大学个人简历新标准大学英语综合教程4(unit1-7)课后答案及课文翻译

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2020年12月7日发(作者：花欣)

Key to book4 unit1-7

Unit 1

Active reading (1)

Looking for a job after university? First, get off the sofa

Reading and understanding

Dealing with unfamiliar words

3 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 to make progress by moving to the next stage in a series of actions or events

(proceed)

2 the process of changing from one situation, form or state to another

(transition)

3 not feeling involved with someone or something in a close or emotional way

(detached)

4 referring to something which will happen soon

(upcoming)

5 to be sitting still in a position that is not upright

(slump)

6 to return to a previous state or way of behaving

(revert)

7 to say what happened

(recount)

4 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 3.

It isn’t easy to make the (1)

transition

from a busy university student to an unemployed young adult

(2)

slumped

on a bar stool or half watching a mindless television show, wondering if and how their

career is going to (3)

proceed

. Many people who have experienced a long period of inactivity like this,

when (4)

recounting

how they felt at the time, refer to the same strange psychological effect. As the

days pass, they begin to feel (5)

detached

from any sense of pressure to go and look for a job, and tend

to regard (6)

upcoming

interviews as if they were not very important. Typically, back at home after

three or four years away, they (7)

revert

to old habits, start seeing old friends, and, in many cases,

become dependent again on their parents.

5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box. You may need to

make other changes.

1 I went to a mixed- ability secondary school just outside London.

(comprehensive)

2 I got stopped by a policeman who asked to see my driving licence.

(cop)

3 Have you seen this beautiful from the air view of Oxford?

(aerial)

4 Isabel tightly her bag as she walked down the corridor towards the office.

(clutched)

5 You should speak to Toby; he’s an supporter of flexible working hours.

(advocate)

6 I hurt my leg badly a couple of months ago, and it still hasn’t got better completely.

(healed)

6 Answer the questions about the words.

1 Is a

dead-end

job one with (a) exciting prospects, or

(b) no future

2 Is a

tricky

problem

(a) difficult

, or (b) easy to solve?

3 If an activity

saps

all your energy, do you feel

(a) tired

, or (b) more active than usual?

4 Does a

pushy

person try to

(a) persuade you to do something you don’t want to

, or (b) help you by

listening to what you have to say?

5 If you feel

apathy

, do you want to (a) change the world, or

(b) stay at home and do nothing

- 1 -

7 Answer the questions about the phrases.

1 Is

fork out

(a) a formal, or

(b) an informal way of saying to pay for something

2 If you are

in the same boat

as another person, are you (a) making the same journey together, or

(b) in

the same difficult or unpleasant situation?

3 If you feel you have

come full circle

, do you

(a) feel you are back where you started

, or (b) feel a

sense of satisfaction because you have completed something?

4 If someone

takes a soft line

, do they deal with a person

(a) in a kind and sympathetic way

, or (b) in a

lazy way without making a decision?

5 If you

strike the right note

about something, are you expressing yourself

(a) well

, or (b) badly?

6 If you do something

by all means

, do you

(a) try your best to do it

, or (b) not care about it?

7 If you

nudge someone back into the saddle

, are you encouraging them to

(a) take responsibility again

or (b) take it easy?

8 If you

talk through

a problem with someone, do you

(a) examine it carefully and sensitively

, or (b)

refer to it quickly and then change the subject?

Active reading (2)

If you ask me

Dealing with unfamiliar words

4 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 funny or entertaining

(amusing)

2 used for emphasizing that something good has happened, especially because of good luck

(fortunately)

3 an amount of money that a person, business or country borrows, usually from a bank

(loan)

4 to take an amount or number from a total

(deduct)

5 the most exciting, impressive, or interesting part of an event

(highlight)

6 to show that you understand someone’s problems

(sympathize)

7 needing a lot of time, ability, and energy

(demanding)

5 Complete the conversation with the correct form of the words in Activity 4.

After three years at university, I’m now quite heavily in debt.

I (1)

sympathize

with you, I know what it’s like to have financial problems. But (2)

fortunately

didn’t need to take out a student (3)

loan

when I was at university, because I had a part-time job.

What did you do?

I worked in a restaurant at weekends.

That must have been very (4)

demanding

Yes, it was. I had to get the right balance between work and study. But the other people who worked

there were good fun to be with, so it was quite (5)

amusing

too. The (6)

highlight

of the weekend was

always Saturday night when we worked overtime.

But I don’t expect you made a lot of money?

No, there wasn’t much after they’d (7)

deducted

tax and pension contributions. But it was enough

to keep me going.

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6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box. You may need to

make other changes.

1 When I was at college I kept all my personal things in an old cupboard.

2 A lot of people who leave university before getting a degree end up in good jobs.

3 I think she’ll get a good degree, but I wouldn’t risk my money on the exact result.

4 The money I spent at college was more than what I earned in my part-time job.

5 The chances of my being offered a job after that interview must be quite remote.

6 Our business has done very well since we changed our advertising.

7 I think telling the truth and not cheating is always the best policy.

Key:

(1)

belongings

(2)

dropouts

(3)

gamble

(4)

exceeded

(5)

odds

(6)

has thrived

(7)

honesty

7 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

1 If something is

not all it’s cracked up to be

, is it (a) valid and interesting, or

(b) just a little bit

disappointing

2 If someone keeps

banging on about something

, are you likely to be (a) interested in, or

(b) bored by

what they say

3 If there is a lot of

hassle

in your life, are you likely to feel

(a) stressed

, or (b) relaxed?

4 If something happens

out of the blue

, is it

(a) unexpected

, or (b) part of your plan?

5 If you say you

ended up

in a particular job, do you suggest that (a) you have fulfilled your ambition,

(b) it happened almost by chance

6 Are the

regulars

in a pub

(a) the customers who come very often

, or (b) the food the pub offers most

often?

7 If something is

dead easy

, is it

(a) very easy

, or (b) not easy at all?

8 If you

treat someone to something

, do you

(a) buy something nice for them

, or (b) behave badly to

them?

9 If you

cheer a place up

, do you

(a) make the place look brighter

, or (b) make the people in the place

happier?

Reading and interpreting

8 Look at the sentences from the passage and identify the style features.

1 Twelve years at school and three years at university, teachers banging on about opportunities in the

big wide world beyond our sheltered life as students, and what do I find?

This shows the informality of an incomplete sentence in the first part, the use of an informal

expression (banging on) and a rhetorical question to the reader (What do I find?)

2 Try as I might to stay cheerful, all I ever get is hassle, sometimes with people (especially boys, god,

when will they grow up?) …

This has the use of an informal word (hassle), an informal exclamation (god) and a question to the

reader (When will they grow up?)

3 Actually, I had my eye on the course at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Here there is a discourse marker typical of speech (Actually) and an informal phrase (had my eye on).

4 I kind of understand it, and not just because my degree is in economics.

Here “kind of” is a sort of discourse marker of informal speech (showing something is general,

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vague or not definite).

5 I wanted something in finance and investments, because you know, maybe with a job like that, I

could use my degree.

This has a discourse marker of informal speech (you know).

6 ... it’s true, he really did seem to have three hands.

Again here is a discourse marker of informal speech (it’s true).

7 I talked to him about ... well, about pretty well everything …

This has another discourse marker of informal speech (well) and an informal phrase (pretty well).

Language in use

word formation: compound nouns

1 Write the compound nouns which mean:

1 a degree which is awarded a first class

(a first-class degree)

2 work in a hospital

(hospital work)

3 a ticket for a plane journey

(a plane ticket)

4 a discount for students

(a student discount)

5 a pass which allows you to travel on buses

(a bus pass)

6 a room where an interview is held

(an interview room)

7 a period spent in training

(a training period)

word formation: noun phrases

2 Write the noun phrases which mean:

1 a career which is rewarding from the financial point of view

(a financially rewarding career)

2 legislation which has been introduced recently

(recently introduced legislation)

3 instructions which are more complex than usual

(unusually complex instructions)

4 an institution which is orientated towards academic

(academically orientated work)

5 work which makes physical demands on you

(physically demanding work)

6 information which has the potential to be important

(potentially important information)

7 candidates who have been selected after a careful procedure

(carefully selected candidates)

8 a coursebook in which everything has been planned beautifully

(a beautifully planned textbook)

try as … might

3 Rewrite the sentences using try as … might .

1 I’m trying to fill this last page, but I just can’t think of anything.

Try as I might to fill this last page, I just can’t think of anything.

2 I try to be friendly with Marta, but she doesn’t seem to respond.

Try as I might to be friendly with Marta, she doesn’t seem to respond.

3 I try hard to get to sleep, but I can’t help thinking about my family.

Try as I might to get to sleep, I can’t help thinking about my family.

4 He just doesn’t seem to get the promotion he deserves, even though he keeps trying.

Try as he might, he just doesn’t seem to get the promotion he deserves. / Try as he might to get the

promotion he deserves, he just doesn’t seem to get it.

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5 I keep trying to remember her name, but my mind is a blank.

Try as I might to remember her name, my mind is a blank.

given that …

4 Rewrite the sentences using given that …

1 Since I know several languages, I thought I would look for work abroad.

Given that I know several languages, I thought I would look for work abroad.

2 Xiao Li has the best qualifications, so she should get the job.

Given that Xiao Li has the best qualifications, she should get the job.

3 Since we’re all here, I think it would be a good idea to get down to some work.

Given that we’re all here, I think it would be a good idea to get down to some work.

4 Since it’s rather late, I think we should leave this last task until tomorrow.

Given that it’s rather late, I think we should leave this last task until tomorrow.

clauses introduced by than

5 Rewrite the sentences using clauses introduced by than .

1 She’s experienced at giving advice. I’m more experienced.

She’s less experienced at giving advice than I am. / I’m more experienced at giving advice than she

is.

2 You eat too much chocolate. It isn’t good for you.

You eat too much chocolate than is good for you.

3 She worked very hard. Most part-timers don’t work so hard.

She worked harder than most part-timers do.

4 You have arrived late too many times. That isn’t acceptable.

You have arrived late more times than is acceptable.

5 I don’t think you should have given so much personal information. It isn’t wise.

I think you have given more personal information than is wise.

collocations

6 Read the explanations of the words. Answer the questions.

highlight

is the most exciting, impressive, or interesting part of an event.

(a) What would you like to be the

highlight

of your career?

I would like the highlight of my student career to be to receive a national award for the best student

research project.

(b) How can you

highlight

an important sentence in a text?

You can underline it in pencil or pen or you can use coloured pens or highlighters.

highlights

of a football match?

The highlights are when someone scores a goal or prevents one from being scored.

loan

is an amount of money someone borrows from someone else.

(a) Have you ever

taken out a loan

No, I haven’t. But my parents have taken out several loans to buy kitchen equipment.

(b) What is the best way to

pay off a loan

It is best to pay a loan off quickly, although you will still have to pay some interest.

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on loan

, what do you have to do with it?

You have to return it before the date it is due, otherwise you may have to pay a fine.

3 thrive To

thrive

means to be very successful, happy or healthy.

(a) What sort of business

thrives

best in your part of the country?

In my part of the country, light industries and electronics companies thrive.

(b) Which sort of plants

thrive

in a hot climate?

In a hot climate you can see tropical fruit and vegetables thrive and also tropical plants and trees.

thrive on conflict

It is difficult to understand why some couples thrive on conflict. Maybe each one wants to compete

with the other or maybe they enjoy “kissing and making up” after the conflict.

7 Translate the paragraphs into Chinese.

If you ask me, real life is not all it’s cracked up to be. Twelve years at school and three years at

university, teachers banging on about opportunities in the big wide world beyond our sheltered life as

students, and what do I find?

Try as I might to stay cheerful, all I ever get is hassle, sometimes with people (especially boys,

god, when will they grow up?), but mostly with money. It’s just so expensive out here! Everyone

wants a slice off you. The Inland Revenue wants to deduct income tax, the bank manager wants

repayments on my student loan, the landlord wants the rent, gas, water, electricity and my mobile bills

keep coming in, a

nd all that‘s before I‘ve had anything to eat. And then some bright spark calls me out

of the blue,

asking if I‘m interested in buying a pension. At this rate, I won‘t even last till the end of

the year, let

alone till I‘m 60.

（

翻译时可以根据上下文增译，即增加原文暗含了但没有直接表

达出来的意思。如最后一句译文加了

―

领养老金

‖

，点出了与上一句的关联。）

依我看，现实生活与人们想象的不一样。我们上了

年的中、小学，又上了

年的大学，这

期间老师们一直在没完没了地谈论在安宁的学生生活之外那个广阔天地里的各种机会，可我遇

到的又是什么呢？

无论我怎么想保持心情愉快，麻烦事总是接踵而来：有时是跟人争吵（尤其是跟男孩，天

哪！他们什么时候才能长大？），但通常是为钱发愁。这个地方什么东西都很贵！人人都想从

我身上拿点钱去：国税局要收个人所得税，银行经理要我偿清学生贷款，房东催我交房租、燃

气费、水费、电费，手机账单也不断地寄来。所有这些还没算上吃饭的钱。更可气的是，不知

从哪里冒出一个自作聪明的家伙冷不丁地给我打电话，问我要不要买养老金。照这样下去，我

连今年都活不过去了，更别提活到

岁领养老金了。

8 Translate the paragraphs into English.

我认为，选修第二专业并不适合每一位本科生。我大学本科主修英语专业，大一时就开始辅修

经济学了。无疑，我是班里最用功的学生。我竭尽全力想同时达到两个不同专业的要求，但还

是有不及格的时候。因为经济学需要良好的数学基础，我不得不花大量时间钻研数学，因而忽

略了英语学习。

第二学期

《英国文学》及《宏观经济学》两门课不及格给我敲响了警钟，这可是我一生中第一

次考试不及格，这大大打击了我的自信心。虽然我不是一个容易向命运低头的人，在暑假结束

的时候，我还是决定放弃经济学，以免两个专业都难以完成。当我只需修一个专业的时候，一

切似乎又回到了正轨。

(if you ask me; odds; try as … might; sap one‘s confidence; given that; bow

to fate; come to a close; for fear that; now that)

If you ask me, taking a second major isn’t good for every undergraduate. In my freshman year

as an English major, I took economics as my minor. By all odds, I was the most hardworking student

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in my class. But try as I might to meet the requirements of the two different subjects, I still couldn’t

do well enough to pass all the exams. Given that the study of economics required a good command of

mathematics, I had to spend so much time on math that I neglected my English major.

