Integrated English -3
Unit Twelve
Out of Step
Background Information (I)
1. About the author
Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines (the capital
city of Iowa), Iowa, in 1951. A backpacking
expedition in 1973 brought him to England where
he met his wife and decided to settle. He wrote
for the English newspapers The Times and The
Independent for many years, writing travel
articles to supplement his income. He lived with
his family in North Yorkshire before moving back
to the States in 1995, to Hanover, New
Hampshire, with his wife and four children. In
2003 he and his family moved back to England,
where they currently reside.
Background Information (II)
2. His major works
The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson‘s first
travel book, chronicles a trip in his
mother’s Chevy(雪佛兰汽车) around small
town America. Since then, he has written
several more, including notable
bestsellers, A Walk in the Woods, I'm
A Stranger Here Myself (published in
Britain as Notes from a Big Country),
and In a Sunburned Country
(published in Britain as Down Under).
The lost Continent
A Walk in the woods
Background Information (III)
His other books include Bill Bryson's
Dictionary of Troublesome Words,
Neither Here nor There: Travels in
Europe, Made in America, The Mother
Tongue and Bill Bryson's African Diary.
His latest book, A Short History of
Nearly Everything, was published in
Spring 2003.
New England
(Paragraph 1) the northeastern region of the
United States comprising six states — Maine 缅
因州, New Hampshire新罕布什尔州, Vermont 弗
蒙特州, Massachusetts马萨诸塞州, Rhode Island
罗 得 岛 州 , and Connecticut 康 涅 狄 格 州 . The
region is thought to have been so named by
Captain John Smith because of its resemblance
to the English coast (another source has it that
Prince Charles, afterward Charles I, inserted the
name on Smith's map of the country).
The Boston Globe
(Para. 14)
The Boston Globe is the most widely –
circulated daily newspaper in Boston,
Massachusetts and in the greater New
England region. Its circulation ranks in the
top 15 daily and top 10 Sunday newspapers
in the US.
《波士顿全球时报》
Questions on general understanding
1. What type of writing is this text? What’s
the text about?
2. What’s the author’s purpose of writing?
P. 177
3. How many parts can the text be divided
into? What are they?
Exposition
What’s the text about?
It presents the absurdity of the Americans’
dependence on cars.
Purpose of writing:
to point out the fact that Americans walk
too little today
Does the author offer any solution to the
problem?
Does the author offer any solution to the
problem?
The author brings Americans to the fact
that they walk too little by citing many of
his personal experiences as well as others'.
He does not write out any solution to the
problem; he simply "sounds the siren" as
the last sentence of the passage shows:
"And if that isn't sad, I don't know what
is."
Expositive writing
To inform, explain, describe, or define the
author’s subject to the reader
To ‘expose’ information
A well-written exposition remains focused
on its topic and provides facts in order to
inform its reader. It should be unbiased,
accurate, and use a scholarly third person
tone.
Examples of expository writing can be
found in magazine and newspaper articles,
non-fiction books, travel brochures,
business reports, memorandums,
professional journal and encyclopedia
articles and many other types of
informative writing.
One of the most familiar and basic forms
of expository writing is the five-paragraph
essay, which features an introduction with
a clear thesis statement, three main
body paragraphs and a conclusion.
Text structure
3 parts
Part I (Para. 1-6) introduction

The writer introduces his idea with an anecdote.
Part II (Para. 7-12) body

The writer presents the fact that the Americans
are habituated to using cars for everything.
Part III (Para. 13-20) body/conclusion

The author explains that pedestrian facilities are
neglected or discarded.
Part I –Introduction
The writer introduces his idea with an
anecdote.
1. What kind of town is it?
2. What is considered the author’s
“eccentric behavior”?
3. Why would drivers "depart reluctantly,
even guiltily" when their offer was
declined?
1. What kind of town is it?
It is a small, pleasant and agreeable
town (“pleasant, sedate and compact”).
The inhabitants are friendly and willing
to help. But although the town is
compact, few people go about on foot.
1. sedate:
-- tending to avoid excitement or great activity
and to be calm and relaxed 安详的，安静的


She is a sedate old lady; she is caring but never talks
much.
The fight against a nuclear power station site has
transformed a normally sedate town into a battlefield.
v. to make calm or sleepy, especially with a drug
给…服镇定剂

The patient was heavily sedated and resting quietly in
bed.
Word derivation: sedately ad., sedation n.,
sedative a. / n. 镇定的；镇定剂
2. eccentric:
-- (of people or behavior) unconventional
and slightly strange 古怪的

The old gentleman, who lived alone all his life,
was said to have some eccentric habits.
n. a person of unconventional and slightly
strange views or behavior 怪人

The old gentleman enjoyed a colorful
reputation as an engaging (pleasing;
charming) eccentric.
3. curb:
-- a line of raised stones separating the
footpath from the road（镶石的）路缘, 路
边 ;横放在马嘴里的皮带或铁链
v. / n. (to place) a control or limit on
something undesirable 抑制; 约束


Poor nutrition can curb a child's development
both physically and mentally.
There will be new curbs on drunk-driving from
next month.
place/put a curb upon 限制…,抑制…
Cf. curb, restrain, check, bridle, inhibit
1. Curb是像用勒马链或皮带那样来约束，如

You might curb your magnanimity.
你可以收敛一下你的宽宏大量。
2. Restrain指对人的行动自由进行约束和限制，
如：
He had difficulty restraining his curiosity.
他难以抑制住好奇心。
3. Check通常指突然或强有力地停止或阻止
A light to guide, a rob to check the erring.
（William Wordsworth）一束引路的光，一根
防止犯错误的棍。
4. Bridle 常指压抑或控制自己的感情或激情。
She tried with all her might to bridle her
resentment.
5. inhibit 常指对某人的行为、意愿、思想或
感情的自我施加或非自愿的约束。
For the complaint child parental disapproval
is as strong an inhibiting force as the threat
of punishment.
对于顺从的孩子，父母的反对是与惩罚的威
胁具有同样强烈的抑制力量。
2. What is considered the author's "eccentric
behavior"?
Instead of driving a car, the author
walks around the town, doing his
shopping, going to the movies or visiting
the cafe or bar. To people who are used
to going everywhere in the car, he is like
an eccentric.
3. Why would drivers "depart reluctantly,
even guiltily" when their offer was declined?
(Para. 6)
With cars becoming the basic essentials of
their life, people are so habituated to using
the car for everything. The scene of
somebody walking around seemed so
unusual to them that they would naturally
show their concern to those unfortunate
people. When their offer to give him a ride
was declined, they were sorry for not
being able to help the person in need.
Oral task
Retell the author’s anecdote and make
explicit the thesis statement.
Part II –Main body
The author presents the fact that the
Americans are over-dependent on cars.
1. What is the main idea of the part?
2. How does the author support this idea in
this part?
3. Why are the examples described in
detail?
1. What is the main idea of the part?
 People in the United States are getting
used to going anywhere in their cars,
however near the destination may be.
4. habituate:
-- to accustom by frequent repetition or
prolonged exposure
 You must habituate yourself to reading

aloud.
By the end of the school term, the students
had been habituated/accustomed/used to
rising at five o'clock.
habituate sb/oneself to sth (fml 文)
accustom sb/oneself to sth 使某人[自己]习
惯於某事物
Sentence -1
Para. 8 We will go through the most
extraordinary contortions to save
ourselves from walking.
Paraphrase: As long as we can avoid
walking, we are willing to do anything
possible, however unnatural or ridiculous
it may be.
5. contortion:
-- movement of the body or face into an
unusual shape or position扭曲，走样

The spectators cannot but admire the
contortions of the gymnasts.
contort: v.
-- (to cause something) to twist out of its
natural shape
Compare: distort, twist, deform, contort,
warp

