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Unit 4
American Dream
Part I Pre-reading Task
Listen to the recording two or three times and then think over the following questions:
1. According to Dr. Hertz, what did the American Dream mean to his grandparents?
2. In Dr. Hertz's opinion, who wants people to believe in the American Dream? Why?
3. Why does Dr. Hertz say the American Dream is in one's head and in one's pocket?
4. What do you understand by the American Dream?
The following words in the recording may be new to you:
poverty
n. 贫穷
advertising
n. 广告宣传
Part II
Text A
The American Dream means different things to different people. But for many, particularly immigrants, it means the opportunity to make a better life for themselves. For them the dream is that talent and hard work can take you from log cabin to White House. Tony Trivisonno did not rise quite so high, yet he managed to make his own dream come true.
TONY TRIVISONNO'S AMERICAN DREAM
Frederick C. Crawford
He came from a rocky farm in Italy, somewhere south of Rome. How or when he got to America, I don't know. But one evening I found him standing in the driveway, behind my garage. He was about five-foot-seven or eight, and thin.
"I mow your lawn," he said. It was hard to comprehend his broken English.
I asked him his name. "Tony Trivisonno," he replied. "I mow your lawn." I told Tony that I couldn't afford a gardener.
"I mow your lawn," he said again, then walked away. I went into my house unhappy. Yes, these Depression days were difficult, but how could I to turn away a person who had come to me for help?
When I got home from work the next evening, the lawn had been mowed, the garden weeded, and the walks swept. I asked my wife what had happened.
"A man got the lawn mower out of the garage and worked on the yard," she answered. "I assumed you had hired him."
I told her of my experience the night before. We thought it strange that he had not asked for pay.
The next two days were busy, and I forgot about Tony. We were trying to rebuild our business and bring some of our workers back to the plants. But on Friday, returning home a little early, I saw Tony again, behind the garage. I complimented him on the work he had done.
"I mow your lawn," he said.
I managed to work out some kind of small weekly pay, and each day Tony cleaned up the yard and took care of any little tasks. My wife said he was very helpful whenever there were any heavy objects to lift or things to fix.
Summer passed into fall, and winds blew cold. "Mr. Craw, snow pretty soon," Tony told me one evening. "When winter come, you give me job clearing snow at the factory."
Well, what do you do with such determination and hope? Of course, Tony got his job at the factory.
The months passed. I asked the personnel department for a report. They said Tony was a very good worker.
One day I found Tony at our meeting place behind the garage. "I want to be 'prentice," he said.
We had a pretty good apprentice school that trained laborers. But I doubted whether Tony had the capacity to read blueprints and micrometers or do precision work. Still, how could I turn him down?
Tony took a cut in pay to become an apprentice. Months later, I got a report that he had graduated as a skilled grinder. He had learned to read the millionths of an inch on the micrometer and to shape the grinding wheel with an instrument set with a diamond. My wife and I were delighted with what we felt was a satisfying end of the story.
A year or two passed, and again I found Tony in his usual waiting place. We talked about his work, and I asked him what he wanted.
"Mr. Craw," he said, "I like a buy a house." On the edge of town, he had found a house for sale, a complete wreck.
I called on a banker friend. "Do you ever loan money on character?" I asked. "No," he said. "We can't afford to. No sale."
"Now, wait a minute," I replied. "Here is a hard-working man, a man of character, I can promise you that. He's got a good job. You're not getting a damn thing from your lot. It will stay there for years. At least he will pay your interest."
Reluctantly, the banker wrote a mortgage for $2,000 and gave Tony the house with no down payment. Tony was delighted. From then on, it was interesting to see that any discarded odds and ends around our place — a broken screen, a bit of hardware, boards from packing — Tony would gather and take home.
After about two years, I found Tony in our familiar meeting spot. He seemed to stand a little straighter. He was heavier. He had a look of confidence.
"Mr. Craw, I sell my house!" he said with pride. "I got $8,000."
I was amazed. "But, Tony, where are you going to live without a house?"
"Mr. Craw, I buy a farm."
We sat down and talked. Tony told me that to own a farm was his dream. He loved the tomatoes and peppers and all the other vegetables important to his Italian diet. He had sent for his wife and son and daughter back in Italy. He had hunted around the edge of town until he found a small, abandoned piece of property with a house and shed. Now he was moving his family to his farm.
Sometime later. Tony arrived on a Sunday afternoon, neatly dressed. He had another Italian man with him. He told me that he had persuaded his childhood friend to move to America. Tony was sponsoring him. With an amused look in his eye, he told me that when they approached the little farm he now operated, his friend stood in amazement and said, "Tony, you are a millionaire!"
Then, during the war, a message came from my company. Tony had passed away.
I asked our people to check on his family and see that everything was properly handled. They found the farm green with vegetables, the little house livable and homey. There was a tractor and a good car in the yard. The children were educated and working, and Tony didn't owe a cent.
