新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第四冊unit-1-The-tail-of-fame

Unit1thetailoffameListeningOscar

Wilde

was

famous

not

only

for

his

plays

and

offensive

public

behavior,

but

also

for

his

cynical(憤世嫉俗的)

quotations.

Here

are

two

quotes

andtheir

meanings.

The

first

quote

is,“No

man

is

rich

enough

to

buy

backhis

past."

It

means

that

a

person

should

be

carefulabout

the

choices

he

or

she

makes

in

life,

because

some

mistakes

can

never

be

corrected

later.

The

second

quote

is,

"Men

become

old,

but

they

never

become

good."

It

means

that

while

men

may

get

older,

they

never

learn

to

be

good.

Wilde

seemed

to

have

very

little

faith

in

himself

or

his

fellow

man.BackOscarWilde(1854-1900)

Oscarwasafamousnovelist,poet,andshortstorywriter.hewasalsooneofthemostsuccessfulplaywrightsoflateVictorianLondon,andoneofthegreatestcelebritiesofhisday.Whilechargedbythehomosexualoffenceshewaslaterimprisonedfortwoyearsofhardwork.Topics1.whoisthemanwithagoodfameyouadmire?giveanexample,andtellmewhy.Topic2.Ifyouareafamoussinger,whatdoyoufeelwhenyouareinterviewedinthepublic.Topic3.doyoulookforwardtobeamanwithagoodfame,why?chasev.追逐；追趕Mydoglikeschasingrabbits.我的那條狗喜歡追逐兔子。crueltyn.殘酷；殘忍Thebooktellsreadersthecrueltyoftheslavetradeatthattime.這本書告訴了讀者在那個時候奴隸買賣的殘忍。Anartistwhoseeksfameislikeadogchasinghisowntailwho,whenhecapturesit,doesnotknowwhatelsetodobuttocontinuechasingit.Thecrueltyofsuccessisthatitoftenleadsthosewhoseeksuchsuccesstoparticipateintheirowndestruction.Pessimisticadj.悲觀的Thedoctorsarepessimisticabouthischancesofrecovery.醫(yī)生們對他康復(fù)的可能性感到悲觀。詞形變換：pessimismn.悲觀主義pessimistn.悲觀主義者[反]optimistica.optimismn.optimistn.conquestn.征服；控制Hefinallymadetheconquestofthediseasecometrue.他最后戰(zhàn)勝了那疾病。bankruptadj.破產(chǎn)的Fiveyearsagoshewasasuccessfulactress,butnowsheisbankrupt.五年前她是一個成功的演員，可是現(xiàn)在她一貧如洗了。worshipvt.崇拜；敬重；仰慕Heworshippedhiswife.他很崇拜妻子。spurvt.鼓勵；刺激Mytrainerspurredmetokeepupapaceoffourmilesanhour.我的教練鼓勵我保持每小時4英里的節(jié)奏。luren.誘惑Itisthelureofmoneythatbringsthemtothecity.是金錢的誘惑使他們來到了這城市。drownv.沉浸于;淹死IfeltasifIweredrowninginsleep.我感到自己好像沉浸在睡眠之中。imperiala.壯麗的；宏大的；帝國的；皇帝的Itissaidthatfewplacesonearthoffersuchimperialscenicbeautyasthis.據(jù)說世界上很少有地方像這里有如此壯觀的美景。“Don’tquityourdayjob!”isadvicefrequentlygivenbyunderstandablypessimisticfamilymembersandfriendstoabuddingartistwhoistryinghardtosucceed.Theconquestoffameisdifficultatbest,andmanyendupemotionallyifnotfinanciallybankrupt.Still,impuremotivessuchasthedesireforworshippingfansandpraisefrompeersmayspurtheartiston.Thelureofdrowninginfame’simperialgloryisnoteasilyresisted.exploitv.利用（……為自己謀利）Heexploitedhisfather’snametogethimselfajob.他利用他父親的名聲為自己找到一份工作。agentn.經(jīng)紀(jì)人;代理人；代理商Abest-sellingwriterneedsagoodagent.暢銷書作家需要好的經(jīng)紀(jì)人。hastenvt.加快；加速Thetreatmentshereceivedmay,infact,havehastenedherdeath.實際上她接受的治療加速了她的死亡。blurn.模糊的記憶；模糊不清的事物TTheeventsofthatdaywerejustablur.那天所發(fā)生的事情簡直就是一片模糊，記不清楚。continuityn.連貫；連續(xù)（性）Hisspeechlackscontinuityinlogic.他的演說缺乏邏輯的連貫性。sustainvt.維持；使...持續(xù)Shemanagedtosustaineveryone'sinterestuntiltheendofherspeech.她設(shè)法使得每個人的興趣都保持到她演講結(jié)束。dissolvev.溶解Saltdissolvesinwater.鹽溶解于水。minutea.極小的Herwriting'ssominutethatit'sdifficulttoread.她的字跡太小了，很難認(rèn)。discountvt.忽視；低估Youshouldn'tdiscountthepossibilityofhimcomingback.你們不應(yīng)該不相信他回來的可能性。Thosewhogainfamemostoftengainitasaresultofexploitingtheirtalentforsinging,dancing,painting,orwriting,etc.Theydevelopastylethatagentsmarketaggressivelytohastenpopularity,andtheirrideontheexpresselevatortothetopisablur.Mostwouldbehard-pressedtotellyouhowtheyevengotthere.Artistscannotremainidle,though.Whentheperformer,painterorwriterbecomesbored,theirworkbeginstoshowalackofcontinuityinitsappealanditbecomesdifficulttosustaintheattentionofthepublic.Aftertheirenthusiasmhasdissolved,thepublicsimplymovesontothenextflavorofthemonth.