These verbs mean to change and spoil the form
or character of something.这些动词都表示变化
或损坏某物的外形或特征。
To distort is to alter in shape, as by torsion
or wrenching; the term also applies to
verbal or pictorial misrepresentation and to
alteration of the meaning of something:指通
过扭转或扭伤使改变形状；该词也可用来指
对言语或绘画的曲解和对某物意义歪曲


The human understanding is like a false mirror,
which, receiving rays irregularly distorts and
discolors the nature of things by mingling its
own nature with it (Francis Bacon).
“人的理解如同一面假镜子，无规律地接收光线，
将自己的本质和事物的本质混合起来，从而歪曲
和玷污了事物的本质”
Twist applies to distortion of form or
meaning可用于指对外形的扭曲或对意义的
歪曲 :



a mouth twisted with pain
He accused me of twisting his words to mean
what I wanted them to.
他指控我随心所欲地歪曲了他的话。
Deform refers to change that disfigures
and often implies the loss of desirable
qualities such as beauty指使变形，常含有
失去优秀品质（如美丽）之意 :




Great erosion deformed the landscape.
巨大的侵蚀改变了地貌。
Shoes that are too tight deform the feet.
(穿)太紧的鞋子会使脚变形。
Contort implies violent change that
produces unnatural or grotesque effects指
巨大变化从而产生不自然的或奇异的结果 :


a face contorted with rage
由于发怒而使脸部剧烈扭曲
a contorted line of reasoning歪曲奇异的思路
Warp can refer to a turning or twisting
from a flat or straight form可指扁型或直线
型的改变或扭曲 :

The floorboards had warped over the years.
年久变形的地板
It also can imply the bending or turning of
something from a true course or direction也
可指某事物正确路线或方向的歪曲或转变 :


Prejudice warps the judgment.
偏见歪曲了判断
Compare: healthful, healthy
healthful adj formal likely to make you healthy; it implies
a positive contribution to a healthy condition 有益健康的

healthful mountain air /a healthful diet 保健饮食
healthy (1)having good health; well and able to resist
disease 健康的; 强健的:

a healthy child, animal, tree 健康的孩子/ 健壮的动物/ 茁壮的树木
(2) likely to produce good health 可能对健康有益的:

a healthy climate, lifestyle, environment 宜于健康的气候/ 生活方式
/ 环境.
Healthy and fit both indicate that a person is physically
strong and rarely suffers from any physical illness.
均表示人身体强健, 很少生病
Fit suggests that someone is in good physical condition
particularly as a result of taking regular exercise
fit指人的身体状况良好, 尤因经常锻炼所致
2. How does the author support this idea in
this part?
 Examples are employed to support this
idea.
 Example 1: A healthy man drove his car
for only 16 feet to get to a store next
door.
 Example 2: A woman rode to the
gymnasium to do exercises although it
was only a six-minute walk from her front
door.
3. Why are the examples described in detail?
 In order to show how ridiculous people
have become, the author chooses to
describe these examples in detail: A fit
man rode his car for only 16 feet to get to
a store next door; a woman rode to the
gymnasium to do exercises although it
was only a six-minute walk from her home.
The detailed descriptions support the
author's idea.
Oral task
Discuss why the United States is said to
be a nation on the wheel.
1) the importance of cars
2) the Americans’ dependence on cars
Part III –
The author explains that pedestrian
facilities are neglected or discarded.
1. Why did the author say "Actually,
I'm surprised it was that much"?
2. Why did Laconia change its
downtown pedestrian mall to one
with parking lots?
1. Why did the author say "Actually, I'm
surprised it was that much"? (Para.14)
When the author found that the newly
planned suburbs totally overlooked
pedestrian needs, he assumed there was
no budget for pedestrian facilities at all.
So he says he was surprised to learn
that there actually was less than one
percent of the budget on it.
Here the author writes with a touch of
irony.
6. bring something home to somebody:
-- to make somebody realize something

The news report has brought home to us all
the plight of the prisoners of war.
drive something home to somebody:
-- to make somebody realize something,
especially by saying it often, loudly, angrily,
etc.使某人充分认识或理解某事物（尤指经
常地﹑ 大声地﹑ 愤怒地说）:


