大学英语课外阅读

Unit1TextTwocollege-ageboys,unawarethatmakingmoneyusuallyinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbyanadvertisementthatpromisesthemaneasywaytoearnalotofmoney.Theboyssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.BIGBUCKSTHEEASYWAYJohnG.Hubbell"Yououghttolookintothis,"Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons."Itmightbeawaytoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskformoneyallthetime."Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungonourdoorknob.Amessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurely,lucrativework("BigBuckstheEasyWay!"ofdeliveringmoresuchbags."Idon'tmindtheindignity,"theolderoneanswered."Icanlivewithit,"hisbrotheragreed."Butitpainsme,"Isaid，"tofindthatyoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesyou."Theboyssaidtheywouldlookintothemagazine-deliverything.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BymidnightIwascomfortablysettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.Itwasmywife.Shewantedtoknowhowmydayhadgone."Great!"Ienthused."Howwasyourday?"Iinquired."Super!"Shesnapped."Justsuper!Andit'sonlygettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront.""Anothertruck?""Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomeryWards.ThesecondbroughtfourthousandSears,Roebucks.Idon'tknowwhatthisonehas,butI'msureitwillbefourthousandofsomething.Sinceyouareresponsible,Ithoughtyoumightliketoknowwhat'shappening.WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarytohand-delivertheadvertisinginsertsthatnormallyareincludedwiththeSundaypaper.Thecompanyhadpromisedourboys$600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000housesbySundaymorning."Pieceofcake!"ouroldercollegesonhadshouted."Sixhundredbucks!"Hisbrotherhadechoed,"Andwecandothejobintwohours!""BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,"mywifeinformedme."Therearethirty-twothousandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguysarecarryingarmloadsofpaperupthewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?""Justtelltheboystogetbusy,"Iinstructed."They'recollegemen.They'lldowhattheyhavetodo."AtnoonthefollowingdayIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemywife.Hervoicewasunnaturallyhighandquavering.Therehadbeenseveralmoretruckloadsofadinserts."They'refordepartmentstores,dimestores,drugstores,grocerystores,autostoresandsoon.Somearewholemagazinesections.Wehavehundredsofthousands,maybemillions,ofpagesofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wallallthroughthehouseinstackstallerthanyouroldestson.There'sonlyenoughroomforpeopletowalkin,takeoneeachoftheeleveninserts,rollthemtogether,sliparubberbandaroundthemandslidethemintoaplasticbag.WehaveenoughplasticbagstosupplyeverytakeoutrestaurantinAmerica!"Hervoicekeptrising,asifworkingitswayoutoftherangeofthehumanear."Allthismustbedeliveredbyseveno'clockSundaymorning.""Well,youhadbettergetthoseguysbandingandslidingasfastastheycan,andI'lltalktoyoulater.Gotalunchdate.WhenIreturned,therewasanotherurgentcallfrommywife."Didyouhaveanicelunch?"sheaskedsweetly.Ihadhadamarveloussteak,butknewbetterbynowthantosayso."Awful,"Ireported."Somesortofsourfish.Eel,Ithink.""Good.Yourcollegesonshavehiredtheiryoungerbrothersandsistersandacoupleofneighborhoodchildrentohelpforfivedollarseach.Assemblylineshavebeensetup.Inthelanguageofdiplomacy,thereis'movement.'""That'sencouraging.""No,it'snot,"shecorrected."It'sverydiscouraging.They'rebeenasitforhours.Plasticbagshavebeenfilledandpiledtotheceiling,butallthishasn'tmadeadent,notadent,inthesituation!It'salmostasiftheinsertskeepreproducingthemselves!""Anotherthing,"shecontinued."Yourcollegesonsmustlearnthatonedoesnotgetthebestoutofemployeesbythreateningthemwithbodilyharm.ObtaininganaudiencewithsonNO.1,Isnarled,"I'llkillyouifthreatenoneofthosekidsagain!Idiot!Youshouldbeofferingabonusofadollareveryhourtotheworkerwhofillsthemostbags."Butthatwouldcutintoourprofit,"hesuggested."Therewon'tbeanyprofitunlessthosekidsenableyoutomakeallthedeliveriesontime.Iftheydon't,youtwowillhavetoremoveallthatpaperbyyourselves.Andtherewillbenoeatingorsleepinguntilitisremoved."Therewasashort,thoughtfulsilence.Thenhesaid,"Dad,youhavejustworkedaprofoundchangeinmypersonality.""Doit!""Yes,sir!"Bythefollowingevening,therewasmuchformywifetoreport.Thebonusprogramhadworkeduntilsomeonedemandedtoseethecolorofcash.Thensomeactivistontheworkforceclaimedthattheworkershadnobusinesssettlingfor$5andafewcompetitivebonuseswhilethebossedcollectedhundredsofdollarseach.Theorganizerhaddeclaredthatalltheworkerswereentitledto$5perhour!Theywouldnotworkanotherminuteuntilthebossesagreed.Thestrikelastedlessthantwohours.Inmediation,thepartiesagreedon$2perhour.Gradually,thehugestacksbegantoshrink.Asitturnedout,thejobwascompletedthreehoursbeforeSunday's7a.m.deadline.BythetimeIarrivedhome,theboyshadalreadysettledtheiraccounts:$150inlaborcosts,$40forgasoline,andalikeamountforgifts—boxesofcandyforsaintlyneighborswhohadvolunteeredstationwagonsandhelpindeliveryanddozenrosesfortheirmother.Thisleftthemwith$185each—abouttwo-thirdstheminimumwageforthe91hourstheyworked.Still,itwas"enough",asoneofthemputit,toenablethemto"avoidindignity"forquiteawhile.Allwentwellforsomeweeks.ThenoneSaturdaymorningmyattentionwasdrawntotheoddgoings-onofourtwoyoungestsons.Theykeptcarryingcartonaftercartonfromvariouscornersofthehouseoutthefrontdoortocurbside.Iassumedtheirmotherhadenlistedthemtoremovejunkforatrashpickup.ThenIoverheardthemdiscussingfinances."Geez,we'regoingtomakealotofmoney!""We'regoingtoberich!"Investigationrevealedthattheywereoffering"forsaleorrent"ourentirelibrary."No!No!"Icried."Youcan'tsellourbooks!""Geez,Dad,wethoughtyouweredonewiththem!""You'renever'done'withbooks,"Itriedtoexplain."Sureyouare.Youreadthem,andyou'redonewiththem.That'sit.Thenyoumightaswellmakealittlemoneyfromthem.Wewantedtoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskyoufor……"NewWordsbuckn.(sl.U.S.dollarplastica.塑料的n.(pl塑料doorknobn.门把手leisurelya.unhurried从容的，慢慢的leisuren.freetime空闲时间，闲暇fitable有利的；赚钱的painvt.causepaintopanhandlevi.(AmEbeg.esp.onthestreetsdeliveryn.delivering(ofletters,goods,etc.投递；送交enthusevi.showenthusiasminquirevt.asksupera.(colloq.wonderful,splendid;excellentsnapvt.say(sth.sharply厉声说insertn.插页heusualconditions;ordinarily通常companyn.公司echovt.sayordowhatanotherpersonsaysordoes;repeat附和；重复adn.(shortforadvertisementinformvt.tell;giveinformation告知porchn.