Lesson 38
calendar
历法，日历
Up to now,historians have assumed that calendars came into being
迄今为止，历史学家一直认为日历是随农业出现而产生的，
with the advent of agriculture,
for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons.
因为当时的人们面临着了解季节的实际需要。
One use for early astronomy was to create calendars.
早期天文学的用途之一是建立历法。
She has the habit of writing the time and place of her appointments on the calendar.
她习惯把约会时间、地点写在日期上。
historian
历史学家
People have always paid honor to historians,but ignored prophets.
人们总是礼敬历史学家，冷落预言家。
History repeats itself,historians repeat each other.
历史重复自己，历史学家重复彼此。
unique
独一无二的
Future historians will be in a unique position
未来的历史学家在书写我们这一段历史的时候
when they came to record the history of our own times.
面对的将是得天独厚的条件。
There was something unique about the new theories.
这些新理论有独到之处。
The actress imprints her unique personality on all the roles she plays.
这个女演员饰演的所有角色都带着她那独一无二的性格烙印。
steadily
不断地
They will hardly know which facts to select from the great mass of evidence
他们几乎不知道该从现有的材料里选取什么，
that steadily accumulates.
何况这些材料还在不断增长。
In silence Mole rowed steadily,
鼹鼠默默地不断划着
and soon they came to a point where the river divided.
很快划到了河流分岔处。
It had been a leaden dawn,and the rain now steadily poured down.
那是一个铅灰色的黎明，现在又开始连绵不断地下起了大雨。
solely
惟一地，全然地
What is more,they will no have to rely solely on the written word.
而且，他们也不必完全倚赖文字材料。
Eventually she went back to her father solely because there wasno other way.
最后，只是因为实在没有别的办法了，她才回头去找她爸爸。
Peace is not solely a matter of military or technical problem.
和平不仅仅是个军事工技术问题。
video
录像
Films,videos,CDs and CD-ROMs
他们获取信息的渠道多得令人眼花缭乱，
are just some of the bewildering amount of information they will have.
电影，录像，光盘和光驱器只是其中的几种。
We saw the movie on video.
我们看了影片的录像带。
Many families own a video camera today。
今天许多家庭都有摄像机。
CD-ROM
（只读）光盘驱动器
CD-ROM is the shortened form of Comopact Disk-Read Only Memory.
CD-ROM是（只读）光盘驱动器的缩写。
bewilder
令人眼花缭乱
As soon as you arrive you will have a bewildering reading list thrust into your hand.
你一到就会有一张让人眼花缭乱的书单塞到你手里。
Teroro was scared and bewildered.
蒂罗罗害怕得晕头转向了。
deduce
推断，推理
He has to deduce what he can from the few scanty clues available.
他必须根据现有的几条不充分的线索进行推理。
He expected to deduce new ideas by mathematical means.
他期望用数学方法得到新的推论。
Mel deduced there were others within hearing .
梅尔估计有人能听得到他们的谈话。
scanty
不足的，贫乏的
Barney knew scantiest amount of French and not a syllable of anything else.
巴尼只懂一点点法文，其他外语一个字都不会。
The news today is scanty,but good.
今天的消息不多，不过都是好消息。
clue
线索
I thought there might be clues among all the materials which might take us somewhere.
我还以为这些材料里有什么线索能让我们有点进展呢。
The statement is an interesting clue to both his temperament and his literary method.
他的性情和笔法从这句话里可见一斑。
insignificant
不重要的
Even seemingly insignificant remains
即使看起来微不足道的遗留物，
can shed interesting light on the history of early man.
也可能让我们对人类早期历史有一些新的了解。
Mrs.Morrison was so insignificant that no one had ever noticed what she looked like.
莫里森太太太卑微了，以至于没有人注意她长得什么样儿。
shed
使流出，倾泻
These who shed the most tears are not necessarily the most concerned.
那些眼泪掉得最多的人不见得是最关心的人。
advent
出现，到来，来临
Up to now,historians have assumed
迄今为止，历史学家一直认为日历是随农业的出现而产生的，
that calendars came into being with the advent of agriculture,
for then man was faced with a real need to understand something about the seasons.