Artistswhodoattempttoremaincurrentbymakingevenminutechangestotheirstyleofwriting,dancingorsinging,runasignificantriskoflosingtheaudience’sfavor.Thepublicsimplydiscountsstylesotherthanthoseforwhichtheartisthasbecomefamous.ThebenefitsofgainingagoodfameAlargenumberofeconomicincomeBeadmiredbypublicHaveagoodsocialstatusAhighmaterialstandardoflivingplot

n.（小說、電影、戲劇等的）情節(jié)Thefilmhasaverysimpleplot.這部電影的情節(jié)非常簡單。distincta.明顯不同的;清晰的；清楚的；明顯的Thetwoconceptsarequitedistinctfromeachother.這兩個概念是有明顯區(qū)別的。Famousauthors’styles—aTennesseeWilliamsplayoraplotbyErnestHemingwayorapoembyRobertFrostorT.S.Eliot—areeasilyrecognizable.ThesameistrueofpainterslikeMonet,Renoir,orDaliandmoviemakerslikeHitchcock,Fellini,Spielberg,ChenKaigeorZhangYimou.Theirdistinctstylesmarkedasignificantchangeinformfromothersandgainedthemfameandfortune.However,theypaidforitbygivingupthefreedomtoexpressthemselveswithotherstylesorforms.fraudn.欺詐；詐騙Shewaschargedwithcreditcardfraud.她被指控用信用卡詐騙。Fame’sspotlightcanbehotterthanatropicaljungle—afraudisquicklyexposed,andthepressureofsomuchattentionistoomuchformosttoendure.Ittakesyououtofyourself:Youmustbewhatthepublicthinksyouare,notwhatyoureallyareorcouldbe.Theperformer,likethepolitician,mustoftenpleasehisorheraudiencesbysayingthingsheorshedoesnotmeanorfullybelieve.TheshortcomingsofgainingagoodfameNoprivacyNofreedomOnefalsestepbringseverlasting（接連不斷的

）grief（悲傷）Hiddenrules(潛規(guī)則)contaminatevt.污染；弄臟Thefoodwhichhadbeencontaminatedwasdestroyed.被污染的食品已經(jīng)被銷毀了。remain/betrueto忠于Wearetruetoourculturaltraditions.我們忠于我們的文化傳統(tǒng)。underlinevt.在...下劃線;強(qiáng)調(diào)，使突出Don'tforgettounderlinethetitleoftheessay.別忘了在文章標(biāo)題下劃線。uncompromisinga.不妥協(xié)的；不讓步的Atwork,Georgewasknownasanuncompromisingbusinessman.在工作上，喬治是一個決不讓步的商人。object

vi.反對；不贊成Nooneobjectedwhenthebosssaiditwastimetogohome.當(dāng)老板說該回家了時，沒有人表示反對。objectto反對；不贊成Ifshedoesnotobjecttoit,whyshouldwe?只要她不反對，我們?yōu)槭裁匆磳Γ?/p>

accusevt.指控；控告He'sbeenaccusedofrobbery.他被控?fù)尳?。suevt.起訴；控告Hethreatenedtosuethemiftheworkwasnotcompleted.如果工作完不成，他威脅要起訴他們。attorneyn.律師Simpsonansweredquestionsfromhisdefenseattorneyfornearlythreehours.辛普森回答了將近三小時自己辯護(hù)律師提出的問題。secondvt.支持；附議Themotionwasproposedbytheclub'schairmanandsecondedbythesecretary.這提案是俱樂部主席提出的，并得到了秘書的支持。fine