Failing

English Literature

and

Macroeconomics

in the second semester sounded the alarm for me.

This was the first time I did not pass a course in my life, which had greatly sapped my confidence.

Although I was not a man who would easily bow to fate, as the summer break came to a close, I

decided to give up economics for fear that I would fail in both subjects. Now that I had only one

subject to attend to, everything seemed to be on the right track again.

Translation of the passages

Active reading (1)

大学毕业找工作的第一要义：别躺在沙发上做梦

今年夏天，超过

万的大学生毕业离校，其中有许多人根本不知道怎么找工作。

在当今金

融危机的背景下，做父母的该如何激励他们？

七月，你看着

岁英俊的儿子穿上学士袍，戴上四方帽，骄傲地握着优等学士学位证书，

拍毕业照。这时，记忆中每年支付几千英镑，好让儿子吃好、能参加奇特聚会的印象开始消退。

总算熬到头了。等到暑假快要结束，全国各地的学生正在为新学期做准备的时候，你发现大学

毕业的儿子还歪躺在沙发上看电视。他只是偶尔走开去发短信，浏览社交网站

Facebook

，去酒

吧喝酒。这位前

―

千禧一代

‖

的后裔一夜之间变成了哼哼一代的成员。他能找到工作吗？

这就是成千上万家庭所面临的景象：今年夏天，超过

万大学生毕业，

在当今金融危机的

背景下他们中的大多数人不知道自己下一步该做什么。父母只会唠叨，而儿女们则毫无缘由地

变成了叛逆者，他们知道自己该找份工作，但却不知道如何去找。

来自米德尔塞克斯郡的杰克

古德温今年夏天从诺丁汉大学政治学系毕业，

获得二级一等荣

誉学士学位。他走进大学就业服务中心，又径直走了出来，因为他看见很多人在那里排长队。

跟他一起

住的另外

个男孩也都跟他一样，进去又出来了。找工作的压力不大，虽然他所认识的大

多数女生都有更清晰的计划。

他说：

―

我申请政治学研究工作，但被拒了。他们给的年薪是

万

千镑，交完房租后所剩

无几，也就够买一罐煮豆子，可他们还要有研究经历或硕士学位的人。然后我又申请了公务员

速升计划，并通过了笔试。但在面试时，他们说我

太冷漠

‘

了，谈吐

太像专家治国国论者

‘

。我

觉得自己不可能那样，但我显然就是那样的。

‖

打那以后他整个夏天都在

―

躲

‖

。

他能够轻松复述《交通警察》中的若干片段，他白天看电

视的时间太多，已经到了影响健康的地步。跟朋友谈自己漫无目标的日子时，他才发现他们的

处境和自己的并没有两样。

其中一位朋友在父母的逼迫下去超市摆货，

其余的都是白天

点到

点

―

无所事事

‖

，

晚上去酒吧喝酒打发时间。

要么，

干脆就在酒吧工作？这样还可以挣些酒钱。

―

我

不想在酒吧工作，我上的是综合性中学，我拼命读书才考上了一所好大学。到了大学，我又埋

头苦读，才得到一个好学位。可现在我却跟那些没上过大学的朋友处在同一个水平线上，他们

整天给客人倒酒，干无聊的活。我觉得自己好像兜了一圈，又回到了原来的起点。

他的母亲杰奎琳

古德温为他辩护。她坚持认为她的儿子已经尽力了，她自己中学毕业后一

直都在工作，可是她和她的丈夫发现，建议儿子如何继续找工作是件很棘手的事情。她说，

―

我

一直都必须工作。现在找工作很难，因为如果你有了学位，学位就会为你提供新的机会，至少

你自己会这么想。

‖

虽然现在她对儿子的态度还比较温和，但是她心里很清楚，去南美度三星期的假之后，他

- 7 -

的休假就结束了。他可能还得付房租，分担家庭开支。她说，

―

在某个时候他们总该长大成人，

我们已经帮了他们交了大学的学费，所以他们也该给我们一点点回报了。南美度假就是一个分

水岭，他回来以后如果找不到工作，那就打圣诞节零工好了。

‖

心理治疗师盖尔

林登费尔德是《情感康复策略》的作者。她说古德温家长的说法是很恰当

的，从上大学到工作的转换对孩子和父母来说都很艰难，关键是他们要在支持理解孩子和不溺

爱孩子之间取得平衡。

―

父母的主要任务就是支持他们，如果他们教导孩子该如何做就会引起矛盾，

‖

她说。

―

如果

有熟人，一定要找他们想办法。但很多父母心太软了。必须限制孩子的零花钱，要求他们交房

租，或分担日常生活或养宠物的花销。父母要过正常的生活，不要让孩子随便用你们的银行卡

或者榨干你们的情感能量。

‖

为他们支付职业咨询费、面试交通费及书费是好事，但不能催得太紧。林登费尔德建议：

虽说父母不能太宽容，但是如果孩子找工作遇到了挫折，父母应该体谅他们，宽容他们几天甚

至几周

——

这要看他们受打击的程度来决定。等他们缓过来之后，父母就该坚决要求孩子继续

求职。

男孩更容易困在家里。林登费尔德相信男人比母亲和姐妹更容易帮助他们的儿子、侄子、

或朋友的儿子。她说，由于男人和女人处理挫折的方式不同，孩子们需要跟男人谈话，才能度

过难关。

她强烈支持他们去酒吧工作：那是克服毕业冷漠症的一剂良方。这工作好不好要取决于你

如何看待它。就是在酒吧打工的时候，林登费尔德找到了她的第一份工作，当航拍助手。她说

在酒吧工作是拓展人际关系的绝好机会，肯定比赖在家里看电视更容易找到工作。

她说：

―

给超市上货也一样。如果干得好，你就会被人发现的。如果你聪明、活泼，对顾客

彬彬有礼，你很快就会升职。所以，把它看作是机会，那些最终能成功的人士都有在超市上货

的经历。

‖

你的儿子或女儿可能不会干好莱坞影星们干过的活，

比如像乌比

戈德堡那样去停尸房给死

人化妆，或者像布鲁斯

威利斯那样在核电站当警卫，但即便是布拉德

皮特也曾经不得不穿上

宽大的鸡套装站在墨西哥快餐连锁店

El Pollo Loco

的门口招揽生意。他们中没有一个人因为这

些经历而变得越来越穷。

Active reading (2)

依我看

依我看，现实生活与人们想象的不一样。我们上了

年的中、小学，又上了

年的大学，

这期间老师们一直在没完没了地谈论在安宁的学生生活之外那个广阔天地里的各种机会，可我

遇到的又是什么呢？

无论我怎么想保持心情愉快，麻烦事总是接踵而来：有时是跟人争吵（尤其是跟男孩，天

哪！他们什么时候才能长大？），但通常是为钱发愁。这个地方什么东西都很贵！人人都想从

我身上拿点钱去：国税局要收个人所得税，银行经理要我偿清学生贷款，房东催我交房租、燃

气费、水费、电费，手机账单也不断地寄来。所有这些还没算上吃饭的钱。更可气的是，不知

从哪里冒出一个自作聪明的家伙冷不丁地给我打电话，问我要不要买养老金。照这样下去，我

连今年都活不过去了，更别提活到

岁领养老金了。

我那时还不想出去工作。我的意思是，我并不是个中途辍学者，但我知道自己以后可能不

得不退学。许多人认为

―

生活不是野餐

‖

，

―

没有免费的午餐

‖

。但既然我拿到了优等生文凭，我

想我应该继

续攻读硕士学位。实际上，我已经瞄上了伦敦经济学院的课程，这是一所顶尖的

学校，能给我的履历表增添一段光彩的经历。但当我跟妈妈谈起这件事时，她说她没法继续供

我上学了。我大概能理解她的心情，这不仅仅是因为我学的是经济学。

年来，为了能让我上

学，她含辛茹苦。这些年来，父亲大部分时间都不在家。就算在家，他也没钱。他把钱都拿去

- 8 -

赌狗、喝酒了。我听了妈妈的话，向命运低下了头。

依我看，不管人们说什么，幸运的是世上还是有很多好心人。麦克就是其中的一个。大学

毕业时，我想如果我回家，妈妈会觉得她有责任照顾我。所以，我就收拾行李去伦敦找工作。

我想找金融和投资方面的职位，因为你知道这样我就可以用上我的专业知识。可是那时候已经

没有这样的工作了，我又不愿意做乏味的办公室工作，复印文件、端茶倒水什么的。

无论你走到伦敦的什么地方，你都能找到一个好酒吧。有一天，我意识到这个城里没有人

会雇我，我走进位于特荷街的索尔兹伯里酒吧去喝一杯，顺便吃点东西。店主麦克正在店里，

他一只手倒酒，一只手做三明治，同时还洗酒杯。他真的好像有三只手。他好像也认识所有的

客人，叫得出常客的名字。

他跟他们打招呼，帮他们调好酒后问一句：

―

今天还喝这个，是吧？

‖

我觉得他看起来蛮酷

的，他在做着他最擅长做的事情：为那些口渴的顾客服务，没人能比得上他。所以我就走上前

去问他要不要雇人。好吧，长话短说，某个周五的午餐时间我开始在那个酒吧打工。这份工作

要求很高，但我喜欢干。

顾客好像觉得我挺逗乐的，这也让我感觉好一些。有位穿西服的中年常客总要半品脱苦啤

酒，一份火腿泡菜三明治，面包皮要消掉。他叫托尼。我一看见他进来，不等他开口就开始准

备他的午餐，他也是那些好心人之一。

依我看，一个人没钱的时候花钱最容易。我开始琢磨怎么花第一个月的薪水了。我住的公

寓房租很贵，我挣的钱刚够支付第一个月的大笔账单，但是我估计还能剩点钱好好犒劳一下自

己。我想，何不买张

或买盆花草装点一下房间？

发工资的那天正好是我的生日，除了麦克和托尼，我在伦敦就没有别的朋友了。如果你知

道我那时还没有男朋友，你就会理解我为什么觉得对不起自己了。我给自己定了些鲜花，让卖

花的人附上一张卡片，上面写道：

―

给你我所有的爱。无名氏

‖

。我生日那天最精彩的瞬间就是

送花人到达公寓时大惑不解的眼神。

那周晚些时候，

托尼像往常一样来了，

在酒吧里坐下。

―

你怎么了？今天怎么不见你笑啦？

‖

我跟他聊了

……

嗯，差不多什么都跟他说了：钱、硕士学位、生日等等。他很同情我。

托尼离开搁脚凳和旁边几个人说话。记住：索尔兹伯里酒吧是在市中心，这里所有的顾客

都在银行、保险或证券市场工作。第二天，他拿着几张价值共

万英镑的支票来到酒吧，他对

我说：

―

这是给你的创业贷款，你唯一的贷款担保是我对你的信任，相信有一天你赚了钱会把钱

还给我们。如果你还不了钱，那就太糟了，金融生意就是这样。但是，我相信你还得了。

‖

我没说话，我怕我自己要哭了。世上这么好的人能有几个？

那些花怎么处理？我叫花店改送到妈妈那里去了，我生日那天鲜花正好送到她家。她最该

得到这些鲜花，不是吗？

依我看，回顾这些年的经历，我发现人一辈子只需要一两次的转折就能成功。就算吃苦受

累也不要紧，那还是值得的。

在索尔兹伯里酒吧干了一年之后，我去了伦敦经济学院深造。拿到硕士学位之后，我在一

家投资银行找到了一份工作。

我把那两万英镑投进了证券市场，

在

2008

年金融崩盘之前卖掉了

所有的股票。

我把托尼和其他投资者的钱还了，付给他们

10%

的年息，并成立了自己的公司。公司的生

意好得超乎意料，至今还红红火火。托尼给我写了一封感谢信。他出了车祸，现在不能走路了。

我还给他的钱正好可以用来改造房子，房子改造后他就可以坐着轮椅在家里自由活动了。下面

是他信里写的话：

―

我从事银行业

年来最好的投资就是给你的这笔贷款，你连本带利地偿还

了贷款，我对你的信任和你的诚实都获得了百倍的回报。依我看，在人身上投资能带来你最希

望看到的回报。

‖

依我看，他说得对。你说呢？

- 9 -

Unit 2

Active reading (1)

Danger! Books may change your life

Culture points

Lewis Carroll

(1832

–

1898) is the pen-name of Charles Dodgson. He was a priest, a mathematician

whotaught at Oxford University, a photographer, humorist and writer of children’s literature.

Alice’s

Adventures

in Wonderland

(1865) was immediately successful, a masterpiece which revolutionized

children’s literature, giving coherence and logic through wit and humour to unlikely or impossible

episodes in which imaginary creatures embody recognizable human characteristics. He is also known

for

Through the Looking Glass and

what Alice found there

(1871) and nonsense poems, such as

The Hunting of the Snark

(1876).

William Cowper

(1731–1800): a notable English poet, writer of hymns and letter-writer. He wrote

gentle, pious, direct poems about everyday rural life and scenes of the countryside which have been

seen as forerunners of the Romantic movement: Coleridge called Cowper “the best modern poet”.

He translated Homer’s Greek epics.

The Odyssey

and

The Iliad

into English. Another example of his

verses which have become common sayings is “God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to

perform…”

John Steinbeck

(1902–1968): American novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in

1962.

The Grapes of Wrath

(1939) is a well-known, long tragic novel about an American family of

farmers who are driven off their land in Oklahoma by soil erosion in the famous “dust bowl” era.

They flee to California to

what they hope will be a better life. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a film in 1940.

Other well-known novels include

Of Mice and Men

(1937),

Cannery Row

(1945),

The Pearl

(1947),

East of Eden

(1952) and an account of a personal rediscovery of America,

Travels with Charlie

(1962).

John Irving

(1942– ): American novelist and screenwriter who taught English at college and was a

wrestling coach.

