英语口语教程(高级) UNIT 12-13

[00:01.00]Lesson 13  II Read 5.I Can't Stop   Working;

[00:09.74]There have clearly been three times in my life;

[00:13.57]when it would have been not only appropriate;

[00:17.16]but reasonable for me to do something other than earn money.;

[00:22.12]Once my father would have supported me;

[00:25.86]while I went to summer school.;

[00:28.13]Once I could have supported myself with savings while I was on strike,;

[00:34.61]And once I would have been supported by my band;

[00:39.29]while I raised small children. I couldn't do it.;

[00:44.68]I went to summer school at 9 a.m. and to work at 11 a.m.;

[00:51.11]During the strike I did a radio show and magazine work.;

[00:56.88]And during my maternity leave, after the checks ran out,;

[01:02.08]I started to get nervous,very nervous.;

[01:06.91]I was having a wonderful time with my children,;

[01:10.93]but there was this little flutter in my stomach that said,;

[01:15.23]"You haven't got a dime. ";

[01:18.12]For whatever reason, I am not good at joint assets;

[01:22.98]unless my assets are making some substantial contribution.;

[01:28.42]It's hard to figure out why I can't be more relaxed about this,;

[01:33.91]why I never backpacked through Europe like my friends;

[01:37.83]because I had to be at work.;

[01:40.34]I grew up in a comfortable middle-class home.;

[01:44.83]My father worked very hard--too hard,I always thought;

[01:50.55]--to fill the role of working man and the role of Dad,;

[01:55.05]which probably made him just about average for his time.;

[01:59.87]My mother never worked outside her home.;

[02:03.94]It's hard for me to figure out;

[02:06.82]how a little girl in such an environment;

[02:10.27]wound up thinking of herself as a breadwinner;

[02:13.87]before current fashion dictated that she should do so.;

[02:18.83]It probably has a great deal to do with independence,;

[02:24.08]with feeling beholden to no man --and I suppose I do mean man.;

[02:30.89]Mothers worry now about raising daughters;

[02:35.00]who are willing and able to support themselves and their children;

[02:39.69]if their marriages go crash.;

[02:42.57]But I worry about being a woman;

[02:45.79]who is not quite able to relax about her own selfworth;

[02:50.09]and the incalculable value of the domestic functions she performs,;

[02:56.14]not quite able to let the household run for a time;

[03:00.63]driven only hy her husband's paycheck.;

[03:04.37]It would make sense for me to do that, when my next child is born.;

[03:10.38]For a time,as I did with the other two, I will not work.;

[03:16.48]But the flutter will begin and I will want to have earning power again;

[03:22.44]--not to buy anything in particular,;

[03:25.70]just to know I am still a player.;

[03:30.24]6.When Taking Home a Paycheck Means More Than Dollars and Cents;

[03:39.88]I have worked for money since I was 16;

[03:44.75]and went to the principal's office to ask for working papers.;

[03:50.57]My problem is that I don't know how to stop,;

[03:55.25]even when it would make sense and be possible to do so for a time.;

[04:02.44]Working for money has always meant something more to me than a bank balance.;

[04:09.11]I suppose I have felt that at some level I am my paycheck.;

[04:16.06]Not how much I take home;;

[04:19.09]if quantity were a real issue I wouldn't be in journalism.;

[04:25.04]Just that,like Everest,the money is there.;

[04:30.34]I need to be on a payroll to affirm myself.;

[04:35.40]It doesn't seem like a healthy need;;

[04:38.85]if I were male, of course,it would seem like second nature.;

[04:45.00]It's an interesting concept,money,;

[04:48.83]sort of the way respiration is an interesting concept.;

[04:53.80]We're not supposed to care about it too much,;

[04:57.25]especially now,when the bad rap on baby boomers;

[05:01.74]is that they've forsworn drugs;

[05:04.39]because they can get high from their cash management accounts.;

[05:09.16]To say it's central to who and where we are may be verboten;;

[05:15.93]it also happens to be true.;

[05:18.95]If you haven't got any, you're on the streets or on welfare.;

[05:24.68]If you've got a whole lot,;

[05:27.13]you're on the best- seller list and you don't have to play Monopoly anymore;

[05:32.38]because in real life the entire boardwalk bears your name.;

[05:38.44]Most of us fall somewhere in the middle.;

