时间:2018-12-01 作者:英语课 分类:自考英语综合二下册 课文+单词


英语课

  [00:00.00]Lesson Eleven

[00:02.98] Text

[00:06.03]Selling the Post (I)

[00:10.61]Russell Baker 1 I began working in journalism 2 when I was eight years old.

[00:18.65]It was my mother's idea. She wanted me to"make something" of myself and,

[00:27.51]after a levelheaded appraisal 3 of my strengths,

[00:32.76]decided 4 I had better start young

[00:36.88]if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.

[00:42.55]The flaw in my character which she had already spotted 5 was lack of "gumption 6.

[00:51.10]My idea of a perfect afternoon was lying in front of theradio rereading

[00:59.14]my favorite Big Little Book,Dick Tracy Meets Stooge Viller.

[01:09.80]Seeing me having a good time in repose,she was powerless to hide her disgust.

[01:17.35]"You've got no more gumption than a bump on a log," she said.

[01:23.51]"Get out in the kitchen and help Doris do those dirty dishes.

[01:27.95]"My sister Doris,though two years younger than I,

[01:33.23]had enough gumption for a dozen people.

[01:37.78]She positively 7 enjoyed washing dishes, making beds, and cleaning the house.

[01:44.75]When she was only seven

[01:48.20]she could carry a piece of shortweighted cheese back to the A&P,

[01:54.83]threaten the manager with Legal action,

[01:58.96]and come back triumphantly 8 with the full quarter pound we'd paid for

[02:05.62]and a few ounces extra thrown tn for forgiveness.

[02:11.27]Doris could have made something of herself if she hadn't been a girl.

[02:17.61]Because of this defect however,

[02:22.29]the best she could hope for was a career as a nurseor schoolteacher,

[02:28.45]the only work that capable females were considered up to in those days

[02:35.72]This must have saddened my mother,

[02:39.48]this twist of fate that had allocated 9 all the gumption to the daughter

[02:45.75]and left her with a son who was content with Dick Tracy and Stooge Viller.

[02:52.20]If disappointed,though she wasted no energy on self pity.

[02:58.55]She would make me make something of myself whether I wanted to or not.

[03:05.31]"The Lord helps those who help themselves,"she said.

[03:10.88]That was the way her mind worked.

[03:14.74]She was realistic about the difficulty.

[03:19.11]Having sized up the material the Lord had given her to mold,

[03:24.46]she didn't overestimate 10 what she could do with it.

[03:29.21]She didn't insist that I grow up to be President of the United States.

[03:35.46]Fifty years ago parents still asked boys if they wanted to grow up to be president

[03:42.90]and asked it not jokingly but seriously.

[03:48.47]Many parents who were hardly more than paupers 11 still believed their sons could do it

[03:55.52]Abraham Lincoln had done it.

[03:59.18]We were only sixty-five years from Lincoln.

[04:04.45]Many a grandfather who walked among us could remember Lincoln's time.

[04:10.70]Men of grandfatherly age

[04:14.67]were the worst for asking if you wanted to grow up to be president.

[04:20.83]A surprising number of little boys said yes and meant it.

[04:26.89]I was asked many times myself.

[04:32.25]No,I would say,I didn't want to grow up to be president.

[04:38.31]My mother was present during one of these interrogations.

[04:43.87]An elderly uncle,

[04:47.03]having posed the usual question and exposed my lack of interest in the presidency 12

[04:54.30]asked,"Well,what do you want to be when you grow up?"

[05:00.67]I loved to pick through trash piles and collect empty bottles,

[05:06.23]tin cans with pretty labels, and discarded magazines.

[05:12.11]The most desirable job on earth sprang instantly to mind.

[05:18.56]"I want to be a garbage man," I said.

[05:23.42]My uncle smiled,

[05:26.66]but my mother had seen the first distressing 13 evidence of a bump budding on a log

[05:34.21]"Have a little gumption, Russell,"she said.

[05:39.17]Her calling me Russell was a signal of unhappiness.

[05:44.92]When she approved of me I was always"Buddy. "

[05:49.96]When I turned eight years old

[05:53.52]she decided that the job of starting meon the road toward making something of myself

[05:59.68]could no longer be safely delayed.


  [06:04.07]"Buddy," she said one day,"

[06:08.33]I want you to come home right after school this afternoon.

