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创新英语教程第二册UNIT8

时间:2009-11-30 05:06:37

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(单词翻译)

[00:04.70]4 While you read
[00:11.68]Home-but not alone
[00:15.80]Dave and Steve Briggs share a bedroom in their parents' house.
[00:23.04]You might think that's quite normal for brothers.
[00:27.77]but Dave and Steve aren't teenagers.
[00:33.04]They're both in their mid-thirties and their parents are now retired1.
[00:39.71]They are part of a growing number of children
[00:44.67]who are being forced to live with their parents well intoadulthood,
[00:50.73]simply because they can't afford to rent or buy a place of their own.
[00:57.00]Steve has lived in the twobedroom terraced3 house in the London suburb4 of Walthamstow
[01:05.04]nearly all his life.
[01:08.52]apart from  two years when he was studying nursing in Derby.While he was there.
[01:16.28]he suffered a nervous breaddown and came home before completing his course.
[01:23.44]It was a difficult time.he said,
[01:28.69]it was the first time I'd really been away from my family
[01:33.96]and I was finding5 the course quite stressful.
[01:38.40]In the end,I just couldn't cope6 and my life just went to pieces.
[01:44.57]I've suffered from depression ever since.
[01:49.30]which has meant I've been in and out of work a lot.
[01:54.47]but I've always been able to come home and know I'll be looked after,
[02:00.53]that I won't end up on the streets because I couldn't afford to pay the rent.
[02:06.69]And until two years ago.I had the bedroom to myself,so that was all right.
[02:14.27]I had the TV and PlayStation in there.so I had my privacy7.'
[02:20.62]All that changed when Dave got divorced8
[02:26.78]and had to leave his large four-bedroom house to his wife and two kids.
[02:33.55]He had originally left home at seventeen.
[02:38.69]When he joined the army,and now works9 as a mechanical10 engineer for Ford2 Motors.
[02:46.16]When Lisa and I divorced.
[02:50.81]I thought I would just rent somewhere close by
[02:56.38]so I could just drop in and see the kids easily,but when I started looking,
[03:03.14]I just couldn't believe how expensive everything was.
[03:08.47]I'd never actually had to rent a flat before,being in the army,
[03:14.93]and most landlords11 wanted something like a hundred and fifty pounds a week just for a tiny studio flat.
[03:23.60]I thought about buying,but over the ten years Lisa and I had lived in our place,
[03:30.86]prices had just rocketed.I mean,for the money we paid for our house ten years ago.
[03:38.72]we culd probably only get a one or two-bedroom flat in a large block now.
[03:44.97]It's ridiculous!
[03:48.62]There were cheaper places,but they were in really rough parts of town.
[03:55.70]where I wouldn't want my kids walking around.
[04:00.07]And the trouble is,it's not stopping.
[04:04.22]Prices have almost doubled just in the two years I've been staying with my parents.
[04:11.66]You know,the other day I saw a parking space being sold for&73000!&73000!
[04:23.73]For a parking space!The world's gone mad!
[04:29.51]So how does he find living at home again?It was quite werid for a long time,
[04:39.07]but you get used to it.It has its advantages.
[04:45.02]I still get my meals cooked and my clothes washed,but of course,
[04:51.68]it's difficult to have any privacy.Steve snores really badly.
[04:58.95]And he's always smoking.It's really disgusting!
[05:05.01]I sometimes stay over at my girlfriend's flat,
[05:09.86]and I'm trying to persuade her to let me move in,
[05:14.51]but she's not keen12 at the moment.So what else can I do?"
[05:20.26]As many people know,the answer is "Not much'.
[05:26.64]Unless.of course,you're prepared to move to a poor industrial town in the north
[05:32.80]or a tiny little village right out in the countryside,
[05:38.16]where you can buy a house for a tenth of the price it would be in London.
[05:43.61]I did suggest this to Steve."Yeah,right!
[05:50.28]So I could live in a slum13 or in the middle of nowhere,
[05:55.53]it's not much of an alternative,is it?
[05:59.60]No, in the end,my family and job are here,and that's what's most important."
[06:08.56]4 Pronunciation:sentence stress
[06:22.22]When we complain about something,we usually place an extra stress on always and never.
[06:29.77]They're always gossiping.
[06:33.85]He never does the washing-up.
[06:38.11]While you listen
[06:54.67]Come in,come in.You can leave your bags in the hall for the moment.
[07:00.91]Take your coat off.Just hang it up on the back of the door there.
[07:06.66]Paul,why don't you take it?Honestly,he can be so rude sometimes.
[07:14.91]Hello.Nice to meet you at last.I'm Angela.Hello.
[07:23.38]Did you have a good journey?I was starting to get a bit worried about you.
[07:30.35]It was OK.but the plane was...what did you say.Paul?
[07:37.51]Yeah.I think she had a bit of a bumpy14 flight from the sounds of things.
[07:43.96]It was almost an hour late getting in.A storm or something.
[07:49.32]Oh,poor you.Sit down.You must be exhausted15.
[07:56.29]Sorry?You must be very tired.Yes,yes.
[08:03.74]Can I get you something to eat?
[08:08.18]No.thank you.I had something to eat on the plane.I'm just tired.Yes.I'm sure.
[08:17.11]The children wanted to stay up to meet you.but they've got school tomorrow.
[08:23.28]Do you want me to show you round the house now or shall we do it in the morning?
[08:29.44]No.I'm very tired,so maybe...
[08:35.68]So.We'll show you where everything is tomorrow?
[08:40.65]Is it OK if I just go to bed?
[08:45.11]Yes,yes of couse,It is very late.I need to get to bed myself.
[08:52.87]Paul,do you think you could take her bags up?
[08:57.60]Yeah,of course.Thanks,Goodnight.Yes,Sleep well.
[09:04.55]By the way,have you got an alarm clock?
[09:09.22]The children really do need to have their breakfast by seven thirty.
[09:15.47]Seven thirty?
[09:18.94]Do you want me to get you up tomorrow?
[09:23.30]Maybe that'll be easier as it's your first day.I...er...yes.

