最新15篇文章贯通英语四级词汇MP3 Unit6-Part2

 

[00:00.00]I looked for clues to 

[00:02.61]determine how striking the changes 

[00:04.46]in my daily life would be.

[00:06.87] How would I spend my time?

[00:09.61] In spite of having

[00:11.58] many long yearly vacations 

[00:13.88]when I could pursue other interests, 

[00:16.07]I had not bothered to 

[00:18.14]make an earnest effort 

[00:20.00]to confine my activities 

[00:21.64]to one particular hobby.  

[00:23.28]Would I find life 

[00:26.02]as a retiree boring? What new 

[00:28.97]adventures might await me? 

[00:31.27]Would I use my time to 

[00:33.57]volunteer at a hospital or maybe 

[00:35.65]work for a local charity? 

[00:37.11]Maybe I would apply for 

[00:41.27]membership in a golf league. 

[00:42.58]Maybe I would donate 

[00:44.99]my time and work with 

[00:46.52]the Better Business Bureau. 

[00:48.60]I might decide to 

[00:50.79]enter local politics and 

[00:52.65]run for a position 

[00:54.50]on town council or I

[00:55.93] could run for the position

[00:58.12] of Deputy Mayor of my town, 

[00:59.87]or maybe even consider submitting

[01:02.28] my name to be a candidate

[01:04.79]in an election for

[01:06.10] member of parliament. 

[01:08.07]I would need to campaign 

[01:10.04]and then wait to see 

[01:11.68]if people would vote for me 

[01:13.32]on election day at the polls.

[01:16.06]In spite of the fact that 

[01:18.80]the possibilities all had merit,

[01:21.31] I had to admit that 

[01:23.06]I only had a superficial interest 

[01:25.14]in pursuing any of them. 

[01:27.11]In fact, I was indifferent 

[01:30.17]to most of the options. 

[01:32.14]Did I think they might

[01:35.20]interfere with other commitments

[01:37.50] or mean I would have 

[01:38.60]to cancel other appointments? 

[01:40.35]Or was I just too attached 

[01:42.97]to the idea of teaching, 

[01:44.73]feeling that it formed 

[01:46.80]part of my identity?

[01:48.88]I examined my emotions 

[01:51.61]about the new direction 

[01:53.37]my life would take. 

[01:54.79]Would retirement¹ add a new dimension 

[01:57.74]to my life and multiply my feelings

[01:59.27] of satisfaction or would 

[02:02.99]the world apprehension² be more applicable?

[02:06.49]Did I feel guilty about 

[02:09.12]not being gainfully employed

[02:11.31] when I was qualified³ and capable?

[02:13.17] As a certified⁴ teacher, 

[02:15.68]did I feel obligated to work 

[02:18.20]in the field of education? 

[02:20.28]Did I feel entitled to 

[02:23.24]sleep in late each day, 

[02:25.21]or would that bother my conscience? 

[02:27.39]Would I simply grow old gracefully 

[02:29.91]or would feel that ridiculous?

[02:33.08]My instincts told me that 

[02:36.58]although I would feel grateful 

[02:38.00]for my good health, 

[02:39.86]curiosity about other countries 

[02:41.73]and lifestyles would overtake 

[02:43.69]the desire to spend

[02:45.34] my time with senior citizens, 

[02:47.19]playing board games, 

[02:48.62]such as chess all day. 

[02:50.25]Wouldn’t I rather learn about 

[02:53.43]other cultures and at the same time 

[02:55.51]be an ambassador for my own country?

1 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

2 apprehension   

n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑

参考例句：

• There were still areas of doubt and her apprehension grew.有些地方仍然存疑，于是她越来越担心。
• She is a girl of weak apprehension.她是一个理解力很差的女孩。

3 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。