[06:13.79]Somebody's coming and I want you to meet him.

[06:18.15]"When I burst in that afternoon she was in conference in the parlor 14

[06:24.31]with an executive of the Curtis Publishing Company.She introduced me.

[06:30.27]He bent 15 low from the waist and shook my hand

[06:35.02]Was it true as my mother had told him,he asked,

[06:40.17]that I longed for the opportunity to conquer the world of business?

[06:46.13]My mother replied that I was blessed with a rare determination

[06:51.77]to make something of myself."That's right," I whispered.

[06:58.01]"But have you got the grit 16, the character,

[07:02.27]the never-say-quit spirit it takes to succeed in business?"

[07:08.12]My mother said I certainly did.

[07:12.07]"That's right,"I said.

[07:16.14]He eyed me silently for a long pause,

[07:21.10]as though weighing whether I could be trusted to keep his confidence,

[07:27.45]then spoke 17 man-to-man.

[07:30.98]Before taking a crucial step, he said,he wanted to tell me

[07:37.74]that working for the Curtis Publishing Company

[07:42.47]placed enormous responsibility on a young man.

[07:47.75]It was one of the great companies of America.

[07:52.01]Perhaps the greatest publishing house in the world.

[07:56.97]I had heard, no doubt,of the Saturday Evening Post?

[08:03.45]Heard of it?

[08:06.09]My mother said that everyone in our house had heard of the Saturday Evening Post

[08:12.46]and that I,in fact,read it with religious devotion.

[08:18.21]Then doubtless, he said,

[08:22.07]we were also familiar with those two monthly pillars of the magazine world,

[08:28.73]the Ladies Home Journal and the Country Gentleman.

[08:33.78]Indeed we were familiar with them,said my mother.

[08:39.05]Representing the Saturday Evening Post was one of the weightiest honors

[08:45.40]that could be bestowed 18 in the world of business, he said.

[08:50.16]He was personally proud of being a part of that great corporation.

[08:56.03]My mother said he had every right to be.

[09:00.58]Again he studied me as though debating whether I was worthy 19 of a knighthood.

[09:07.55]Finally: "Are you trustworthy?"

[09:12.59]My mother said I was the soul of honesty."That's right,"I said.

[09:20.25]The caller smiled for the first time.

[09:24.32]He told me I was a lucky young man. He admired my spunk 20.

[09:30.49]Too many young men thought life was all play.

[09:35.53]Those young men would not go far in this world.

[09:40.39]Only a young man willing to work

[09:44.54]and save and keep his face washed and his hair neatly 21 combed

[09:50.42] could hope to come out on top in a world such as ours.

[09:56.06]Did I truly and sincerely believe that I was such a young man?

[10:02.12]"He certainly does,"said my mother."That's right,"I said.

[10:09.49]He said he had been so impressed by what he has seen of me

[10:15.16]that he was going to make me a representative of the Curtis Publishing Company.

[10:21.51]On the following Tuesday, he said,

[10:25.95]thirty freshly printed copies of the Saturday Evening Post

[10:32.40]would be delivered at our door.

[10:36.16]I would place these magazines,still damp with the ink of presses,

[10:42.64]in a handsome canvas bag,sling 22 it over my shoulder,

[10:48.59]and set forth 23 through the streets to bring the best

[10:53.35]in journalism fiction,and cartoons to the American public.

[10:59.59]He had brought the canvas bag with him.

[11:03.67]He presented it with reverence 24 fit for a religious object.

[11:09.31]He showed me how to drape the sling over my left shoulder

[11:14.35]and across the chest so that the pouch 25 lay easily accessible to my right hand,

[11:21.20]allowing the best in journalism, fiction,and security

[11:26.76]to be swiftly extracted and sold to a citizenry

[11:32.40]whose happiness and security depended upon us soldiers of the free press.

[11:39.77]The following Tuesday I raced home from school,

[11:44.31]put the bag over my shoulder, dumped the magazines in,

[11:49.67]and,tilting to the left to balance their weight on my right hip 26,


  [11:55.91]embarked on the highway of journalism.



