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I. Why Don’t We Complain
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英语专业散文下第一课
I. Why Don’t We Complain?
Buckley, William F., Jr. (1925 – …), an American editor and author, is one of the
best-known spokesmen for political conservatism in the United States. He founded the
magazine in 1955 and served as its editor until 1990, when he resigned. Buckley also
writes a widely syndicated newspaper column and conducts a nationally televised
discussion program.
William Frank Buckley, Jr., was born in New York City and graduated from Yale
University. In his first book, (1951), he attacked the liberal viewpoints that he
said were (1987) and other books. In 1965, he ran unsuccessfully as the Conservative
Party candidate for mayor of New York City. His brother James L. Buckley served as
a U.S. senator of New York from 1971 to 1977.
______________________________
The author gives a variety of examples to make his point. Some examples are
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well-developed
while
others
are
just
touched
upon.
By
a
combinahttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmltion of these examples
the author leads us naturally to his generality at the end of the article. These
examples are: the author’s experience in the train (paragraphs 1 to 4), the author
and his wife in the cinema (paragraphs 5 to 8), the author at his breakfast in a
restaurant in New Year’s Day (paragraph 11), the author at the ski repair store in
Pico Peak, Vermont (paragraphs 13 to 17), the author in an airplane (paragraph 18),
the reason the American people are so reluctant to assert themselves in various
matters (paragraph 19), the American people’s political apathy (paragraphs 20 to
23).
________________________________
fleck ---- to mark with spots of color, light or the like; speckle
Westchester County ---- Many communities in the New York area are commuter suburbs.
Their residents work in New York City and commute by automobiles, buses, ferries,
railroads,http://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.html and subways. Some
of these suburbs, such as White Plains in Westchester County, have become important
centers of business and shopping outside the central city.
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edge ---- sharpness; the quality of being sharp or keen
sibilant ---- hissing; having or making a hissing sound
When he spoke, his voice was usually low and sibilant.
stupor ---- a dazed condition; loss or lessening of the power to feel; a state in
which the mind and senses are dulled; partial or complete loss of sensibility, as
from the use of a narcotic or from shock; mental or moral dullness or apathy.
(SYN)
lethargy, torpor
I had only just uttered the word “conductor”, and there was no sibilant consonant
in the word. Why did my seatmates consider my question to be a sibilant intrusion
into his stupor?）
I
am
incapable
of
making
a
discreet
fuss
----
Whenehttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlver I lodged a complaint,
I made a scene of it.
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discreet ---- very careful in speech and action; showing good judgement; wisely
cautious
A discreet person does not spread gossip The injured man lay in a stupor, unable to
tell what had happened to him. The remark had a biting edge to it. Slander, whose
edge is sharper than the sword. (Shakespeare) The bird’s breast is flecked with brown.
Sunlight coming through the branches flecked the shadow cast by the tree. When a banana
ripens it is flecked with brown.
discreet fuss ---- oxymoron ???
Stamford ---- (pop. 108,056) It is an important business center in southwestern
Connecticut. The city lies on Long Island Sound, about 35 miles (56 kilometers)
northeast of New York City. Stamford, together with Norwalk, forms a metropolitan
area with a population of 329,935. Stamford ranks among the leading cities as a site
for
headqhttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmluarters
of
large
corporations. A number of the nation’s biggest companies have home offices in
Stamford. The city’s leading industries include printing, publishing, and the
production of chemicals, electrical equipment, office machines, and textiles.
set in ---- to begin
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nonchalant ---- without warmth or enthusiasm; coolly unconcerned; casually
indifferent; apathetic
Gauntlet ---- n. a former military punishment in which the offender had to run between
two rows of men who struck him with clubs, etc. as he passed. The conductor should
have been consigned to this military punishment.
run the gauntlet ---- to be punished by means of the gauntlet; to proceed while under
attack from both sides, as by criticism, gossip, etc.
remedy ---- to put right; make right; cure; to put back in proper condition; put right;
to
correct
or
remove
(an
evil,
http://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmletc.).
visualize ---- to form a mental picture of; (something not present to the sight, an
abstraction, etc.); envision
A thorough cleaning remedied the trouble. a nonchalant manner a nonchalant reply She
remained quite nonchalant during all the excitement. Winter set in early. It seems
to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind, never knowing who to cling to
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when the rain set in.