因为当时的人们面临着了解四时的实际需要。
With the advent of modern methods of communication
由于现代通讯手段的出现，
the whole world has been transformed into a single mechanism.
整个世界已经变成了一个统一的机体。
The use of the term had only become widespread
这个名词是在纪录片问世以后
since the advent of the documentary film.
才开始广泛使用的。
agriculture
农业
For people who relied on agriculture for their living this was a serious matter.
对于以务农为生的来说，这是一个很严重的问题。
assumption
假定，设想
Recent scientific evidence seems to indicate that this assumption is incorrect.
但近期科学研究证明，这种假设有可能是不正确的。
Especially weak are the underlying assumptions of the approach.
这种论证方法最薄弱的一点是隐含的假定。
This assumption is wrong or greatly exaggerated.
这种假设不是错了，就是太夸张。
dot
小圆点
Historians have long been puzzled by dots,lines and symbols
长期以来，历史学家一直被雕刻在墙壁上、骨头上、
which have been engraved on walls,bones,and the ivory tusks of mammoths.
猛犸的象牙上的点、线和形形色色的符号感到迷惑不解。
His email address is www dot salamander dot chinaren dot net.
他的电邮地址是www. salamander.chinaren.net.
symbol
符号
Historians have long been puzzled by dots,lines and symbols
长期以来，历史学家一直被雕刻在墙壁上、骨头上、
which have been engraved on walls,bones,and the ivory tusks of mammoths.
猛犸的象牙上的点、线和形形色色的符号感到迷惑不解。
The private car was still a cherished symbol of status.
私家车在当时还是地位的标志。
engrave
雕刻
The shapes and engraved decorations of these pieces
这些东西的外形和雕饰花纹
are typical of medieval Islamic glassware.
都是中世纪伊斯兰的玻璃制品所特有的。
An idiom was engraved at the university gate.
大学的校门上刻着一馈谚语。
ivory
象牙制品
Tony cherished the ivory ball his grandpa had given him.
汤尼珍视祖父留给他的象牙球。
It's funny that a girl called Ivory should be living in a street by the name of Elephant.
好玩，一个叫象牙的女孩住在一条叫大象的街上。
mammoth
猛犸
Mammoths are extinct elephants with a hairy skin and long tusks,curving upward.
猛犸是一种灭绝的象，全身有长毛，门齿向上弯曲。
tusk
（象、野猪等的）长牙，獠牙、象牙
The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.
野猪的獠牙陷在了树里，绝望地嗥叫着。
A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.
他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。
nomad
游牧民
The nomads who made these markings lived by hunting and fishing
这些标记是游牧民留下的，他们生活在从公元前约35000年
during the last Ice Age which began about 35000 B.C.and ended about 10000 B.C.
到公元前10000年的冰川期的末期，以狩猎、捕鱼为生。
A nomad is the member of a trible that wanders from place to place.
游牧民是一个到处流浪、居无定所的部落的成员。
with no fixed home.
His new film is an epic of the nomads.
他新拍的这部电影是游牧民族的一部史诗。
correlate
使相互联系
By correlating markings made in various parts of the world,
历史学家比较了散布在世界各地的同类标记，
historians have been able to read this difficult code.
终于能够了解读这种难懂的代码了。
Results in the natural sciences seldom seem to correlate with those in art.
自然科学的成果似乎很少与艺术发生关联。
Scentists find it hard to correlate the two sets of figures.
科学家发现很难使用使这两组数字发生关联。
phase
月相，天相
They have found that it is connected with the passage of days
他们发现它和昼夜更迭
and the phases of the moon.
月亮圆缺有关。
The moon has four major phases:crescent,half moon,gibbous and full moon.
月亮有四种主要的相：新月、半月、凸月和满月。
primitive
原始的
It is,in fact,a primitive type of calendar.
它实际上是一种原始日历。
These primitive weapons,though crude,are fatal.
这些原始武器虽然简陋，却足以致命。
What did the primitive people do for relaxation,or rather,
原始人有什么娱乐吗？或者说，
did they have any relaxation at all?
