大学英语精读第五册 Unit 3
时间：2018-12-04 作者：英语课 分类：大学英语精读第五册
UNIT 3
TEXT
Do you want a better life? According to the author of the following article, the solution is easy. Simply change the way you look at yourself - and you will change the way you live. Improving your self-image is your key to living a better life.
Your Key to a Better Life
by Maxwell Maltz
The most important psychological of this century is the discovery of the "self-image." Whether we realize it or not, each of us carries about with us a mental blueprint 1 or picture of ourselves. It may be vague and ill-defined to our conscious gaze. In fact, it may not be consciously recognizable at all. But it is there, complete down to the last detail. This self-image is our own conception of the "sort of person I am." It has been built up from our own beliefs about ourselves. But most of these beliefs about ourselves have unconsciously been formed our past experiences, our successes and failures, our humiliations, our triumphs, and the way other people have reacted to us, especially in early childhood. From all these we mentally construct a "self," (or a picture of a self). Once an idea or a belief about ourselves goes into this picture it becomes "true", as far as we personally are concerned. We do not question its validity, but proceed to act upon it just as if it were true.
This self-image becomes a golden key to living a better life because of two important discoveries:
1. All your actions, feelings, behavior -- even your abilities -- are always consistent with this self-image.
In short, you will "act like" the sort of person you conceive yourself to be. Not only this, but you literally 2 cannot act otherwise, in spite of all your conscious efforts or will power. The man who conceives himself to be a "failure type person" will find some way to fail, in spite of all his good intentions, or his will power, even if opportunity is literally dumped in his lap. The person who conceives himself to be a victim of injustice 3, one "who was meant to suffer" will invariably find circumstances to verify his opinions.
The self-image is a "premise," a base, or a foundation upon which your entire personality, your behavior, and even your circumstances are built. Because of this our experiences seem to verify, and thereby 4 strengthen our self-images, and a vicious or a beneficent cycle, as the case may be, is set up.
For example, a schoolboy who sees himself as an "F" type student, or one who is "dumb in mathematics," will invariably find that his report card bears him out. He then has "proof". A young girl who has an image of herself as the sort of person nobody likes, will find indeed that she is avoided at the school dance. She literally invites rejection 5. Her woebegone expression, her hang-dog manner, her over-anxiousness to please, or perhaps her unconscious hostility 7 towards those she anticipates will affront 8 her - all act to drive away those whom she would attract. In the same manner, a salesman or a businessman will also find that his actual experiences tend to "prove" his self-image is correct.
Because of this objective "proof" it very seldom occurs to a person that his trouble lies in his self-image or his own evaluation 9 of himself. Tell the schoolboy that he only "thinks" he cannot master algebra 10, and he will doubt your sanity 11. He has tried and tried, and still his report card tells the story. Tell the salesman that it is only an idea that he cannot earn more than a certain figure, and he can prove you wrong by his order book. He knows only too well how hard he has tried and failed. Yet, as we shall see later, almost miraculous 12 changes have occurred both in grades of students, and in the earning capacity of salesmen - when they were prevailed upon to change their self-images.
2. The self-image can be changed. Numerous case histories have shown that one is never too young nor too old to change his self-image and thereby start to live a new life.
One of the reasons it has seemed so difficult for a person to change his habits, his personality, or his way of life, has been that heretofore nearly all efforts at change have been directed to the circumference 13 of the self, so to speak, rather than to the center. Numerous patients have said to me something like the following: "If you are talking about 'positive thinking', I've tried that before, and it just doesn't work for me." However, a little questioning invariably brings out that these individuals have employed "positive thinking," or attempted to employ it, either upon particular external circumstances, or upon some particular habit or character defect ("I will get that job." " I will be more calm and relaxed in the future." "This business venture will turn out right for me," etc.) But they had never thought to change their thinking of the "self" which was to accomplish these things.
Jesus warned us about the folly 14 of putting a patch of new material upon an old garment, or of putting new wine into old bottles. "Positive thinking" cannot be used effectively as a patch or a crutch 15 to the same old self-image. In fact, it is literally impossible to really think positively 16 about a particular situation, as long as you hold a negative concept of self. And, numerous experiments have shown that once the concept of self is changed, other things consistent with the new concept of self, are accomplished 17 easily and without strain.
