現(xiàn)代大學(xué)英語(yǔ)精讀Unit13

1、Russell Baker § Born in Virginia in 1925§ In charge of "The Observer" column for the New York Times from 1962 to 1998.§ Won his first Pulitzer Prize in 1979 for distinguished commentary as a columnist§ Received his second Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for his autobiography Gro

2、wing up§ Regarded as one of America's leading wordsmiths and humorists Beackground:The Great DepressionOne of the most critical economic periods in the United States history was the Great Depression. A majority of the U.S. citizens did not know much about the Depression. The only informatio

3、n that they knew was what they read from textbooks. Many citizens never really had to face the hardship like others were forced to face. Growing Up by Russell Baker is an autobiography on the problems he and his family endured during this era. Causes of the Great Depression: § Speculation(投機(jī)) i

4、n the 1920s caused many people to buy stocks with loaned money. The stock market boom was very unsteady, because it was based on borrowed money and false optimism. § Politicians believed that business was the key business of America. Thus, the government took no action against unwise investing.

5、 § Stock Market crash on October 24, 1929 (black Thursday) Misery and personal sufferings were widespread.§ Living conditions changed when multiple families crowded into small houses or apartments. § Unemployment rate was very high. § Thousands went hungry. § Children suffer

6、ed long term effects from a poor diet and inadequate medical care. § Women continued to doing womens work such as nursing, and even if they were able to get an industry job which seldom hired women, they usually were paid less than men. Language Study:preside pri'zaid v.act as president pre

7、side over companies and corporations vi.主持，擔(dān)任會(huì)議主席to chair, run the showvt.管理manage, conduct, run, direct, controlovergrown ,uv'run adj.1. covered with growing plants2. abounding in usually unwanted vegetationadj.蔓生的；生長(zhǎng)過(guò)快的conceive kn'si:v v.1. have the idea for He conceived of a robot that wo

8、uld help paralyzed patients This library was well conceived 2. judge or regard; look upon; judge The racist conceives such people to be inferior 3. become pregnant; undergo conception She cannot conceive My daughter was conceived in Christmas Day vt.懷孕；構(gòu)思；以為；持有design, holdvi.懷孕；設(shè)想；考慮allow, think of,

9、 think aboutinconceivable ,inkn'si:vbl adj.totally unlikelyadj.不可思議的；難以置信的；不能想象的 incrediblepromptly prmptli adv.1. with little or no delay the rescue squad arrived promptly adv. 迅速地；立即地；敏捷地quickly, rapidlydismiss dis'mis v.1. bar from attention or consideration She dismissed his advances 2.

10、cease to consider; put out of judicial consideration This case is dismissed! 3. stop associating with4. terminate the employment ofvt.解散；解雇；開(kāi)除；讓.離開(kāi)remove, fire outvi.解散disband, break upadv.迅速地；立即地；敏捷地quickly, rapidly, fast, readyhazy 'heizi adj.1. filled or abounding with fog or mist2. indistinc

11、t or hazy in outlineadj.朦朧的；模糊的；有薄霧的fuzzy, dark, vaguehazy blue 朦朧的藍(lán)色briskly 'briskli adv.in a brisk manner she walked briskly in the cold air after lunch,' she said briskly adv.迅速地；活潑地；尖刻地quickly, rapidly, fast, promptly, readyfierce fis adj.1. marked by extreme and violent energy fierce fi

12、ghting 2. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid fierce loyalty 3. ruthless in competition4. violently agitated and turbulent the fierce thunders roar me their music adj.兇猛的；猛烈的；暴躁的fell, violent, hardthrust rst n. the force used in pushingv.push f

13、orcefully He thrust his chin forward n.力推力；刺pushing forcecustomary 'kst,mri adj.1. in accordance with convention or custom sealed the deal with the customary handshake 2. commonly used or practiced; usual took his customary morning walk adj.習(xí)慣的；通常的usual, used, common, accustomedformidable 'f

14、:midbl adj.1. extremely impressive in strength or excellence a formidable opponent the challenge was formidable had a formidable array of compositions to his credit the formidable army of brains at the Prime Minister's disposal 2. inspiring fear the formidable prospect of major surgery adj.強(qiáng)大的；可

15、怕的；令人敬畏的；艱難的powerful, terrible, august, horribletrip trip vi.絆倒；遠(yuǎn)足；犯錯(cuò)誤；輕快地走excurse, make a mistaken.旅行；絆倒；差錯(cuò)journey, tour, travelsyn: stumbledebris 'deibri: n.the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken upn.碎片，殘骸remain, chipgravy 'reivi n.1. basically the juices that drip from

16、 cooking meatsn.肉汁；不法利潤(rùn)；輕易得來(lái)的錢bovril, gippobattered 'bætd adj.1. damaged by blows or hard usage a battered old car 2. damaged especially by hard usage his battered old hat adj.破舊的；磨損的；弄垮的；受到虐待的wearing, shotv.連續(xù)猛擊；磨損（batter的過(guò)去分詞）wornferocity n.兇猛；兇惡，殘忍；暴行變形:crueltysenility si'nilti; se- n.1. 老年；年老，年歲大2. 老態(tài)龍鐘；老朽，年老昏聵silver lining1. 云朵的銀色邊緣2. 一線希望(或慰藉)banal b'n:l, 'beinl adj.repeated