I drove home to him that he must be here by
ten.
我跟他说得清清楚楚: 他必须十点钟以前到这里.
Cf. no more than; not more than; no more… than;
not more…than
1. No more than强调少，意为“只有，不过，仅仅”
He has no more than five dollars on him.
2. No more…than含有消极、否定的意思，否定前后两
个部分，但重点往往在前一个分句，意为“A与B都
不…,不…也不…”
He is no more diligent than you.他和你都不勤奋。
3. Not more…than含有积极、肯定的意思，表示程度
上的差异
He is not more diligent than you.他没有你那样勤奋。
4. No less than=as much as “多达”“竟有…之
多”“不少于”
His son has read no less than 50 English books.(强调多）
5. No less…than前后均为肯定，“正是”“和…一样”
Sunlight is no less necessary than fresh air to a healthy
body. 日光和新鲜空气对身体健康是同样必不可少的。
entertain
entertain an idea/hope/thought etc
formal to consider an idea etc, or allow
yourself to think that something might
happen or be true怀着,抱着;持有

I have never entertained any illusions about
him.
我从来没有对他抱过幻想。

He refused to entertain our proposal.

他拒不考虑我们的提议.

7. negotiate:
-- to get over or past (an obstacle, etc.)
successfully; to manage to travel along a
difficult route超越, 越过;顺利通过




The only way to negotiate the path is on foot.
negotiate a deep river 成功地渡过了一条深河
The car negotiated the sharp curve by
slowing down.
该车减速驶过急转弯。
Sentence -2
Para. 17 … I was possibly the only person
ever to have entertained the notion of
negotiating that intersection on foot.
Paraphrase:... I was very likely the only
person who had ever attempted to cross
that intersection on foot.
8. coo:
-- speak in a soft, gentle, and loving way,
especially when expressing surprise


"How wonderful to see you again, darling,"
she cooed.
The little girl is always cooing over those
parrots of hers.
9. anew:
--adv. (formal) again or one more time,
especially in a different way 重新，再