他们有娱乐吗？
depict
描画，描述
It has long been known that the hunting scenes depicted on walls
大家早就知道，画在墙上的狩猎图景
were not simply a form of artistic exprression.
并不是单纯的艺术表现形式。
On the tapestry are depicted some biblical scenes.
挂毯上画着一些《圣经》上的场景。
The novel depicts the saga of a family.
小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。
Lesson 39
Lesson 39
rough
崎岖不平的
The rough road across the plain soon became so bad
穿越平原的道路高低不平，开车走了不远，
that we tried to get Bruce to drive back to the village we had come from.
路面越发崎岖，我们想让布鲁斯把车开回我们来的那个村子。
I was thinking all the way how cool and silent that road was,
我一路在想，那条路虽说有点颠，
even if it was a little rough.
可是多阴凉，多清静。
boulder
大古块
Even though the road was littered with boulders and pitted with holes,
尽管路面布满石头，坑坑洼洼，
Bruce was not in the least perturbed.
但布鲁斯却一点儿也不慌乱。
A boulder rolled down the slope and narrowly missed the car.
一块石头从山上滚下，险些把车砸坏。
pit
使介坑坑洼洼
They watched the rain pit the sea with tiny craters.
他们注视着雨滴在海上面砸出的小水窝。
The front of his truck was pitted by stones.
他的卡车前部被石头迸得坑坑洼洼的。
perturb
使不安
The bad news perturbed her for days.
这个坏消息弄得她好几天心神不定。
If a little accident like this perturbs your country,
假如这么一小小的意外也惊扰了贵国的话，
what do you say to the hourly fright your army is giving to our people?
那么你们的军队对我国人民造成了无时不在的恐怖怎么说呢？
underestimate
低估
It was not that Bruce always underestimated difficulties.
这并不是说布鲁斯总是低估困难。
The effects of tariffs on import quantities may have been underestimated.
关税对进口数量的影响可能被低估了。
You underestimate his endurance,and I his shrewdness.
你低估了他的耐力，而我低估了他的精明。
swerve
急转
As we bumped over the dusty track,we swerved to avoid large boulders.
我们在尘土飞扬的道路上颠簸，车子东拐西弯，以便绕开那些大圆石。
A motor swerved into the lane.
一辆摩托车突然拐进了小巷。
scoop
挖出，铲出
The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car.
车轮铲起的石块砸在车上，发出不祥的撞击声。
She scooped up a spoonful of salt and threw into the pot.
她狠狠地舀了满满一勺盐，扔在缺罐子里。
I heard a low hammering sound in the bedroom.
我听见卧室里有低低的锤打声。
He dashed on to the porch and began to hammer on the door.
他冲进门廊，用力锤起门来。
ominously
有预兆地，不祥地
The rain was beating ominously on the window.
雨点敲打着窗户，像有什么不祥之兆似的。
So ominously did the stranger knock at the door
那个陌生人的敲门声充满了凶兆，
that one could hear the disaster in the air.
好像听听就能听出灾祸似的。
rip
划破，撕，扯
We felt sure that sooner or later
我们觉得迟早会飞起一个石块
a stone would rip a hole in our petrol tank or damage the engine.
把油箱砸开一个窟窿，或者把发动机砸坏。
The wheelchair ripped a crack in his trousers.
轮椅把的裤子撕开了一条缝。
He ripped open the envelope.
他撕开了信封。
petrol
汽油
I can't stand the smell of petrol and always become dizzy in a car.
我受不了汽油味，每次坐车都觉得头晕。
We filled up the tank with petrol before the journey.
上路前我们给车加满了油。
stretch
一大片（平地或水）
What a relief it was when the boulders suddenly disappeared,
突然大石块不见了，前面是一片平地，
giving way to a stretch of plain where the only obstacles were clumps of bushes.
惟一的障碍是一丛丛的灌木。我们大大地松了口气。
After a long,dry stretch of land,we reached a small lake.
