2024年1月19日发(作者：)

Unit ELEVEN: TEXT I

Words and Expressions

1) spasm (l. 1)

n. an involuntary muscular contraction; here a sudden violent spell (of)

痉挛；（感情等的）一阵发作

e.g. a spasm of pain 阵痛

a spasm of coughing 一阵咳嗽

a spasm of the stomach 胃痉挛

synonyms: spell; fit; convulsion

2) futile (l. 3)

adj. ineffective; unsuccessful

e.g. All his attempts to unlock the car were futile, because he was using the wrong

key.

synonyms: futile; barren; bootless; fruitless; unavailing; useless; vain

The central meaning shared by these adjectives is “producing no result

or effect”

a futile effort 徒劳

a barren search 白费劲的研究

bootless entreaties 无用的乞求

fruitless labors 无收益的劳动

an unavailing attempt 无效的尝试

a useless discussion 没有结果的讨论；

vain regrets 毫无意义的悔恨

3) insinuate (l. 4)

vt. introduce something indirectly and subtly 使巧妙的进入; suggest something

unpleasantly and indirectly 暗示；含沙射影

e.g. Are you insinuating that I’m telling a lie?

你这是在暗示我是在说谎吗？

~ doubts into sb.’s mind 使某人慢慢产生怀疑

~ oneself into sb.’s favour 巧妙地逐渐逐渐取得某人的宠信

4) convulsive (l. 4)

adj. having a violent involuntary contraction; spasmic; spasmodic

collocation: ~ rage 震怒

a ~ movement of the muscles 肌肉痉挛

5) illumination (l. 5)

n. enlightenment; edification 启迪；教诲

6) recuperation (l. 6)

n. getting back strength; getting free from worry 恢复；复原

7) improvise (l. 10)

vi & vt. make or do without preparation, sufficient material, etc. 即兴创作；临时准备

e.g. He improvised a dinner for the unexpected guests.

他为不速之客临时准备了晚餐。

If an actor forgets his words, he has to improvise.

如果一个演员忘了台词，他必须临时现编。

~ a poem 即席作诗

8) sedulously (l. 12)

adv. diligently; assiduously 勤勉；勤奋；坚忍不拔

9) vivifying fruits (l. 12)

results that give one relaxation/refreshment

vivify: vt. to give or bring life to; animate

vivify a puppet 使木偶变得有活力（有生气）

10) command (l. 26)

vt. have within reach; be master of 掌握；对……有支配权

e.g. This island country commands immense natural resources.

这个岛国有极其丰富的自然资源。

11) caprice (l. 27)

n. sudden wish to have or do something; whim; fancy; （fad狂热；一时的爱好） 反复无常；怪想

e.g. He acted not from reason, but from caprice.

他不是凭理智，而是凭幻想来行事。

12) banish (l. 42)

vt. drive out; get rid of; dismiss 放逐；驱逐（出境）；消除

e.g. Banish that thought from your mind.

你不要那样想了/打消这个念头吧。

banish sb. from 放逐，（尤指）驱逐出境

13) undue (l. 6)

adj. excessive; not just, proper, or legal 不当；过分；过度

with undue haste 过于仓促

Don't treat the matter with undue haste. 不要草率地处理此事。

show undue concern over sb. / sth. 对某人（某事）表现过分关心

14) aggravate (l. 16)

vt. make worse or more serious 使恶化；加重

e.g. His bad temper was aggravated by his headache.

头疼使他的脾气更坏。

Don't aggravate me, child.

孩子, 不要惹我生气。

grav- 意思是重（heavy），同根词还有：grave（adj. 重大的；严重的）；gravity（n. 重力）

15) in vain (l. 28)

徒然；枉然；无结果地

e.g. The police tried in vain to break up the protest crowds.

警察企图驱散抗议的人群,但没有成功。

All our work was in vain.