[05:42.79]Most of us need to work to pay the rent,make the mortgage payments.;

[05:50.26]Lots of us convince ourselves that we need to work 60-hour weeks to do that,;

[05:57.87]but that's often because we've let the size of our toys get out of control.;

[06:04.59]We've got a gender gap on the issue, too.;

[06:09.08]A man who is not interested in earningmoney;

[06:13.67]is a ne'er-do-well or a freeloader;;

[06:17.69]a man who is supremely successful is a captain of industry.;

[06:24.26]But society is still more comfortable with women;

[06:29.18]who see earning power in terms of self-protection,not self-promotion.;

[06:36.27]While it has been fashionable during my lifetime for professional women,;

[06:42.46]plagued by guilt over conflicts;

[06:45.68]between their roles as mothers and as workers,;

[06:49.98]to say that they work because it fulfills them,;

[06:53.95]that's only half the story for me.;

[06:57.31]I also like it because it pays.;

[07:01.43]That makes me feel guilty.;

[07:04.50]I should have better priorites.;

[07:07.72]The new saw about not mired icking male behavior;

[07:12.78]turns out to be an old saw in disguise:;

[07:16.98]we should not be prey to the baser impulses..;

[07:22.37]7.Work Brings   Social and   Personal Esteem;

[07:30.41]For these men,work is seen,not so much as a necessary evil,;

[07:37.70]but as an opportunity to use one's skills;

[07:41.53]in a way that gains money and esteem;

[07:44.74]and is quite pleasant in itself.;

[07:48.10]Work is a way of life,a mental challenge,;

[07:52.92]an emotional involvement.;

[07:55.90]The rat race is described as being exciting,;

[08:00.92]and,when high status is combined with high financial rewards,;

[08:07.16]it brings both social and personal esteem.;

[08:11.65]Work can also give scope for male assertiveness;;

[08:16.57]being in a position of command and control is a satisfaction;

[08:22.38]on which several men proudly commented.;

[08:26.73]8.Work for High Financial Rewards;

[08:32.88]"I've got happier as I've got richer in direct proportion.;

[08:38.89]For me money buys happiness.";

[08:43.05]For some men the business of making money through work;

[08:48.34]is gratifying and exciting in itself.;

[08:52.36]Their lives are geared towards this;

[08:56.38]and they have chosen their jobs;

[08:58.99]principally for their high financial rewards.;

[09:03.38]For them money is important,not just for what it will buy,;

[09:10.71]but as a badge of success:money and status are inextricably linked.;

[09:18.28]Sometimes the whole family is involved in the quest to "get on",;

[09:25.56]sometimes wife and children have to take second place,;

[09:30.57]but they all have a common aim.;

[09:34.26]They are the competitors,the self-made men,;

[09:38.99]many of them with a well-conceived plan of self-betterment;

[09:44.38]over a five- or ten-year span.;

[09:48.21]Most of them left school without any academic distinction;

[09:53.84]and started in business without any capital resources;;

[09:59.28]they took courses where necessary,;

[10:02.78]worked hard and made their own chances.;

[10:07.27]Lesson 14 Does the Younger Generation Know Best?;

[10:15.40]Text The Younger Generation Knows Best;

[10:21.79]Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were.;

[10:28.97]The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true.;

[10:37.15]It has never been truer than it is today.;

[10:41.88]The young are better educated.;

[10:45.43]They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom.;

[10:51.34]They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents.;

[10:58.67]They think more for themselves;

[11:01.89]and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders.;

[11:07.51]Events which the older generation remembers vividly;

[11:12.76]are nothing more than past history.;

[11:16.36]This is as it should be.;

[11:19.43]Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it.;

[11:26.29]Today the difference is very marked indeed.;

[11:31.82]The old always assume that they know best;

[11:36.79]for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer.;

[11:41.99]They don't like to feel that their values;

[11:45.06]are being questioned or threatened.;

[11:48.18]And this is precisely what the young are doing.;

[11:52.77]They are questioning the assumptions of their elders;

[11:57.02]and disturbing their complacency.;

[12:00.48]They take leave to doubt that the older generation;

[12:04.92]has created fhe best of all possible worlds.;

[12:09.46]What they reject more than anything is conformity.;

[12:15.18]Office hours,for instance,are nothing more than enforced slavery.;