to visualize the scene of a battle
supine ---- lazily inactive; listless, esp. morally or mentally; languid, indolent,
inert; sluggish; passive
apprehensively ---- feeling alarm; afraid, anxious or fearful about the future;
uneasy, or worried
glaring ---- very bright; shining so brightly that it hurts the eyes; dazzling
hector ---- to bluster at; to browbeat; to bully; to intimidate; to threaten; (Here)
to annoy
://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlirksome ---- annoying; tiresome
(SYN) wearisome
contortion ---- twisted condition; distorted form or shape
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Contort ---- to twist or wrench out of its usual form into one that is grotesque;
distort violently
unobtrusive ---- not obtrusive; modest; inconspicuous
head-on ---- with the head or front first; in a direct manner; headlong Poetry should
be unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one’s soul and does not startle it.
(Keats) a face contorted with pain The acrobat went through various contortions.
Washing dishes all day would be an irksome task. Company was irksome to me. (Mary
W. Shelley) He hectors his children, bewilders his friends. (New York Time) The
student made a glaring error in spelling.
---- ALSO, very easily seen; conspicuous;
obvious The captain felt apprehensive for the safety of his passengers during the
storm at sea.http://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.html
unconscionable ---- not influenced or guided by conscience
(SYN) unprincipled,
unscrupulous, unreasonable, excessive, or immoderate
bellicose ---- fond of fighting and quarrelling; inclined to war; warlike
belligerent, combative, contentious, pugnacious, quarrelsome
(SYN)
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gird ---- to get ready for action; to prepare (oneself) for action
showdown ---- any action or confrontation that brings matters to a climax or settles
them
Milquetoast ---- a timid, shrinking, apologetic person, after Caspar Milquetoast,
character of this sort in a comic strip by H. T. Webster (1885 – 1952), U.S.
cartoonist.
fortify ---- to give support to; strengthen physically, emotionally, etc.
resolve ---- a thing determined on
settle for ---- to be content with; agree upon; accept, often less than
onehttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.html wanted He kept his resolve
to do better. They fortified each other against the coming ordeal. To fortify herself
for the task ahead she allowed herself a little more brandy. The assurance of Tains
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Judique’s friendship fortified Babbitt’s self-approval. to gird oneself to face
an examination The soldiers girded themselves for battle. There have been
disturbances from time to time, but these are put down largely to the
bellicose
and rapacious nature of the tribes in the frontier areas. (London Times) an
unconscionable liar Sometimes the unconscionable editors will clip our paragraphs.
(Washington Irving) His car was involved in a head-on collision. It collided head-on
with a truck. Some lawmakers currently are meeting conservative opposition head-on.
(Wall Street Journal)
telltale ---- showing, signaling, or warning of something; revealing, revelatory,
suggestive,
meaningful,
significant,
indicative://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlar
HERE: Just by looking at the way my pulse accelerated, I knew I would do something
I had never dome before.
impervious ---- not affected by
telepathic ---- telepathy n. 〖parapsychology〗 the communication of one mind with
another without using speech, hearing, sight, or any other sense used normally to
communicate; communication between minds by some means other than the normal sensory
channels; transference of thought
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brazen ---- showing no shame; bold; impudent
brazen it out ---- to act in a bold way as if one need not be ashamed
rare (rared, raring) ---- [Colloq.] to be eager, enthusiastic, etc., used in prp.
… and I experienced the mortification I always feel when I an the center of
centripetal shafts of curiosity, resentment, perplexity. ---- I felt uneasy as I
always
do
whenever
I
centehttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlr
am
of
the
attention,
with
everyone staring at me with curiosity, resentment, perplexity on their face.
mortification ---- a feeling of shame; humiliation; chagrin; loss of self-respect
(SYN) raring to go Because he was impervious to our hints, we finally told him it
was time to go. impervious to pity the telltale mud on his shoes Careful examination
will reveal the telltale nits attached to the hairs. Children stealing raspberries
with telltale signs round their mouths. But neither the star nor the composer was
willing to settle for that kind of routine triumph.
embarrassment
(Henry Hewes)
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centripetal ---- moving or tending to move toward a center
deferential ---- full of respect
whisk ---- to move something or someone quickly
reversal ---- a change to the opposite as in one’s fortune; reversing or being
reversed
://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlr
??? How should the students make sense of this section of the text? Did Jiggs really
suffer from a heart attack? Or was this just a scene on the author’s mind? Did the
author really file the complaint? It will be worthwhile to ask the students to discuss
this.
unctuous ---- too smoothly and oily; characterized by a smug, smooth pretense of
spiritual feeling, fervor, or earnestness, as in seeking to persuade; too suave or
oily in speech or manner
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“If there is anything I or Miss French can do for you to make your trip more enjoyable,
please let us …”
I have run out of paper. ---- Direct students’ attention to the
rhetorical device aposiopesis used here. Aposiopesis: 顿绝，话语中断（指说话人在
没 有 办 法 或 不 愿 意 把 话 讲 完 的 情 况 下 突 然 中 断 句 子 的 修 辞 手 法 ） Other examples of
aposiopesis: His behavior was ．．．but I blush to mention that.
the hypocrite’s unctuous manner an offensively unctuous speech a reversal of
attitude a reversal http://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlin the
weather The high court’s opinion was a reversal of the lower court’s decision. She
whisked the letter out of sight. After his speech, the senator was whisked out of
the building into his car. mortification at having spilled food on the tablecloth
There’s no virtue in any mortification, either of the flesh or the spirit. His
mortification and grief at failing in his resolve knew no bounds. He had the
mortification of being ordered to retire from the bench.
assert oneself ---- to insist on one’s rights, or on being recognized; to put forward
oneself; make demands
apathy ---- lack of interest in or desire for activity; indifference
impassivity
vast reservoirs ---- centralization of power ???
dispensation ---- rule; management
(SYN) unconcern,
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stance ---- attitude; point of view
plenipotentiary
----
having
or
giving
full
pohttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmlwer and authority
When Premier Khrushchev first came to this country late in 1959, he was primed, we
were told, to experience the bitter resentment of the American people against his
tyranny. ---- Ask the students to pay attention to the typical cold war sentiment
as expressed here in this paragraph.
Khrushchev ---- Khrushchev, (1894 – 1971), was the leader of the Soviet Union from
1958 to 1964. He tried to raise the Soviet standard of living and greatly expanded
his country’s exploration of space. Khrushchev had little pity for weaker nations
and his political enemies. But he sometimes showed a good-natured humor and the simple
tastes of his peasant background. Khrushchev worked to raise the standard of living
in the Soviet Union. He began programs to increase the production of grain, housing,
and such consumer goods as clothes and furniture. He also spent large sums on weapons
and space exploration. In 1http://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.html957,
the Soviet Union launched The United States has either an ambassador or a minister
plenipotentiary in most
important countries.
to adopt the stance of the
Tammany politician to whom nothing matters but victory
(Saturday
Review) Both men adopted the classic stance that they must be free to criticize. From
1558 to 1603 England was under the dispensation of Elizabeth I. The apathy of the
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lazy boy was annoying. The citizen’s apathy to local affairs resulted in poor
government. A leader must assert himself sometimes in order to be followed.
Sputnik 1, the first spacecraft to circle the earth. In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin became the first person to orbit the earth. Khrushchev greatly changed Soviet
foreign policy. His goal was to avoid war with the Western nations and, at the same
time, to increase economic and political competition between Communist and
non-Communist
countries.
This
becamhttp://doc.xuehai.net/baa1ce94ddeb4973d180fe417.htmle
policy
known
as
peaceful
coexistence. In 1962, Khrushchev angered the United States by installing missiles
in Cuba. President John F. Kennedy demanded the removal of the missiles, and
Khrushchev withdrew them. Withdrawal of the missiles and the split between the Soviet
Union and China disturbed many Soviet leaders. Further discontent with Khrushchev
occurred during the early 1960’s, when many of his attempts to raise farm production
failed and the rate of industrial growth slowed. Opposition to Khrushchev grew. In
October 1964, high officials in the Communist Party forced Khrushchev to retire as
both premier of the Soviet Union and first secretary of the party.
prime ---- to equip (a person) with information, words, arguments, or the like
to prime a person with a speech
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