The Fourth Hand

(2001) is a comic-satirical novel about a TV journalist, Wallington,

whose hand is seen by millions of viewers to be bitten off by a circus lion. A surgeon gives him a

hand transplant (a third hand) but the wife of the dead donor wants to visit her husband’s hand and

have a child by Wallington, who feels where his original hand used to be (the fourth hand).

Audrey Niffenegger

(1963– ): American college professor who teaches writing to visual artists and

shows students how to make books by hand. Her first novel,

The Time Traveller’s Wife

(2003) –

filmed in 2009 – is a science fiction and romance bestseller about a man who travels uncontrollably in

time to his own history and visits his wife in her childhood, youth and old age. His wife needs to cope

with his absences and dangerous life while he travels. The story is a metaphor for distance and

miscommunication in failed relationships.

Paul Torday

(1946– ): a British businessman who worked for a company that repaired ship’s

engines for many years.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

(2007) was his first novel. It is a political satire

and comedy about a dull civil servant who becomes involved in a plan to populate the desert with

Scottish salmon. Politicians manage the media to “spin” this as a plan they support in order to divert

attention from problems in the Middle East. There are themes of cynicism and belief, and East-West

culture clashes.

- 10 -

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

(1918–2008): a Russian writer who was imprisoned in Soviet labour camps

in 1945; after eight years, he was exiled to Kazakhstan and not freed until 1956, when he became a

teacher. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but not receive it until 1974. He went

to Germany, Switzerland and the USA, returning to Russia in 1994. His best known novels were based

on his experiences as a prisoner and include:

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

(1962),

Cancer

Ward

(1968),

The Gulag

Archipelago

(1974–1978). His later works were about Russian history and

identity.

Graham Greene

(1904–1991): a British novelist, short- story writer, playwright, travel writer and

essayist. He wrote a number of thrillers (he called them ‘entertainments’) which dramatize an

ambiguous moral dilemma, often revealing guilt, treachery, failure and a theme of pursuit. Greene was

also a film critic and all of these novels have been made into films:

Brighton Rock

(1938),

The Power

and the Glory

(1940),

The Heart of the Matter

(1948),

The Third Man

(1950),

The Quiet American

(1955), and

Our Man in

Havana

(1958).

E. M. Forster

(1879–1970): a British novelist and writer of short stories and essays. He lived at

different periods in Italy, Egypt and India and taught at Cambridge University. His best known novels

include

A Room

with a View

(1908),

Howard’s End

(1910),

A Passage to India

(1924) which have all

been made into films. His writing about reading and writing includes a book of lectures,

Aspects of the

Novel

(1927).

Thomas Merton

(1915–1968): an American Catholic writer, who was a Trappist monk in Kentucky.

He wrote over 70 books, including many essays about Buddhism and a translation into English of the

Chinese classic,

Chuang Tse

. He had a great deal to say about the meeting of Eastern and Western

cultures and wrote many letters to writers, poets, scholars and thinkers. He read a lot in English, Latin,

French and Spanish and said he always had at least three books which he was reading at any one time.

William Blake

(1757–1827): a British poet, artist and mystic, who read widely in English, French,

Italian, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He made many engravings to illustrate the work of such writers as

Virgil, Dante and Chaucer, as well as his own poems. He stressed that imagination was more

important than rationalism and the materialism of the 18th century and criticized the effects of the

industrial revolution in England, but his work was largely disregarded by his peers. He is best known

for his poetry in

Songs of Innocence

(1787) and

Songs of Experience

(1794). His belief in the oneness

of all created things is shown in his much-quoted verse, “To see the world in a grain of sand / And a

heaven in a flower, / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour.”

Clifton Fadiman

(1904–1999): an American writer, radio and TV broadcaster and editor of

anthologies. For over 50 years he was an editor and judge for the Book-of-the-Month Club. In 1960 he

wrote a popular guide to great books for American readers,

The Lifetime Reading Plan

, which

discusses 133 authors and their major work: the 1997 edition includes 9 authors from China.

J. K. Rowling

(1965–): British writer of the seven Harry Potter fantasy books. She studied French

and Classics at Exeter University, before teaching English in Portugal and training to teach French in

Scotland. The main idea about a school for wizards and the orphan Harry Potter came on a delayed

train journey from Manchester to London in 1990. She began to write as soon as she reached London.

Twelve publishersrejected the first book before Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, agreed to

publish it. Later books have repeatedly broken all the sales records (as have some of the films). She is

one of the richest women in the UK and a notable supporter of many charities.

Language points

- 11 -

Variety’s the very spice of life, / That gives it all its flavour … (Para 2)

Spices are made from plants and added to food to give it its particular flavour or taste. The English

proverb “Variety is the spice of life” (the proverb comes from Cowper’s poem) therefore means

that variety gives life extra value and allows you to appreciate life in particular ways.

We learn to look beyond our immediate surroundings to the horizon and a landscape far away

from home. (Para 3)

This means that through reading we learn to look beyond our immediate experience or familiar

environment to things beyond our immediate experience, ie to completely different things that we can

imagine and experience through books.

When a baseball player hits a home run he hits the ball so hard and so far he’s able to run

round the four bases of the diamond, and score points not only for himself but for the other

runners already on a base. (Para 9)

In the American game of baseball, the field of grass is diamond-shaped and has four bases (specific

points marked around the diamond), round which players must run to score points. One team bats (ie

team members take turns to hit the ball and run round the bases) and the members of the other team

throw (pitch) the ball and, when it is has been hit, try to catch it or get it quickly to one of the four

bases. If a batting player can hit the ball hard enough, he can run round all four bases before the other

team can get the ball and thus score maximum points – with a home run. In the passage, a really good

book is a home run.

3 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 Why are we like Alice in wonderland when we read a book?

(a) Because, like Alice, we often have accidents.

(b) Because reading makes us feel young again.

(d) Because books lead us into a dream world.

2 According to the writer, what is the advantage of reading over real life?

(a) There is more variety in books than in real life.

(b) We can experience variety and difference without going out of the house.

(d) It’s harder to make sense of real life than a book.

3 What do the seven novels listed in Paragraph 4 have in common?

(a) Their titles stimulate imagination.

(b) They represent the best writing by British and American novelists.

(d) You can find all of them in any local library.

4 At what moment in our lives do books become important?

(a) As soon as we start reading.

(b) When we start buying books to fill our shelves at home.

(d) Only when we are ready for books.

5 What claim did Merton make about the poems of William Blake?

(a) They were similar to the works of the Greek writers and thinkers.

(b) They helped him understand the meaning of life.

- 12 -

(d) They taught him a lot about modern culture.

6 What is meant by a home-run book?

(a) A book which is so good you are unable to put it down.

(b) A book that the whole family can enjoy.

(d) A book that hits hard like a home run in the game of baseball.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

4 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 to make someone feel that they do not belong to your group

(exclude)

2 to fail to do something that you should do

(neglect)

3 to mention something as an example

(cite)

4 to be strong enough not to be harmed or destroyed by something

(withstand)

5 in most situations or cases

(normally)

6 to be about to happen in the future

(await)

5 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 4.

When I lived in Britain, one of my favourite radio programmes was called “Desert Island Discs”.

The

format was always the same: Guest celebrities were asked to imagine they had been washed ashore on

a desert island, and had to choose nine books – (1)

excluding

the Bible and Shakespeare, which they

were already provided with – to take with them to the island, to help them (2)

withstand

the physical

and mental isolation. I sometimes like to think which books I would take. (3)

Normally

, like most

people, I don’t have much time for reading, and I could (4)

cite

dozens of books which I have never

read but which I would like to. It’s an opportunity I have (5)

awaited

all my life, in fact. But what

would I choose? Mostly novels, probably, but I wouldn’t (6)

neglect

to include a volume or two of

poetry. My first choice, I think, would be Tolstoy’s

War and Peace

. I’ve never read it, but I’m

ready to believe that it is one of the most marvelous books ever written.

6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box.

1 In a good novel, the writer and reader communicate with each other.

(interact)

2 I have to face up to the problem sooner or later.

(confront)

3 I read the book in one sitting and Mary did too.

(likewise)

4 E. M. Forster was one of the most important and respected British novelists of the 20th century.

(influential)

5 Do you believe that a work of literature can actually lead to social changes?

(induce)

6 Robert Burns was a great poet who wrote in the language variety spoken in Scotland.

(dialect)

7 The

Time Traveller’s Wife

is the story of a man who has a strange and inexplicable genetic

disorder.

(mysterious)

7 Answer the questions about the words.

1 If you have had a disconcerting experience, do you feel a bit (a) tired, or

(b) confused

2 If you have a vista of something, can you

(a) see or imagine it

, or (b) go and visit it?

3 Would you express great wrath by (a) smiling at someone, or

(b) shouting at them

4 If you feel enchanted by a book, do you

(a) like it a lot

, or (b) not like it at all?

5 Is a writer who is supremely talented

(a) very good

, or (b) quite good at his job?

- 13 -

6 If reading fosters an understanding of certain problems, does it

(a) help understanding

, or (b) prevent

it?

7 If you are desperately trying to get a job, are you

(a) trying very hard to get it

, or (b) caring little

whether you get it or not?

8 Is a sensation (a) a certainty, or

(b) just a feeling

Active reading (2)

They were alive and they spoke to me

Background information

This is from

The Books in My Life

by Henry Miller (1861–1980), an American novelist, writer and

painter. Miller was born in New York, lived in Paris 1930–1939, and then in California. His

best-known works blend fiction, autobiography, social criticism and mysticism:

Tropic of Cancer

(1934 published in France) describes his life and loves in Paris and because of its sexual frankness it

was not published in the USA till 1961;

Black Spring

(1936) has ten autobiographical stories;

Tropic

of Capricorn

(1939) is about his years with the Western Union Telegraph Company;

The Colossus of

Maroussi

(1941), considered by some critics to be his best work, is a travel book about people from

his stay in Greece.

The Books in My Life

(1969) Miller looks at 100 books that influenced him. His list includes

children’s books written originally for adults (eg

Alice in Wonderland

The Arabian Nights

Greek

Myths and Legends

Robinson Crusoe

The Three Musketeers

); many French novels and poetry (eg by

Balzac, Hugo, Giono, Nerval, Proust, Rimbaud, Huysmans, Maeterlinck), German novels (by Mann,

Hesse, Dreiser) and the Chinese

Lao Tse

and Fenollosa’s

The Chinese Written Character as a

Medium for Poetry

, besides work by American writers (Twain, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman),

Dostoievshy, Nietzsche, Joyce and writers on spiritual topics.

Culture points

August Strindberg

(1849–1912): A Swedish playwright and a prolific writer of novels, short stories,

satires, essays and poems, and a photographer, who tried various jobs before becoming assistant

librarian at the Royal Library in Stockholm and established an experimental theatre. He is best known

for his plays, including

The Father

(1887) and

Miss Julie

(1888), and for his vitality, vigour, and

brilliant use of language.

Miller cites Strindberg’s autobiographies,

The Confession of a Fool

(vol.2), a passionate love story

and account of problems in his marriage, and

The Inferno

(vol.3), a study of his religious conversion,

delusions and neuroses which reflect Strindberg’s periods of mental instability.

Blaise Cendrars

(1887–1961) is the pen name of Fré

dé

ric Sauser, a Swiss-born French novelist,

shortstory writer, poet, and film-maker, who led a life of constant travel (he was born in an Italian

railway train) doing various jobs in Russia, Europe, North and South America and Asia – he is said to

have shoveled coal on steam trains in China. He lost his right arm fighting for France in World War I.

His prose includes vivid, witty, action-packed novels, like

Moravagine

(1926), which describe travel

and adventure, or works directly inspired by his own experience, like

The Astonished Man

(1945) and

The Cut Hand

(1946), and four volumes of memoirs. Miller admired his work and lists ‘virtually the

complete works’ of Cendrars as influential reading.

Ré

my de Gourmont

(1858–1915): a French writer of 50 books: essays, novels and poetry, with a

strong interest in medieval Latin literature; as a critic he was admired by T. S. Eliot. He was a

- 14 -

librarian at the National Library in Paris; later, a painful skin disease kept him largely at home. He

was influential in the symbolist movement in literature. He claimed that a work of art exists only

through the emotion it gives us. He asserted the need to get away from the unquestioning acceptance

of commonplace ideas and associations of ideas, and believed it was necessary for thought to proceed

by imagery rather than by ideas.

Julius Caesar

(110 BC–44 BC): a Roman statesman, known as a great military strategist. As a

general he was famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) which he added to the

Roman Empire. He also made two expeditions to Britain, was governor of Spain and traveled in North

Africa and Egypt. He was a good speaker and he wrote several books of commentaries and memoirs

on Roman wars and military campaigns. Caesar’s writing is often studied today by those who learn

Latin.

The Julius Caesar of literature

this phrase compares Cendrars with Caesar: both were men of

action, travelers, adventurers, explorers, who somehow found time to read a lot and write books.

Language points

The fact, however, that in the past I did most of my work without the aid of library I look

upon as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. (Para 1)

This is irony. Miller is writing about the importance of reading and about key books in his life, but

there is a paradox: Only recently has he been able to get all the books he has wanted all his life (ie he

now has money, as a best-selling writer, to buy books) and, as a writer, he wrote books without the

help of a library. He says that not having books was an advantage. The explanation is probably that

Miller’s early writing was a mixture of autobiography and fiction, so he didn’t need to read other

books or refer to them to do his own writing. The irony is that he is saying this in a book about the

books the influenced him.

A good book lives through the passionate recommendation of one reader to another. (Para 3)

Miller thinks that a good part of the ‘life’ of a book is how one reader recommends it to another

with enthusiasm, ie books are about sharing experience, not just the author’s experience in the book

and the reader’s experience of reading it, but also the experience of word-of-mouth or face-to-face

recommendation by other readers.

And the better the man the more easily will he part with his most cherished possessions. (Para

This continues Miller’s thought that books are for sharing. A good person will share things he or she

loves. In this case, such a person will give or lend favourite books and such generosity makes friends:

When you give books you get friendship.

