construction是什么意思Unit3

2021年1月19日发(作者：5587)
Unit three: An American Love Affair


Brock Yates

Text

Translation from English into Chinese

Translation from Chinese into English

Key to Vocabulary and Structure

Key to Reading Practice





(Introductions:
Automobiles have greatly contributed to the prosperity of our
modern economy and brought people much convenience. But they are a mixed
blessing. They have caused plenty of problems that we have to live with, such as
pollution, road accidents, traffic congestion, etc. The text tells us an American's
attitudes towards cars. Can you summarize their basic arguments?)


father was a
Buick
man.
Prior to
the
Great Depression
he had been a Stutz
man. But like thousands of other
upward and mobile citizens
, he faced a severe
adjustment
in his automotive tastes because of that tragic shift in the economy.
To
the day
he died,
his Buicks were more than mundane transportation modules
.
They defined him in the class structure - better off than a Pontiac man, not as well off
as a Cadillac man - and
offered him instant identification on the social landscape
.
Equally well positioned were the Ford men and the Chrysler men.

2.
These loyalties, hard won and supremely valued
, form a
granite-like
foundation
for
the special bond we Americans enjoy with our automobiles
. Is it love? The
word may be
overwrought
, but Americans
revere
these machines above all others -
not only as objects of 20th century rolling sculpture but also as social
amulets
. The
first Buick I remember was
a shining black sedan with acres of mohair upholstery
and a newfangled column-mounted shifter
. My father liked to
brag
that it would
go 120 miles an hour.

The very thought of such velocity electrified men and lent
credence to my nicknaming the smart beast Black Beauty
,
after the mysterious
machine piloted by the Green Hornet inside the recesses of the family Philco.

the telephone, the television or the personal computer, all of which have
strongly altered the human condition in this century, cars enjoy
anthropomorphic

status. Some become members of the family, mechanical pets. We give them names.


preen
them in our driveways, curse them when they fail and
lament their
passing at trade-in time
.

This is a love affair that annoys environmentalists, safety advocates and social
engineers who believe that the
path to

paradise

is overlaid with
the shining rails of
mass transit
.
They see us packed into futuristic bicycles, not behind the wheels of
what one fevered critic denounced as
. This attitude is not new.
The mobility represented first by the railroad, then the automobile, has traditionally
unsettled

the privileged classes
. The
Duke of Wellington
, brilliant on the battlefield
but noted for his disdain for the great unwashed
, opposed the development of the
British railway system 150 years ago because trains would only encourage the
common people to move around needlessly
the accepted party line
is that
automobiles pollute, kill,
maim
and
displace
populations at a
contemptible
rate, the
sooner they are
excised from

the planet, the better (and take with them the clutter of
shopping malls, drive-ins, and junk-food stores).

the automobile is surely
guilty of
many sins, its critics choose to ignore that
it has been the great liberator, permitting
monumental population shifts
, city to
suburb, east to west, south to north and, more recently, north back to south, as
millions of citizens sought improved economic opportunities.
Sprawling new
metropolitan complexes
- Los Angeles, Orlando, Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Las
Vegas, Phoenix - have risen up based on
layouts
that accommodate the auto. The
configurations
have not been perfect (nor have the mass transit alternatives), but the
fact remains that massive growth is being enjoyed by southern and western cities built
around cars.
While environmentalists fret, the multitudes drive on
.

are more than 175 million
licensed drivers
in America, wheeling nearly 200
million vehicles over 3.9 million miles of roads and streets.
Hopping

aboard
their
cars,
pickups
, motorcycles,

motor homes
and sport utilities, they roll nearly 2.4
trillion miles every year. About 15 million brand-new cars and
light trucks
pour onto
the highways annually.
Stock car racing

is the fastest-growing sport in the nation.
The automobile industry employs more workers than any other manufacturer - 2.3
million

7.
To be sure
, cars hurt people, but recent advances in body structures (
door beams
),
passenger packaging (
air bags
) and brakes (discs,
antilock
) have made them
significantly safer. In the past 30 years, deaths have dropped from 5.3 to 1.7 per 100
million miles driven (a
statistic
that includes
fatalities
involving
farm implements
,
trucks, motorcycles, bicycles - any vehicle on a public road).

