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Text A

If you are a self-made man,the one that has achieved success by his own efforts,is respected in American culture.

Being a Self-made Man

1 A characteristic ofAmerican culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man—the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts,usually beginning by working with his hands.While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker,he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort. ther started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

2 This attitude towards manual labor is now still seen in many aspects of American life.One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact the family has been able to afford foreign travel,expensive hobbies,and college education for the children;yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself,will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward,furthermore,the dinner will not consist merely of something quickly and easily assembled from contents of various cans and a piece of cake or a pie bought at the nearby bakery.On the contrary,the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes.A professional may talk about washing the car,digging in his flowerbeds,painting the house.His wife may even help with these things,just as he often helps her with the dishwashing.The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living,or during the summer holiday he may work with a construction gang on a highway in order to pay for his education.

3 Americans show great respect and admiration for Abraham Lincoln,and most people regard him as a model in their personal struggle.Some people think that it is Lincoln's talents and ability that lead him to succeed,but this is only partly true.Actually,Lincoln gained his success mostly because he kept working hard and insisting on his dream.He became the great president of America at the age of fifty-one.

4 The United States of America is different from those societies in which a man's social position is determined by birth or by his family's social position or by the whole town or district,such as India.In the USA,a man can move from the bottom of the society to the top by his own efforts rather than by birth or related to family or a group of relatives.Every cowboy can dream of becoming a great man,only if he makes efforts to realize his dream.The selfmade one will usually gain respect from others in American culture.

Vocabulary

characteristic[ˌkærəktəˈristik]

n .特点,特征

a .典型的,独特的

tradition[trəˈdiʃn]

n .传统,风俗

respect[riˈspekt]

vt .尊重,重视

n .尊敬,方面

effort[ˈefərt]

n .努力

occupy[ˈɒkjupai]

vt .担任,占领

command[kəˈmɑːnd]

vt .赢得,控制

n .命令,指令

attitude[ˈætitjuːd]

n .态度,看法

comfortably[ˈkʌmfətəbli]

adv .舒服地,安逸地

luxuriously[lʌɡˈʒʊəriəsli]

adv .奢侈地,豪华地

afford[əˈfɔːd]

vt .买得起,提供

hostess[ˈhoʊstəs]

n .女主人

furthermore[ˌfɜːðəˈmɔː(r)]

adv .此外,而且

merely[ˈmiəli]

adv .仅仅,只不过

assemble[əˈsembl]

vt .&vi.收集,聚集

various[ˈveəriəs]

a .各种各样的

preparation[ˌprepəˈreiʃn]

n .准备

professional[prəˈfeʃənl]

n .专业人士

a .专业的

construction[kənˈstrʌkʃn]

n .建造,建设

admiration[ˌædməˈreiʃn]

n .羡慕,赞美

personal[ˈpɜːsənl]

a .个人的,亲自的

struggle[ˈstrʌɡl]

n .奋斗,搏斗

vi .奋斗,斗争

talent[ˈtælənt]

n .天才,有才能的人

determine[diˈtɜːmin]

vt .决定,使下决心

district[ˈdistrikt]

n .地区,区域

Phrases&Expressions

through/by one's own efforts  通过自己的努力

take pains to do sth.  煞费苦心做某事

point out  指出

consist of  包含,由……构成

take pride in  以……为自豪

talk about  讨论

in order to  为了……

pay for  支付

regard...as...  把……视为……

insist on  坚持

be different from  与……不同

be determined by 由……决定

dream of  梦想……

make efforts to do sth.  努力去做

Notes

1.A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man—the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts,usually beginning by working with his hands.

self-made的意思是“白手起家”,破折号后面的who引导的定语从句对白手起家的人进行补充说明,其意思为白手起家的人就是那些靠着自己的劳动,通过自己努力获得成功的人。

2.While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker,he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

while的意思为“虽然、然而”,在此句中引导让步状语从句。主句中的take pains to do sth.的意思为“煞费苦心做某事”,如“The couple took great pains to keep their plans secret.”,这句话的意思是“这对夫妇煞费苦心,对计划守口如瓶”。of some sort指“……之类”,表某种类型;it takes all sorts则指“世界之大无奇不有”。

文中这句话可理解为:然而,相比普通劳动者或者技艺精湛的工人,公司或企业的领导,或者大学教授的地位更加显赫且更受人尊敬,他可能煞费苦心地道出他的父亲在美国最初也是农民或者工人之类的。

3.One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously furnished and in which there is every evidence of the fact the family has been able to afford foreign travel,expensive hobbies,and college education for the children.

not only comfortably but even luxuriously furnished中的“not only...but even...”表示“不仅……甚至……”。in which后面引导一个定语从句对home进行修饰;fact后面是一个同位语从句,对其进行解释。

文中这句话可理解为:一个人被邀请到一个不仅舒服甚至装修豪华的家里做客,家里无处不显示这个家庭能够承担得起国外旅游、奢侈的爱好和小孩上大学的费用。

4.Some people think that it is Lincoln's talents and ability that leads him to succeed,but this is only partly true.

整句话的主要结构是that引导的宾语从句,同时,在从句里又镶嵌着一个强调句“it is...that...”,它的意思是“正是……才”。but this is only partly true中的this指代that引导的宾语从句的内容。

文中这句话可理解为:有些人认为林肯的才华和能力使他成功,但这只是部分事实。

5.Every cowboy can dream of becoming a great man,only if he makes efforts to realize his dream.

在此句中,only if起强调作用,意思是“只有、只要(表示条件)”。例如:“Only if a teacher has given permission is a student allowed to leave the room.”,这句话的意思是“学生只有得到老师的许可才能离开教室”。而if only的意思是“但愿、要是……就好了(表示虚拟语气)”。例如:“If only I were rich.”,这句话的意思是“但愿我很富有”;“If only I knew her name.”,这句话的意思是“我要是知道她的名字就好了”。

※Culture Notes

6.College costs in the USA.

美国的大学费用与中国不同,美国的高等教育在世界上是最市场化、产业化、私有化的,学费也是最高的:两年制公立大学的学费平均一年为2 000美元,四年制公立大学的学费平均一年为5 400美元,私立大学的学费平均一年为28 300美元。其中,有12.6%的私立大学每年的学费超过3万美元,有3.7%的公立大学每年的学费超过9 000美元。就算上便宜的四年制公立大学,仅学费一项就超出一个中等家庭收入的10%。此外,在美国,大学学费和其他费用不是父母的义务。虽然美国的学费高,但奖学金、助学金也高,学生贷款、打工助学的机会也多。

7.Every cowboy can dream of becoming a great man.

每个牛仔都可以梦想成为伟人。美国是移民国家,所以没有什么贵族,也就容易产生“劳动致富光荣”的传统,这就是“美国梦”中最核心的部分。“美国梦”就是指一个白手起家的人最终能实现梦想。随着美国不断强大,美国文化开始风行世界。牛仔文化更是随着西部电影的牛仔形象一起深入民心,成为美国文化的代表。牛仔的精神是“自由”,其提倡人人平等。

Exercises to the Text

1.Comprehension ofthe text

From the answer A,B,C and D,choose the one that best completes the following statements.

(1)From paragraph 1,we know that in America_____.

A.people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man

B.people can always rise to the top through their own efforts

C.college professors win great respect from common workers

D.people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors

(2)According to the passage,the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because______.

A.servants in American are hard to get

B.she takes pride in what she can do herself

C.she can hardly afford servants

D.It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

(3)The expression“wait on table”in the second paragraph means“____”.

A.work in a furniture shop

B.keep accounts for a bar

C.wait to lay the table

D.serve customers in a restaurant

(4)The author's attitude towards manual labor is_____.

A.positive

B.negative

C.humorous

D.critical

(5)Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A.A Respectable Self-made Family.

B.American Attitude towards Manual Labor.

C.Characteristics of American Culture.

D.The Development of Manual Labor.

2.Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks with the words or expressions given below.Change the form where necessary.

(1)They did not consider whether they could_____the time or not.

(2)Everyone arrived late at the party for_____reasons.

(3)She has a good_____of spoken English.

(4)She_____to go that very afternoon.

(5)Her garden was the_____of the whole neighborhood.

(6)He is a man of great______.

(7)My parents did their best to keep up the family_____.

(8)Quick decision is_____of him.

(9)He is inefficient,and_____he is innocent of any sense of responsibility.

(10)We made_____for the trip.

Fill in the blanks with the proper form of the given words.

(1)bored bore boring

A.John is such a_____that no one likes to talk to him.

B._____with detective stories,Jimmy has now taken an interest in modern poetry.

C.The movie is so_____that I nearly fell asleep.