If you are honest with yourself you will discover that your stature has increased from the mere

effort of resisting your impulse. (Para 6)

Miller’s argument here is that you should not read everything, but that you should choose very

carefully and selectively. This means you should resist the temptation to read some things which are

not really going to add to your knowledge or enjoyment (not every book will do this, only some). Here,

he says that in this way, we grow (we “increase our stature”). That is, we grow by not reading many

books. The implication is that if we choose the very best books and read these few really carefully we

will get the best from them – and grow by such selection. Miller discusses 100 books which he things

are such books.

All on the side, as it were. (Para 7)

- 15 -

Cendrars was a man of action who spent most of his time on travels and adventures. Surprisingly (you

would think he did not have time), he read a lot in different languages and even wrote many books –

this was in addition to his main activities.

For, if he is anything, Cendrars, he is a man of action, an adventurer and explorer, a man who

has known how to “waste” his time royally. (Para 7)

Cendrars had a huge reputation as a man of action, travelling, having adventures and exploring

different countries and yet he read a lot (he knew how to use the little time available to read).

“Waste” is in quotes to show irony (reading isn’t a waste of time), that he reads in a royal manner

(ie very thoroughly). The sentence structure here is quite French with the repetition of “he”.

Reading and understanding

2 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 What does Miller consider to have been an advantage during his writing career?

(a) To have been able to read all the books he wanted.

(b) To have grown up in a room full of books.

(d) The fact that he never wanted to own any books.

2 What did three stars on a book mean in the public library in Miller’s youth?

(a) Young people weren’t allowed to read them.

(b) They were the most popular books in the library.

(d) They were more exciting than one-star books.

3 Why does Miller hope the star system still exists in public libraries?

(a) It is an efficient system which works well.

(b) It discourages people from reading inappropriate books.

(d) It makes it easier for people to recognize books.

4 Why do people lend books, in Miller’s opinion?

(a) Because they feel the need to share their feelings.

(b) It’s the best way to make a friend.

(d) Because it’s not possible to possess a book for ever.

5 According to Miller, what should you do when you find a book you want to read?

(a) Pick it up and start reading.

(b) Ask a friend for advice about the book.

(d) Only read it if it is original.

6 What does Miller especially admire about Blaise Cendrars?

(a) He had a very adventurous life.

(b) He was a great writer.

(d) He read as well as wrote a lot.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

- 16 -

3 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 the quality of being new, interesting, and different from anything that anyone has created before

(originality)

2 the process of putting people or things into particular groups according to the features they have

(classification)

3 to make an organized and determined attempt to deal with a problem

(tackle)

4 to make something better or more enjoyable

(enrich)

5 a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something

(obstacle)

6 to sink under water and die

(drown)

7 not being used

(idle)

8 a suggestion that someone or something is especially suitable or useful for a particular situation

(recommendation)

9 to make a lot of effort to achieve something

(strive)

4 Complete the conversation with the correct form of the words in Activity 3.

Professor Ridgeway, you’ve just written a biography of the poet Shelley, who (1)

drowned

off

the coast of Italy in 1822 in a sailing accident. As you remind us in the introduction, people’s lives

have been (2)

enriched

by poetry for thousands of years. What (3)

recommendation

could you make to

a young poet who is just beginning their career?

That they should always (4)

strive

to be themselves, and not to worry about (5)

originality

. Once

they’ve found their own voice, it will be original in its own way, because everyone is unique.

So you don’t believe in the (6)

classifications

which label poets as “romantic” or “modernist”

and so on?

I do, but they have limited value.

What do you think is the main (7)

obstacle

facing young poets today?

I think it is to accept that you cannot be productive all the time. A poet’s mind is never (8)

idle

and waiting for the right moment is part of the creative process. All other problems are relative, and

can be (9)

tackled

when you get to them.

5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the following words. You may need to

make other changes.

1 I felt depressed and lacking in confidence after reading his criticism of my novel.

(demoralized)

2 Henry Miller’s

The Books in My Life

is about, as the name suggests, the story of his life.

(autobiographical)

Henry Miller’s

The Books in My Life

is, as the name suggests, autobiographical.

3 Shakespeare had an extraordinary talent as a writer, which is without comparison in the history of

English literature.

(prodigious; unparalleled)

4 Some people look to a book for pleasure rather than for understanding.

(enlightenment)

5 The experiment in banning alcohol drinks in the United States actually led to an increase in crime.

(prohibiting)

6 I’m not sure if it is to their advantage for readers to read this review before they start the book.

(advantageous)

7 Miller’s

Tropic of Cancer

was, without doubt, one of the most infamous novels of the 20th century.

(indubitably)

6 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

- 17 -

1 If someone

makes a confession

, do they tell you something

(a) personal and secret

, or (b) which

everyone knows?

2 If someone

whets your appetite

for something, do they make you

(a) desire for it

, or (b) dislike it?

3 If you

wade through

piles of documents, do you

(a) read or deal with them

, or (b) just ignore them?

4 If you have to

forego

something, do you (a) finish it quickly, or

(b) do without it

5 Is someone who has

business acumen

(a) good at business

, or (b) without any business skills?

6 Is a

repetitive

job one in which you do (a) different things, or

(b) the same thing every day

7 If you do something

on the side

, do you do it

(a) in addition to a regular activity

, or (b) where no one

can see you do it?

Reading and interpreting

7 Answer the questions.

1 What is the first struggle that he has with books?

Miller’s first struggle is to obtain books and get his hands on them.

2 Why is it difficult to lay hands on them?

The books are not in the public library because someone has already borrowed them and Miller

doesn’t have the money to buy them.

3 What sort of books are prohibited for a young man?

Books which are considered to be immoral for a young person to read.

4 What is the best way to be introduced to a book?

Through the passionate recommendation of someone who has read the book.

5 What is an unused book lying on a shelf compared with?

It is compared with wasted ammunition. This means that it is useless. It is also compared to money

because it should be in circulation.

6 Why does Miller suggest resisting your impulses and not opening a book as soon as you get it?

He says you should think intensely about the title, author, and likely contents, imagining what you

would have written yourself about it. Then you may decide you don’t need to read it, or, if you do

read

it, you will read it with more interest and acumen.

Language in use

word formation: -ous

1 Write the adjectives which describe:

1 a writer who has achieved fame

(famous)

2 readers who show curiosity

(curious)

3 someone who feels envy

(envious)

4 a region which is full of mountains

(mountainous)

5 a parcel which has a very large volume

(voluminous)

infinitive / gerund as the subject of a sentence

2 Complete the sentences using infinitive or gerund as the subject. Usually both forms are

possible, but you should be able to justify your choice.

Getting up

early in the morning gives me more time to organize the day.

(To express an everyday activity)

- 18 -

To write a best- seller

has always been my dream.

(This is a bit more abstract or a far- away grand idea)

Forgetting

to take back a library book may not seem serious, but it causes problems for other

students.

(To express a normal activity for many people)

To spend

a lot of time reading in one’s childhood can bring rewards later in life.

(Use the more abstract form for an important idea)

To be or not to be

, that is the question.

(In Shakespeare this can be interpreted as a grand idea, so he uses the formal way; if you say, ‘Being

or not being…’ is may be more immediate and seems normal – but in Hamlet the situation is not

normal)

such is / are …

3 Rewrite the sentences using such is / are …

1 Good writing is so powerful that the reader thinks the writer is speaking directly to them.

The reader thinks the writer is speaking directly to them. Such is the power of good writing.

2 The novel

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

is so charming that you can’t put it down even for a

moment.

You can’t put Salmon Fishing in the Yemen down even for a moment. Such is the charm of the

novel.

3 Travel is such a pleasure that you may end up living in another country.

You may end up living in another country. Such is the pleasure of travel.

4 The sense of confusion in this film is so great that you may feel you want to leave before the end.

You may feel you want to leave before the end. Such is the sense of confusion in this film.

5 The difficulties of translation are so enormous that much of the meaning is lost.

Much of the meaning is lost. Such is the enormity of the difficulties of translation.

if / whether it be …

4 Rewrite the sentences using if / whether it be …

1 Is it the right time to start this kind of project? Ask yourself carefully.

Ask yourself carefully whether it be the right time to start this kind of project.

2 Is it the first edition of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary? I very much doubt it.

I very much doubt if this be the first edition of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary.

3 Is it common knowledge that Arthur Miller thought like this? I’m not sure.

I am not sure if it be common knowledge that Arthur Miller thought like this.

4 Is it necessary to produce any documents when making an application? Perhaps we should inquire.

Perhaps we should inquire whether it be necessary to produce any documents when making an

application.

5 Is it the right way to tackle the problem? I doubt it.

I doubt if it be the right way to tackle the problem.

collocations

5 Read the explanations of the words. Answer the questions.

confront

This word usually means to deal with a difficult situation.

(a) Which are the most important

problems

we have to

confront

in today’s world?

This could be a long list! I’d say: global warming, pollution, water shortages, extreme weather

- 19 -

conditions, local military conflicts, poverty, famine and hunger, unemployment, to name only a few.

(b)

Were

you

confronted by

anyone asking for something on your way to class today?

Not today, but a few days ago I was confronted by someone asking for money – which I didn’t like

at all.

confronted with

The problem that my grandfather is elderly and has Alzheimer’s disease: He needs constant care

because he forgets ordinary things. It is difficult for my parents and for me because we all take turns

to look after him. I realized what this was really like when I had to look after him for a weekend

when my parents were away, but I discovered I have a lot more patience now. So perhaps this crisis

has helped us to develop some good qualities, although it is actually a very difficult time for all

of us.

idle

This word usually means not being used, lazy, or without any real reason or purpose.

(a) If someone is

idle

by nature, what don’t they like doing?

They don’t like doing work or other things that they should do but which they don’t like doing.

(b) If machinery is

idle

, what isn’t it doing?

The machinery is not being used.

idle curiosity

, do they have a strong motivation to read it?

Not really, they just have a slight curiosity to see what the book is, but they have no real interest.

(d) If someone makes you an

idle threat

, do you take it seriously?

No, you don’t because you know that the threat has no real purpose.

tackle

This word usually means to challenge someone or something, or to make an attempt to deal

with a problem.

(a) What are the main

issues

the government needs to

tackle

in the near future?

Well. I suppose there are several issues which need to be tackled, including rising prices and

employment in some places, or some social problems in a few areas.

(b) How do you

tackle someone about

their ideas and opinions?

I am inclined to be direct and simply ask them about their opinions and ideas. I think they will tell

me honestly if they believe I am really interested in what they think.

tackle someone

in a game of football, what have you managed to do?

You have managed to get the ball away from them so that your team can keep the ball for a

moment.

withstand

This word usually means to be strong enough not to be harmed or destroyed by

something, or to be able to deal with a difficult situation.

(a) What sort of defences can

withstand a direct attack

To withstand a direct attack you need strong defences which are well placed.

(b) What sort of clothes allow you to

withstand the cold

in winter?

To withstand the cold in winter, you need thick, warm clothes.

withstand the pressure

of having to produce regular assignments on your course?

Yes, I can. Actually, our teachers generally give us our assignments at intervals and we usually know

well in advance what we should. So as long as you get on with the work (and don’t leave it until the

last minute!) the pressure is not too bad and we can manage.

6 Translate the paragraph into Chinese.

Indubitably the vast majority of books overlap one another. Few indeed are those which give the

impression of originality, either in style or in content. Rare are the unique books – less than 50,

- 20 -

perhaps, out of the whole storehouse of literature. In one of his recent autobiographical novels, Blaise

Cendrars points out that Ré

my de Gourmont, because of his knowledge and awareness of this

repetitive quality in books, was able to select and read all that is worthwhile in the entire realm of

literature. Cendrars himself – who would suspect it? – is a prodigious reader. He reads most authors

in their original tongue. Not only that, but when he likes an author he reads every last book the man

has written, as well as his letters and all the books that have been written about him. In our day his

case is almost unparalleled, I imagine. For, not only has he read widely and deeply, but he has himself

written a great many books. All on the side, as it were. For, if he is anything, Cendrars, he is a man of

action, an adventurer and explorer,

a man who has known how to ―waste‖ his time royally. He is, in a

sense, the Julius Caesar of literature.

（几处倒装句应灵活处理，以体现原文语气。

every last book the man has written

等于

all the

books he has written

。

注意这段话的逻辑关系。

If he is anything, he is a man of…

一句中的

从句

起强调作

用，说明他不是一个书生或思想家，而是一个行动家。此处需灵活翻译。）

不容置疑的是，大多数书都互相重复，在文体或内容上让人感到具有独创性的书实在是少之又

少。在整个文学库藏中，或许只有极少数作品

——

不到

本

——

是独具一格的。在最近出版的

一部自传体小说中，布莱斯

桑德拉尔指出，雷米

德

古尔蒙之所以能够选择并通读文学领域中

一切值得读的书籍，就是因为他知识渊博，了解书的这种重复性。没有人会怀疑桑德拉尔本人

就是一个博览群书的人，他阅读了大部分独具个性的作家的作品。不仅如此，一旦他喜欢上一

个作家，就会阅读这个人写的每一本书，包括他的书信以及所有有关他的书籍。我猜想，在当

今世上，像他这样的情况是绝无仅有的，他不仅读得广，读得深，而且本人还著述颇丰。这一

切似乎都是在业余时间完成的。因为从本质上讲，他是一个十足的行动家，一个四处跋涉的冒

险家和探险家，一个懂得如何大量
―
浪费
‖
时间的人。从某种意义上说，他是文学届的凯撒大帝。

7 Translate the paragraphs into English.

1
张磊是在毕业工作后才开始意识到读书的乐趣的。反思自己的大学教育时，他感慨不已：他

的一些同学都沉浸于从图书馆或书店找到的各种有趣的书籍，而他却只读了一些教科书，其中

连一本真正能让他爱不释手、值得一读的书都没有。他可以说是被剥夺了通过书了解作家奇妙

世界的特权。

It was not until after he had graduated from university and started to work that Zhang Lei became

aware of the pleasure of reading. Reflecting on his undergraduate studies, he lamented that he, unlike

his classmates who had immersed themselves in various interesting books they were able to lay hands

on from the library or bookshop, had only read textbooks, none of which was really worthwhile, or

could be read in one sitting. He was deprived of the privilege of gaining access to the writers’

fantastic worlds through the windows their books have opened, so to speak.