走过一片广阔、干瘠的土地，我们来到一个小湖边。
These carts are capable of traveling over miles through stretches of desert.
这些马车能够在连绵不断的沙漠里走上好几英里。
obstacle
障碍
The struggle for economic growth encountered more than the well advertised obstacles of ignorance,disease,
争取经济增长所遇到的困难远远超过大家所熟知的
corruption and inertia.
愚昧、疾病、腐败和惰性。
I cannot see this as a real obstacle to the plan.
我看不出这一点对计划有什么实质性的障碍。
clump
丛，簇
Not far ahead was a clump of trees.
前面不远处有一丛树林。
Who put that messy clump of flowers in the vase?
谁把那堆乱蓬蓬的花插在花瓶里的？
fissure
（石，地的）深缝
Just ahead of us there was a huge fissure.
在我们正前方出现了一条大裂缝。
Water has got into fisures in the rock.
水流进了岩石的裂蓬。
A delicate daffodil sprang up from the fissure.
地缝里开出了一朵娇艳的黄水仙。
renew
重复
In response to renewed pleadings.Bruce stopped.
在大家的苦苦央求下，布鲁斯总算把车停了下来。
In January I renewed my request and this time was met by the director himself.
一月分份我再次提出请求，这一次接待我的是主任。
We renewed our magazine subscription.
我们续订了杂志。
pleading
恳求
All the pleadings were brushed aside.
所有的恳求都被置之不理。
He seems to relent a moment at their pleading.
在他们的恳求下，有那么一会儿，他似乎心软了一下。
gear
（汽车）排挡
Bruce went into a low gear and drove at a terrifying speed,
布鲁斯挂上慢档，把两只前轮抗在裂缝两边，
keeping the front wheels astride the crack as he followed its zigzag course.
沿着弯弯曲曲的裂缝，以疯狂的速度向前开去。
He always puts the car in high gear.
他老是把车挂快档。
Gears on an automobile may be used either to decrease or increase speed.
汽车的排档可用于加速度或减速。
astride
骑，跨
In the past it was considered indecent for a lady to ride a horse astride.
过去认为淑女跨骑马是件有失体统的事。
Astride the merry-go-round,the baby yelled with rapture.
孩子骑在旋转木马上，兴奋地大喊大叫。
crack
缝隙
The gorgon had hidden herself there,
那个恶婆子早就躲在那儿，
and,with her ear pressed close against the crack of the door,
把耳朵紧贴着门缝，把谈话听得一字不漏。
had lost not a word of the conversation.
那面墙有道裂缝。
There is a crack in that wall.
那面墙有道裂缝。
zigzag
“之”字形
The zigzag path wound up to the peak.
弯弯曲曲的小道通向山顶。
There is no way to follow the zigzag course of the human mind.
人的心思弯弯绕，无法捉摸。
shallow
浅的
Our next obstacle was a shallow pool of water about half a mile across.
下一个障碍是一片约半英里宽的浅水塘。
Sonia put the salad in a shallow dish.
索尼娅把色拉装在一个浅盘里。
grind ground ground
嘎嘎出声地挤压
Bruce charged at it,but in the middle,the car came to a grinding halt.
布鲁斯直冲过去，但车开到水塘中间，吱嘎一声停住了。
He ground his teeth and looked fierecely at the traitor.
他咬牙切齿，恶习狠狠地盯着叛徒。
halt
停止
The bus came to a sudden halt.
公共汽车突然停了下来。
It is high time to call halt to cultural vandalism.
摧残文化的行为实在应该予以制止了。
dashboard
（汽车上的）仪表板
A yellow light on the dashboard flashed angrily
一盏小黄灯在仪表板上愤怒地闪着光，
and Bruce cheerfully announced that there was no oil in the engine.
布鲁斯兴冲冲地宣布发动机里没有油了。
The dashboard is a panel beneath the windscreen of a motor-car,
仪表板是汽车挡风玻璃下面的一块板，
with speedometer and various other controls.
装着速率表和各种控制器。
He took a close look at the dashboard and stopped the car carefully.
他仔细地看了看仪表板，小心地把车停了下来。
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