白领英语晨读-139 Elderly Men 老年人
时间：2019-01-17 作者：英语课 分类：白领英语晨读
英语课
Elderly Men
Elderly men have lived many years; they have often been taken in, and often made mistakes; and life on the whole is a bad business. The result is that they are sure about nothing and under-do everything. They "think" but they never "know"; and because of their hesitation 1 they always add a "possibly" or a "perhaps," putting everything this way and nothing positively 2. They are cynical 3; that is, they tend to put the worse construction on everything. Further, their experience makes them distrustful and therefore suspicious of evil. Consequently they neither love warmly nor hate bitterly, but following the hint of Bias 4 they love as though they will some day hate and hate as though they will some day love. They are small-minded, because they have been humbled 5 by life; their desires are set upon nothing more exalted 6 or unusual than what will help them to keep alive. They are not generous, because money is one of the things they must have, and at the same time their experience has taught them how hard it is to get and how easy to lose. They are cowardly, and are always anticipating danger; unlike that of the young, who are warm-blooded, their temperament 7 is chilly 8; old age has paved the way for cowardice 9; fear is, in fact, a form of chill. They love life; and all the more when their last day has come, because the object of all desire is something we have not got, and also because we desire most strongly that which we need most urgently. They are too fond of themselves; this is one form that small-mindedness takes. Because of this, they guide their lives too much by considerations of what is useful and too little by what is noble — for the useful is what is good for oneself, and the noble what is good absolutely.
Elderly men have lived many years; they have often been taken in, and often made mistakes; and life on the whole is a bad business. The result is that they are sure about nothing and under-do everything. They "think" but they never "know"; and because of their hesitation 1 they always add a "possibly" or a "perhaps," putting everything this way and nothing positively 2. They are cynical 3; that is, they tend to put the worse construction on everything. Further, their experience makes them distrustful and therefore suspicious of evil. Consequently they neither love warmly nor hate bitterly, but following the hint of Bias 4 they love as though they will some day hate and hate as though they will some day love. They are small-minded, because they have been humbled 5 by life; their desires are set upon nothing more exalted 6 or unusual than what will help them to keep alive. They are not generous, because money is one of the things they must have, and at the same time their experience has taught them how hard it is to get and how easy to lose. They are cowardly, and are always anticipating danger; unlike that of the young, who are warm-blooded, their temperament 7 is chilly 8; old age has paved the way for cowardice 9; fear is, in fact, a form of chill. They love life; and all the more when their last day has come, because the object of all desire is something we have not got, and also because we desire most strongly that which we need most urgently. They are too fond of themselves; this is one form that small-mindedness takes. Because of this, they guide their lives too much by considerations of what is useful and too little by what is noble — for the useful is what is good for oneself, and the noble what is good absolutely.
n.犹豫，踌躇
- After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
- There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。
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。
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的
- The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
- He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见
- They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
- He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。
adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的
- Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
- He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。
n.气质，性格，性情
- The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
- Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。
adj.凉快的，寒冷的
- I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
- I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。