2
如今，他嗜书如命，废寝忘食，好像要把大学期间没机会读的好书全都读一遍。到目前为止

他已经利用业余时间读了几百本小说、传记和游记。他意识到书不仅能向他展示一个充满希望

的前景，帮他消除现实生活中的压力和疲劳，而且能够帮他澄清一些误解，找到生活的真谛。

(reflect on; in one sitting; lay hands on; immerse in; worthwhile; privilege; withstand; vista)

Now he has become an avid and omnivorous reader. It is as if he wants to make up for those

marvelous books he hadn’t had a chance to read in his university days. By now, in his spare time, he

has read several hundreds of books, including novels, biographies and travel notes. He realizes that

books can not only reveal to him the vista of a hopeful future and help him withstand stresses and

strains, they can also help him clear up some misconceptions and discover the true meaning of life.

Translation of the passages

Active reading (1)

- 21 -

危险！书可能会改变你的人生

刘易斯

·
卡罗尔书中的爱丽丝不小心掉到兔子洞里，在那里发现了一个神奇的仙境。

当我们打开一本书时，我们也会像爱丽丝那样走进一个全新的世界。我们能从一个年长人的角

度，或通过一个孩子的眼睛来观察生活；我们可以周游世界，遍访现实生活中从没想过要访问

的国家和文化；我们可以体验未曾经历过的事情，这些事情有时令人不安，也许引人入胜；可

能是不愉快的也可能是令人痛苦的，但无论如何都至少能把我们从现实世界中解放出来。

英国诗人威廉
·
考珀（
1731
–
1800
）说，
―
变化是生活的调味品，它让生活变得有滋有味。
‖

虽然他没有说在什么地方以及怎样才能找到变化，但我们知道他说得对。我们知道我们生活在

一个充满变化与差异的世界里，我们知道人们的生活方式各不相同，人们过日子的方式不同，

做不同工作，有不同信仰，持不同观点，有不同的风俗习惯，操不同语言。通常，我们不知道

这些差异的大小，但一旦发生了不平常的事情并引起了我们的注意，这种变化或差异与其说是

机会，毋宁说是威胁。

读书让我们能够安全地享受和庆贺这种变化与差异，为我们提供成长的机会。在家里安

详平和的环境中与他人的生活互动，这是阅读小说才享有的特权。我们甚至感觉到
——
哪怕只

是在那一瞬间

——
我们和异文化读者的共同点要多于我们和家门口随便碰到的一个人的共同

点。我们学会把目光移出我们周围的环境，投向天边，去领略一下异域山水。

如果我们怀疑读书是否能给我们力量的话，我们就应该麻烦自己去一趟当地的图书馆或书

店，或者，如果我们足够幸运的话，从家里的书架上取一本书来读一读。我们会惊奇于古今小

说的标题所创造出来的壮观景象：
约翰
·
斯坦贝克的
《愤怒的葡萄》
、
约翰
·
欧文的
《第四只手》
、

亚历山大
·
索尔仁尼琴的《癌症病房》、厄内斯特
·
海明威的《丧钟为谁而鸣》、格雷厄姆
·
格林

的
《哈瓦那特派员》
、
奥黛丽
·
尼芬格的
《时间旅行者的妻子》
、
保罗
·
托迪的
《到也门钓鲑鱼》
。

一旦开始阅读，我们就必须思考我们在书中读到的别样人生。

每一本书都有自己的语言、方言、词汇和语法。我们不见得总能理解其中的每一个字、句，

但不管我们是痴迷其中，还是觉得被排除在外，我们的情感被调动起来了。尽管在地理上有一

定的距离，但其他民族、其他文化未必就离我们那么遥远。在书里我们可能遇见生活在不同气

候、有不同信仰、来自不同民族的人。即便是住在同一条街上的邻居，我们都有可能只在书上

相识。

小时候，在我们刚刚能听讲的时候，书对我们的生活方式就产生了很大的影响。从父母给

孩子读的睡前故事一直到成年后家中摆满书柜的客厅，
书界定了我们的人生。
英国作家
E. M.
福

斯特（
1879
–
1970
）暗示书对我们具有另一种更加神秘的支配力。他写道：
―
我认为能影响我们

的书籍是那些我们已经准备要读的书，它们只是在我们已经选定的道路上走得比我们更远一些

而已。
‖
合适的书好像自己就会在恰当的时候找到我们，出现在我们面前，而不是我们去寻找

那本书。

美国修士、牧师及作家托马斯
·
默顿（
1915
–
1968
）曾经被记者一连串地问了
7
个问题：说

出你最近读完的
3
本书；你正在读的
3
本书；你打算要读的书；对你有影响的书，并解释为什

么；
一本每人都要读的书，
并解释为什么。
关于对他有影响的书，
他列出了
《威廉
·
布莱克诗集》
、

古希腊思想家和作家写的各种戏剧以及一些宗教作品。当被问及这些书为何会影响他时，他回

答说：
―
这些书
——
还有其他类似的书籍
——
帮助我找到了人生的真谛，
它们把我从生活的困惑

和空虚中解脱出来。销售就是一切的文化培育了人的需求和被动，而那种生活就深陷其中。
‖
__

那么，你又会如何回答这些问题呢？

1947
年，克里夫顿
·
费迪曼发明了
―
全垒打书籍
‖
这个词。当一个棒球手打出一个全垒打时，

因为击球有力、打得远，他有时间跑完整个棒球场内的四个垒，不仅自己得分，而且帮其他各

个垒的跑垒者得分，这是棒球赛里最有趣和最开心的事情。同样，一本
―
全垒打书籍
‖
指的不是

儿童的第一次读书的经历，
而是指他们第一次读到一本能给他们带来极大的愉悦和满足感的书、

- 22 -

痴迷到手不释卷的经历。
对世界上数以亿计的儿童来说，
―
全垒打书籍
‖
的最典型的例子就是
《哈

利波特》系列小说。

作为成年人，我们总在寻找自己的
―
全垒打书籍
‖
，不是第一次，而是一次又一次地寻找。

所有一口气读完一本小说的人都会记得那种令人期待的愉悦和满足感，并会焦急、固执、有时

甚至疯狂地寻求重复体验这种感觉。我们想周游另一世界、会见不同国家不同民族的人、经历

别样人生并自我反省，我们无法遏制这样的渴求。

危险！书可能会改变你的人生。这就是读书的力量。

Active reading (2)

它们是活生生的，它们在跟我说话

我坐在一间小屋子里，屋子的一面摆满了书。这是我头一次有闲功夫和一堆书这样的东西

打交道。所有的书加起来最多不超过
500
本，但大多数是我自己挑的。自打我开始写作生涯以

来，我这是第一次坐拥我一直渴望拥有的这么多书籍。事实上，我过去的大多数工作都不依靠

图书馆，我把这看成是优点，而不是缺点。

 与读书产生联想的头一件事就是我为获取图书展开的斗争。请注意，不是拥有它们，而是
 要把它们搞到手。一旦对书产生了激情，我就要面对重重困难。公共图书馆里我要借的书总是

被借出去了，当然，我又总是没钱买书。我那时只有十八、九岁，要想得到社区图书馆的批准

借阅类似斯特林堡写的《痴人的忏悔》这样的
―
不道德
‖
的书是不可能的。在那个年代，年轻人

禁读的书都根据官方认定的违背道德的程度被贴上了星星
—
一颗星、
两颗星、三颗星。
我猜想，

这种做法至今依然存在。我也希望如此，因为我知道，没有任何别的方法比这种愚蠢的分类和

禁止更能吊起读者的胃口。

是什么让一本书有了生命力？这个问题经常从我脑子里冒出来！我觉得答案很简单：一本
书之所以有生命力，是因为读者满怀激情地推荐它。这是人的基本冲动，什么都阻挡不了。不

管愤世嫉俗者和人类厌恶者持何种观点，我相信人们总是会尽力分享自己感触最深的经验。

书是人类最为珍爱的几样东西之一。人越好，就越愿意与他人分享自己的珍藏。躺在书架

上无人翻阅的书就像是废弃的弹药。书和钱一样要流通起来，要最大限度地借书、借钱！尤其

要多借书，因为书所代表的东西比钱要多得多。书不仅是朋友，它还可以帮你交朋友。当你在

精神上、心灵上拥有一本书的时候，你的人生就变得丰富多彩。当你把书传给别人的时候，你

的人生就倍加丰富。

说到这里，有一种抑制不住的冲动让我向大家提出一条无偿的忠告。那就是：尽量读得少

而精，不是越多越好！哎，我也着实羡慕那些在书堆里埋头读书的人。我私下里也确实想尽力

读完所有内心里一直想读的书。但是，我知道这并不重要，我知道我读过的书中只有不到十分

之一是我需要读的。人生中最难办到的事情莫过于学会只做有益于自己的康乐、对自己的康乐
 至关重要的事情。

我是经过慎重考虑才提出这个宝贵的忠告的，有一个高招可以核实它的对错。当你碰到一

本你想读或觉得该读的书的时候，先把书搁下，放几天再说。但你要使劲琢磨这本书，仔细琢

磨书名和作者的名字，想想如果让你来写这本书，你会写些什么。认真地问自己是否有必要把

这本书纳入自己的知识库或娱乐储备。尽力想象一下，放弃这份额外的乐趣或启迪对你将意味

着什么？之后，如果你觉得你必须读这本书，那么观察一下你在
―
啃
‖
这本书的时候是否表现出

非凡的洞察力。同时你也观察一下：即便这本书很诱人，它也许并没有给你带来什么新的东西。

只要坦诚对己，你就会发现：只要抑制住自己的冲动，你的境界就提高了。

不容置疑的是，大多数书都互相重复，在文体或内容上让人感到具有独创性的书实在是少

之又少。
在整个文学库藏中，
或许只有极少数作品
——
不到
50
本
——
是独具一格的。
在最近出

版的一部自传体小说中，布莱斯
·
桑德拉尔指出，雷米
·
德
·
古尔蒙之所以能够选择并通读文学领

域中一切值得读的书籍，就是因为他知识渊博，了解书的这种重复性。没有人会怀疑桑德拉尔

- 23 -

本人就是一个博览群书的人，他阅读了大部分独具个性的作家的作品。不仅如此，一旦他喜欢

上一个作家，就会阅读这个人写的每一本书，包括他的书信以及所有有关他的书籍。我猜想，

在当今世上，像他这样的情况是绝无仅有的，他不仅读得广，读得深，而且本人还著述颇丰。

这一切似乎都是在业余时间完成的。因为从本质上讲，他是一个十足的行动家，一个四处跋涉

的冒险家和探险家，一个懂得如何大量
―
浪费
‖
时间的人。从某种意义上说，他是文学届的凯撒

大帝。

Unit 3

Active reading (1)

Background information

Fashion is generally divided into subsectors: menswear, womenswear, sportswear and streetwear,

hosiery (socks, tights, stockings), formal wear and casual wear. Fashion and the choice of what clothes

we buy and wear is influenced by our beliefs, attitudes and personality. But this passage shows that

the stock market can also be an influence.

Culture points

The Californian gold rush
(1848–1855) was a period of rapid migration of miners and other

workers

into California following the dramatic discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada. It led to the settlement

of California.

Swinging London
is a term that describes fashion and cultural trends in music and the media in

mid-1960s Britain, especially London. Icons of the time included the miniskirt, the mini car, the first

supermodels like Twiggy (who was famous for being very thin) and fashionable shopping streets for

clothes (like Carnaby Street and Kings Road in London).

The hippie movement
began in the early 1960s in California and spread internationally. Hippies had

a reputation for social rebellion (eg with drugs and sexual behaviour) and alternative lifestyles (eg in

communes). They tried to find a new way of life which valued peace, individuality, and religious and

cultural diversity. The movement influenced popular music, TV and film, literature and the arts.

Hippie fashions included long full skirts, bell-bottomed jeans, home-made and tie-dyed garments, the

use of flower designs (which represented peace and love), and influences from non-Western cultures

in headscarves, headbands, bracelets and long beaded necklaces.

The punk period
features fashions that expressed anger against society and included brightly

coloured hair, ripped clothes and studded belts.

The New Romantics
was a youth fashion movement, developed in 1960s in London. It is strongly

associated with music, which was inspired by historical periods, especially the English Romantic

Movement. Fashions had a dramatic, flamboyant look with luscious fabrics, loose shirts with frills and

short shirt collars, unfolded, with top buttons unfastened and using monotone colours.

Power dressing
is a stylish and perhaps expensive way of dressing (usually for business, the

professions or politics) which is intended to give the impression that the person wearing the clothes is

assertive and competent, through the use of structured shapes, shoulder pads, smart fabrics, high heels

and clean cut styling in the form of work uniform. Whether wearing particular styles of clothing

empowers the wearer or whether newly-empowered people simply wear clothes that reflect their

achievements is an open question.

Miami Vice

was a classic 1980s TV crime drama about two detectives who go undercover to fight

- 24 -

drug traffickers. The series – and the 2006 film – was noted for its strong use of music and visual

effects; it has been rebroadcast around the world. During the five years of making this TV series the

producers explicitly sought the advice of designers (eg Gianni Versace, Hugo Boss) in order to display

the latest European fashion trends, with the result that
Miami Vice
had a significant influence on 1980s

men’s fashion in the USA and elsewhere, and even on the 2000s revival (it was called “retro” or

“retrospective style”). The clothing style of the TV detectives, Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs, had

pastel coloured T-shirts and suits, no socks, sunglasses, and an unshaven appearance of a small

amount of beard stubble.

Heavy metal music
is a kind of rock music that developed in the UK and USA in the late 1960s and

early 1970s, characterized by loudness, speed, distorted amplified sounds and extended guitar solos.

Converse
is a company which has produced basketball shoes since 1917, especially the Chuck Taylor

All Stars trainers (often abbreviated to “Chucks” or “Cons”), named after the basketball player

who contributed to the design and was the company’s best salesman.

Nike
is a leading supplier of sportswear and equipment. This American company started making Nike

shoes in 1971. They are named after the Greek winged goddess of victory.

The stock market indexes
show the performance of the stock market, typically reflecting the rise and

fall of the shares of large companies, eg the FTSE (also “footsie”) is an index of the top 100

companies listed on the London stock exchange and the Nikkei 225 is an index of the stock market in

Tokyo.