One of the earliest and most convincing experiments along this line was conducted by the late Prescott Lecky, one of the pioneers in self-image psychology 18. Lecky conceived of the personality as a "system of ideas", all of which must seem to be consistent with each other. Ideas which are inconsistent with the system are rejected, "not believed," and not acted upon. Ideas which seem to be consistent with the system are accepted. At the very center of this system of ideas -- the keystone -- the base upon which all else is built, is the individual's "ego 6 ideal," his "self-image," or his conception of himself. Lecky was a school teacher and had an opportunity to test his theory upon thousands of students.
Lecky theorized that if a student had trouble learning a certain subject, it could be because (from the student's point of view) it would be inconsistent for him to learn it. Lecky believed, however, that if you could change the student's self-conception, which underlies 19 this viewpoint, his attitude toward the subject would change accordingly. If the student could be induced to change his selfdefinition, his learning ability should also change. This proved to be the case. One student who misspelled 55 words out of a hundred and flunked 20 so many subjects that he lost credit for a year, made a general average of 91 the next year and became one of the best spellers in school. A boy who was dropped from one college because of poor grades, entered Columbia and became a straight "A" student. A girl who had flunked Latin four times, after three talks with the school counselor 21, finished with a grade of 84. A boy who was told by a testing bureau that he had no aptitude 22 for English, won honorable mention the next year for a literary prize.
The trouble with these students was not that they were dumb, or lacking in basic aptitudes 23. The trouble was an inadequate 24 self-image ("I don't have a mathematical mind"; "I'm just naturally a poor speller"). They "identified" with their mistakes and failures. Instead of saying "I failed that test" (factual and descriptive) they concluded "I am a failure." Instead of saying "I flunked that subject" they said "I am a failure." Instead of saying "I flunked that subject" they said "I am a flunk-out." For those who are interested in leaning more of Lecky's work, I recommend securing a copy of his book: self consistency 25, a Theory of Personality. The Island Press, Now York, N.Y.
NEW WORDS
blueprint
n. a design for a building or machine, with white lines on blue paper; a detailed 26 plan or scheme
vague
a. not clear or distinct
ill-defined
a. not adequately explained; not well marked out; unclear
recognizable
a. that can be recognized, identifiable
conception
n. general understanding, idea; the act of forming an idea, plan, etc.
humiliation
n. the act or process of lowering pride, dignity or self-respect; the state or feeling of being humiliated
triumph
n. the act of winning; success
v. be victorious 27 or successful
construct
vt. build or put together
validity
n. truth or soundness; legal force, being legally binding 28 正确；（法律上）有效
consistent
a. in agreement; keeping to the same principles and habits
consistency
n.
lap
n. the front part of a seated person between the waist and the knees
victim
n. a person harmed, killed or suffering some hardship or loss 受害者
injustice
n. lack of justice; an unjust act
verify
vt. prove to be true, confirm; check for accuracy 证明；核实
premise
n. a statement that is taken as true, used as the basis for an argument; assumption 前提；假设
thereby
ad. by means of that, in that way
vicious
a. evil, wicked; savage 29 and dangerous
vicious cycle
a set of events in which cause and effect follow each other until this results in a return to the first usu. undesirable 30 or unpleasant position and the whole matter begins again 恶性循环
beneficent
a. doing good; kind or generous
rejection
n. (an example of) rejecting or being rejected
woebegone
a. very sad in appearance 愁眉苦脸
hang-dog
a. (of an expression on the face) unhappy esp. because ashamed or sorry 惭愧的；自觉有罪的
unconscious
a. having lost consciousness; unaware
hostility
n. ill-will; antagonism
affront
vt. be rude to or hurt the feelings of, esp. intentionally 31 or in public; offend 当众侮辱，有意冒犯
businessman (business woman)
a person who works in business, esp. as an owner, director, or top manager of a company
objective
a. existing outside the mind, real; not influenced by personal feelings or opinions, fair
sanity
n. the state of having a sound and healthy mind
miraculous
a. being or resembling a miracle
prevail
vt. be stronger or more successful; be most common or frequent
heretofore
ad. until now, before this time 迄今为止；在此之前
circumference
n. the line round the outside edge of a figure, object, or place; the length round the outside of a circle 周围；周长
external
a. on, of, or for the outside
defect
n. something missing or imperfect; fault
venture
n. a course of action, esp. in business, in which there is a risk of loss as well as a chance of gain 商业冒险
folly
n. (an act of) stupidity
patch
n. a piece put in to mend a hole or a tear 补钉
garment
n. an article of clothing
effectively
ad. in an effective manner; with great effect
effective
a.