After he passed away, I thought more and more about Tony's career. He grew in stature in my mind. In the end, I think he stood as tall, and as proud, as the greatest American industrialists.
They had all reached their success by the same route and by the same values and principles: vision, determination, self-control, optimism, self-respect and, above all, integrity.
Tony did not begin on the bottom rung of the ladder. He began in the basement. Tony's affairs were tiny; the greatest industrialists' affairs were giant. But, after all, the balance sheets were exactly the same. The only difference was where you put the decimal point.
Tony Trivisonno came to America seeking the American Dream. But he didn't find it — he created it for himself. All he had were 24 precious hours a day, and he wasted none of them.
(1110 words)
New Words and Expressions
driveway
n. 宅旁私家车道
mow
v. 修剪（草坪），刈（草）
comprehend
vt. understand fully
lawn
n. 草地，草坪
turn away
refuse to help (sb.) or to allow (sb.) to enter a place 拒绝帮助；不让…进入
weed
v. 除去…的杂草；除草
n. 杂草，野草
assume
vt. suppose 假设；以为
compliment▲
vt. praise 赞扬
n. 赞美的言辞或行为
work out
plan; solve; calculate 制定出；解决；算出
weekly
a. happening once a week or every week 每周的；一周一次的
clean up
make clean and tidy 打扫，清除
helpful
a. giving help; useful 有帮助的；有用的
do with
(used in questions with what) 对待，处理
determination
n. 决心，决定
personnel
n. 人事部门；全体人员，全体职员
apprentice
n. 学徒
capacity
n. the ability to understand or do sth. 能力，才能
micrometer
n. 测微计，千分尺
precision
n. the quality of being exact 精密；精确（性）
turn down
refuse 拒绝
graduate
v. （使）毕业
n. （尤指大学）毕业生
skilled
a. having skill; needing skill 熟练的，有技巧的；技术性的
grinder
n. 磨工
grind (ground)
vt. 磨，磨碎，碾碎
instrument
n. 工具，器械，仪器
for sale
intended to be sold 待售
wreck
n. 残破物；（尤指失事船只、飞机等的）残骸
call on
visit (sb.) for a short time 拜访
banker
n. 银行家；银行高级职员
loan
vt. lend (sth.) 借，贷
n. 贷款；借，贷
character
n. （人的）品德；品质；性格
damn
a.，n. (infml) (usu. used in negatives) of even the smallest amount 丝毫
reluctantly
ad. 勉强地
reluctant a.
mortgage▲
n. 抵押借款，按揭
discard
vt. (fml)throw away 抛弃
odds and ends
零星杂物，琐碎物品
screen
n. 纱门，纱窗；屏；荧屏
hardware
n. 五金器具；（计算机的）硬件
spot
n. a particular place；a small dirty mark 地点；斑点
confidence
n. 信心
amaze
vt. surprise (sb.) very much 使惊愕，使诧异
amazement
n. 惊愕，诧异
pepper
n. 辣椒；胡椒粉
Italian
a. 意大利的
diet
n. food and drink usually taken by a person or group 日常饮食
send for
ask for the arrival of 派人去叫，召唤；派人去取
hunt
v. 寻找；打猎
abandon
vt. give up completely or forever 抛弃，放弃
property
n. land, buildings or both together; sth. which is owned （房）地产；财产
shed
n. 小屋，棚
vt. 使脱落；使流出，散发出
sometime
ad. 某个时候
sponsor
vt. 为…做保证人；主办，发起
n. 保证人；主办者，发起人
amuse
vt. cause to laugh or smile; cause to spend time in a pleasant manner 逗乐；给…提供娱乐
approach
v. come near(er) to 接近
millionaire▲
n. 百万富翁
pass away
(euph) (esp. of a person) die 去世
handle
vt. manage; control 管理，处理；操纵
livable
a. fit or pleasant to live in 适于居住的
homey
a. (infml) pleasant; like home 舒适的；像家一样的
tractor
n. 拖拉机
stature
n. 身材，身高；境界
industrialist
n. 工业家，实业家
route
n. 路线，路程
principle
n. guiding rule for behavior; basic truth 信条；原则；原理
vision
n. the ability to make great plans for the future; sight; the ability to see 远见；视觉，视力
optimism▲
n. 乐观主义
self-respect
n. proper respect for oneself 自尊；自重
above all
most important of all 最重要的是
integrity▲
n. quality of being honest and responsible; state of being complete 正直；完整
rung
n. （梯子的）横档，梯级
basement▲
n. 地下室
giant
a. of great size or force 巨大的
n. 巨人
balance
n. 平衡；余额
balance sheet
资产负债表
decimal▲
小数
create
vt. produce or make (esp. sth. new) 创造，创作
Proper Names
Tony Trivisonno
托尼·特里韦索诺
Frederick C. Crawford
弗雷德里克·C·克罗弗德
Italy
意大利
Rome
罗马（意大利首都） |