[12:22.23]Wouldn't people work best;

[12:25.21]if they were given complete freedom and responsibility?;

[12:29.75]And what about clothing?;

[12:32.73]Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits;

[12:37.98]and convict haircuts?;

[12:40.58]If we turn our minds to more serious matters,;

[12:44.97]who said that human differences;

[12:48.05]can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means?;

[12:55.33]Why have the older generation;

[12:58.45]so often used violence to solve their problems?;

[13:03.23]Why are they so unhappy and,guilt- ridden in their personal lives,;

[13:09.14]so obsessed with mean ambitions;

[13:12.50]and the desire to amass more and more material possessions?;

[13:18.31]Can anythin be right with the ratrace?;

[13:22.43]Haven't the old lost touch with all that is important in life?;

[13:28.57]These are not questions the older generation can shrug off lightly,;

[13:34.96]Their record over the past forty years or so hasn't been exactly spotless.;

[13:42.76]Traditionally,the young have turned to their elders for guidance.;

[13:48.81]Today,the situation might be reversed.;

[13:53.87]The old -- if they are prepared to admit it--;

[13:58.56]could learn a thing or two from their children.;

[14:02.57]One of the biggest lessons they could learn;

[14:06.12]is that enjoyment is not "sinful".;

[14:10.09]Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of lie.;

[14:16.24]It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure;;

[14:22.34]to shed restricting inhibitions.;

[14:25.98]It is surely not wrong to live in the present;

[14:29.81]rather than in the past or future.;

[14:33.36]This emphasis on the present is only to be expected;

[14:38.84]because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb:;

[14:43.24]the constant threat of complete annihilation.;

[14:47.78]This is their glorious heritage.;

[14:51.42]Can we be surprised;

[14:54.02]that they should so often question the sanity;

[14:57.29]of the generation that bequeathed it?;

[15:01.12]II. Read Read the following passages.;

[15:08.49]Underline the important viewpoints while reading.;

[15:13.55]1. Problems of the Young;

[15:18.71]More than 20 Chinese and American experts;

[15:23.72]discovered that young people of both countries;

[15:27.60]are facing the same problems of economic and social pressures;

[15:32.75]and lack of confidence.;

[15:35.87]Wayne Meisel, director of the Campus Outreach Opportunity League;

[15:41.74]of Minnesota University,;

[15:43.87]said that under economic pressure;

[15:46.75]American young people have to work hard;

[15:51.05]and most students have to take part-time work;

[15:55.69]in order to support themselves.;

[15:58.62]"Young people today," he said,;

[16:02.40]"are stereotyped as apathetic,self- centred,;

[16:06.94]and concerned only with making money and getting ahead.";

[16:11.53]In these circumstances, he said,;

[16:15.31]young people lack confidence,;

[16:17.96]which was not the case in the 1960s;

[16:21.32]when young Americans thought themselves capable of doing anything.;

[16:27.70]In spite of the different conditions in China,;

[16:31.86]Li Xuequan,director of the higher education section;

[16:36.69]of the All-China Youth Federation,;

[16:39.81]said Chinese young people are also facing economic pressure;

[16:45.29]and are worried about inflation and corruption.;

[16:49.27]Trading has appeared in many Chinese universities;

[16:53.95]as students with something to sell try to make money on campus.;

[16:59.57]Moreover,Li said, college students have begun to doubt;

[17:05.30]whether what they are learning in class will help them find work,;

[17:10.31]as many businesses totally ignore students of pure theory.;

[17:16.88]So people describe students as "a lost generation tired of study",;

[17:24.02]regardless of the causes in society that are shaking their confidence.;

[17:30.07]In order to resolve these problems,;

[17:33.57]the Chinese and American experts;

[17:36.55]agreed that youth organizations should call on the whole of society;

[17:42.56]to create favourable conditions for the healthy growth of young people,;

[17:48.23]as well as to encourage them to meet the urgent needs of society;

[17:54.00]and to challenge the assumption;

[17:56.37]that Young people are apathetic and uncaring.;

[18:01.14]Meisel said that since last year he has sent letters of "challenge to youth";

[18:08.33]to many young people urging them to commit themselves;

[18:13.15]to addressing such needs as feeding the hungry,;

[18:17.03]housing the homeless educating the illiterate,;

