sculpturesUnit11 Cultivating a hobby

2021年1月20日发(作者：兼职英文翻译)

Cultivating a hobby

美国一位天才心理学家曾经 说过：
“
忧虑是一阵情感的冲动，意识一旦陷入
某种状态，这种状态将很难被改变。< br>”
在这种情况下，与意识去抗争是徒劳的。
意志力越强，
这种抗争就越显得徒劳 无益。
这时，
唯一的解决办法只能是悄悄的
渗入某种新的东西，
来分散注意力 。
如果这种新的东西选择恰当，
而且确实能激
起你对另一领域的兴趣，
渐渐地 、
而且经常是非常迅速地，
你过分紧张的情绪就
会缓解，你又开始恢复到原来的状态。

因此，
对一个公众人物来说，
培养一种业余爱好、
一种新的兴趣显 得尤为重
要。
但这不是一件一朝一日或凭一时的意气就能一蹴而就的事情。
这种替代忧 虑
的心理兴趣培养是一个长期的过程。
它的种子必须要精挑细选，
然后播撒到肥沃的土壤中，
要想得到籽粒饱满、
需要时随手可摘的果实，
还必须对他们精心呵护< br>
要想真正的快乐，而且每次都能真正奏效，一个人必须有两种或三种业余爱好，
而且必 须是真正的业余爱好。
一个人到了晚年才说：
“
我要培养这种或那种兴趣。
”
那已经没有任何意义了。
这种尝试只能更加增加大脑的压力。
一个人可能具有与
他日常工作无关的大量的知识，
但这些知识并无助于他减轻心理压力。
随心所欲
的做 你喜欢的工作不会帮你减轻心理压力，
而是你必须设法喜欢你目前所做的工
作。大致来说，人可 分为三类：第一类人是累死；第二类人是愁死；第三类人是
烦死。
体力劳动者经过一周的辛勤劳 动已经筋疲力尽，
再让他们在周六下午踢足
球或打棒球无助于消除他们的疲劳。
让那些 为一些大事已经连续工作或烦恼了六
天的政治家、
专业人员或工商界人士来说，
在周末 的时候让他们为一些鸡毛蒜皮
的小事烦恼费神，也不会使他们身心轻松。

对于那些不 幸的人：
那些可以随意发号施令；
那些随心所欲，
无所不能的人，
新的乐趣、
新的喜悦对他们来说是无所谓的事情。
他们狂乱地从一个地方跑到另
一个地方、
想通过不断换地方的这种方式来摆脱烦恼，
这是徒劳的。
对他们来说，
条理、规矩是 他们最有希望摆脱烦恼的办法。

也可以说，
理智、
勤奋、
有才能的 人可以分为两类：
第一类是工作与娱乐泾
渭分明；
第二类人是工作与娱乐合二为一。< br>大多数人属于前者。
他们有他们的报
酬。
长时间在办公室或工厂的辛勤劳作不仅 使他们得到了维持生命的薪水，
而且
培养了他们追求快乐的强烈愿望，
即使仅仅是那些 最简单、
最朴实的形式。
然而
命运女神所偏爱的却是第二类人。
他们的生活自 然、
和谐。
对他们来说，
工作的
实践永远都不够长。
每一天都是假期 ，
法定假期到来时，他们不愿休假，
认为这
是强行终端干扰了他们精彩的假期。
然而，
这两类人都必须改变一下他们的观点，
调整一下气氛、
转移一下奋斗的方向。
事实上或许那些以工作为了的人正是那些
最需要通过一种兴趣或爱好使自己适时忘记自己工作的 人。

Text I Cultivating a Hobby

Teaching objectives


analyze the theme, text organization.
2. To introduce background knowledge about Churchill.
3. To analyze the difficult sentences.
4. To comment on the ideas of the text.
5. To appreciate the rhetorical devices.


I. Warm-up questions

1.

Do
you
have
any
hobbies?
What
are
they?
How
did
you
cultivate
those
hobbies?
2.

Do your hobbies do you any good? In what ways?
II. D
efinition of hobbies:


Hobbies, broadly defined, are constructive spare- time activities
that may have a variety of goals: pleasure, relaxation, therapy,
self- improvement, and making new friends and social contacts. They
generally fall into one of
two categories
:
collecting (such items as
stamps or coins) and creating (such activities as model making and
painting).
Hobbies
offer
a
change
from
daily
routines
.
Hobbies
are
of
many
various
kinds,
for
example:
1)
collecting
stamps,
coins,
rocks,
seashells,
butterflies,
books,
autographs,
postcards,
chinaware,
antiques,
and
many
other things; 2) making model cars, ships, planes, railway cars, etc.
3)
work-around-the-house
hobbies
such
as
gardening,
cooking,
woodworking,
making furniture, decorating, etc. 4) photography; 5) needlework and
knitting; 6) writing poetry, prose, fiction, etc. 7) painting and
sculpture. There are also hundreds of other interesting leisure-time
activities.
III. Relevant information

1.

About Winston Churchill (1874- 1965)

1)

A public man having a most colorful political career:

early career: a solider, war time correspondent
at 27, (in 1901) served as Conservative MP
office held including:
President of the
Board of Trade

（商务部长）

Home Secretary
（内政部长）

First Lord of the Admiralty
英国海军大臣

(1922-24) Chancellor of the Exchequer
（财政部长）

（for a decade between late 1920’ s to 1940’ s）
a political
outcast
被驱逐者
, not holding any office (The Conservative
government failed to cope with the economic crisis and lost power
in 1929.)
(On
the
outbreak
of
World
War
II)
the
First
Lord
of
the
Admiralty
(1940-1945) the Prime Minister
首相
, as War leader, becoming
a
symbol
of
British
resistance
in
the
darkest
days
of
the
conflict,
fighting
as
the
Nazism
(He
warned
the
British
government
against
the
threat of German military expansion.) PM Predecessors: Neville
Chamberlain Clement defeated in the General Election
of 1945 (ironically) PM Successors: Clement Attlee Anthony Eden.
Political Party: Conservative
Prime Minister in 1951
finally resigned at the age of 80 in 1955
Place of Death: London


2)

A man of versatile (
多才多艺的
)talents

a powerful orator
man of letter (awarded Nobel Prize for literature in 1953)
an
amateur
painter
(paintings
were
displayed
in
the
galleries
of
the Royal Academy of Arts in 1958 )

IV. Organization of the text

Section 1 (para. 1-2): Raising the topic: explaining what worry is and
the importance of a hobby in attenuating(
削弱
)worry

Para
.
1:
explain
the
notion
of
“worry”,
but
something
else
is
implied by “insinuate something else into its convulsive
grasp” and “illumination of another field

of interest”

Para
.
2:
thesis
statement:
“The
cultivation
of
a
hobby
and
new
forms
of
interest
is
therefore
a
policy
of
first
importance
to a public man”.

Section 2 (para. 3-5): Classifying human beings into three categories
and emphasizing the importance of hobbies to them

Para . 3-4: the classification of human beings into three
classes:
those who are toiled to death;
those who are worried to death; and
those who are bored to death.
(Para. 4: For the unfortunate people who can command
everything they want, the most hopeful path is discipline
in one form or another.)
Para . 5: the classification of rational, industrious, useful
human beings into two classes and the need of hobbies to
them:
those
whose
work
is
work
and
whose
pleasure
is
pleasure,
and
those whose work and pleasure are one.
V. Language points
1. gifted:
adj.
endowed with great natural ability, intelligence, or
talent;
e.g. a gifted child
a gifted pianist


2. spasm:
n.