我们所有的工作都白费了。

II. Paraphrase

1. The more you attempt to shake off your worry, the harder it will be for you to get rid of it..

2. It is not a good idea to begin thinking of pursuing a hobby when you have already grown old.

3. It is no good believing that you are in a position to enjoy at a moment’s notice any pastime

which happens to catch your fancy; pleasure comes from exerting one’s talents in a hobby

suited to one’s circumstances.

4. Since those very wealthy people can afford to get access to almost anything they may think of

and to turn the most fanciful ideas into reality, there is nothing in this world that can interest

or excite them any more. To them, a new pleasure, a new excitement may very often make

them even more bored about life.

5. In fact, it is probably those whose work provides them with their enjoyment are those who are

most in need of periodic distractions from their work.

III. Translate the following into English (page 121)

1. His attempt at insinuating that John was the culprit turned out to be futile.

2. He is very clever at improvising excuses when he fails to do what is expected of him.

3. His trip to Tibet will gratify his desire to see Potala. (the Potala Palace)

4. This corporation commands excellent/rich/abundant human resources.

5. Think of an alternative way of entertaining your guests. Don’t always show them VCDs.

6. It is harmful to indulge in whims and caprices.

7. Try not to lay your hands on anything that you are not entitled to.

8. He did not come to the competition. It may well be that he had forgotten all about it.

Some synonyms:

1. be taken aback/back: surprised, esp. rather upset 大吃一惊

be taken aside: 被叫到一旁

take apart: 拆开；粗暴对待，严厉批评，猛烈抨击

e.g. His point was taken apart. 他的观点受到了猛烈地抨击。

2. frantic: wildly excited; anxious be ~ with pain/worry 痛得发狂/焦急得发狂

ferocious: fierce 凶猛，凶残，残忍 a ~ animal 猛兽 a ~ look 凶相 ~ heat 酷热

fervent: enthusiastic and very sincere ~ applause; ~ love/hatred/desire强烈的爱/恨/热望

fanatic: too enthusiastic 狂热的；盲信的 a ~ opponent/supporter 狂热的反对者/支持者

3. hobby: an activity or interest pursued outside one’s regular occupation and engaged in primarily

for pleasure or relaxation 业余爱好

pastime: an activity that occupies one’s spare time pleasantly, and this activity suggests little

intrinsic worth 消遣；打发时间

recreation: refreshment of one’s mind or body after work through activity that amuses or

stimulates. It can more suggest activity that is done in groups and that includes

physical exercise; play 休养；娱乐；玩耍；放松身心

sport(s): an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or

customs and often undertaken competitively

4. drudgery: tedious, menial, or unpleasant work 苦工；单调、卑贱或无趣的工作

labor: physical or mental exertion, esp. when difficult or exhausting; work

work: physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of

something

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Debts are usually burdens, but this is no ordinary debt, and it is no burden, except as the

feeling of warm gratitude may ache in one until it is expressed.(ll.2-3)

欠债往往是一种负担，可这不是普通的债，也不存在负担，只有一种温暖的感激之情让人心痛，非得表达出来不可。

…you must picture to yourself that child, living quite solitary in a remote Chinese

countryside, in a small mission bungalow perched upon a hill among the rice fields in the

valleys below. (ll.8-10)

你可以想象一下那个时候的我：十分孤单，住在中国一个偏远的农村，一个很小的传教士平房里，小屋坐落在一座小山上，山谷里满是稻田，将整个小山包围在中间。

In the near distance wound that deep, treacherous, golden river, the Yangtse, and some of

the most terrifying and sinister, as well as the most delightful and exciting moments of

that child’s life, were spent beside the river. (ll.10-12)

不远处一条金色的河蜿蜒曲折，水很深，水流湍急，它就是扬子江。在扬子江畔，我度过了最可怕、最险恶，但也是最快乐、最兴奋的童年时光。

It was a word so wicked that the youth who called her foreign devil ran howling with

terror, and thereafter she went more contentedly, not using the word any more because of

its great wickedness, but knowing she had it to use if she needed it very much. (ll.26-29)