1 baker
n.面包师
  • The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
  • The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。
2 journalism
n.新闻工作,报业
  • He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师,可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
  • He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。
3 appraisal
n.对…作出的评价;评价,鉴定,评估
  • What's your appraisal of the situation?你对局势是如何评估的?
  • We need to make a proper appraisal of his work.对于他的工作我们需要做出适当的评价。
4 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
5 spotted
adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的
  • The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
  • Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。
6 gumption
n.才干
  • With his gumption he will make a success of himself.凭他的才干,他将大有作为。
  • Surely anyone with marketing gumption should be able to sell good books at any time of year.无疑,有经营头脑的人在一年的任何时节都应该能够卖掉好书。
7 positively
adv.明确地,断然,坚决地;实在,确实
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
8 triumphantly
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
9 allocated
v.估计过高,过高评价
  • Don't overestimate seriousness of the problem.别把问题看重了。
  • We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我们过高地估计了自己的影响力和破坏作用。
10 paupers
n.穷人( pauper的名词复数 );贫民;贫穷
  • The garment is expensive, paupers like you could never afford it! 这件衣服很贵,你这穷鬼根本买不起! 来自互联网
  • Child-friendliest among the paupers were Burkina Faso and Malawi. 布基纳法索,马拉维,这俩贫穷国家儿童友善工作做得不错。 来自互联网
11 presidency
n.总统(校长,总经理)的职位(任期)
  • Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
  • Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。
12 distressing
a.使人痛苦的
  • All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
  • It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。
13 parlor
n.店铺,营业室;会客室,客厅
  • She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
  • Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店?
14 bent
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的
  • He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
  • We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。
15 grit
n.沙粒,决心,勇气;v.下定决心,咬紧牙关
  • The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
  • I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。
16 spoke
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
17 bestowed
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )
  • It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
  • He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。
18 worthy
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
19 spunk
n.勇气,胆量
  • After his death,the soldier was cited for spunk.那位士兵死后因作战勇敢而受到表彰。
  • I admired her independence and her spunk.我敬佩她的独立精神和勇气。
20 neatly
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
21 sling
vt.扔;悬挂;n.挂带;吊索,吊兜;弹弓
  • The boy discharged a stone from a sling.这个男孩用弹弓射石头。
  • By using a hoist the movers were able to sling the piano to the third floor.搬运工人用吊车才把钢琴吊到3楼。
22 forth
adv.向前;向外,往外
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
23 reverence
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统,但不被传统所束缚。
24 pouch
n.小袋,小包,囊状袋;vt.装...入袋中,用袋运输;vi.用袋送信件
  • He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
  • The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。
25 hip
n.臀部,髋;屋脊
  • The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
  • The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。
学英语单词
a kickback
ac simulation
acacias
aeroview
Altrich
Alumu
antipyogenics
Aux.B
B cut-off frequency
back-burnered
backdigger
banochra fibre
base on fact and
belliard
bettinger
bounce light
bungee line
butt-seam welding machine
Cagniard-De Hoop technique
capon combgrowth butter
Celatom
cheese sandwich
Clorazolam
colly
concatenated (cascade) motor
cornopteris decurrent-alata
cotton field
damic earth
data translating system
datum pressure
depend on a thread
discomanometry
Dlinnoye, Ozero
electrocardiophonography
electron gap admittance
elfin saddle
entry into possession
executours
eyestrains
fda
feed bar guide
feid
fertilizer requirement
fibre optic attenuation tester
filament purolysis
four-vector potential
froad
furhman
fusion cookings
GM_adjective-phrases-position
ingoferron
ionization(vacuum)gauge
kalvs
light spirits
liquid-solid interface
low delay code excited linear prediction
Macrothyry
Makthar (Maktar)
metroleukorrhea
milling green
mixing phenomenon
multiparae
multisymplectic
natural rolling
NDI (non-destructive inspection)
nn. carotici externi
Novolaudom
operator gene
optimization objective
out-competing
pas de bourr?e en tournant en dehors
periantral
phosphorus paste
phraser
planimetric line
potlach
Poupas
profundal
prompt decay rate
quantity passed
re-adjust
relocation mechanism
romance of three kingdoms
room reservation
semenology
sequential collation of range
shaking-out
shopful
simple resolution
soil hardness
stantienite (black amber)
stationary type projector
status word
stress wave emission
stripping layer
surplus-product
Sutura incisiva
tectosphere
trembler coil
tworts
unhearse
wellek