新编大学英语教程第四册Unit 01

 This year it's going to be different

 

New Year's resolutions1 are like anything else—you get out of them what you put in.Judging from results of other years, I had never put enough in, but this year was going to be different. I read books on self-improvement2 before I wrote my list. Find some beauty in everything .... Make the other fellow feel important .... About thirty like that. Pretty clearly, anyone who followed my collection of rules would be blessed with a richer life3,boundless love from his family, and the admiration¹ of the community. I could hardly wait until New Year's Day.

 

When I came downstairs Maggie, my wife, was at the kitchen sink4. I tiptoed over and kissed her on the back of the neck. (Resolution No. 1: Be spontaneous in showing affection. ) She shrieked³ and dropped a cup. "Don't ever sneak⁴ up on5 me like that again!" she cried.

 

"You' re looking lovely this morning," I said. (A sincere compliment is worth its weight in gold. )

 

"Look," she said, "it wasn't my idea to stay out until four a.m."6

 

I took some aspirin⁵ and coffee into the living room. I'd just started reading the paper when Sammy, our five-year-old7, came in. He was wearing the watch he'd received for Christmas. "Say, Dad," he said, "what makes a watch run?''8 

 

In the old days I would have told him to ask his mother. Instead, I got a pencil and drew a sketch⁶ of the escapement mechanism⁷. (Always encourage your child's curiosity.) It took about fifteen minutes, and Sammy wandered off several times, but I kept calling him back. "There," I said, "that's what makes your watch run."

 

"Then how come it doesn' t?'9 he asked.

 

His brother Roy walked by. "You have to wind it," said Roy. Sammy wound it and held it to his ear. He smiled. "Roy sure is smart,"10 he said.

 

Our daughter Gretchen came in with her doll, Mrs. Robinson. "Good morning,Gretchen," I said. "Happy New Year, Mrs. Robinson. " (Meet your child at his own level. )

 

"It isn' t either happy,"11said Gretchen~ "Mrs. Robinson is sick. Probably a coro-nary12. "

 

"Why don't you take her to see Dr. Sammy?" I suggested. "He can use his new doctor' s kit²."

 

The phone rang, and I answered it. It was a friend of our daughter Kit. "Happy New Year, Marilyn,' I said. "What have you been doing over the holidays.(Show an interest in your children' s friends. ) She said she hadn' t been doing anything much. "Come now13, a pretty girl like you," I said jovially—"I'll bet the fellows are swarming⁸ around14 ....What's that? Yes, of course you can speak to Kit. Certainly."

 

Kit was in her room with the record player going very loud. I rapped on the door. She called out something, and I went in. She was in her pajamas⁹. "l didn't say you could come in!' she yelled, grabbing a robe and holding it in front of her. At fourteen, she has become extremely aware of being female.

 

"I'm sorry. I couldn't understand you," I said apologetically. To ease the situation, I picked up her brand-new sweater from the floor and put it over a chair.

 

"l was going to pick it up," she said defensively. "You don't always put your things away.

 

There was a series of shrieks¹⁰ down the hall. I found Gretchen in tears. Roy and Sammy were about to perform open-heart surgery on Mrs. Robinson with a scout¹¹ knife15. "She told us Mrs. Robinson was sick," Roy said.

 

I suggested that they carve something for their mother- like a salad spoon16.(Encourage creativity in the young. )

 

In the kitchen, Maggie wanted to know what was wrong with Gretchen. "Mrs.Robinson had a coronary," I told her.

 

"1 know you' re not feeling your best after last night," she said, "but I'm getting a little tired of these smart remarks.6 Would you mind taking the garbage17 out?"

 

"I'd be happy to,' I said. (The most trivial chore can prove rewarding if approached with zest¹². ) 

 

"Do you have to be so sarcastic¹³?" she said.

 

It seemed that my resolutions weren't working the way the books had said. I didn't quit, though. I helped the boys build a snowman--only Sammy got his feet wet18 and Roy lost his mittens¹⁴ and they went inside. I played jacks¹⁵ with Gretchen19, but she said I didn't do it right. I struck up a conversation with Kit, trying to establish some kind of rapport20. I touched on hippies, pop music, dating, morality and so on21.She contributed very little.Anybody else would have thrown in the sponge22, but I kept trying. For example, Maggie always dreads¹⁶ taking down the Christmas tree, so I thought I'd do it for her. (Take over one of your wife' s chores, she' 11 love you for it. )

 

I was about two thirds done when Maggie came in. "Oh, no! " she cried. "I wanted it left up for the party tonight. Can' t you just sit and watch a football game? Please? It' s what you usually do on New Year's."

 

"This year is different," I said.

 

"Yes, isn't it?' She shook her head. "1 swear I don't know23. The kids have been impossible all day. I found the boys whittling¹⁷ on my best salad spoon, and then they had the nerve to say you suggested it24. And Kit has been in a poisonous mood25. She said that Marilyn phoned and you didn' t tell her. And that you cross-examined Marilyn about her boyfriends. "

 

"Hold it! " I said. "1 was only making small talk. "26 By now the kids were in the room,drawn by the commotion¹⁸. 