[18:21.05]consoling the lonely and sick,serving the elderly,;

[18:25.59]and preserving the environment.;

[18:28.62]The letter says:" Through service,;

[18:32.31]we touch the lives of others and enrich our own.";

[18:37.27]2. Students Mental Health;

[18:42.66]According to a study conducted in Tianjin,;

[18:47.15]out of 50,000 college students,;

[18:50.75]16 per cent have suffered from anxiety, nervousness,;

[18:56.33]depression or problems due to the early onset of sexual awareness.;

[19:02.81]Of students from elementary school to high school age in Shanghai,;

[19:08.79]27 per cent have some kind of emotional disorder,;

[19:14.09]are tired of study, have premature love affairs,smoke or run away from home.;

[19:22.27]In addition,most of them are bothered by impulsiveness,;

[19:27.80]envy,worry or melancholy.;

[19:32.29]Not a small number of students show a sense of inferiority,;

[19:37.87]squeamishness, aggression or strong self-will.;

[19:44.11]Bad psychological health causes serious repercussions;

[19:49.41]in a teenager's individual development.;

[19:53.19]In three main high schools in the southwest of China,;

[19:57.50]of students leaving school,74 per cent left due to bad health;

[20:04.12]and 42.2 per cent of those suffered from emotional problems and stress.;

[20:11.92]During puberty, teenagers go through a period of "changing times".;

[20:18.92]During this time, most teenagers' bodies and sexual desires develop.;

[20:25.92]They are beginning to mature both physically and mentally.;

[20:31.40]But most of them;

[20:33.43]can not become mature in both these areas at the same time.;

[20:38.59]Some teenagers' emotions remain childish,dependent and impetuous.;

[20:45.35]If we do not resolve the problems that face teenagers,;

[20:50.03]they not only will suffer from them, but they will also probably go astray.;

[20:57.36]3.Worries Induce Emotional Problems;

[21:04.50]More than 16 per cent of Chinese college and middle school studets;

[21:10.70]have emotional problems caused by concern over exams,;

[21:15.99]poor relationships with their teachers;

[21:18.93]and a lack of enthusiasm for their studies.;

[21:22.95]Some students feel depressed,;

[21:26.30]fearing they fall short of their parents' expectations.;

[21:31.46]An unhappy family life can also lead to depression.;

[21:37.61]These conclusions are the result of research into emotional problems;

[21:43.85]among college and middle school students.;

[21:47.91]According to a study of 2,961;

[21:53.54]urban and rural college and middle school students,;

[21:57.51]problems arise most frequently in two groups:;

[22:02.29]student in their first and second year of junior middle schools;

[22:07.73]and those in their last year at senior middle school;

[22:12.03]or the first year in higher-learning institutions.;

[22:16.48]The survey also revealed that emotional problems increase;

[22:22.20]as students get older.;

[22:25.04]The percentage of students with emotional problems;

[22:29.05]in junior middle schools is around 13 per cent,;

[22:34.02]while the figures for students in senior middle school;

[22:38.13]and higher-learning institutions are 19 and 25 per cent respectively.;

[22:45.84]4. Eager to Be Off;

[22:50.62]Me:Mummy. l've been thinking,;

[22:54.21]I think I might go to London at the end of the week.;

[22:58.04]Mama :Oh yes?;

[23:00.12]Me:Yes,a friend of mine wants someone to share a flat;

[23:05.04]and I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to...;

[23:09.06]Mama:Well,that sounds a very good idea.;

[23:12.61]Where exactly is this flat?;

[23:15.68]Me:Well,we haven't exactly got one,;

[23:19.32]but I thought I might go and look -- it's easier if you're on the spot.;

[23:24.81]Mama:Oh yes, I'm sure it is.;

[23:27.93]I hear it's very difficult to find flats in London these days.;

[23:32.04]Me:Oh no,it's not at all difficult,people get themselves fixed up in no time.;

[23:39.73]Mama:Oh well,I suppose you know better than me.;

[23:44.41]What will you live on while you're there?;

[23:47.62]Me:I'll get a job. I'll have to sometime,you know.;

[23:52.35]I'll write to the Appointments Board.;

[23:55.52]Mama:Just any sort of job?;

[23:58.69]Me:Whatever there is.;

[24:01.34]Mama:Don't you want a proper career, Sarah?;