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1 retired Njhzyv     
adj.隐退的,退休的,退役的
参考例句:
  • The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
  • Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。
2 Ford KiIxx     
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过
参考例句:
  • They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上,所以我们只能涉水过河。
  • If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪,必须极度小心。
3 terraced vgRza0     
a.(房屋)沿斜坡建造的
参考例句:
  • an Edwardian terraced house 一座爱德华七世时代的排屋
  • They made a terraced garden. 他们造了一个梯形花园。
4 suburb 8skwk     
n.郊区,郊外,近郊
参考例句:
  • Toward the suburb the houses begin to thin out.靠近市郊的地方房屋渐渐稀少。
  • Disneyland is in Los Angeles suburb.迪斯尼游乐场在洛杉矶的近郊。
5 finding 5tAzVe     
n.发现,发现物;调查的结果
参考例句:
  • The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
  • That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。
6 cope aZhyU     
v.(with)竞争,对抗;对付,妥善处理
参考例句:
  • He had a lot of work,but he was able to cope.他的活虽多,但还能应付得来。
  • They have to cope with a mountain of problems.他们得应付成堆的问题。
7 privacy 5Q3xC     
n.私人权利,个人自由,隐私权
参考例句:
  • In such matters,privacy is impossible.在这类事情中,保密是不可能的。
  • She wept in the privacy of her own room.她在自己房内暗暗落泪。
8 divorced Wu5z2w     
adj.离婚的;分开的;不相干的;脱离的v.与…离婚(divorce的过去式和过去分词);分离;与某人离婚,判某人离婚
参考例句:
  • Apparently they are getting divorced soon. 看样子,他们很快就要离婚。
  • Many divorced men remarry and have second families. 许多离婚的男子再婚组成了新的家庭。
9 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
10 mechanical YCDxt     
adj.机械(学)的;力学的;机械似的;手工操作的
参考例句:
  • He borrowed a mechanical book from me.他从我这儿借了一本力学方面的书。
  • He looks very mechanical.他看上去非常呆板。
11 landlords eac46ca1e10e1d45a631d0c7e28bd8c3     
房东; 房东,地主( landlord的名词复数 ); 店主
参考例句:
  • Local landlords drove them off their plots. 当地的地主们把他们从小块土地上赶走。
  • Think on this, you drunken rich, and scornful landlords. 想想这个问题吧,你们这些醉醺醺的富人,傲慢的地主。
12 keen nRfzj     
adj.热心的;敏锐的;激烈的;锋利的
参考例句:
  • There is keen competition between the two motorcar firms.两家汽车公司之间存在着激烈的竞争。
  • The children are mad keen to go to the zoo.孩子们非常想去动物园。
13 slum NxKwF     
n.贫民窟,贫民区;vi.(因好奇而)逛贫民区
参考例句:
  • These children came from a slum area.这些孩子来自贫民窟区。
  • What a wretched existence the people in the slum lead!这个贫民窟里的人们过着多么令人悲惨的生活啊!
14 bumpy 2sIz7     
adj.颠簸不平的,崎岖的
参考例句:
  • I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
  • The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄,成了一条崎岖不平的小径。
15 exhausted 7taz4r     
adj.极其疲惫的,精疲力尽的
参考例句:
  • It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长,到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
  • Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

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