请考生阅读下面这篇英语文章,并记忆文中关键难点词。
Waiting in Line The British queue up and the Americans wait in line, except for New Yorkers, who wait on line. No one seems to know the reason for this local idiom. It is
something to ponder while waiting in/on line.
Another thing to ponder: It is estimated that Americans spednd up to five years of their lives in that tedious, weary but unavoidable process known as waiting. Studies show that otherwise rational people act irrationally when forced to stand in line or wait in crowds, even becoming violent.
Queues are a grim reality of city life. While there seems to be no consensus onthe citys worst line, the ones mentioned most often in talks here and there were lunchtime lines at banks and post offices and, among younger people, movie lines and college-registration lines.
Bank lines, said Mark Sloane, an investor. No matter what time of day you bank, the number of tellers is inadequate to the number of patrons. Even when the bank is open you see long lines infront of the money machines outside.
Supermarkets, said Ed Frantz, a graphic artist, who once abandoned a full shopping cart in the middle of a long checkout line. It was not a political act. The line was filled with coupon clippers and check writers, he recalled. And suddenly I had to walk away. Food no longer mattered.
In any line the fundamental rule is first come, first served, or what dsocial scientists call distributive justice. Exceptions may be made, say, in fancy restaurants where the headwaiters have their favorites, but, in general, the rule prevails.
If misery loves company, so do sports fans. Dr. Leon Mann documented this several years ago when, as a Harvard professor, he studied the long overnight queues for tickets to ball games in his native Australia.
Outside the stadium something of a carnival atmosphere prevails, he wrote in The American Journal of Sociology. The devotees sing, sip warm drinks, play cards and huddle together.
Like the teams they had come to watch, the fans in line took timeouts. Some worked in shifts, with certain members leaving to take naps or eat meals, while others saved their places in line. Some staked claims in line with items of personal property such as sleeping bags and folding chairs. During the early hours of waiting, Dr. Mann noted, the queues often consisted of one part people to two parts inanimate objects.
Nobody has ever seriously studied Helen Quinns Saturday morning line for Metropolitan Opera tickets, but perhaps someone should Miss Quinn is not an official at the Met.
For 15 years standees at the opera have been doing just that, thanks to Miss Quins ticketing system. She makes, dates and numbers her tickets one for each of the 175 standing room spots available and dispenses them to early birds. Assured of a place, ticket holders then leave and return shortly before 8 A.M. to line up for the real tickets.
idiom n. 1.习语,成语 2.风格,特色
ponder v. 思索,考虑,沉思
contemplate vt. 1.盘算,计议 2.思量,周密考虑 3.注视,凝视
weary a. 1.疲劳的,疲倦的 2.使疲劳的,令人厌倦的 vi.厌倦的,不耐烦
tiresome a.令人疲劳的,令人厌倦的
grim a. 1.讨厌的,糟糕的 2.严厉的 3.严酷的,无情的
consensus n. 一致,一致同意
patron n. 1.资助人,赞助人 2.老主顾,顾客
resent vt. 对...表示忿恨,怨恨
graphic a. 1.生动的,形象的 2.绘画的,文字的,图表的
coupon n. 1.礼券,优惠券 2.配券,票证
clip n. 1.夹子,回形针,别针 2.弹夹,弹仓 3.剪,修剪 4.剪报,电影片断
vt. 1.夹住,扣住 2.剪,修剪 3.削减,缩短
clamp n.夹头,夹具,夹钳 vt.夹紧,固定
prevail vi. 1.流行,盛行 2.获胜,占优势 3.说明,劝说,诱使
prevalent a.流秆的,普遍的
misery n. 1.痛苦,苦恼,苦难 2.悲惨的境遇,贫苦
carnival n. 1.表演会 2.庆祝,欢宴 3.狂欢节
feast n. 1.盛宴,筵席 2.节日
sociology n. 社会学
六级复习计划精听泛听结合真题模拟题兼顾
点评英语四级最新样卷题型
2014年6月大学英语四级翻译的高分秘笈
2014年四六级的最后冲刺提分法狠抓作文
英语四六级最全考前提示物品准备和考前准备
大学英语新四级考试听力部分应对方案
邀请名师徐可风指导6月英语四级的冲刺备考
最后阶段复习全攻略四级作文的分类及对策
英语四六级情态动词的综合用法指导
最后12小时破解四六级阅读理解如何做观点态度题
名师支招最后一周怎样冲刺英语四六级
解剖篇章擒贼擒王英语四级阅读主题
新大学英语四级考试之实力与技巧忠告
超精读分析1月8日四级考试阅读的减肥一篇
谈四六级作文九点注意事项
四级听力复合听写题的应对和答题时间安排
四六级专家辅导冲刺题型与作文预测
新四级改革常见的问题十问十答
英语四六级的考前攻略
大学英语四级新题型分析和考试技巧总结
英语四级考试听力训练办法和需注意问题
四六级考前必看的阅读理解题常见干扰选项
大学英语四级考试临考阶段作文题应对策略
谢忠明指导四六级冲刺考试题型预测和应对
备考六月英语四六级的冲刺策略
英语四六级名师谈冲刺应按考试时间做题
专家支招怎样提英语四六级高阅读能力
长短句的主题句
熟悉考点应信心百倍
造成四六级考试听力反应慢几个因素分析
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |