Book 6 Unit 1

understanding that makes you a different person

a flash of insight — an understanding that comes to one suddenly and quickly

leave (with object and adverbial or complement) — cause (object) to be or to remain in a particular state or position

e.g. Buying an expensive car has left the family penniless. The children were left in the care of the nanny.

2. chewing the bitter cud of hindsight: thinking repeatedly about the painful realization of

what had happened

Literally cud means \mouth for further chewing\反刍的食物). When an animal chews the cud, it chews further the partly digested food. When a person chews the cud, he thinks about something reflectively.

e.g. He chewed the cud for a long while before he set pen to paper.

hindsight — understanding the reasons for an event or situation only after it has happened e.g. The accident could have been avoided with the wisdom of hindsight.

With hindsight they should not have left their little daughter alone in the country villa.

3. he still carried a full case load: he still kept himself fully occupied in the treatment of his

patients

case load — the number of patients a doctor has to deal with

4. I had long since ceased to be surprised at his perceptiveness.: I had long before come to

know that he was good at perceiving how others thought and felt; so I was not at all surprised when he noticed my troubled state.

perceptiveness (n.) — unusual ability to notice and understand; awareness and understanding e.g. We all admired his perceptiveness; he was always so quick to respond to a new situation.

5. With a kind of melancholy pride: Apparently the author was still proud of his \

considerable importance\

6. common denominator: This is a term used in mathematics, meaning \

of the denominator of several fractions\公分母). In this context, it means \shared by the three persons\if only was used by all three of them.

7. all the marital chances she had let go by: all the chances for her to get married she had

missed

let (sth.) go by — lose sth.

e.g. The short course is a good opportunity for you to learn a skill. Don't let it go by.

8. There's a perverse streak in all of us that makes us like to hash over old mistakes.:

There's an obstinately unreasonable quality in all of us which makes us enjoy bringing up old mistakes again for consideration.

perverse — (of a person or one's actions) showing an obstinate desire to behave in an

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Book 6 Unit 1

unreasonable way

e.g. We just couldn't understand her perverse decision against the majority.

streak — an element of a specified kind in one's character （性格行为的）倾向, an often unpleasant characteristic

e.g. Her streak of stubbornness makes her difficult to get along with. hash over — (slang) bring up (sth.) again for consideration

e.g. What has been done cannot be undone. Don't hash over past mistakes. Cheer up and try to do better next time.

9. substitute a phrase that supplies lift instead of creating drag: use a phrase (in place of if

only) that provides encouragement that pushes you forward instead of discouragement that pulls you backward

substitute (v.) — use (sth.) in place of (sth. else)

e.g. The old lady suffers from diabetes, so she substitutes saccharine for sugar/so she substitutes sugar with saccharine.

substitute (n.) — a person or thing acting or used in place of another e.g. The actress's substitute performed as well as the actress herself.

10. when he looks me in the eye: when he looks directly at me without showing embarrassment,

fear, or shame

11. I could hear the new words lock into place with an audible click: I could sense the new

words firmly fixed in my mind without any doubt

12. that almost-perceptible mental click: the reminder provided by the Old Man that can

roughly be felt in the mind

13. a small fragment of immortality: a small piece of advice to be remembered forever

Questions

1. How were the author and the old man related?

Key: The old man was an eminent psychiatrist and the author was a client of his.

2. According to the author, how much did the session with his psychiatrist friend that afternoon

mean to him? (para. 1)

Key: To him, the session was just like \— not only changed, but changed for the better.\

3. Why did the old man let the author listen to the three speakers on the tape? (para.15)

Key: The three speakers on the tape were all unhappy, and the two words they all used frequently in what they said were \only\What the old man wanted to point out to the author was that to keep saying \kept the person facing the wrong way — backward instead of forward. Thus it did more harm than good to the person who kept saying them.

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Book 6 Unit 1

4. What did the old man advise the author to do to get out of his depressed state of mind? (para.

20)

Key: Shift the focus; substitute \

5. In what way are the two phrases \

Key: They point to entirely different mental directions; one is backward and negative, and the other forward and positive.

6. What do you think is the tone of the passage?

Key: It is instructive and inspirational.

Activity

1. Failures and setbacks are an inevitable part of our life. Tell your classmates about one such

\

Sentence patterns for your reference When I was ... I met ... It is true that life is ... In spite of the ..., I ...

2. Discuss the \

of advice produce on Gordon? Do you believe that one's mentality is an essential factor when one is unfortunately thrown into adversity? Give examples to support your view.

Sentence patterns for your reference In case one meets ..., it is essential that ... As in Gordon's case, ...

An example to show ... is that ...

Organization and Development

Narration

In terms of mode of development, the present text is basically a narration, in which the author, Arthur Gordon, relates his meeting with his psychiatrist friend \

Characteristics of Narration

The purpose of a narration is to recount an event or a series of events; therefore it is usually chronological in its arrangement of details. The chief purpose of narration is to interest and entertain, though, of course, it may be used to instruct and inform.

Narrative Structure of the Text

Gordon's purpose of writing, obviously, is not just to tell what happened during his meeting with his friend, but, more importantly, to instruct. The instructive significance of the story is made

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Book 6 Unit 1

clear in the first paragraph. In the first few lines Gordon has already made it clear to the reader that what he is going to do is to tell how \person — not only changed, but changed for the better — ... Sometimes from a friend.\

In the first three paragraphs, which serve as a kind of introduction to the narration, we learn something about the physical circumstances for the meeting, i.e. the time — one rainy wintry afternoon, and the place — a French restaurant in Manhattan; the author's somber mood caused by his failure to complete an important project; and also something about the Old Man — his age, his profession, and perhaps more importantly, his positive attitude towards life.

The last two paragraphs form a sort of conclusion, in which what the author has learned from his friend, which is also what he wants his readers to learn, is explicitly stated: ... whenever I find myself thinking \

Translation

English-Chinese Translation

1. Even the prospect of seeing a dear friend (the Old Man, as I privately and affectionately

thought of him) failed to cheer me as it usually did.

译文：

即使想到要见一位好朋友（私底下，我会亲切地把他想成“老头子”），我也高兴不起来，尽管通常不是这样的。

讲解： 注意拆译法和名词转动词在这里的运用。Prospect一词如果按名词处理，译文句子将有一个拗口的长主语，转译成动词并将原句分成两句，表达更为流畅。另外，as it usually did也不宜直译，根据这里的逻辑意义可以译成汉语的让步句。

2. But when you were telling me about them, lamenting this, regretting that, you weren't really

learning from them.

译文： 但你对我讲这些事的时候，对这个叹气，对那个后悔，你其实从中什么也没学到。

讲解： Lamenting this和regretting this是if only态度的具体演绎，翻译时要重点处理，选择地道的汉语句式；really一词最好不要译成“真正地”，在语气上接近汉语的“其实”。

3. It means he has decided to apply the lessons he has learned from his experience, however

grim or painful it may have been.

译文： 这意味着无论他经历了多少痛苦和磨难，他已经决定运用从经验中学来的教训了。

讲解： 在翻译这里的however引导的状语从句时，可以按照汉语的习惯提前。另外，代词it

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Book 6 Unit 1

的理解也很关键，根据语法知识，它应该指代his experience。

4. By the time he came over and sat beside me, the waiter had brought his invariable bottle of

ale. I had not seen him for several months, but he seemed as indestructible as ever. \young man,\

译文： 还没等他过来在我身边坐下，侍者已经端上了一瓶他每次必喝的麦芽酒。我有好几个月没看到他了，可他看上去还是那么坚不可摧。“好吧，小伙子，”他开门见山地说，“你遇到什么麻烦了？”

讲解： 在翻译by或until引导的时间状语从句时，可以考虑使用反译法，使表达更加流畅。Invariable也是一个比较难处理的形容词，直译成“一成不变的”容易引起误解，这里适合意译。另外，恰当地使用汉语成语（“开门见山”）也能达到简洁、达意的效果。

Chinese-English Translation

1. 由于缺少资金，整个计划失败了。(fall through) Translation:

The whole plan fell through for want of fund.

2. 他对生产成本的估算总是准确无误。(invariable) Translation:

He calculates the cost of production with invariable accuracy.

3. 公司发言人推卸责任的讲话受到了严厉指责。(berate) Translation:

The spokesman of the corporation was berated for his irresponsible words.

4. 那名年轻的海关官员一眼就看出了那本假护照。(spot) Translation:

The young customs officer spotted the counterfeit passport at one glance.

5. 各有关部门的负责人认识到形势的严峻，立刻行动了起来。(promptly) Translation:

Upon realizing the severity of the situation, leaders of the departments concerned acted promptly.

6. 请把候补名单上她的名字换成你的名字。(substitute) Translation:

Please substitute her name for yours on the waiting list.

7. 她觉得她在当地综合医院任实习医师是一段宝贵的经历。(rewarding) Translation:

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