not mixed with other feelings or intentionse.g.She de
52、voted herself to her students with undivided concentration and energy.2). 他不具备干这项工作所需要的技能。(requisite)à He lacked the requisite skills for the job.requisite adj. necessary for a particular purposee.g.Decision is a quality requisite to a leader. 3). 在那场危机中, 联合国在当地政府和叛军之间进行了斡旋。(mediate)à The
53、United Nations mediated between the local government and the rebels during the crisis.mediate v. to try to end a disagreement between two people or groupse.g. They mediate territorial disputes between neighbouring nations.4). 他用杰出的成就为自己在学术界谋得了一个顶尖科学家的席位。(carve out a niche)à He has carved out a
54、niche for himself as a leading researcher in his field of study. carve out: to develop a career or position for yourself by working harde.g.It can be difficult to carve out a niche in the fashion industry.5). 当我告诉别人我有多大岁数时,每个人都故作惊讶。(feign)à Everyone feigned surprise when I told them how old I w
55、as.feign vt. to pretend to have a particular feelinge.g. 'OK,' she said, feigning indifference.6). 数据被输入电脑以后,电脑会自动使其生效。(be validated by)à The data is validated automatically by the computer after it has been entered.validate vt. to make a document legally valid7). 当成年人做一件事的时候,大多数小孩子会跟着做
56、, 因为他们并不知道这样做对不对。(follow suit) à When an adult does something, most small children will follow suit, because they have no sense of right and wrong.follow suit: to follow in the same pattern; to follow someone else's example.8). 这部小说以上世纪为背景,讲述了一个因和外国人结婚,父母与之断绝关系的姑娘的故事。(disown)à Set in the last century, the novel tells a story about a girl who was disowned by her parents when she married a foreignerdisown vt. to say that you no longer want to be connected with someone or
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