新概念英语第四册29-01

第30课

New words and expressions 生词短语

take heart 振作起来 beef up

culminate vi.:鼎盛，达到顶点

culmination n.:（顶点,多用做抽象意义） summit n.顶峰/peak/top

He reaches/attains the culmination in his thirties. 他三十岁达到了顶峰。

His efforts culminate in his success. 他的努力终于使他成功了。culminate＝lead to

His efforts culminate in the prosperity of his family.

decayvt 衰亡，腐烂 同义词：rot

My health decays.我的身体江河日下。

Tooth decays.牙齿咬不动东西了。

testimony n.: 证据=evidence testify v.

Bear/produce the testimony to his innocence. 我证明他无罪。

oral 证词/verbal 证词/ material 物证

▲inherent adj .:固有的

the sloth that inherent in him 天生的懒惰

inbred: 天生的 inbuilt :嵌入的 ingrain :根深蒂固的 deep－rooted :根深蒂固的

faintly adv.: 不明显的

faint :微弱的

The light is so faint.光线太暗。

I fainted.我晕了过去。

tendency n .:倾向

I have the tendency to shop. 我是个购物狂。

I have the tendency to smoke/read. 我是个烟鬼/书迷

trend 潮流 inclination（自己的）倾向 current 潮流（更常用）

vanish vi.: 消失

a set of: 一批 后只跟 sth 不跟 sb

a set of rules 一系列规则/ a set of equipmeng 一套设备/ a set of furniture 一套家具

a set of short stories 短篇小说集

▲sheer adj .:纯粹的

sheer brandy 纯白兰地 sheer liar 大骗子 sheer rubbish 一派胡言

emphasize vt.: 强调 n.emphasis

place/lay/put emphsis...on...

We have to place emphasis on construction of civilization. 我们要加强文明建设。

同义词：underline spotlight

at the cost of 以…为代价＝at the price of = sacrifice v.牺牲， n 牲

I learn English at the cost of my holidays.

Lesson30

Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decays. There is a widespread testimony that this ominous fact is due to inherent biological defects in the crowded life of cities. Now, slowly and at first faintly, an opposite tendency is showing itself. Better roads and better vehicles at first induced the wealthier classes to live on the outskirts of the cities. The urgent need for defence had also vanished. This tendency is now spreading rapidly downwards. But a new set of conditions is just showing itself. Up to the present time, throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this new tendency placed the home in the immediate suburbs, but concentrated manufacturing activity, business relations, government, and pleasure in the

centres of the cities. Apart from the care of children and periods of sheer rest, the active lives were spent in the cities. In some ways the concentration of such activities was even more emphasized, and the homes were pushed outwards even at the

cost of the discomfort of commuting. But, if we examine the trend of technology during the past generation, the reasons for this concentration are largely disappearing. Still more, the reasons for the choice of sites for cities are also altering.

Mechanical power can be transmitted for hundreds of miles, men can communicate almost instantaneously by telephone, the chiefs of great organizations can be transported by airplanes, the cinemas can produce plays in every village, music,

speeches, and sermons can be broadcast. Almost every reason for the growth of the cities, concurrently with the growth of civilization has been profoundly modified.

A.N.WHITEHAD Adventures of Ideas

参考译文

每一种文明都有其诞生、鼎盛和衰亡的过程。一个普遍存在的证据表明，这一不祥的事实是由于城市拥挤不堪的生活所固有的生态缺陷引起的。现在，有一种相反的倾向正在慢慢地显示器出来，但在开始时不易被人们所察觉。首先，因为有了快速平坦的道路和高速舒适的轿车，富裕阶层愿意搬到市郊去居住。其次，城市所具有的应急防护的必要性早已消失。这一倾向目前正迅速地发展到下层社会。但是，一系列新的情况正在逐渐显露。从整个18世纪和19世纪直到现在，这种新倾向一直是把住家安排在近郊，而将生产活动、商业贸易、政府机关和娱乐设施都集中在市中心。除了照料小孩和纯粹的休息时间以外，人们的主要活动都是在城市中进行的。在某些方面，甚至更加强调这些活动的集中性，于是许多家庭被挤到了郊外。而不惜忍受上下班的车旅劳顿之苦。然而，如果我们研究一下过去一代人的技术开发倾向，就不难看出这种集中的原因大多正在消失。此外，选择城市位置的理由也在发生变化。机械动力能传送到数百英里之外，人们利用电话几乎立即进行交谈，大型机构的要人可以乘坐飞机来往，每个村庄有电影院放映影片，音乐、演讲和布道均可广播。发展城市的各种理由，随着文明进化的同时几乎都已发生了深刻的变化。