(AmEveranda门廊armloadn.asmuchasonearmorbotharmscanhold;armfulwalkn.apathspeciallyarrangedorpavedforwalking人行道unnaturallyad.inanunnaturalway不自然地quavervi.(ofthevoiceorsoundshake;tremble颤抖truckloadn.asmuchorasmanyasatruckcancarrydepartmentstoren.storesellingmanydifferentkindsofgoodsinseparatedepartments百货公司dimen.coinofU.S.andCanadaworthtencentsdimestoren.(AmEastoresellingalargevarietyoflow-pricedarticles;varietystore廉价商品店；小商口店drugstoren.(AmEastorethatsellsnotonlymedicine,butalsobeautyproducts,film,magazines,andfood药店，杂货店groceryn.astorethatsellsfoodandhouseholdsupplies食品杂货店sectionn.partofsubdivisionofapieceofwriting,book,newspaper,etc.;portion（文章等的）段落；节；部分cramvt.filltoofull;forceorpressintoasmallspace把……塞满；把……塞进stackn.anorderly;heaporgroupofthings一叠（堆、垛等）bandn.flat,thinpieceofmaterial带；带状物vt.tieupwithaband捆扎rubberbandn.橡皮筋takeouta.（餐馆）出售外卖菜的rangen.thedistanceatwhichonecanseeorhear（听觉、视觉等）的范围marvel(lousa.wonderful;astonishingsteakn.牛排；大块肉（或鱼）片soura.酸的eeln.鳗鲡diplomacyn.外交encouraginga.鼓舞人心的dentn.ahollowinahardsurfacemadebyabloworpressure;initialprogress凹痕，凹坑，初步进展ducetheyoungof(oneselforone'sownkind生殖，繁殖bodilya.ofthehumanbody;physicalharmn.damageorwrong伤害audiencen.thepeoplegatheredinaplacetohearorsee;achancetobeheard观众；听众；陈述意见的机会snarlvt.speakinaharshvoice咆哮着说bonusn.anextrapaymenttoworkers奖金thoughtfula.givetoorindicatingthought沉思的，思考的cashn.moneyincoinsornotes现金activistn.apersontakinganactivepartesp.inapoliticalmovement激进分子workforcen.totalnumberofworkersemployedinaparticularfactory,industryorarea工人总数；劳动人口competitivea.竞争的organizern.personwhoorganizesthings组织者mediationn.调解partyn.oneofthepeopleorsidesinanagreementorargument一方；当事人graduallyad.slowlyandbydegrees.graduala.shrink(shrank,shrunkvi.becomelessorsmaller减少；变小deadlinen.fixedlimitoffinishingapieceofwork最后期限stationwagonn.小型客车，客货两用车minimum(pl.minimaorminimumsn.thesmallestpossibleamount,number,etc.最低限度的量、数等minimumwagen.thelowestwagepermittedbylaworbyagreementforcertainwork法定最工资odda.strange;unusualgoings-onn.activities,usu.ofanundesirablekindcartonn.acardboardboxforholdinggoods纸板箱（或盒）curbsiden.theareaofsidewalkatornearcurb（curb:人行道的镶边石）enlistvt.obtainthesupportandhelpof;causetojointhearmedforces取得……的支持和帮助；征募trashn.wastematerialtobethrownaway;rubbish垃圾pickupn.asmalllighttruckwithanopenbackusedforlightdeliveries小卡车；轻型货车overhearvt.hearbychance;hearwithouttheknowledgeofthespeaker(s无意中听到；偷听到financen.moneymatters;(usedinpl.money;(scienceofthemanagementoffunds财政；钱财；金融geezint.哎呀，呀salen.theactofsellingsth.Phrases&Expressionspullupbringorcometoastop（使）停下apieceofcake(informalsth.veryeasytodoevenasjustatthesamemomentasknowbetterthanbewiseorexperiencedenoughnot(todosth.明事理而不至于beatbeoccupiedwith,bedoingmakeadent(inmakelessbyaverysmallamount;reduceslightly;makeafirststeptowardssuccess(in减少一点；取得初步进展cutintoreduce;decrease减少havenobusinesshavenorightorreason无权，没有理由settleforaccept,althoughnotaltogethersatisfactory（无可奈何地）满足于settleone'saccountpaywhatoneowes结帐quiteawhileafairlylongtimedraw(sb.'sattentiontomakesb.notice,orbeawareofforsaleintendedtobesoldforrentavailabletoberentedbedonewithstopdoingorusing;finish做完，不再使用may/might/couldaswellwithequalorbettereffect不妨，还不如，最好ProperNamesMontgomeryWard蒙哥马利—沃德百货公司Sears,Roebuck西尔斯—罗百克百货公司Unit2TextIsthereanythingwecanlearnfromdeer?Duringthe"energycrisis"of1973-1974thewriterofthisessaywaslivinginnorthernMinnesotaandwasabletoobservehowdeersurvivewhenwinterarrives.Thelessonshelearnsabouthewaydeerconserveenergyturnoutapplicabletooureverydaylife.DEERANDTHEENERGYCYCLESomepersonssaythatlovemakestheworldgoround.Othersofalessromanticandmorepracticalturnofmindsaythatitisn'tlove;it'smoney.Butthetruthisthatitisenergythatmakestheworldgoround.Energyisthecurrencyoftheecologicalsystemandlifebecomespossibleonlywhenfoodisconvertedintoenergy,whichinturnisusedtoseekmorefoodtogrow,toreproduceandtosurvive.Onthiscyclealllifedepends.Itisfairlywellknownthatwildanimalssurvivefromyeartoyearbyeatingasmuchastheycanduringtimesofplenty,thesummerandfall,storingtheexcess,usuallyintheformoffat,andthenusingthesereservesoffattosurviveduringthehardtimesinwinterwhenfoodisscarce.Butitisprobablylesswellknownthatevenwiththeirstoredfat,wildanimalsspendlessenergytoliveinwinterthaninsummer.Agoodcaseinpointisthewhiter-taileddeer.Likemostwildlife,deerreproduce,grow,andstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenthereisplentyofnutritiousfoodavailable.AphysicallymaturefemaledeeringoodconditionwhohasconceivedinNovemberandgivenbirthtotwofawnsduringtheendofMayorfirstpartofJune,mustsearchforfoodforthenecessaryenergynotonlytomeetherbody'sneedsbutalsotoproducemilkforherfawns.Thebestmilkproductionoccursatthesametimethatnewplantgrowthisavailable.Thisisgoodtiming,becausemilkproductionisanenergyconsumingprocess—itrequiresalotoffood.Thecostcannotbemetunlesstheregionhasamplefoodresources.Asthesummerprogressesandthefawnsgrow,theybecomelessdependentontheirmother'smilkandmoredependentongrowingplantsasfoodsources.Theadultmalesspendthesummergrowingantlersandgettingfat.Bothmalesandfemalescontinuetoeathighqualityfoodinthefallinordertodepositbodyfatforthewinter.Inthecaseofdoesandfawns,agreatdealofenergyisexpendedeitherinmilkproductionoringrowing,andfatisnotaccumulatedasquicklyasitisinfullgrownmales.Fatreservesarelikebankaccountstobedrawnoninthewinterwhenfoodsuppliesarelimitedandsometimesdifficulttoreachbecauseofdeepsnow.Asfallturnsintowinter,otherchangestakeplace.Fawnslosetheirspottedcoat.Haironallthedeerbecomesdarkerandthicker.ThechangeinthehaircoatsisusuallycompletebySeptemberandmaximumhairdepthsarereachedbyNovemberorDecemberwhentheweatherbecomescold.Butinaddition,natureprovidesafurthersafeguardtohelpdeersurvivethewinter—aninternalphysiologicalresponsewhichlowerstheirmetabolism,orrateofbodilyfunctioning,andhenceslowsdowntheirexpenditureofenergy.Thedeerbecomesomewhatslowanddrowsy.Theheartratedrops.Animalsthathibernatepracticeenergyconservationtoagreaterextremethandeerdo.Althoughdeerdon'thibernate,theydothesamethingwiththeirseasonalrhythmsinmetabolism.Deerspendmoreenergyandstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenfoodisabundant,andspendlessenergyandusestoredfatinthewinterwhenfoodislessavailable.Whenthe"energycrisis"firstcamein1973-1974,IwaslivingwithmyfamilyinacabinontheedgeofanareawheredeerspendthewinterinnorthernMinnesota,observingthedeerastheirbehaviorchangedfrommoreactivityinsummerandfalltolessaswinterprogressed,followedbyanincreaseagaininthespringasthesnowmelted.Itwasinterestingandratheramusingtolistentotheadvicegivenontheradio:"Driveonlywhennecessary,"weweretold."Putonmoreclothestostaywarm,andturnthethermostatonyourfurnacedown."Meanwhilewewatchedthedeerreducetheiractivity,growawintercoatofhair,andreducetheirmetabolismastheyhaveforthousandsofyears.Itisbiologicallyreasonablefordeertoreducetheircostoflivingtoincreasetheirchanceofsurvivinginwinter.Noteverywinteriscriticalfordeerofcourse.Ifthewinterhaslightsnow,survivalandproductivitynextspringwillbehigh.Butifdeepsnowscomeandtheweatherremainscoldforseveralweeks,thenthedeermustspendmoreenergytomoveabout,foodwillbehardertofind,andtheymustthendependmoreontheirfatreservestopullthemthrough.Ifsuchconditionsgoonfortoolongsomewilldie,andonlythelargestandstrongestarelikelytosurvive.Thatisafundamentalruleoflifeforwild,freewanderinganimalsuchasdeer.Yes,life—anddeath,too--isacyclethatgoesroundandround,andwhenanimalsdietheirbodiesbecomefoodforotherlifeformstousebyconvertingthemintoenergy.Andthecyclecontinues.NewWordsDeern.(sing.orpl.鹿romantica.belongingtoorsuggestingromance;fancifulnotpractical浪漫的；幻想的turnn.anaturaltendency;inclination(天生）倾向currencyn.moneythatisactuallyinuseinacountry通货，货币ecologicala.oforconcerninginterrelationshipoforganismsandtheirenvironment生态的ecologyn.生态学convertvt.change(fromoneform,use,oanother;cause(apersontochangehisbeliefs,etc.使转变；使改变信仰（等）excessn.thepartthatismorethanenough;theconditionofexceedingwhatisusualornecessary过量；过度reserven.sth.thatisbeingorhasbeenstoredforlateruse储备（物）scarcea.notavailableinsufficientquantity缺乏的wildlifen.animalsandplantswhichliveandgrowwildnutritiousa.fullgrownanddeveloped成熟的；成年的femalea.ofthesexthatgivesbirthtoyoung女（性）的；雌的n.afemaleperson,animalorplantconceivevt.becomepregnantwith(young;form(anidea,plan,hemind怀（胎）；构思fawnn.ayoungdeerlessthanayearoldtimingn.selectionformaximumeffectoftheprecisemomentforbeginningordoingsth.时机的选择consumevt.eatordrink;use;useup消耗；消费regionn.aplace,spaceorarea;apartofthebody地区；（身体的）部位amplea.plentiful充裕的resourcen.(pl.possessions(heformofwealthandgoods,thathelponetodowhatonewants资源dependenta.relying(onanotherforsupportmalea.ofthesexthatdoesnotgivebirthtoyoung男（性）的；雄的n.amaleperson,animalorplantantlern.thesolid,bonyhornofamaledeer鹿角，茸角depositvt.putorstoreforsafekeeping;(esp.ofaliquid,ariverleavelying(alayerofmatter存放；使沉积doen.afully-grownfemaledeerexpendvt.spendoruseup花费；耗尽accumulatev.makeorbecomegreaterinnumberorquantity;collectorgather积累；积聚accountn.asumofmoneykeptinabankwhichmaybeaddedtoortakenfrom帐户；存款spotteda.markedwithspotsdepthn.thestateordegreeofbeingdeep深；深度，厚度safeguardn.ameansofprotectionagainststh.unwanted预防措施internala.oforintheinside,esp.ofthebody内部的；体内的physiologicala.生理的；生理学的metabolismn.新陈代谢hencead.therefore因此，所以expendituren.expendingorusingup;theamountofmoney,time,etc.expended花费；用光；支出额，费用somewhatad.bysomedegreeoramount;alittle有点，稍微drowsya.sleepyorhalfsleepy;makingonesleepy困倦的；催眠的hibernatevi.(ofsomeanimalspassthewholeofthewinterinastatelikesleep冬眠extremen.eitherendofanything;highestdegree极端seasonala.dependingontheseason;changingwiththeseasons季节性的rhythmn.节奏abundanta.morethanenough充足的；丰富的cabinn.asmallroughlybuilt,usu.woodenhouse小木屋；茅舍meltv.cause(asolidtobecomeliquid;(ofasolidbecomeliquid（使）融化；（使）熔化amusinga.funny逗人笑的；引起乐趣的amusevt.causetolaughorsmilethermostatn.anautomaticdeviceforregulatingtemperature恒温器biologicallyad.生物学上biologicala.survivaln.thefactorlikelihoodofsurviving幸存productivityn.theabilityorcapacitytoproduce,productiveness生产力；生产率；多产fundamentala.basic;mostimportantPhrases&Expressionsgoroundfunctionsmoothlyintheformof以…形式inpointappropriate;pertinent适用的；相关的in(goodconditioningoodhealth,physicallyfitgivebirth(tobear;(duce生（孩）子，产（仔）；产生，引起drawontakeoruseasasource利用；动用slowdown(causetogomoreslowlythanusual;(causetolive,work,etc.inalessactiveandintenseway（使）慢下来；（使）放松turndownreducetheforce,speed,loudness,etc.of(sth.byusingcontrols减弱；关小，调低moveabouttravelaround;gofromoneplacetoanotherpullthroughhelp(sb.tosurviveaperiodofdangerorcrisis使渡过危险或危机ProperNameMinnesota明尼苏达（美国州名）Unit3TextCanyouprovethattheearthisround?Goaheadandtry!Willyourelyonyoursensesorwillyouhavetodrawontheopinionsofexperts?WHYDOWEBELIEVETHATTHEEARTHISROUND?GeorgeOrwellSomewhereorother—IthinkitisintheprefacetosaintJoan—BernardShawremarksthatwearemoregullibleandsuperstitioustodaythanwewereintheMiddleAges,andasanexampleofmoderncredulityhecitesthewidespreadbeliefthattheearthisround.Theaverageman,saysShaw,canadvancenotasinglereasonforthinkingthattheearthisround.Hemerelyswallowsthistheorybecausethereissomethingaboutitthatappealstothetwentieth-centurymentality.Now,Shawisexaggerating,butthereissomethinginwhathesays,andthequestionisworthfollowingup,forthesakeofthelightitthrowsonmodernknowledge.Justwhydowebelievethattheearthisround?Iamnotspeakingofthefewthousandastronomers,geographersandsoforthwhocouldgiveocularproof,orhaveatheoreticalknowledgeoftheproof,butoftheordinarynewspaper-readingcitizen,suchasyouorme.AsfortheFlatEarththeory,IbelieveIcouldrefuteit.Ifyoustandbytheseashoreonaclearday,youcanseethemastsandfunnelsofinvisibleshipspassingalongthehorizon.Thisphenomenoncanonlybeexplainedbyassumingthattheearth'ssurfaceiscurved.Butitdoesnotfollowthattheearthisspherical.ImagineanothertheorycalledtheOvalEarththeory,whichclaimsthattheearthisshapedlikeanegg.WhatcanIsayagainstit?AgainsttheOvalEarthman,thefirstcardIcanplayistheanalogyofthesunandmoon.TheOvalEarthmanpromptlyanswersthatIdon'tknow,bymyownobservation,thatthosebodiesarespherical.Ionlyknowthattheyareround,andtheymayperfectlywellbeflatdiscs.Ihavenoanswertothatone.Besides,hegoeson,whatreasonhaveIforthinkingthattheearthmustbethesameshapeasthesunandmoon?Ican'tanswerthatoneeither.Mysecondcardistheearth'sshadow:Whencastonthemoonduringeclipses,itappearstobetheshadowofaroundobject.ButhowdoIknow,demandstheOvalEarthman,thateclipsesofthemoonarecausedbytheshadowoftheearth?TheansweristhatIdon'tknow,buthavetakenthispieceofinformationblindlyfromnewspaperarticlesandsciencebooklets.Defeatedintheminorexchanges,Inowplaymyqueenoftrumps:theopinionoftheexperts.TheAstronomerRoyal,whooughttoknow,tellsmethattheearthisround.TheOvalEarthmancoversthequeenwithhisking.HaveItestedtheAstronomerRoyal'sstatement,andwouldIevenknowawayoftestingit?HereIbringoutmyace.Yes,Idoknowonetest.Theastronomerscanforetelleclipses,andthissuggeststhattheiropinionsaboutthesolarsystemareprettysound.Iam,tomydelight,justifiedinacceptingtheirsay-soabouttheshapeoftheearth.IftheOvalEarthmananswers—whatIbelieveistrue—thattheancientEgyptians,whothoughtthesungoesroundtheearth,couldalsopredicteclipses,thenbanggoesmyace.Ihaveonlyonecardleft:navigation.Peoplecansailshiproundtheworld,andreachtheplacestheyaimat,bycalculationswhichassumethattheearthisspherical.IbelievethatfinishestheOvalEarthman,thougheventhenhemaypossiblyhavesomekindofcounter.Itwillbeseenthatmyreasonsforthinkingthattheearthisroundareratherprecariousones.Yetthisisanexceptionallyelementarypieceofinformation.OnmostotherquestionsIshouldhavetofallbackontheexpertmuchearlier,andwouldbelessabletotesthispronouncements.Andmuchthegreaterpartofourknowledgeisatthislevel.Itdoesnotrestonreasoningoronexperiment,butonauthority.Andhowcanitbeotherwise,whentherangeofknowledgeissovastthattheexperthimselfisanignoramusassoonashestraysawayfromhisownspecialty?Mostpeople,ifaskedtoprovethattheearthisround,wouldnotevenbothertoproducetheratherweakargumentsIhaveoutlinedabove.Theywouldstartoffbysayingthat"everyoneknows"theearthtoberound,andifpressedfurther,wouldbecomeangry.InawayShawisright.Thisisacredulousage,andtheburdenofknowledgewhichwenowhavetocarryispartlyresponsible.NewWordsprefacen.anintroductiontoabookorspeech前言,序oafalsebelief;credulous易受骗的;轻信的superstitiousa.fullofsuperstition;believinginsuperstitions迷信的credulityn.atendencytobelievetoreadily轻信citevt.mentionasanexample;quote(apassage,book,etc.举出;引出widespreada.foundordistributedoveralargearea分布广的;普遍的advancevt.putorbringforward;offer提出appealvi.please,attractorinterest投合所好;有感染力;有吸引力mentalityn.wayofthinking,outlook;mentalpowerorcapacity心理,思想;脑力exaggeratevt.think,speakorwriteofasgreaterthanisreallyso;overstate夸张;夸大saken.end,purpose缘故geographern.aspecialistingeographyoculara.of,for,bytheeyes;basedonwhathasbeenseen眼睛的;凭视觉的theoreticala.oforbasedontheorycitizenn.公民;市民ve(astatementtobeuntrue;prove(apersontobemistaken驳斥mastn.alonguprightpoleofwoodormetalforcarryingflagsorsailsonaship桅杆funneln.ametalchimneyforlettingoutsmokefromasteamengineorsteamship(蒸汽机,轮船等的烟囱invisiblea.thatcannotbeseenhorizonn.thelinewheretheskyseemstomeettheearthorsea地平线phenomenon(pl.phenomenan.现象curvevt.bendsoastoformalinethathasnostraightpart使成曲线n.acontinuouslybendinglinewithoutangles曲线followvi.resultoroccurasaconsequence,effect,orinference结果产生;得出sphericala.shapedlikeaball球形的ovaln.&a.(anythingwhichisegg-shaped卵形的(东西,椭圆的(东西cardn.纸牌parisonofthingsthathaveacertainlikeness;similarity类比;相似promptlyad.quicklyandwillingly敏捷地;迅速地prompta.bodyn.=celestialbody天体discn.圆盘castvt.throwordrop;cause(lightorshadowtoappear(on扔,投;投射eclipsen.thetotalorpartialhidingofonecelestialbodybyanother(天文学食bookletn.asmallbook,usu.withapapercover小册子exchangevt.giveandreceive(onethinginreturnforanother交换trumpn.王牌royala.for,belongingto,orconnectedwithakingorqueen皇家的;王室的statementn.expressioninwords;awrittenorspokendeclaration,esp.ofaformalkind陈述;声明acen.(纸牌中的"A"牌,爱司foretellvt.tellbeforehand;predict预言solara.ofthesunthesolarsystemthesunandtheplanetswhichrevolverounditjustifyvt.giveagoodreasonfor;showtobejust,rightorreasonable证明……是正当的；为…辩护say-son.anauthoritativepronouncement;one'sunsupportedassertion权威性声明；无证据的断言Egyptiann.,a.(nativeofEgypt埃及人；埃及的predict