(2)consultation consult consulting

A.Whenever he found himself in difficulty,Joe _____ with his workmates.

B.Hans went to his dentist for_____because of a bad toothache.

C.He was hired as_____engineer on the project.

(3)managing managed management

A.As neither_____nor labor would give in,the union organized a strike.

B.The cotton mill will be much more productive if it is properly_____.

C.He has a lot of pull with the_____director.

3.Structure

Rewrite the following sentences after the model.

ModelⅠ:I was astonished that they published my poem.

→To my astonishment,they published my poem.

(1)She was disappointed that her sister had lost the race.

(2)He was delighted to see his aunt in good health.

(3)We deeply regret that we won't be able to attend the dinner party.

ModelⅡ:They entered the hall.

The audience burst into thunderous applause.

→When they entered the hall,the audience burst into thunderous

applause.

(1)He grew old.

He became more and more patient.

(2)You've bought a new car.

What are you going to do with the old one?

(3)The work was done.

He took a shower and went home.

4.Cloze

Choose the best words to fill in the blanks.

Every business has trouble sooner or later.It is the chief executive officer's responsibility to set things right.Good executives (1) themselves in touch with their companies—they know what is going on at every level.Yes,they delegate, (2) they also follow up to make certain (3) each delegated task has been completed.No major (4) should be made in a company without the president's (5) .

Even though the president or CEO is (6) responsible for the failure or success of his company,a smart CEO (7) himself with competent workers at all levels,especially at the (8) level.He then consults with his executives and supervisors (9) he has to make an important decision.He (10) their input and creates an open atmosphere (11) all may feel comfortable to share their ideas.

(12) following this practice,a president knows that when a decision has been made,his administrators will feel as if they have had a (13) in it,or at least they will understand why the decision was made.He can then (14) them to support the decision at their level.

It is (15) poor practice for an administrator to (16) about an executive decision after it has been discussed openly and decided upon in committee.The time to (17) disagreement is during committee discussion or with the president privately. (18) ,an administrator is expected to support the president (19) the company has become involved in an illegal activity.Americans consider this (20) support another form of professional behavior.

(1)A.keep

B.stay

C.put

D.remain

(2)A.and

B.so

C.but

D.therefore

(3)A.if

B.that

C.whether

D.until

(4)A.task

B.achievement

C.success

D.decision

(5)A.knowledge

B.presence

C.help

D.agreement

(6)A.seriously

B.ultimately

C.frequently

D.actively

(7)A.absorbs

B.sinks

C.acquaints

D.surrounds

(8)A.bottom

B.technical

C.administrative

D.staff

(9)A.when

B.how

C.why

D.whether

(10)A.refuses

B.denies

C.invites

D.accepts

(11)A.which

B.that

C.whom

D.where

(12)A.On

B.By

C.With

D.After

(13)A.duty

B.mind

C.part

D.word

(14)A.order

B.make

C.expect

D.hope

(15)A.believed

B.thought

C.viewed

D.considered

(16)A.criticize

B.complain

C.talk

D.discuss

(17)A.express

B.settle

C.ease

D.create

(18)A.privately

B.publicly

C.secretly

D.reasonably

(19)A.whenever

B.though

C.if

D.unless

(20)A.open

B.public

C.complete

D.strong

5.Translation

(1)虽然那件表演服仅由一条床单构成,但效果很好。(consist of)

(2)要为自己的才华、成就而自豪,因为它们是你追逐梦想的踏脚石。(take pride in)

(3)在丛林中,他们为了生存被迫采取极端行动。(in order to)

(4)我们只能私下谈论这个话题。(in private)

(5)尽管这种增长的数量相对较小,但是潜在的市场是巨大的。(while)

(6)我们将与政府讨论这个问题,努力确保我们不致陷入资金耗尽的境地。(run out of)

(7)任何成功的活动都需要好几个月的准备。(lay)

(8)许多墨西哥人把美国看成一片乐土。(regard...as...)

(9)决定你人生高度的,不是你的才能,而是你的态度。(determine)

(10)有些人梦想着扔下公文包,去海边开一家精致的酒店。(hang up)

6.Writing

Write a composition entitled“My Plan for the National Day Holiday”in no less than 100 words. PnrOVv6ggAEq9wCU9XQ9jTZqQUE7d5f66vnC12E+D2hExdffE91UfwEmqLyu3Hl9

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