, the car pollutes, but advances in fuel quality and
efficiency
, and in
microprocessed
or engine technology, have radically cut emissions. Experts estimate
that as few as 10 percent of
the automobiles on the road - poorly tuned, aging
crocks
- produce as much as 50 percent of the emissions. If they could be
eliminated
from
the highways, automobiles might cease to be a major factor in the production of
dirty air.

, the automobile has been the source of
urban sprawl
and freeway traffic jams
from coast to coast. But the fact remains that
drivers by the millions
are unwilling to
forgo
the freedom of movement (although sometimes slow) for
the podlike
constriction of mass transit
. Says a
commuter
who daily drives his BMW from
suburban Westchester County into the jammed
maw
of Manhattan,
of the day when I'm alone and completely in control of my own destiny. It's
outrageously
expensive, considering the
tolls
and the parking, and heaven knows
it

can be slow and frustrating. But it's my choice, and in a world where
that
becomes
rarer by the day, that is important.

talk may annoy the anticar crowd.
If only
people would climb aboard the
buses and trains the government has so
thoughtfully
provided. If only people would
behave! And that is the
crux
of it: The modern automobile is a tool of anarchy. It
offers such freedom that,
short of
a total redesign of the nation's cities and the
completely banning of autos from vast areas of the nation, the automobile will remain
integral
to modern life. It might be that even if every last mile of pavement were
torn
up
, every last parking garage
leveled
, every last service station closed, the automobile
would change into a more adaptable form and continue as the essential provider of
individual transport. The basic concept is legitimate.

that the genie is out of the bottle, the challenge is to
housebreak
it as much
as possible, to
integrate it into
a population that grows by the year, spreading across
the landscape. It will take a careful balance of planning and
prudence
. The
automobile will remain the central source of personal transportation in all free, high
technology societies. How best to integrate it into a global ecosystem with
finite

resources is a question that may not be easy to solve, but the first step might be to
acknowledge that like it or hate it, the automobile is here to stay.

if my father were still alive, he'll still be a Buick man.

Explanation of the text


1.
Buick
,
Stutz, Pontiac, Cadillac
and
Chrysler
like
Ford
, are the brand names of a
car. The cars with different brands one drives can immediately show one's different
socioeconomic status. The ranking of these cars from low to high may roughly be
Pontiac(
庞蒂亚克
), Buick(
别克
), Ford(
福特
), Chrysler(
克莱斯勒
), Stutz, Cadillac(
卡
迪拉克
).

2.
prior to
: prep. (formal) before, previous to e.g. He set off
prior to
the notice.
在通
知发布之前他就动身了。
prior
adj. 1) earlier e.g. have a
prior
engagement
有约在
先

2) more important
优先的

e.g. You have the
prior
claims on the professor's time.
你有优先占用教授时间的权力。
c.f.
former /previous/past: former
engagement (
以
前的

约会是针对

以后的

约

会而提的
latter engagement);
previous
two attempts
前两次努力（所指不仅是时间还有顺序）
; the
previous
pages
前几页
;
past
story
过去的经历
(
past
是相对于

present
而说的，多指时间
)

3.
Great Depression
: a term applied, especially in the United States, to the worldwide
economic disaster of

Great Depression was the longest and deepest of the
setbacks that have scarred the American economy.

4.
upward and mobile citizens
: people who try to rise from a lower to a higher
economic or social class

5.
adjustment
n.
适应
,
调整

an adjusting or being adjusted e.g. make adjustment
adjust
(=adapt) v.1) change so as to fit
改变?以适应能力

e.g.
adjust
oneself
to

new conditions 2) set right
校正
,
调整

e.g.
adjust
a telescope to one's sight

6.
to a/the day
: exactly e.g. We left high school five days ago
to a/the day
.
我们离开
中学整整五年了。

cf.
to this day
: up to now e.g. haven't told him the whole story
to
this day
.
直到今天我都没有将整个事情告诉他。

7.
his Buicks were more than mundane transportation modules
: his Buick cars not
only symbolized his means of transportation tools but also ...
mundane
: ordinary

8.
offered him instant identification on the social landscape
: clearly showed his
social status.
the social landscape
: the social hierarchy
社会等级

9.
These loyalties, hard won and supremely valued
: The loyalties which are difficult
to win and are greatly appreciated. These loyalties here refer to
and/or praising a particular brand of car.
supreme
adj. 1) highest in degree or rank or
authority e.g. the
Supreme
Court 2) greatest, most important e.g. make the
supreme

sacrifice (=lay down one's life)

