【有声英语文学名著】CHAPTER FOUR（8）

Democracy in action, it touched people‘s lives in the most immediate¹ way, shaped opinions, provoked and entertained and engaged far more effectively  than  all  those  books  that  no-one  read  or  plays  that  no-one  went  to  see.  Emma could say what she liked about the Tories (Dexter was no fan either, though more for reasons of  style  than  principle)  but  they  had  certainly  shaken  up  the  media.  Until recently, broadcasting had seemed stuffy², worthy³ and dull; heavily unionised, grey and bureaucratic⁴, full  of bearded  lifers  and  do-gooders  and  old  dears  pushing  tea-trolleys;  a  sort  of  showbiz branch of the Civil Service. Redlight Productions, on the other hand, was part  of the boom of new,  youthful,  privately  owned  independent  companies  wresting  the  means  of  production away from those fusty old Reithian dinosaurs⁶. There was money in the media; the fact sang out from the primary-coloured open-plan offices with their state-of-the-art computer systems and generous communal⁷ fridges.

His rise through this world had been meteoric⁸. The woman he had met on a train in India with the glossy⁹ black bob and tiny spectacles had given him his first job as a runner, then a researcher, and  now he was Assistant Producer, Asst Prod⁵, on  UP4IT, a weekend magazine programme that mixed live music and outrageous¹⁰ stand-up with reports on issues that ‗really affect young people today‘: STDs, drugs, dance music, drugs, police brutality¹¹, drugs. Dexter　produced hyperactive little films of grim housing estates shot from crazy angles through fisheye  lenses,  the  clouds  speeded  up  to  a  soundtrack  of  acid  house.  There  was  even  talk  of putting him in front of the cameras in the next series. He was excelling,  he was flying and there seemed to be every possibility that he might make his parents proud.

‗I  work  in  TV‘;  just  saying  it  gave  him  satisfaction.  He  liked  striding  down  Berwick Street to an edit-suite with a jiffy bag of videotapes, nodding at people just like him. He liked the sushi platters and the launch parties, he liked drinking from water coolers and ordering couriers and saying things like ‗we‘ve got to lose six seconds‘. Secretly, he liked the fact that it  was  one  of  the  better-looking  industries,  and  one  that  valued  youth.  No  chance,  in  this brave new world of TV, of walking into a conference room to find a group of sixty-two-year　olds brainstorming¹². What happened to TV people when they reached a certain age?Where did  they  go?  

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 stuffy   

adj.不透气的，闷热的

参考例句：

• It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
• It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热，我们感到空气都是潮的。

3 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

4 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

5 prod   

vt.戳，刺；刺激，激励

参考例句：

• The crisis will prod them to act.那个危机将刺激他们行动。
• I shall have to prod him to pay me what he owes.我将不得不催促他把欠我的钱还给我。

6 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

8 meteoric   

adj.流星的，转瞬即逝的，突然的

参考例句：

• In my mind,losing weight is just something meteoric.在我眼中，减肥不过是昙花一现的事情。
• His early career had been meteoric.他的早期生涯平步青云。

9 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

10 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

11 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

12 brainstorming   

献计献策,合力攻关

参考例句：

• With Brainstorming, treat the view on how to solve the problem rightly. 利用脑激励法(Brainstorming)，正确对待学生实验中的问题解决观。
• We are going to do some brainstorming soon. 我们很快就要做些脑力激荡。