(a) a sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle or group
of muscles;
(b) a sudden burst of energy, activity, or emotion
e.g. a spasm of the stomach


3. insinuate:
v.
(a) to introduce (sth) indirectly and subtly;
(b) to make a way for sb or sth gently
e.g. insinuate (to sb) that a man is a liar
c.f. allude to refer to insinuate proclaim




allude to:
(
fml.
) to make an indirect reference; to speak of but
without going straight to the point
e.g. She didn’t say Mr. Smith’s name, but it is clear that she
was alluding to him.
refer to :
(a) to mention; to speak about;
e.g. He referred to Paris in his speech about travel.
(b) to direct to a source for help or information;
e.g. If you don’t know what it means, refer to the
dictionary.
(c) to concern; to be directed towards;
e.g.
The
new
law
does
not
refer
to
land
used
for
farming.
The
store
referred
the
complaint
to
the
makers
of
the
product.
insinuate:
to suggest (sth unpleasant) by one’s behaviour or
question;
e.g. Are you insinuating that I’m not telling the truth?

an insinuating remark
proclaim:
to make known publicly; declare officially
e.g. proclaim the news of the end of the war
A national holiday was proclaimed.
4.
convulsion:
n.

(a)
violent
irregular
movement
of
limbs
or
of
the
body
(caused by
contraction);
(b) violent disturbance
e.g. a convulsion of nature ( such as an earthquake)
civil convulsion
political convulsion
5. undue:
adj.

(a) exceeding what is appropriate or normal; excessive;
(b) not just, proper, or legal;
(c) not yet payable or due;
e.g. with undue haste
undue influence upon sb
undue use of force
an undue loan
6. recuperate:
get better again after an illness or injury from
e.g. A good night’s sleep was all I needed to recuperate from the
stresses of the day.
hobby:
an activity that you enjoy doing in your free time


c.f. pastime sport recreation

pastime:
(a)
closer
to
“hobby”;
an
activity
that
occupies
one's
spare
time pleasantly;
(b) indicating anything done to occupy one’s leisure;

(c) by implication, the word suggests activity of little
intrinsic worth


e.g. His painting was merely a pastime.
sport:
a recreation or pastime that is primarily a matter of physical
exercise;
e.g. country sports
recreation:
(a) more formal than “hobby”;

(b) suggest pleasures giving relaxation; a more dedicated
pursuit of sth with cultural or social value;
(c) stress a play or games. Thus, unlike “hobby”, it can
more often suggest activity that is done in groups and
included physical exercise.
e.g. Football is the boys' usual recreation after school.
7. public man:
a person engaged in the affairs or service of the people
c.f.
civil servant: a person who works in the Civil Service (which
consists of all the government departments that
administer the affairs of a country and all the people
who
work
in
them.
It
does
not
include
members
of
the
armed
forces, members of Parliament, or law officers.)
8.
improvise:
to
make
or
do
sth
without
preparation,
practice,
sufficient
material, etc.
e.g. When an actor forgets his lines, he has to improvise.
The gifted pianist improvised an accompaniment to the song.
I made an improvised meal for the unexpected guests.
c.f.

unrehearsed,
improvised
(
used
in
musical
or
theatrical
contexts)
unplanned, spontaneous, impulsive
9. alternative:
an alternative idea, plan etc. is one that can be used
instead of another one
e.g. There doesn’t seem to be an alternative option.

10. sedulously:
adv.
(
fml
.) diligently; assiduously; (stresses on
attentiveness)
e.g. The teacher proceeded so rapidly that only the most sedulous
student can follow him.
c.f.
industrious, persevering
11. tend:
(or: tend to) (old-fashioned) look after
e.g. a shepherd tending sheep on the hillside
12
. vivify:

v
. (a) to give or bring life to; animate;
(b) to make more lively, intense, or striking; enliven
e.g. A smile may vivify a face.
vivifying:

adj.
results that give one relaxation or refreshment
13. at hand:
near, within reach;
e.g. He lives at hand.
The exams are at hand.
14. interest:

n.
(a) a state of curiosity or concern about or attention
to something;


