沪江考研
一天一篇真题记单词(24-1997 阅读TEXT2)
来源:沪江论坛 | 时间:2008-07-09 | 作者:quicklearner | 阅读:442 次 | [ ] [收藏] [划词] 评论 0 条

【写在前面】

暑假可以说是备考的黄金时间了,如何利用好这2个月的宝贵时间,全面提升各科实力,想必是诸多考研学子最想知道的事了吧。各种备考方法纷繁复杂,备考资料五花八门,如何不让这个暑假虚度呢,如何学才能更有效率呢。我想有一个方法是大家公认的,那就是做真题。数学,英语,专业课,真题都是最宝贵的资料。一天一篇真题记单词,在推出后受到了大家的认可,当然也有很多不足之处,在上学期出了20期后,暑期版隆重推出,希望能陪伴大家度过一个充实的暑假备战时期。

【真题原文】

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2009年新东方考研网络课程

A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous,and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. Small minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.

For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.

The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, if hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn't take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.

Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner — amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.

As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend”, the cultural implications of the word may be quite different from those it has in the visitor's language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many American value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.

【单词讲解】

1.courteous adj 有礼貌的,谦恭的

2.small minded 心胸狭窄的

3.hardly unknown =be known 大家有没发现只要是双重否定,都会有个选项在这设题

4.it指代前面的美国人的友好态度,而不是它前面的几个例外。对代词的理解也很关键,因为也常作考点。 it deserves comment,结合下文在讨论为什么美国人好客也可以看出它指代的内容。

5.diversion n. 1 转移, 转换, 牵制 2 解闷, 娱乐

6.harsh reality 残酷的现实

7.not a matter of choice 别无选择

8.on the part of 由某人作出的...

9.superficial adj. 表面的, 肤浅的, 浅薄的

10.artificial adj adj. 人造的, 假的,虚伪的

11.underlie vt. 位于...之下, 成为...的基础

12.interrelationships 人际关系

13.It takes more than 不只是... ,...是不够的

【参考译文】

去过美国的人所带回来的印象总是:大多数美国人表现为友好、礼貌、乐于助人。公平的讲,许多到过加拿大的人对加拿大人也有同感,因此可以说:这是一种北美现象。然而,这种情况也有例外:心胸狭隘的官员、粗鲁的侍者、无礼的出租车司机也不乏其人,但因为常有上述的结论,所以这就值得评论一番了。

曾经有很长一段时间,在美国的很多地方旅行者的来访能打破往日沉闷的生活,因此是很受欢迎的。对于那些居住得比较分散的家庭来说,沉闷和孤独是很普遍的问题。陌生人和旅行者带来了外面世界的信息,解除了生活的烦闷。

拓荒地区的残酷现实也是形成美国人礼貌传统的原因。一个孤独的旅行者如果饥饿、受伤或生病自然求助于路边最近的居住点,这对旅行者来说别无选择,对就近的定居者来说,提供必要的帮助也不仅仅是出于怜悯。这反映的是日常生活的严酷现实:如果定居者不接收并帮助他,就没有别人了,另外,有一天定居者本人也有可能处于同一境地。

今天,有许多慈善组织专门帮助疲劳的旅行者,但是美国仍然有很强的对陌生人好客的传统,尤其是在远离旅游区的小城镇里。经常可以听到游客对美国这样的评论:“我在旅行中碰到一个美国人,只和他谈了几句,他就邀请我回家吃晚饭了,真奇怪。”旅行者对这种现象的理解往往不正确。很多美国人随意的友善表示并不应该理解成肤浅或做作的举动,而应该看成是有历史根源的文化传统。

象其他发达国家一样,在美国,人际关系的背后是一系列复杂的文化符号、信念和习俗。当然,会讲一种语言并不意味着一个人理解该语言的社会和文化模式。不能正确“诠释”文化含义的旅行者往往得出错误的结论。例如,美国人所说的“朋友”一词,其文化含义可能与旅行者母语中的文化内涵大相径庭。仅靠在公共汽车上瞬时相遇来区别礼貌是出自于文化习惯还是个人的兴趣是不够的。但是友善好客是倍受美国人珍视的美德,他们同样希望邻国人和其他外国人也表现出这一美德。

【作业】

1.学习完单词后自己认真翻译原文,并将原文中红色字体部分句子的译文回帖,认真答题者奖励100HY

2.自己认真总结本篇文章的词组,长难句,可以整理在本子上(推荐),也可以跟帖总结,把每天的帖子当作你的笔记本。

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