Language points

1
No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant

factors: the ubiquitous jeans and ... (para 1)

The word
ubiquitous
means present everywhere. Thus
the ubiquitous jeans
means that jeans can be

found everywhere.

2
Exactly why women should want to expose more or less of their legs during periods of

economic boom and bust remains a mystery.

An
economic boom
is a sudden increase in trade, business activity and development in a particular

area or region; an
economic bust
is a business failure or bankruptcy because of lack of money.

The expression
economic boom and bust
describes cycles in which a boom period of growth, high

production and rising prices is followed by economic decline, contraction and unemployment before a

new cycle.

3
Whenever the economic outlook is unsettled ... (para 2)

The economic outlook is unsettled
means the economy is unstable, that is, the economy has problems

and is likely to change suddenly, making people uncertain about what may happen in the future.

4
It was given greater respectability when the great French designer, Courrè
ges, developed it

into an item of high fashion. (para 4)

For a while the miniskirt was controversial and not respectable because it showed a large extent of the

wearer’s legs, but when Courrè
ges developed it in Paris fashion shows, this gave approval and

support, because the miniskirt could be considered an item of high fashion (having high status from a

Paris

fashion house).

5
... but the predominant colours became olive green and oatmeal. (para 10)

Predominant colours
refer to the most common colours or those which seem more important or

- 25 -

powerful.

6
... which were described by one commentator as “the prim and proper look is in …” (para 11)

A fashion is
in
when it is a new or current style, or
out
when it is out-of-date.

7
During the whole period, fashion styles have ranged widely, and have usually been sparked off

by a desire to identify people as belonging to a particular sub- culture. (para 14)

During the whole period, there has been a wide range of different fashion styles, which were usually

started by people’s wish to show their identity in a way that would make them distinct from the reset

of society.

Vocabulary support

The following are some terms related to clothing that appear in the passage. Understanding of these

terms may help with reading comprehension of the passage.

Hemline
refers to the bottom edge of a dress or skirt. It shows the length of women’s skirts and

dresses – this length changes according to fashion.

Denim
is a thick cotton cloth that is usually blue and is used especially to make jeans. The name

comes from French
De N?
mes
(“from Nimes”, a city in the south France). Such cloth was made both

in France and England in the 17th century.

The word
jeans

comes from Genoa. Sailors from the 17th- century republic of Genoa worked in France

and wore trousers made of a mix of cotton, linen and / or wool which was made near Turin in Italy.

Bleached

jeans
were also fashionable. They had been the fashion of the 17th-century sailors, whose trousers lost

their colour when they were washed in sea water and were exposed to the sun. There are various

different fits to jeans which include baggy, boot-cut, flares, wide leg, twisted and skinny jeans.

Miniskirt
is a very short skirt of mid-thigh length. A
micro miniskirt
is shorter, up to the upper thigh; a

midi
is a skirt with a moderate length below the knee, perhaps mid-calf length; a
maxi
is an

ankle-length skirt.

A pairs of
tights
is a piece of women’s clothing that tightly covers the feet and legs up to the waist;

stockings
only cover the feet and legs, and are held up with suspenders.

Flare is a shape that becomes wider at one end. A
flared “bell-bottom” style
refers to trousers with

flared legs – they get wider towards the foot and the end is even wider, like a bell.

A
preppy style
means wearing classic designer clothes with good fabrics to present a neat, smart,

well-balanced appearance with bright colours and a clean look. A preppy lifestyle is happy, friendly

and sociable,

with good manners. The word
preppy
is an abbreviation of
preparatory
, which refers to private or

boarding schools which are preparation for college, which reflects the style of a preppy look.

Chinos
are trousers which are a type of light-weight cotton cloth made of chino cloth or twill, a typical

form of smart but casual dress.

A hood is part of a coat or jacket that covers your head; a
hoodie
(or hoody) is a jacket or sweat shirt

with a hood.

Prim clothes are neat, sensible and proper, showing very little of your body.
Prim and proper fashions

are careful, modest, formal and demure, a respectable style which wouldn’t offend anyone.

Lycra
is a light cloth made from artificial fibers that stretches and keeps its shape.

Loafers
are low leather shoes that you slip on and off and do not need to tie.

- 26 -

Reading and understanding

2 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 What happened on the fashion scene in the 1950s?

(a) Blue jeans arrived in Europe and Asia.

(This happened and they were worn in Europe and Asia “with huge enthusiasm”.)

(b) American youth started wearing jeans.

(c) The French started to manufacture jeans.

(d) American women started to wear trousers.

2 What do women want to do during an economic boom?

(a) Show less of their legs.

(b) Show more of their legs.

(Yes, it seems there is a direct correlation: as the economy booms, hemlines rise.)

(c) Buy short skirts.

(d) Sell their shares.

3 What did the tights help to promote in the 1960s?

(a) The French fashion industry.

(b) Stockings.

(c) The miniskirt.

(Yes, because without tights the tops of stockings would show since miniskirts had much higher

hemlines.)

(d) The Beatles.

4 What was popular in the mid-1980s?

(a) Clean shaven faces.

(b) Long hair.

(c) Denim jeans and jackets.

(Yes, the passage says “denim remained popular ... heavy metal music fans wore ... jeans and denim

jackets.)

(d) Short skirts.

5 What was fashionable in the 1990s?

(a) Designer jeans.

(b) Dyed hair and trainers.

(Yes, both of these are specifically mentioned for the 1990s.)

(c) Tight jeans and short hair.

(d) Clothes with bright colours.

6 What happened in the fall of 2007?

(a) Hemlines anticipated a global crisis.

(Yes, this is what happened, which was unusual according to the previous correlation that hemlines

followed the economic situation rather than proceeding or anticipating it.)

(b) Women’s skirts got shorter.

(c) There was a crisis on the stock market.

(d) Designers began to lose touch with reality.

3 Match the photos with the sentences from the passage.

Photo 1
(a)
Photo 2
(d)
Photo 3
(g)

Photo 4
(b)
Photo 5
(e)
Photo 6
(f)
Photo 7
(c)

- 27 -

Photo 1: 1960s

Photo 4: mid-1960s and early 1970s

Photo 3: 1970s, the period of punk

Photo 2: mid-1980s

Photo 5: late 1980s

Photo 7: 1990s

Photo 6: 2001

Dealing with unfamiliar words

4 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 able to be seen
(visible)

2 to think or guess that something is smaller, less important etc than it really is
(underestimate)

3 very brave and determined
(courageous)

4 an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation
(crisis)

5 the most common or greatest in number or amount
(predominant)

6 new and different in a way that might offend or upset some people
(daring)

5 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 4.

At a time of global (1)
crisis
, when stock markets are falling across the world, we should never

(2)
underestimate
the ability of fashion designers to surprise us by bringing sunshine into people’s

lives, and avoiding the (3)
predominant
trend of gloom and pessimism. This is certainly true of the

fashion industry in Brazil. In 2009, when the effects of the financial situation were (4)
visible
almost

everywhere, top designers launched a (5)
daring
new collection combining high hemlines, low

necklines, and lots of colour. As one commentator wrote, “You can call it a (6)
courageous
decision

if you like, but it’s also a question of Brazilians doing what comes naturally to them.”

6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box.

1 If we don’t act soon, the situation will get worse.
(deteriorate)

2 I’m afraid my trousers got torn when I tried to climb over that fence.
(ripped)

3 You need thick pieces of material on your knees and elbows if you go rollerblading.
(pads)

4 Access to the show is limited to journalists with press passes.
(restricted)

5 The Dow Jones list of stocks and shares fell another 40 points yesterday.
(index)

6 That was the most worrying piece of news I’d heard in a long time.
(unsettling)

7 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

1 Is a
ubiquitous
item of clothing something you can find
(a) everywhere
, or (b) only in restricted

circles?

2 Does
bust
refers to (a) economic growth, or
(b) financial failure
?

3 If a fashion item is sold
exclusively
in boutiques, can you find it (a) in department stores too, or
(b)

in no other shops apart from boutiques
?

4 Is a
backlash
a
(a) strong
, or (b) weak reaction to something?

5 Does a
glamorous
person looks
(a) attractive
, or (b) unattractive?

6 If you
are lavish with
your money, do you (a) spend money with care, or
(b) spend money very

generously
?

7 If you
bleach
a pair of jeans, do you (a) add, or
(b) remove its colour
?

8 Is a woman who is
prim and proper
is more likely to wear (a) a micro miniskirt, or
(b) a knee-length

skirt
?

- 28 -

9 If a model is
skinny
, is she
(a) very thin
, or (b) overweight?

Reading and interpreting

8 Look at the passage and find the formal equivalents of the following sentences. Identify the

formal features in the original versions.

1 Historians writing about fashion between 1960 and 2010 always refer to two constant factors.

No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors.

2 ... young people bought them and wore them enthusiastically as they recognized them as a symbol of

the young, informal American way of life.

... they were bought and worn with huge enthusiasm by young people and recognized as a symbol of

the young, informal American way of life.

3 Many people have noticed the close correlation between the length of women’s skirts and the

economy.

It has often been noted that there is a precise correlation, with only a few exceptions, between the

length of women’s skirts and the economy.

4 Hemlines rise and fall with the stock market.

As the stock market rises, so do hemlines, and when it falls, so do they.

5 Nobody really knows why women want to show more or less of their legs during periods of

economic boom and bust.

Exactly why women should want to expose more or less of their legs during periods of economic

boom and bust remains a mystery.

6 The development of tights, instead of stockings, contributed to the international success of the

miniskirt.

But it would not have achieved such international currency without the development of tights, instead

of stockings, because the rise in hemlines meant the stocking tops would be visible.

Active reading (2)

Eco-jewellery: sea glass

Background information

This is an article from
Times Online
of 27th September, 2008, by Anna Shepard, a journalist who

writes a column called “
Eco-worrier
”. She speaks on the radio and TV about green issues and has

published a book,
How Green Are My Wellies: Small Steps and Giant Leaps to Green Living with

Style
. She likes the idea of recycling glass from the sea to make jewellery.

Culture points

Liberty
has been a well-known department store in central London since 1875, selling fashions,

cosmetics, luxury brand accessories and gifts.

Cape Town
is the city with the second largest population in South Africa. It has a famous harbour and

notable landmarks like the Table Mountain ad Cape Point.

Seaham Beach
is near Sunderland and Durham, in the north of England. It has a centuries-old

tradition of glass-making, notably in the 19th-century Victorian era when workers dumped left-over

glass into the sea. Multi- coloured sea glass can be found there.

Language points

1
... sidling up and down in the surf ... (para 1)

- 29 -

To
sidle
means to move slowly in a particular direction, usually because you are nervous or do not

want to be noticed. Cowen moves slowly on the beach, looking for sea glass, going up and down in

the waves of the sea as they move and fall onto the beach.

2
... I’ve burnt my shoulders ... (para 1)

She has been walking on the beach for hours in the sun, so her shoulders are red and sore from too

much sun (sunburnt).

3
There is no hard and fast rule ... (para 3)

There is no fixed rule. The process can change.

4
... but she works mostly to commission ... (para 5)

People ask her to produce specific work (pieces of sea glass jewelry), for which they will pay. She is

commissioned to do this.

5
... a huge glass cabinet that preside over her studio. (para 5)

To preside over something means to be in a position of power while important events or changes are

taking place. Here, this is a metaphor to show the central position of the cabinet in the studio.

6
The creation of sea glass is a form of recycling, but more than that, it is an example of nature

compensating for man’s folly. (para 8)

People were foolish – they behave in a stupid and careless way to throw glass rubbish into the sea.

But

nature has compensated for this by slowly making the glass into beautiful pieces.

7
Although no one considered the consequences of hurling glass into the sea … (para 10)

To hurl means to throw something using a lot of force; to chuck means to throw something, but not

necessarily with force (to chuck something away or to chuck something out usually refers to through

away unwanted objects or rubbish); to dump means to get rid of something or place it somewhere

carelessly, not necessarily throwing it – but dumping rubbish can be the same as throwing it away,

probably in the wrong place.

8
Today’s responsible attitude to its disposal, revolving around recycling where possible, is

vastly superior, but it signals the end of the sea-glass era. (para 10)

Today, people have a more responsible attitude to waste disposal and glass is usually recycled – this

is

very much better than throwing glass into the sea. However, this responsible attitude sends a message

that there will be no sea glass in the future.

9
Its eco-credentials lend sea glass further appeal … (para 12)

Its eco-credentials refers to the ecological background of the sea glass. That because sea glass was

thrown away as rubbish, but it is now being recycled as jewellery it is qualified to have a good

environmental reputation.

10
Gold’s murky reputation for damaging the environment in the extraction process and the

diamond industry’s poor human rights record play into the hands of designers who have

chosen to work with a material that puts a waste product to use. (para 12)

Getting gold from the earth and separating it from other metals often damages the environment. And it

also involves dishonest activities, so gold extraction has a “murky’ reputation”. The diamond

industry

also has a poor reputation because many workers are treated very badly. What people believe about

these processes are exactly what designers of sea glass jewellery want to avoid, so that they gain an

advantage in the jewellery market because they recycle materials.

- 30 -

Reading and understanding

2 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 What happens when Gina Cowen goes looking for glass on a beach?

(a) She gets bitten by crabs.

(b) She gets burnt.

(Yes, she says she burns her shoulders.)

(c) She always finds a better piece than the last time.

(d) She finds time passes slowly.

(No, “she loses her sense of time” means that time passes very quickly so she is not conscious of

how it passes.)

2 Why is red glass special compared to other types of glass?

(a) It’s smoother.

(No, sea glass of any colour can be smooth over the years.)

(b) It’s probably older.

(Yes, Cowen says there is a strong chance that it could be centuries old.)

(c) It’s more beautiful.

(d) It’s harder to find.

3 What does Cowen do with most of the jewellery she makes?

(a) She sells it to private customers.

(Yes, the passage says “she works mostly to commission”.)

(b) She exhibits it in galleries.

(c) She keeps it in her room.

(d) She sells it in a London shop.

(Well, some of her designs were sold in London Liberty, but she sells most of her designs privately.)