[24:04.88]I mean to say, with a degree like yours...;

[24:09.56]Me:No,not really, I don't know what I want to do.;

[24:15.71]Mama:I'm not sure I like the idea of your going off all the way to London;

[24:21.44]without a proper job and with nowhere to live...;

[24:25.69]still,it's your own life, I suppose. That's what I say.;

[24:31.32]No one can accuse me of trying to keep you at home, either of you...;

[24:36.66]Who is this friend of yours?;

[24:39.74]Me:A girl called Gill Slater.She was at Oxford...;

[24:45.41]Mama:And what does she do?;

[24:48.06]Me:Oh, She's a -- she's a sort of research student.;

[24:53.12]Mama:Oh yes? Well, it sounds like a very nice idea.;

[24:59.03]After all,you won't want to stay here all your life;

[25:03.14]cooped up with your poor old mother,will you?;

[25:06.12]I shall lose all my little ones at one fell swoop,shall I?;

[25:11.04]Me:Oh,don't be silly.;

[25:13.12]Mama:What do you mean,don't be silly?;

[25:16.29]It seems to me you're very eager to be off.;

[25:20.45]Me:You know that's not it at all.;

[25:23.81]Mama:Well,what is it then?;

[25:26.93]Me:Well,it's just that I can't stay here all my life, can I?;

[25:32.41]Mama:No,of course you can't,nobody ever suggested anything of the sort;

[25:38.89]When have I ever tried to keep you at home?;

[25:42.44]Haven't I just said that you must lead your own life?;

[25:47.17]After all,that's why we sent you off to Oxford,;

[25:52.27]it was always me who said you two must go --;

[25:56.15]I don't know what I wouldn't have given;

[25:58.60]for the opportunities you've been given.;

[26:01.84]And your father wasn't any too keen,believe me.;

[26:06.53]In my day education was kept for the boys,you know.;

[26:11.82]Me:Well,you hadn't any boys to educate,had you?;

[26:16.12]You had to make do with us.;

[26:20.14]5. A Room of One's Own;

[26:26.48]A:Have you ever.., you know...sort of... Mum's said to you, like,;

[26:32.30]Could you help me clear up?;

[26:34.47]So you say,Yes, O.K. and you put your brother's or sister's things away;

[26:41.14]and then they come up and they say,;

[26:43.69]Where's so and so? (Yeah...Yes);

[26:46.29]But then you think to yourself,;

[26:48.56]Well,it's annoying to have...to have...;

[26:52.44]to leave somebody's coat or something in the middle of the room...;

[26:56.84](Yes... Yes, I know... )Do you know what I mean?;

[27:00.39]B:And when they do complain,you feel as if you haven't done your job,;

[27:06.06]but then you say, Well,I did pack it away,didn't I?;

[27:11.45]...You know...what are they complaining about?;

[27:15.14]D:It's annoying   as well...;

[27:18.17]E:I do the same... I mean if I find anything lying around...;

[27:23.79]if it's no good I just throw it away...;

[27:28.00]A:It might mean   a lot...;

[27:30.51]D:I think in my family...I think my mother is the most considerate.;

[27:36.66]She'd ask rather than my father... my father wouldn't.;

[27:41.48]A:Well,I'm lucky... I've got a room of my own...so...;

[27:46.45]D:I'd like a room of my own,;

[27:48.67]but then again,you don't keep everything in your room,do you?;

[27:53.73]My dad or mother goes in there;

[27:56.28]and finds anything that she doesn't think is necessary ...;

[27:59.97]my mother would ask me first, but my dad...;

[28:04.18]B:Well,frankly, my mother wouldn't touch anything in my room,;

[28:09.62]you know...she just doesn't.;

[28:12.31]She feels I've put it there for some purpose...;

[28:15.72]but again,if I go into her bedroom...;

[28:19.69]But say if I have a day off from school...or when...;

[28:24.84]or we've got some sort of holiday and I see things around and I say,;

[28:29.86]well,you know,I'll give the place a good old clean,;

[28:34.06]at least it'll help...and I put things neatly, it's all tidy...;

[28:40.12]I wouldn't throw anything out,;

[28:42.10]because I'm not sure whether she wants it or not...;

[28:45.32]and then she comes home,she says,;

[28:48.19]Where's this? where's that?... I feel awful...;