这个脏字特别恶毒，让那个叫她洋鬼子的少年十分恐惧，嚎叫着吓跑了。以后她就更加得意了，没有再说过那个字，因为它太恶毒了，但是她知道，在非常需要的时候她还得用上它。

To this small, isolated creature there came one day an extraordinary accident. She was an

impossibly voracious reader. She would like to have had children’s books, but there were

none, and so she read everything, — Plutarch’s “Lives” and Foxe’s “Martyrs”, the Bible,

church history, and the hot spots in Jonathan Edwards’s sermons, and conversations out

of Shakespeare, and bits of Tennyson and Browning which she could not understand at all.

(ll.40-45)

有一天，一件不同寻常的事情发生在了这个孤独的小家伙身上。她酷爱读书，希望拥有儿童书籍。可她一本也没有，于是她就读那些可以找到的一切读物—普鲁塔克的《比较列传》和福克斯的《殉教者书》，还有《圣经》、教派史、约拿丹·爱德华布道中热情洋溢的片断、莎士比亚戏剧中的对话，以及她根本无法理解的丁尼生和布朗宁的诗作。

How can I make you know what that discovery was to that small, lonely child? There in

that corner above the country road in China, with vendors passing beneath me, I entered

into my own heritage. (ll.57-59)

我怎么才能使你明白这个发现对于那个孤独幼小的孩子意味着什么啊？就在那个角落，下面是中国乡间的小路，做买卖的小贩从下面走过，而我却走进了自己的文化遗产。

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He opened my eyes to people, he taught me to love all sorts of people, high and low, rich

and poor, the old and little children. He taught me to hate hypocrisy and pious mouthing

of unctuous words. He taught me that beneath gruffness there may be kindness, and that

kindness is the sweetest thing in the world, and goodness is the best thing in the world.

He taught me to despise money grubbing. (ll.74-79)

他让我睁开了双眼，开始了解他人。他教导我热爱所有人，无论高低贵贱、年长年幼；他教导我憎恨伪善、口蜜腹剑；他教导我粗暴里面可能藏着友善，而友善是世上最甜蜜的东西，善良是世上最美好的东西；他教导我要鄙视不择手段赚钱的行为。

People today say he is obvious and sentimental and childish in his analysis of character. It

may be so, and yet I have found people surprisingly like those he wrote about—the good

a little less undiluted, perhaps, and the evil a little more mixed. And I do not regret that

simplicity of his, for it had its own virtue. The virtue was a great zest for life. If he saw

everything black and white, it was because life rushed out of him strong and clear, full of

love and hate. He gave me that zest, that immense joy in life and in people, and in their

variety. (ll.79-85)

今天的人们都说他对人物性格的分析过于浅显、感情用事并且简单幼稚。也许是吧，但我发现，奇怪的是，人们很喜爱他笔下的人物—好人也许不是那么纯粹的好，坏人也不是那么一味的坏。我并不为他的简单而感到遗憾，因为这种简单自有其优点。这种优点就是对生活的热爱。如果说他看到的都是黑白分明的，那是因为生活的热情从他身上滚滚涌出，强烈而清晰，充满了爱与恨。他给了我这种热情，让我从生活、人和丰富多彩的人生中体会到了巨大的快乐。

He gave me, too, my first real glimpse of a kindly English God, a sort of father, to whom

the childlike and the humble might turn. There was no talk of hell in his books. He made

Christmas for me, a merry, roaring English Christmas, full of goodies and plum puddings

and merriment and friendly cheer. (ll.86-89)

还有，他让我第一次真实地瞥见了一个仁慈的英国版的上帝，有点象父亲，所有天真无邪、卑下微贱的人都可以求助于他。在他的书中，他从来不提地狱。他写的圣诞节让我看来就是一个快乐热闹的英国式的圣诞，充满了好吃的东西和梅子布丁，到处是快乐和友好的欢呼声。

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