4 When did Cowen get interested in sea glass?

(a) When she wrote an article about it for a newspaper.

(b) When she saw a collection in a glass cabinet.

(c) While walking along a beach in South Africa.

(Yes, she found some glass there and started a collection.)

(d) When she found out about the Victorian glass industry.

(No, she found out about this later in Britain.)

5 Where does the best sea glass come from?

(a) South Africa.

(b) Liberty in London.

(c) Fiji and Majorca.

(Cowen has good sea glass from these islands, but it seems that the best is from British beaches.)

(d) Beaches in England.

(Yes, Seaham Beach in Britain is her “favourite hunting ground” and her Victorian sea-glass

collection from British beaches is “most stunning”, so the implication is that, for Cowen, British

beaches are where the best sea glass comes from.)

6 Why will sea glass become rarer than diamonds?

(a) People will stop making glass.

(b) It will eventually be transformed into sand.

- 31 -

(c) More and more glass is being recycled.

(Yes, this means that old glass is made into new glass instead of being dumped in the sea. As a result,

sea glass will become rare.)

(d) People will be prepared to pay a lot of money for it.

7 What did a 15-year-old girl manage to do?

(a) She sold her collection of sea glass on eBay.

(b) She sold photographs of her collection of sea glass.

(No, she took photos in order to illustrate the collection to help to sell the sea glass – she didn’t sell

the photos.)

(c) She sold Cowen some sea glass for more than it was worth.

(Yes, the girl sold it on eBay and Cowen says she paid too much for it.)

(d) She collected a lot of sea glass on a school trip.

8 Why is sea glass more ecological than diamonds and gold?

(a) Getting it doesn’t damage the environment.

(Yes, the passage refers to serious ecological problems with extracting gold and mining diamonds,

whereas because sea glass is waste material collecting and using it is actually clearing up the beach

environment.)

(b) It can be used for a variety of purposes.

(c) It is a naturally occurring product.

(No, sea glass does not occur naturally. it is glass that has been dumped into the sea by people as

rubbish.)

(d) It can be recycled more easily.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

3 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 to become or to make something become active, successful, or popular again
(revive)

2 very impressive or beautiful
(stunning)

3 to hang something from something else
(suspend)

4 a formal agreement to get married
(engagement)

5 the way that the level of the sea regularly rises and falls during the day
(tide)

6 to be in charge of something or to be in a position of power
(preside)

7 the process of getting rid of something
(disposal)

8 very bright
(luminous)

4 Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in Activity 3.

1 To celebrate our
engagement
we had dinner in the best restaurant in Paris.

2 The lamp was
suspended
from an iron hook in the middle of the ceiling.

3 Someone needs to think about the
disposal
of all these waste products.

4 I’ve been asked to
preside
at next week’s meeting of the recycling committee.

5 The
luminous
object on the table turned out to be made of diamond.

6 I could spend hours here, just watching the seagulls flying past and the
tides
coming in and going

out.

7 When she walked into the restaurant she was wearing an absolutely
stunning
diamond necklace.

8 The President is likely to propose a stimulus plan that he believes will help
revive
the US economy.

5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the following words.

- 32 -

1 I had a period of time as a volunteer before getting a job in the jewellery trade.
(stint)

2 You shouldn’t just throw that rubbish into the river!
(chuck)

3 It’s sheer stupid and careless behaviour to go on using up the earth’s resources as we are doing.

(negligence)

4 I looked carefully at the horizon, but couldn’t see anyone coming towards me.
(scoured)

5 I think the accident was due to the driver’s lack of care.
(folly)

6 The removal of minerals from the earth is usually an expensive and dangerous task.
(extraction)

7 The red kite is one of the most rarely seen birds in the country.
(elusive)

6 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

1 If someone
sidles up
to you, are they moving (a) quickly and determinedly, or
(b) slowly and

casually
?

2 Is a
hard and fast
rule (a) fixed, or
(b) open to interpretation
?

3 If someone has good
eco- credentials
, do they
(a) care for the environment
, or (b) show no interest in

it?

4 If something has a
murky
reputation, is it
(a) possibly dishonest or morally wrong
, or (b) precious

and highly respected?

5 If you
play into the hands
of someone, do you (a) approve of it, or
(b) give them an advantage
?

6 If you
condone
someone’s behaviour, do you
(a) approve of it
, or (b) disapprove of it?

7 If you
pounce onto
something, do you make a
(a) quick movement to get hold of it
, or (b) slow

movement to get hold of it?

Reading and interpreting

7 Check (
?
) the writer’s main purpose in writing the passage.

To paint a portrait of a woman with unusual passion.

(The writer does have this purpose to show Cowen’s strong interest.)

To describe the process of making jewellery from sea glass.

(This is one purpose although there are not many details about this.)

To make people think about the importance of recycling.

(Yes, this is a strong point in the passage.)

√
A mixture of all three.

(Yes, the writer seems to have all the above three purposes here.)

8 Find the quotations in the passage which illustrate the ideas:

1 why sea glass is special

―It has the ability to transform magically from something ord
inary to luminous treasure after a stint in

the sea.”

2 why colour is important

“The colour gives you a hint of age.”

3 how a thoughtless act can have a happy ending

“The creation of sea glass is a form of recycling, but more than that, it is an example of nature

compensating for man’s folly.”

4 what will happen to sea glass

“Sea glass will eventually run our – one day, it will be rarer than diamonds.”

5 the mysterious appeal of sea glass

“You can imagine what object it might have been, where it traveled and how old it is.”

- 33 -

6 how almost anything can be made into jewellery

“People will find creative ways of working with whatever is available.”

Language in use

word formation: -y

1 Write the adjectives which describe:

1 a jacket with a flower design
(flowery)

2 a label that sticks onto something
(sticky)

3 a suit which has rather a high price
(pricy)

4 hair which shines
(shiny)

5 someone who makes a lot of fuss
(fussy)

6 a personality which makes you think of sun
(sunny)

word formation: over
–

2 Replace the underlined words with verbs beginning with over- . You may need to make other

changes.

1 I think you have made too big an estimate for the cost of the wedding.
(overestimated)

2 They charged me too much money for that ring!
(overcharged)

3 I slept too much last night and missed the flight to London.
(overslept)

4 The flowers in her garden had grown everywhere.
(overgrown)

5 It’s difficult to emphasize too greatly the importance of the fashion industry.
(overemphasize)

6 I’ve got indigestion. I’ve eaten too much.
(overeaten)

see

3 Rewrite the sentences using see .

1 In 1987 there was a major stock market crash.

1987 saw a major stock market crash.

2 The early 1980s was a period of steady economic growth.

The early 1980s saw a period of steady economic growth.

3 Long hair made a brief return in the 1990s.

The 1990s saw a brief return to long hair.

4 On the first day of the sales there were hundreds of people queuing in the streets.

The first day of the sales saw hundreds of people queuing in the streets.

5 There was great technological change during our grandparents’ generation.

Our grandparents’ generation saw a great technological change.

turn out to be

4 Rewrite the sentences using turn out to be .

1 I thought the ring was made of gold, but in the end it proved to be silver.

I thought the ring was made of gold, but it turned out to be silver.

2 She looked like my cousin, but she was actually a complete stranger.

She looked like my cousin, but she turned out to be a complete stranger.

3 The house needed a lot of work doing on it, but it proved to be a good investment.

The house needed a lot of work doing on it, but it turned out to be a good investment.

4 I saw smoke rising from the building, but it was a false alarm.

I saw smoke rising from the building, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

5 I didn’t want to move to England, but in the end it proved to be a wise decision.

- 34 -

I didn’t want to move to England, but it turned out to be a wise decision.

collocations

5 Read the explanations of the words. Answer the questions.

1

hint

A
hint
can be something you say to show your feelings without saying directly what they are, a

small amount of something, or a piece of advice.

(a) If someone has
a hint of
a smile on their face, what do you see?

You see just a small sign of a smile but not a proper smile.

(b) What
helpful hints
would you give someone starting their own business?

I’d suggest that they need to have a clear focus on what the business is about and exactly how it will

work, eg the person should identify a niche in the market that the new business can fill.

(c) If you
drop a hint
about what you would like for your birthday, do you ask for it directly?

No, of course not! You just find a way to join in with a normal conversation and say something

about what you would like.

2

range

This word can mean a number of things of the same general type, the distance or limits of

something, or to move freely.

(a) What can you find in a shop which stocks
a wide range of
products?

You can find products of all kinds, a good variety of them.

(b) What would be the best thing to do if you were
within range of
someone with a gun?

Run quickly away out of range if there is time; if not, take shelter.

(c) Which is the biggest
mountain range
in China?

Well, the Himalayas are the highest, but the Tian Shan or Kunlun mountain ranges are longer.

(d) What have hens which lay
free-range
eggs been able to do?

They have been able to run and walk around freely, compared to hens which are kept in small cages

or containers.

3
reflect

This word can mean to be a sign of a situation, or to think carefully about something.

(a) Whose image is
reflected
if you look in a mirror?

Your own image is reflected back to you when you look in a mirror.

(b) Do you believe that the state of the economy can be
reflected
in the height of hemlines?

I wouldn’t have believed it before I read the passage, but I believe it now!

(c) Do you ever
reflect on
the mistakes you make in English?

Yes, I do try to reflect on them because I know such reflection is a good way to improve my English.

4
rise

This word can mean an increase in number, amount or value, or the achievement of success or

power.

(a) Why was there a
sharp rise
in unemployment in the West in the 1930s?

The sharp rise in unemployment was due to the stock market crash and the financial crisis.

(b) What do you know about the
rise and fall
of the Roman Empire?

I know that over several hundred years the Roman Empire expanded, but after a time it then

declined over a long period. There’s a famous book called
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
.

(c) Do you live in a
high-rise
block of flats?

I know that a lot of people in cities in China do live in large apartment blocks which have many

floors, maybe 15 or 20 or more, but I live in a flat in a much smaller house of just three floors.

(d) What are the different factors which
give rise to
new fashions?

Fashion designers produce innovations and new styles. There are changes in the economic situation so

- 35 -

that people may spend more or less on clothes; also new materials and colours become available,

and people get different ideas about what to wear when they travel to other places or watch films

and TV.

6 Translate the paragraph into Chinese.

Sometimes the hemline indicator, as it’s called, can even precede and predict a change in the mood of

the stock market long before it actually happens. In September 2007, at the New York fashion shows,

which were displaying their styles for spring 2008, the trend was for much longer dresses and skirts,

many to mid-calf or even down to the ankles. Some people felt this showed that the hemline indicator

was no longer reliable, and that designers no longer dictated what people would wear. During the

London and New York fashion shows in September 2008, hemlines continued to drop. But sure

enough, in the fall of 2008, the stock market indexes fell dramatically when the banking crisis hit the

US, Europe and then the rest of the world. Hemlines were no longer following the stock market –

they were showing the way and indicating future economic trends.

有时候，
所谓的裙摆指标甚至能事先早早就预告股市的变化。
2007
年
9
月，
纽约时装展展示了
2008
 年春季流行风格，潮流转向了长衣、长裙，许多裙摆降至小腿中线，甚至到了脚踝。有人觉得，

这表明裙摆指标靠不住了，
或者服装设计师不再左右着装的趋势了。
在
2008
年
9
月的伦敦和纽约
 时装展中，裙摆继续下降。果然，
2008
年秋天金融危机袭击美欧，波及全球，股指急跌。此时，

裙摆不再被动追随股市升跌，而是引领潮流，预示未来的经济趋势了。（
?

第一句原文复杂，

但译成中文较简单。最后一句译文加词，加上
―
被动
‖
可起强调作用，让本句的意思更明确。）

7 Translate the paragraphs into English.

一个人的穿着似乎能影响他的行为方式。譬如，在校内要穿校服是中小学生所必须严格遵守的

规矩之一。倘若在学生着装整齐划一和行为的统一规范之间不存在一种象征性关联的话，校服

便不可能如此盛行。

然而，多年的学校生活让学生在内心里对随处可见的校服产生了抵触情绪，校服毕竟压制了个

性的表达。为了弥补这种损失，学生常常会在周末穿流行的休闲装。直到上了大学，他们才会

享受真正的着装自由，而服装上的无序与大学培养创造力、鼓励自由表达思想及展露才华密切

相关。可惜这样的好景不会太长，经过一段相对短暂的自由之后，他们在毕业工作之后将再次

经历着装规范的压力。
(hard and fast; there is no doubt that; currency; correlation; backlash;

ubiquitous; compensate for;anarchy; obtain; revive)

What you wear seems to dictate your behaviour. Take primary school and high school students for

example. One of the hard and fast rules they have to observe is that they must wear uniforms at school.

There is no doubt that school uniforms would not have achieved their currency without a symbolic

correlation between the uniformity and the students
‘
conformity to some common code of conduct.

However, after years of school life, there is always a backlash secretly nursed in the students
‘
mind

against the ubiquitous uniform which suppresses the expression of individuality. To compensate for

this loss, however, that they can really enjou the freedom of dress, an anarchy associated with the

cultivation of creativity and the encouragement of free expression of ideas and talents. But this

situation won
‘
t obtain for long. After a relatively short time of liberty, they may experience again the

revived pressure of dress code as soon as they become professionals.