negative
a. not positive or helpful; expressing a refusal or denial
concept
n. a general idea
keystone
n. the middle stone in the top of an arch, which keeps the other stones in place; an idea, belief, etc. on which everything else depends 拱顶石；基础
ego
n. one's opinion of oneself; self-esteem
ideal
a. perfect in every way
n. a perfect example; high principles or perfect standards
theorize
v. form a theory; speculate
inconsistent
a. not in agreement with each other; tending to change
underlie
vt. be a hidden cause or meaning of
viewpoint
n. a point of view
accordingly
ad. in a way suitable to what has been said or what has happened; therefore 相应地；因此
induce
vt. lead (sb.) to do sth., often by persuading 引诱，劝
definition
n. the act of explaining the nature of a thing; a precise statement in which the mature of a thing is made clear
self-definition
n. definition of one's own character, identity, or the like
misspell
vt. spell wrongly
flunk
vt. fail (an exam or study course); to mark the exam answers as unsatisfactory
credit
n. a completed unit of a student's work that forms part of a course, esp. at a university 学分
speller
n. one who spells words
counselor
n. someone who advises or guides; adviser
counsel
vt., n.
honorable
a. deserving or winning honor or respect
honorable mention
an honorary award next below those that win prizes 荣誉奖
literary
a. (typical) of literature; fond of, studying, or producing literature
mathematical
a. of or using mathematics; (of numbers, reasoning, etc.) exact, precise
factual
a. based (only) on facts
descriptive
a. that describes
flunk-out
n. a person who is dismissed from school for failure
PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS
down to the last detail
in every detail
in short
in a word, in summary
as the case may be
whatever the case may be (used to indicate that the statement being made applies equally to the two or more alternatives that have been mentioned)
bear out
support; confirm
occur to
come into one's mind, enter one's head
lie in
involve, be caused by
prevail (up) on
think of, imagine
identify with
consider oneself to be equal to or the same as
PROPER NAMES
Maxwell Maltz
马克斯韦尔。马尔茨
Jesus Christ
耶稣基督
Prescott Lecky
普雷斯科特.莱基
Columbia
哥伦比亚(大学)
- All the machine parts on a blueprint must answer each other.设计图上所有的机器部件都应互相配合。
- The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device.文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
- They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
- All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
- I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
- He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。
- He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
- The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。
- He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
- She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。
- There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
- His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。
- Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
- This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。
- I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
- The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。
- He was not good at algebra in middle school.他中学时不擅长代数。
- The boy can't figure out the algebra problems.这个男孩做不出这道代数题。
- I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
- She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。
- The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
- They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。
- It's a mile round the circumference of the field.运动场周长一英里。
- The diameter and the circumference of a circle correlate.圆的直径与圆周有相互关系。
- Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
- Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。
- Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
- He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。
- She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
- The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
- Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
- Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。
- She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
- He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。
- I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句
- I flunked math in second grade. 我二年级时数学不及格。
- He flunked out (of college) last year. 他去年（从大学）退学了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
- Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。
- That student has an aptitude for mathematics.那个学生有数学方面的天赋。
- As a child,he showed an aptitude for the piano.在孩提时代，他显露出对于钢琴的天赋。
- They all require special aptitudes combined with special training. 他们都应具有专门技能，并受过专门训练。
- Do program development with passion. has aptitudes for learning. research. innovation. 热爱程序开发工作。具有学习。钻研。创新的精神。
- The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
- She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。
- Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
- We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。
- He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
- A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
- We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
- The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。
- The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
- Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。
- The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
- He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。
- They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
- Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
- I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
- The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。