(b)
something,
such
as
a
quality,
a
subject,
or
an
activity,
that evokes this mental state;
e.g. Suspense adds interest to a story.
It is a matter of great interest to us all.
(c) something with which one concerns oneself, benefit or
advantage
e.g. His two interests in life are music and painting.
15. aggravate:

v.
(a) to make worse or more troublesome;
(b) to rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke
e.g. His bad temper was aggravated by his headache.
Threats will only aggravate her.
16. be tired out
vs.
tire sb out

be tired out:
to feel exhausted
e.g. I must sit down and rest. I’m tired out.

tire
sb
out:

to
diminish
the
strength
or
energy
of
sb
completely;
to
exhaust the interest or patience of sb
e.g. Going to school all day soon tires little children out.
17. trifle:
n.
something of little importance or value
e.g. to quarrel over trifles
trifling
:
adj.
of slight worth or importance
e.g. It is no trifling matter. It is serious.
18.
command:

v.

(a)
to
be
in
a
position
to
use;
have
sth
at
one’s
service

e.g. He commands great sums of money.
(b) to deserve and receive as due; exact;
e.g. The great man commands our respect.
(c) have authority over or authority over; rule;
e.g. Who commands the army?
(d) to direct with authority; give orders to;
e.g. The officer commanded his men to fire.
God commands and man obeys.
19.
gratify:
v.

to
give
what
is
desired
to;
indulge;
to
please
or
satisfy
e.g. to gratify a person’s fancies

to gratify a child’s thirst for knowledge

His achievement gratified his father.
20. caprice:
n.
an impulsive change of mind; a sudden, unpredictable
action, change, or series of actions or changes
e.g. He acted not from reason, but from caprice.
c.f.

capricious

adj.

changing one’s mind or behavior unexpectedly

22. satiate:
v.
to satisfy (an appetite or a desire) fully; to satisfy
to excess
e.g. be satiated with food or pleasures
satiety
(or satiation):
n.
the condition of being full or gratified
beyond the point of satisfaction;
e.g. to indulge in pleasure to (the point of) satiety



satiable

adj.
possible to satisfy or sate
e.g. a satiable appetite
23.
avenge:

(literary)
do
something
to
hurt
or
punish
someone
because
they
have harmed or offended you
e.g. He wanted to avenge his brother’s death.

24. clatter:

n.
(a) a rattling sound; a loud disturbance; a racket
(b) noisy talk
e.g. The students stopped their chatter when the teacher came into
the classroom.
clatter:

v.
(a) to make a rattling sound;
(b) to talk rapidly and noisily;
e.g. Pots and pans were clattering in the kitchen.
Don’t
clatter
your
knives
and
forks.
That’s
poor
table
manner.
25. discipline:
n.
(a) a set of rules or methods; regularity;
(b) a branch of knowledge or teaching; subject of
instruction
e.g. be under perfect discipline
discipline of the tides
26.
sustenance:

(
fml
.)
food
and
drink
which
helps
to
keep
a
person,
animal,
or plant strong and healthy (=nourishment)
e.g. There is more sustenance in cocoa than in tea.
We derive our sustenance from the land.
In coniferous woodlands goats will find very little sustenance.
27. grudge:

v.
(a) to be unwilling to give or admit;
(b) to resent for having; begrudge
e.g. The cruel master grudged him even the food he ate.
bear a grudge against sb.
28. absorbing:
intensely interesting
e.g. an absorbing tale
The business absorbs him.
29.
banish:
v
.
(a)
to
force
to
leave
a
country
or
place
by
official
decree
or exile as a punishment; (b) to drive away; get rid of; put out of
one’s mind

e.g. He was banished from the realm.
You should banish care.


VI. Difficult sentences (paraphrase)

1.

“The stronger the will, the more futile the task”:
The more you
are
determined
to shake
off
your
worry,
the
harder
it
will
be
for
you
to get rid of it.
2.

“
It
is
no
use
doing
what
you
like;
you’ve
got
to
like
what
you
do.
”:
It is not so important as to do what you are interested in. What is
most important is to put your efforts to the thing you choose.