Translation of the passages

Active reading (1)

时装潮流
50
年

- 36 -

1960
至
2010
年间的时装史存在着两个不可忽略或不可低估的不变因素：一是无处不在的

牛仔裤，二是女装裙摆的升降。

牛仔裤是用粗斜纹布做的，
早在
16
世纪末法国就有了这种布料。
直到
19
世纪中叶，
李维
·
施

特劳斯发现在加州淘金热中劳动的矿工很需要用这种耐用布料做成的牛仔裤，他还用铆钉来加

固裤子。
直到
1950
年代，
蓝色粗斜纹布做的牛仔裤一直只是流行的工装，
但是后来牛仔裤变成

了青春、新思想、反叛及个性的标志。

1950
年代末，李维
·
施特劳斯公司开始向欧亚出口蓝色

牛仔裤。年轻人趋之若鹜，视其为美国活力四射的、随意的生活方式的象征。

裙摆在这一时期有着特殊的意义。人们时常会注意到，女人的裙摆和经济之间存在一种颇

为精确的关联性，且鲜有例外。股市升时裙摆也跟着上升；股市跌时裙摆就跟着下降。在经济

繁荣和萧条时期女性到底为什么要多暴露或少暴露双腿至今仍然是个迷。但总的趋势是必定是

这样的：每当经济前景不明朗时，男人和女人都倾向于穿比较保守的衣服。

1960
年代时装史上一个最重要的发展就是英国时装设计师玛丽
·
匡特发明的超短裙。由于

匡特在
―
摇摆伦敦
‖
的中心地带工作，超短裙很快就风行全球。当法国杰出的时装设计师库雷热

把超短裙变成一件高级时装时，超短裙得到了人们更多的尊敬。但是，如果只有长筒袜而没有

发明裤袜的话，超短裙是不可能在全球流行的，因为裙摆的上升会让人看见长筒袜的袜口。

60
年代中、
70
年代初的嬉皮士运动影响了牛仔裤的设计，牛仔裤的裤腿发展成了扩张的

―
喇叭形
‖
。到了
70
年代中期，随着经济的恶化，裙摆降低到了小腿中部和脚踝部，而牛仔裤则

不再是清一色的蓝色了。

牛仔裤在朋克时期依然很时髦，
裤腿通常有撕裂的口子，
并配有铁链及打着装饰钉的皮带。

这种样式的牛仔裤延续了几年，但流行的范围越来越小，仅限于内城区的少数年轻人群体，对

其他年龄段的群体影响不大。

作为对朋克无政府主义的一种抗拒，新浪漫派是一个主要出现在英国夜总会的时装潮流。

这种时装大胆创新、魅力十足：衬衫以皱褶和奢侈为特征，牛仔裤是绝对不可以接受的。

80
年代中期兴起了几种风格各异的服装。
―
权威装
‖
以雅致的套装为特色，
带肩垫的上衣配

及膝短裙，受到新近得势的女士的欢迎。毫不奇怪，当经济不稳定的时候，人们不想在穿着上

太冒险。男士则流行以电视剧

―
迈阿密风云
‖
命名的
―
迈阿密风云
‖
式样的时装，名牌短外套配时

髦的
T
恤，留着有型的短胡子
——
长三、四天的样子。和往常一样，粗斜纹布仍然受到年轻人

的欢迎。尤其是重金属音乐迷，爱穿漂白的、撕开裂口的牛仔裤及牛仔衫。

在
1987
年全球股市崩盘之前，
裙摆也开始逐渐地上升起来。

美国在
80
年代末兴起了一种

较为保守的风格，称为
―
学院风
‖
。男士穿拉尔夫

·
劳伦和布鲁克斯兄弟品牌的经典服装，衣领带

纽扣的衬衫、斜纹棉布裤、平底便鞋，脖子上随意系着一件毛衣。他们也穿牛仔裤，但是必须

是新的，或者是干净、熨平的牛仔裤，完全不是李维
·
施特劳斯最初所设想的那种牛仔裤。

90
年代随着世界经济的再次复苏，
年轻人的时装也变得更加大胆起来了。
靴子、
匡威或耐

克运动鞋都很流行，但是流行颜色变成了橄榄绿和米灰色。头发要么留得很长，要么是染成蓝

色、绿色或红色的短刺头。帽衫、棒球帽及松垮型牛仔裤在街上随处可见。松垮型牛仔裤往往

穿得很低，松松垮垮地挂在臀部上。

2000
年
1
月纽约的科技股市崩盘。和往常一样，裙摆也下降了，正如一位评论家所说的，

―
循规蹈矩、一本正经的式样开始流行了，裙摆必须过膝。
‖
但仅仅过了一年，股市开始复苏，

超短迷你裙又回来了，裙摆比多年以来的都要高。

这段时间，除非在工作时，人们通常不穿正式的服装。名牌牛仔裤享有很高的知名度，用

传统的粗斜纹布制作，可能还加了点莱卡。由著名服装品牌，如阿玛尼、胡戈
·
伯斯士及莫斯奇
 诺剪裁、销售。这些品牌公司以前都只做最优雅的时装。紧身牛仔裤在英国及欧洲大部分地区

很流行。裙子的长度不太确定，范围从超短到
―
理性
‖ ——
即及膝或刚刚过膝。

有时候，
所谓的裙摆标志甚至能够在事情发生之前早早地预告股票牛市和熊市的更替。
2007

- 37 -

年
9
月的纽约时装展展示了
2008 
年春季流行式样，潮流转向了长衣、长裙，裙摆降至小腿中线，

甚至到了脚踝。有人觉得这表明裙摆标志靠不住了，要不就是服装设计师已经丧失了对时装的

主宰权。
2008
年
9
月，在伦敦和纽约时装展中，裙摆继续下降。果然，
2008
年秋天金融危机袭

击美欧，波及全球，股指急剧下跌。这时，裙摆不再被动地追随股市升跌，而是引领潮流，预

示未来的经济趋势了。

在整个这段时期内，时装的风格多种多样，它们的诞生往往起因于人们希望归属于某种亚

文化、与之认同的愿望。但是，这个时期不变因素是粗斜纹布和裙摆。影响力最大的当属
19
世

纪加利福尼亚州的一个服装制造商以及
1960
年代工作在
―
摇摆伦敦
‖
的一位年轻的时装设计师。

Active reading (2)

生态珠宝：海洋玻璃

虽然海洋玻璃正在逐渐消失，珠宝设计师吉娜·考恩仍在搜寻这种难觅的珍宝。

珠宝设计师吉娜
·
考恩说，在海滩上搜寻海洋玻璃时，她看起来像人形螃蟹：她低头弯腰，

侧着身子随着白色浪花的起伏，完全忘记了时间的流逝。在牛津的她的工作室里，她边吃午饭，

边告诉我：
―
我每次都希望能找到比上次更好的海洋玻璃。几小时后，我会抬起头来，这时才发

现偌大的海滩已经空无一人，我的肩膀被晒伤了。
‖

见过被海水打磨过的玻璃的人都明白，这种玻璃在海里呆上一段时间之后就能奇迹般地由

一块普通玻璃变成一颗耀眼的珍宝。把它们拿在手里，你会发现它们每一快都折射出不同的光

泽，散发出独特的光彩。

没有什么硬性的的规定说明玻璃碎块要在海水中放多长时间才能被正式称为海洋玻璃，但

可以肯定的是，年代越久远，玻璃就越光滑、越奇特。
50
岁的考恩解释说：
―
完美的海洋玻璃

没有棱角。它们的棱角经海水多年的拍打已经磨平了，它们也从大块玻璃变成了小巧精美的宝

石。玻璃的颜色也能道出它们的年龄，如果你发现红色或琥珀色的海洋玻璃，你找到的可能就

是几百年前的玻璃
——
我们已经不再生产这种玻璃了。
‖


要制造玻璃珠宝，考恩得先把她找到的海洋玻璃放在磨石滚筒里抛光，除掉玻璃表面的霜

花。她把其中一些抛光的玻璃镶在银器上，剩下的或串成珠链，或用金刚钻打眼后用细丝串在

一起。

90
年代末，
她设计的产品在伦敦的利博提百货店出售。
如今，
你可能在美术馆里看到她的

作品，但是她主要做订单产品，她设计的产品从脚链到订婚戒指无所不包。

在立志成为珠宝商之前，考恩从
20
岁到
40
岁都从事新闻报道及音乐管理工作。她在祖国

南非开普敦的砂砾海滩散步时偶然发现几颗海洋玻璃，并注意到它们在海水的塑造下呈现各种

不同的形状。她从此开始收集海洋玻璃，把它们存放在一个大玻璃柜里，放在工作室显眼的位

置。尽管她的收藏包括来自遥远的斐济和马略卡岛的珍品，但最令人惊叹的是她在英国沙滩上

找到的维多利亚时期的海洋玻璃藏品。

她最喜欢的寻宝地
——
也是许多收藏者的寻宝地
——
是英国达勒姆县的锡厄姆海滩。那儿

是维多利亚玻璃厂的所在地，
该厂于
1921
年关闭。
有成千上万公吨的玻璃撒落到海上，并在过

去的一个世纪里被海浪打磨抛光，为考恩提供了大量的原材料。

海洋玻璃的产生是废物再生的一种形式，不仅如此，它也是大自然补救人类愚蠢行为的一

个例子。

考恩说，
―
人的过失行为被转变成积极的东西，这真是太好了。
‖

虽然在
19
世纪没有人思考过向大海倾倒玻璃的后果，
但这件事最后演变成了一个完美的过

程：玻璃最终破碎了，变成了沙子。如今，对玻璃废料的负责任的态度是尽量重新利用废旧玻

璃，这确实有很大的好处，但却宣告了海洋玻璃时代的终结。考恩说，
―
这是一个机遇：海洋玻
 璃资源最终会枯竭，将来有一天，它们会比钻石还珍贵。
‖

供货的减少加上需求的增加使海洋玻璃生意非常兴隆。以前人们曾经免费向珠宝商提供自

- 38 -

己的收藏，现在它们在
EBay
上能卖到成百上千英镑。就连年轻的收藏者也深知它们潜在的价

值。最近一位
15
岁的女孩把她的收藏卖给考恩，想挣点钱参加学校组织的旅游。考恩说：
―
我

付给她的钱比它的实际价值高多了，她把它拍得很漂亮。
‖

当人们开始对珠宝的来源提出质疑时，海洋玻璃的生态优点让它们更具吸引力。黄金的提炼会

给环境带来损害，它的坏名声以及钻石业的糟糕人权记录给选择变废为宝的珠宝设计者带来了

极大的优势。

海洋玻璃的减少似乎让人觉得应该恢复（往海里）倾倒玻璃的旧习，但考恩绝不宽恕这样的做

法。
―
有人跟我说
?
为什么不往海里倒玻璃以保证未来原材料的供应，或打磨新玻璃让它看上去

像旧玻璃？
‘

这可不是我干的事。这样做会失去神秘感。我喜欢的是。每块海洋玻璃的背后都有

一个故事，你可以想象它曾经的样子，它走过的地方以及它的年龄。每个人都会在同一块玻璃
上看到不同的故事。
‖

50
年后，
塑料可能是被海浪冲上岸的唯一的东西了，
但考恩坚信艺术家会想办法给它们派

上用场。她说，
―
已经有珠宝商开始使用熔化塑料了，人们会找到富有创造性的方法来利用一切

现有的资源。
‖

同时，孩子们会继续抓取海洋战利品，不管它们是否有价值。毕竟它们都是免费的珍宝，

就算在傍晚时分你把它放回到海滩上，任海浪把它冲走，也值得去搜寻。

所以，下一次如果你想知道如何充分利用英国沙滩的话，你可以照着考恩的样子做：站在

海滩上，摆出螃蟹的姿势，去搜寻那些闪闪发光的鹅卵石，别让它们从你的眼前溜走。

Unit 4

Active reading (1)

The Credit Card Trap

Culture points

A
charity shop
is a shop that sells clothes, books and other goods given by people in order to raise

money for a charity (an organization that exists to help people in need).

Credit rating
refers to information about someone that a bank or shop uses for deciding whether to

lend them money or give them credit. With a higher credit rating, you can borrow more money or

have a higher limit on a cash card etc.

Language points

1
My credit card was a fairly pathetic, status-free dark blue, whereas hers was a very exclusive

gold one. (Para 1)

My credit card was quite useless in an annoying way. It was dark blue and ordinary, it did not have

any particular status. Hers was gold and it was limited to a particular group. So the writer felt inferior

and wanted a gold credit card too.

2
Now, I had a job which was as steady as any job was in those days – that’s to say, not very,

but you know, no complaints. (Para 3)

In those days a steady job (a job in which you would be employed steadily, for a long time) was often

not very steady because in the bad economic situation many people would lose their jobs – no job

was steady, including the writer’s – but at least she had a job. So, she did not really have any

complaints.

3
They target people who are prone to impulse-buying, and potentially bad credit risks, tempted

to spend more than they have, and liable to fall behind with repayments. (Para 7)

The credit card companies or banks direct their advertising and sales promotions at people who are

- 39 -

very likely to buy things on impulse (without planning), who are possibly bad credit risks (ie they may

not be able to pay their debts), who spend more money than they have, and who will not make

repayments on time.

4
Her bank! I trusted them! They know even better than I do how broke she is. (Para 12)

The writer was very surprised that her bank – which she had trusted as a good bank – was offering

her daughter a credit card, because she knew that her daughter had no money at all and the bank knew

this even better than she did.

5
… and it’s probable that she’ll have another go at university when she has paid off her debts.

(Para 22)

Because of her debts, Kelly couldn’t get a student loan, so for financial reasons she dropped out of

university and got a job in a supermarket. When she has paid off her debts, she may well go back to

university and try again to finish her degree.

6
You’ve got the whole world into this ridiculous credit card trap … (Para 26)

This is part of the writer’s humorous advice about what we should say to the banks: You have got

everybody into this silly and unreasonable credit card trap – you have caught us in this bad situation

that is difficult to escape from.

Reading and understanding

3 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 Why did the writer feel ashamed when she met an old friend in a theatre queue?

(a) She found she didn’t have enough money to pay for the tickets.

(b) She realized that her friend had been more successful in life.

(c) She thought her friend’s credit card looked better than her own.

(d) She felt her friend looked better than she did.

2 What happened when she applied for a gold credit card?

(a) She didn’t get one.

(b) It cost her more than she expected.

(c) She was sent one of a different colour.

(d) She felt better.

3 Which sort of customers do credit card companies want?

(a) People who already have a lot of money.

(b) Students who might have a lot of money one day.

(c) People who are likely to spend more money than they have.

(d) People who will never be able to pay the interest on repayments.

4 What did the writer’s daughter want her to do?

(a) To lend her ?
3,000.

(b) To let her use the writer’s credit card.

(c) To support her application for a credit card.

(d) To increase the amount of money the writer was giving her regularly.

5 Why couldn’t Kelly access the money in her account?

(a) She didn’t have an Internet connection.

(b) The bank wouldn’t let her operate the account from abroad.

(c) She didn’t have any money left in the account.

(d) She had a communication problem in a foreign bank.

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