 

"You never bothered with small talk before. Why start now?"

 

"Because it's New Year' s, "I said. I explained to the assembled gathering¹⁹ about the books and the resolutions and what l'd been trying to accomplish. Silence. The kids stood there looking uneasily at each other. "A man wants to improve himself," I said. "He wants to be a better husband, a better father--" 

 

"We all want to be better," Maggie said. "Except that when you' re so considerate it doesn't seem natural. If the kids do something and you get mad, they know where they stand.27But when you're so even-tempered--"

 

"Yeah," Kit said. "You didn't say a word about my clothes on the floor.You just smiled. It made me sick28." 

 

Roy said, "1 been in more trouble today ...."29 

 

Gretchen said, "I think it was better when you didn't play jacks."

 

"And yelled, ' Sammy said, "and said ' damitail'. "30

 

"All right," I snarled²⁰. "I make every effort to be a good father, and this is the thanks I get. The fact is, you don't deserve the father you've got. " 

 

I was illustrating²¹ my points with gestures. "You' re the ones who'd better start making resolutions. Like doing your homework, cleaning your rooms, letting the spoons alone31.And when I tell you to do something, jump32!''

 

I reached out to steady a lamp I had brushed with my sleeve. "Furthermore--' At this moment, I realized suddenly that the atmosphere had changed. The kids were sprawled²² on the floor, relaxed. I turned to Maggie.

 

"Why is everybody smiling? What's the big joke?"

 

"No joke, " she said. "We' re just happy to have you back again. "

 

By Will Stanton

1 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

2 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

3 shrieked   

v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She shrieked in fright. 她吓得尖叫起来。
• Li Mei-t'ing gave a shout, and Lu Tzu-hsiao shrieked, "Tell what? 李梅亭大声叫，陆子潇尖声叫：“告诉什么？ 来自汉英文学 - 围城

4 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

5 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

6 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

7 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

8 swarming   

密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。
• The beach is swarming with bathers. 海滩满是海水浴的人。

9 pajamas   

n.睡衣裤

参考例句：

• At bedtime,I take off my clothes and put on my pajamas.睡觉时，我脱去衣服，换上睡衣。
• He was wearing striped pajamas.他穿着带条纹的睡衣裤。

10 shrieks   

n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• shrieks of fiendish laughter 恶魔般的尖笑声
• For years, from newspapers, broadcasts, the stages and at meetings, we had heard nothing but grandiloquent rhetoric delivered with shouts and shrieks that deafened the ears. 多少年来， 报纸上， 广播里， 舞台上， 会场上的声嘶力竭，装腔做态的高调搞得我们震耳欲聋。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 scout   

n.童子军，侦察员；v.侦察，搜索

参考例句：

• He was mistaken for an enemy scout and badly wounded.他被误认为是敌人的侦察兵，受了重伤。
• The scout made a stealthy approach to the enemy position.侦察兵偷偷地靠近敌军阵地。

12 zest   

n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣

参考例句：

• He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。
• He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

13 sarcastic   

adj.讥讽的，讽刺的，嘲弄的

参考例句：

• I squashed him with a sarcastic remark.我说了一句讽刺的话把他给镇住了。
• She poked fun at people's shortcomings with sarcastic remarks.她冷嘲热讽地拿别人的缺点开玩笑。

14 mittens   

不分指手套

参考例句：

• Cotton mittens will prevent the baby from scratching his own face. 棉的连指手套使婴儿不会抓伤自己的脸。
• I'd fisted my hands inside their mittens to keep the fingers warm. 我在手套中握拳头来保暖手指。

15 jacks   

n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃

参考例句：

• Hydraulic jacks under the machine produce the movement. 是机器下面的液压千斤顶造成的移动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front end is equipped with hydraulic jacks used for grade adjustment. 前瑞安装有液压千斤顶用来调整坡度。 来自辞典例句

16 dreads   

n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The little boy dreads going to bed in the dark. 这孩子不敢在黑暗中睡觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A burnt child dreads the fire. [谚]烧伤过的孩子怕火（惊弓之鸟，格外胆小）。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 whittling   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Inflation has been whittling away their savings. 通货膨胀使他们的积蓄不断减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is whittling down the branch with a knife to make a handle for his hoe. 他在用刀削树枝做一把锄头柄。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

19 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

20 snarled   

v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的过去式和过去分词 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• The dog snarled at us. 狗朝我们低声吼叫。
• As I advanced towards the dog, It'snarled and struck at me. 我朝那条狗走去时，它狂吠着向我扑来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 illustrating   

给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• He upstaged the other speakers by illustrating his talk with slides. 他演讲中配上幻灯片，比其他演讲人更吸引听众。
• Material illustrating detailed structure of graptolites has been etched from limestone by means of hydrofluoric acid. 表明笔石详细构造的物质是利用氢氟酸从石灰岩中侵蚀出来。

22 sprawled   

v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词)；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
• He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。