10.
granite-like
: solid, firm

11.
the special bond we Americans enjoy with our automobiles
: a special kind of
feeling of love or connection that unites Americans and their cars
bond
: n. 1) sth. that
joins or unites
明盟
,
联系

e.g. crate a sympathetic
bond
between two countries
在两
国间建立起和谐的联系
; dissolve the
bonds
of matrimony
解除婚姻关系

2)
printed paper in which a government or a corporation promises to pay back with
interest money that has been lent
契约
,
债券

e.g.

issue a baby/ lottery /public
bond
发行小额
/
有奖
/
公债债券

12
.overwrought
: adj. 1) overworked, fatigued
用得过滥的
,
精疲力竭

2) too
elaborate
矫揉造作的


13.
revere
: respect and admire e.g.
revere
virtue; my
revered
grandfather

14.
amulet
: sth. worn in the belief or hope that it will protect the wearer
护身符
e.g.
The baby is wearing
amulet
in red against evil.

15.
a shining black sedan with acres of mohair upholstery and a newfangled
column- mounted shifter:
这辆小轿车

乌

黑发亮。轿车 软椅的垫衬是用许多马海
毛布做的，轿车还装有崭新的柱形的换挡器。
sedan:
a small car
acres of:
(spoken)
lots of
newfangled
:(Am E) new

16.
brag
: boast e.g. He
bragged of
having won first prize.
nothing to brag about:
not
very good e.g. His performance was
nothing to brag about
, and he won't be coming
back.

17.
The very thought of such velocity electrified men and lent credence to my
nicknaming the smart beast Black Beauty:
人们对此车速度如此震惊以至于对我
把时髦别克车叫做黑美人投出信任的目光。

electrify:
excite or shock as if by
electricity
使兴奋
,
使惊奇

lent credence to my nicknaming the smart beast Black
Beauty
: gave validity to the nickname Black Beauty, which I called my first Buick.
credence
: n. quality of sth. which makes people believe it is true e.g. letter of
credence

介绍信
;
推荐信
;
（大使等的）国书

lend/give/attach/(full) credence to
sth
. (both sth. and sb. can be used as subj. (formal) believe sth. e.g. I’m not prepared
to
give credence to complaints made anonymously.

refuse credence to sth
.: not
believe. e.g. His mother refused credence to gossip she heard about his daughter.

conquer/gain credence from sb. or find credence with sb.
(sth. as subj.) e.g. These
tales
found credence with
him.
他相信这些

无稽之谈

。
Those views were too
extreme to
gain credence from
the practical- minded.
那些看法过于极端，

不大能
为讲

究实

际的人所相信。


18.
after the mysterious machine piloted by the Green Hornet inside the recesses
of the family Philco:
after the car driven by the Green Hornet...
在
Philco
品牌半导体
传出的
Green Hornet
音乐节目的美妙

乐曲声中
,
驾驶着神奇的

别克车。

The
Green Hornet
: a radio broadcast program.
Philco
: a brand of radio
inside the
recesses of the family Philco
: refers to the sounds the program produced through the
radio to help people imagine a mysterious car being driven by the main character.

19.
anthropomorphic
: regarding sth. as having the form and qualities of man
人性
的

20.
preen
:1)(of a bird)smooth with its peak
（鸟）
用嘴整理
（羽毛）
2)(of a person)tidy
(oneself)
打扮自己

preen oneself on:
pride oneself, show self-satisfaction
赞扬自
己，夸耀自己

21.
lament their passing at trade-in time
: feet sorry about having to get rid of a
current car when it's time to buy a new one
lament
: 1) v.: feel sorry about e.g. He
deeply
lamented
the death of his wife. He
laments
the changing pattern of life in the
countryside. 2) n. strong expression of grief e.g. The band was playing a
lament
.
乐队
正在演奏哀乐。

passionate
lament

悲痛欲绝

trade-in: n.
以旧换新业务

trade
...

in
: hand over (a used article) in payment for a new purchase
trade...for
: exchange,
barter

22.
the path to paradise is overlaid with
:
path to
: e.g. Hard work is the
path to

success.
be overlaid with
: be covered with

23:
mass transit
: public transportation by means of bus, light rail or subway

24.
They see us packed into futuristic bicycles, not behind the wheels of what one
fevered critic denounced as
Pay more attention to the structure
of it. The clauses both one fevered and critic denounced as
chariots
behind the wheels of what one fevered critic
: behind the
steering wheels of cars

25.
unsettled the privileged classes
:
unsettle
: make troubled, anxious and uncertain
the privileged classes
: the elite classes

26.
Duke of Wellington:
(1769-1852) a British general, victor over Napoleon at
Waterloo (1815).

27.
but noted for his disdain for the great unwashed
: but known for his contempt
for the people of lower classes
disdain
v. /n.: dislike (of) sb or sth. that you feel does
not deserve your interest or respect e.g. They
disdained
him for the coward he was.
The older musicians
disdain
the new, rock-influenced music. Our posh new
neighbors seem to
disdain
to speak to us. (refusing to speak to us because they think
we do not deserve their attention)The local citizens showed their
disdain
of/for the
foreign artists.
unwashed
a. /n.: (an) ignorant or low-class (group) e.g. Popular
support lay in the
unwashed
social stratum.
民众的支持存在于社会的底层。


28.
the accepted party line
: the official view taken by a political party. Here it refers
to the view taken by the public.

29.
maim
: injured badly e.g. After the car accident she was
maimed
for life.

30.
displace
: 1)put out of the right or usual place
被迫离开家园

e.g.
displaced

person (=refugee left homeless, unable or unwilling to return to his own country) 2)
replace
代替

e.g. Tom has
displaced
Harry in Mary's affections. cf.
replace
(displace
) B
with/by
A;
substitute
A
for
B or
substitute
B
with /by
A

31.
contemptible
: a. deserving or provoking disdain
可鄙的

e.g. For a person in a
position of such responsibility, her behavior was
contemptible
. He is
contemptible
for
his meanness.
他很卑劣，实在可鄙。
contemptuous
a.: showing disdain (
表示
)
轻蔑的

He was very
contemptuous

of

talentless and worthless.
contempt
n. [U] a strong feeling of combined dislike and
lack of respect; disdain They used to have/feel
contempt
for peasants. Such
accusations are beneath
contempt
.
这样的指责实在不值得一顾。

32.
excise...from
:(formal) remove completely...from e.g.
excise
an organ from the
body cf.
amputate
a finger

33.
guilty (of):
1) having done wrong e.g. He was guilty of arson. 2) showing or
feeling guilt e.g. look guilty; guilty look

34.
monumental population shifts
: large-scale population movement

35.
sprawling new metropolitan complexes:
a group of buildings spread out
irregularly a big cities

36.
layout:
the planned arrangement of a town, garden etc.

37.
configuration:
=layout


38.
While environmentalists fret, the multitudes drive on:
While environmentalists
worry about the effects of cars, the majority of people continue to drive them
unconcernedly.

39.
licensed/licensed drivers
: drivers who have official permission to drive
licensed
:
得到许可（或）批准的

领有执照的

e.g. a
licensed
house/premises
特许的卖烟酒
处

40.
hop aboard
: climb aboard

41.
pickups:
a type of light van having an open body with low sides
轻型货车

pick-up n.
:1)a stimulant; bracer
临时餐
,
饮料

e.g. want to stop for a cup of tea, I
should have a
pick-up
. 2)(sl)person whose acquaintance is made usually
偶然结识的
人

adj.
(Colloq.) assembled informally or hastily e.g. a
pick-up
jazz band
临时拼凑
而成的乐队

42.
motor homes:
(Am E)an automotive vehicle with a truck chassis, outfitted as a
traveling home with self-contained electrical and plumbing facilities
旅宿汽车
,
车屋
,
住房汽车
,
流动住宅

（一种

长车厢
,
设备齐全
,
可供宿营或旅行时
,
暂居住使用的
汽车）
cf.m
obilee home


43.
light trucks:
小吨位运货汽车


44.
stock car racing:

汽车比赛

45.
to be sure:
1)it is admitted, granted
（用作插入语）诚然，

固然

e.g. She is not
pretty,
to be sure
, but she is very intelligent.2) an expression of surprise
（用于惊叹
句

)
?
e.g. So it is,
to be sure
.
哎呀
//
啊，真的是那样。


46.
door beams:

光束
(
射束）门