新世纪大学英语综合教程课件 秦秀白主编 第4册U7B4

Downloading Files Unit 7 Unit 7 Book 4

Stripping Down to Bare Happiness 1. Difficult Sentences

1) (LL 12-15) Neither one of them, it turned out, was willing to restrict

what they considered their “real life” into the brief time before work and the tired hours afterwards.

What does “real life” here mean according to Sara and Michael? (= “Real life” here refers to a simple satisfying but not wasteful family life that the couple are after.)

Translate this sentence into Chinese.

(=他们俩谁都不愿意把他们视为生活中最重要的部分仅仅局限于上班前的一小 段时间和下班后已疲惫不堪的那几个小时。)

2) (LL21-26) They decided to spend their money only on things that contributed to their major goal, the construction of a world where family and friendship, work and play, were all of a piece, a world, moreover, which did not make wasteful use of the earth’s resources.

According to this sentence, what kind of a world did Sara and Michael intend to build for themselves?

(=Sara and Michael intended to build a world of their own where they

could enjoy family life, social life and balance work and play all at the

same time. Meanwhile, they wished to construct a world which did not make wasteful use of the earth’s resources.) Analyze the structure of this sentence.

(=本句的主句是They decide to spend their money on things，后面携带的 that从句是先行词things的定语从句，而在定语从句中又嵌套了分别以where

和which引导的定语从句，修饰the construction of a world中的world 一 词，而短语the construction of a world其成分实际上是短语major goal的同

位语。)

Translate this sentence into Chinese.

(=他们决定只把钱花在有助于实现他们的主要目标的东西上:构建一个把家庭和

友谊、工作和娱乐融为一体的生活天地，而且还是一个不浪费地球资源的生活 天地。) 1

Downloading Files Unit 7

3) (LL50-53) By sifting and discarding, by keeping track of what they

have, Sara and Michael have a clear idea of what they really need.

Paraphrase this sentence.

(= By picking up what is essential and getting rid of the useless and by examining closely what they have, Sara and Michael understand their real needs. )

4) (LL59-61) They do not own a TV, and so they and their child are not

constantly saturated with images of new toys, new things, and new temptations.

What does the phrase “be saturated with” mean in this context? (= Here it means to be over exposed to something or have too much contact with.)

What does this sentence imply about the disadvantage of TV media? (= it criticizes TV for putting countless but useless temptations to either adults or children through TV commercials. )

5) (LL62-66) They have exchanged the expenses of work in a commuter Age — the extra car, the cost of gasoline, professional wardrobes, lunches and frequent dinners out, and

babysitting fees — for the time to pay attention to the quality of their lives.

What does “commuter age” refer to?

(=“Commuter age ” refers to the present situation that many working people have to travel regularly by a certain transport between one’s work

place and one’s home.)

According to this sentence, what do the expenses of work in a commuter age include?

(=They include the extra car, the cost of gasoline, professional wardrobes, lunches and frequent dinners out, and babysitting fees.)

Translate this sentence into Chinese.

(=他们节省了通勤时代上下班必须支付的开支:另外的一辆车、汽油费、职业装、

午餐和经常外出吃晚餐的开销以及保姆费，换来的则是时间 —— 用于关注生活质量的时间。)

6) LL76-78) That yearning feeling that’s so much a part of this culture

2

Downloading Files Unit 7 goes on forever.

What is the “yearning feeling” that Sara talks about? (=The “yearning feeling” Sara talks about refers to the strong desire to

possess more and more material things. An important part of the American culture is consumerism — the idea or belief that buying as many goods as possible is desirable for a person or society. And it is

this “yearning feeling” that has led to the emergence of such socially

sanctioned problems as impulse buying, brand-name loyalty, irrational consumption of the earth’s resources and the mentality of

following trends and fads.)

7) (LL81-83) I read it carefully, giving myself high marks in some areas,

surprised at my socially sanctioned irrational behavior in others.

Why does the author comment her behavior as “socially sanctioned irrational behavior”?

(= Because her behavior was not based on clear logic or good reason and should not be encouraged, but such behavior was regarded right, accepted and even promoted by society. ) Translate this sentence into Chinese.

(=我仔细地阅读了，在一些方面我给自己打了高分，而在另一些方面我为身上存

在的社会所认可的不理智行为感到惊讶。)

8) (LL87-89) When I stood in the parking lot, $11 poorer, no happier on

leaving the store than I had been entering it, I felt like a child, helpless in the face of my own impulse. How did the author feel after her shopping?

(=She did not feel happier on leaving the store than she had been entering it. She felt lost after her shopping because she could not