vt.罰...的款Driverswhoexceedthespeedlimitcanexpecttobefinedheavily.超速駕駛的司機(jī)會受到重罰。expelvt.開除；驅(qū)逐Thegovernmenthasexpelledsomediplomats.政府已將一些外交官驅(qū)逐出境。Onedropoffamewilllikelycontaminatetheentirewellofaman’ssoul,andsoanartistwhoremainstruetohimselforherselfisparticularlyamazing.Youwouldbehard-pressedtounderlinemanynamesofthosewhohavenotcompromisedandstillsucceededinthefamegame.Anexample,thefamousIrishwriterOscarWilde,knownforhisuncompromisingbehavior,bothsocialandsexual,towhichthepublicobjected,paidheavilyforremainingtruetohimself.ThemotherofayoungmanOscarwasintimatewithaccusedhimatabanquetinfrontofhisfriendsandfansofsexuallyinfluencingherson.Extremelyangeredbyherremarks,hesuedtheyoungman’smother,assertingthatshehaddamagedhis“good”name.Heshouldhavehiredabetterattorney,though.ThejudgedidnotsecondWilde’scalltohavethewomanpayfordamaginghisname,andinsteadfinedWilde.Heendedupinjailafterrefusingtopay,andevenworse,waspermanentlyexpelledfromthewidercircleofpublicfavor.Whenthingswereattheirworst,hefoundthatnoonewaswillingtoriskhisorhernameinhisdefense.Hispriceforremainingtruetohimselfwastobeleftalonewhenheneededhisfansthemost.Whatkindofpeoplewillgainfameandhowtogainthefame?

ThinkingArtist,moviestar,singer,scientist,president,novelist,…itcouldbeanyone.Thosewhogainfamemostoftengainitasaresultofexploitingtheirtalentanddevelopingaspeciallystyle.Howtochaseagoodfame?Single-minded：havingoneclearaimandworkingveryhardtoachieveitTargeted目標(biāo)明確Firm堅定Thedistinctstyle獨特的風(fēng)格Industry（勤奮）istheparentofsuccess.Successistheparentoffame

justifyvt.證明...有道理；為...辯護(hù)Howdoyoujustifyyourrudebehavior?你如何為你的粗魯舉止辯解呢？sophisticated

adj.復(fù)雜的；精致的；久經(jīng)世故的；富有經(jīng)驗的“Theseareverysophisticated

machines,”hesaid.“這些都是非常精密的機(jī)器”他說。contemporaryadj.當(dāng)代的；同時代的；屬于同一時期的Herubbishedmostofthenovelswrittenbycontemporarywriters.他把大多數(shù)當(dāng)代作家寫的小說貶得一無是處。Curiouslyenough,itisthosewhofailthatreapthegreatestreward:freedom!Theyenjoythefreedomtoexpressthemselvesinuniqueandoriginalwayswithoutfearoflosingthesupportoffans.Failedartistsmayfindcomfortinknowingthatmanygreatartistsneverfoundfameuntilwellaftertheyhadpassedawayorinknowingthattheydidnotsellout.Theymayjustifytheirfailurebyconvincingthemselvestheirgeniusistoosophisticatedforcontemporaryaudiences.single-mindeda.一心一意的；專一的Sheisverysingle-mindedabouthercareer.她專一于自己的事業(yè)。throwout開除；解雇ThesetwofamoussportsmenwerethrownoutoftheOlympicsafterfailingdrugtests.這兩位著名的運動員由于沒有通過藥檢被逐出奧運會。Single-mindedartistswhocontinuetheirquestforfameevenafterfailuremightalsoliketoknowthatfailurehasmotivatedsomefamouspeopletoworkevenhardertosucceed.ThomasWolfe,theAmericannovelist,hadhisfirstnovelLookHomeward,Angelrejected39timesbeforeitwasfinallypublished.Beethovenovercamehisfather,whodidnotbelievethathehadanypotentialasamusician,tobecomethegreatestmusicianintheworld.AndPestalozzi,thefamousSwisseducatorinthe19thcentury,failedateveryjobheeverhaduntilhecameupontheideaofteachingchildrenanddevelopingthefundamentaltheoriestoproduceanewformofeducation.ThomasEdisonwasthrownoutofschoolinthefourthgrade,becauseheseemedtohisteachertobequitedull.Unfortunatelyformostpeople,however,failureistheendoftheirstruggle,notthebeginning.desperatea.極需要的；極向往的;絕望的；拼命的Theteamisdesperateforawin.這個隊極需要一場勝利。desperatelyad.非常;絕望地；拼命地Shealwaysseemstobedesperatelybusy!她看上去總是非常忙。alasad.不幸的是；遺憾的是Ilovefootballbut,alas,Ihavenotalentasaplayer.我喜歡足球，可是，真遺憾，我沒有足球隊員的天賦。Isaytothosewhodesperatelyseekfameandfortune:goodluck.Butalas,youmayfindthatitwasnotwhatyouwanted.Thedogwhocatcheshistaildiscoversthatitisonlyatail.Thepersonwhoachievessuccessoftendiscoversthatitdoesmoreharmthangood.Soinsteadoftryingsohardtoachievesuccess,trytobehappywithwhoyouareandwhatyoudo.Trytodoworkthatyouc