The scientists started the experiment anew.
The film tells anew the story of her rise to
stardom.
2. Why did Laconia change its downtown
pedestrian mall to one with parking lots?
Although the pedestrian mall was welldecorated, shoppers were unwilling to
walk in the stores from a parking garage.
As a result, it was a commercial failure.
The government had to compromise
with the public preference.
Oral task
1. Discuss: What caused the failure in the
pedestrian mall in Laconia?
2. Discuss: What have you learned from
the author’s own experience in trying to
cross the street on foot?
3. Discuss why the United States is said to
be a nation on the wheel.
Structural analysis of the text
Q: Which method does the author employ to
make his idea clear and effective?
A: The author develops his ideas by means of
example. He cites factual and verifiable
examples: the man he observed outside the
post office, his conversation with an
acquaintance of his who would drive to the
gym to do exercises, his own effort to walk
across the street and the commercial failure
of the pedestrian mall in Laconia.
Rhetorical features of the text
1. “She looked at me as if I were tragically
simple-minded…” (Paragraph 12).
(self-debasement自我贬低 )
2. "An acquaintance of ours was complaining the
other day about the difficulty of finding a place to
park outside the local gymnasium. She goes there
several times a week to walk on a treadmill. The
gymnasium is, at most, a six-minute walk from her
front door" (Paragraph 10). (for satire on some
ridiculous contradiction in a particular act)
Text comprehension -I
A. The author brings Americans to the
fact that they walk too little by citing
many of his personal experiences as well
as others'. He does not write out any
solution to the problem; he simply
"sounds the siren" as the last sentence of
the passage shows: "And if that isn't sad,
I don't know what is."
Text comprehension -II
I. T. Refer to Paragraph 1. The author
and his wife wanted to live in a small,
compact, and sedate town where they
can go about their business on foot when
they moved back to the United States. As
a result, they settled down in Hanover, a
typical New-England town.
2. T. Refer to Paragraph 6. Though it is
convenient to go about one's business on
foot in the town, the author can hardly
find anyone else who does so. At first, his
acquaintances in the early days would
"depart reluctantly, even guiltily" when
failing to persuade the author to accept a
ride as if they escaped the scene of an
accident without leaving their names.
3. F. People like the man who drove his
car to do the chore and the woman who
complained about the difficulty of parking
outside the gymnasium make a clear
distinction between exercise and walking
for business. They "jog extravagant
distances" or walk on the treadmill, but
they never take walking in the street for a
form of exercise.
4. T. Refer to Paragraphs 18 –19. The
pedestrian mall constructed in the early
1970s in Laconia proved to be a
commercial disaster simply because
people had to walk one block to the mall
from the nearest parking place. When the
shopping mall was reconstructed so that
people could park their cars right before
the stores, the downtown Laconia thrived
again. That suggests how reliant
Americans are on their cars as a means of
transport.
Text comprehension -III
How do people in the small town take the
author’s habit of walking…?
1. Refer to Paragraphs 3 to 6. They think
it strange that the author should walk
around for his business and they even feel
slightly guilty for leaving the author on
the sidewalk without driving him to the
place he goes to.
2. How important is the car to average
Americans?
Refer to Paragraph 7. Cars are
omnipresent in Americans' lives. Students
drive between classes; parents pick up
their children from a nearby friend's home
by car. Americans even go through the
most extraordinary "contortions" so as to
save themselves from walking. From this
we can see the average Americans' life is
set on the four wheels.
3. What makes the author sad at the end
of the passage?
What makes the author sad is Americans'
over-reliance on cars. The four wheels of
the car have replaced human legs and
people willingly sacrifice beauty and
nature for the convenience brought by the
car.
4. What is the tone of the author in the
passage?
There is a slight touch of humor and irony
throughout the passage.
For instance, in Paragraph 7 the author
says, "it doesn't occur to us to unfurl our
legs and see what those lower limbs can
do."
And in Paragraph 13 the author
comments: "How thoughtlessly deficient
nature is in this regard."
Vocabulary exercises –I.
1. pleasant / comfortable； in fact /
practically
2. spread； legs
3. very long； (places of) physical
exercises
4. was made to realize this
5. decided not to have coffee and instead
to go (to the bookstore)
6. held in mind / considered
Vocabulary exercises –II.
1. negotiated
2. debonair
3. dodging
4. notion
5. compact
6. contortion
7. thrive
8. undertaking
Vocabulary exercises –III.
1. disagreeable
2. eccentricity
3. acquainted
4. ridicule
5. triumphal
6. deficiencies
Vocabulary exercises –IV.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
going about
going through
pops out
pace off
pulled up
dug out
Vocabulary exercises –V.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
encountered
cause
agreed to
unique of
doing nothing
relied on
Grammar exercises –I.
1. had been talking
2. had been working
3. had worked
4. had been applying
5. had broken
6. had been standing
7. had swallowed
8. had been
Grammar exercises –II.
1. has been empty
2. had been working for the company
3. had been waiting for me for half an
hour
4. had had lunch
Grammar exercises –III.
1. will
3. Should
5. will
7. should
9. would
2. shall
4. would
6. shall
8. should
10. would
Will
1)表示将来: They will meet us at 7:15.
2)表示愿意：I will lend you the book if you
need it.
3)表示意图：Will you accept his offer?
4)表示坚持（重读）：I will do as I like.
5)表示预见：I think she will be all right now.
Shall
1)表示将来（在疑问句中，第一人称常用shall,第
二、三人称用will）：When shall I see you next?
/ Will you be at home at 7 this evening?
2)表示愿意（第二/三人称）：You shall stay with
us as long as you like.
3)表示意图（只用于第一人称主语）：I shall/will
write to her tomorrow.
表示意图，在疑问句中是征询听话人的意见或意图：
Shall we have dinner?
4)表示坚持（只用于第二/三人称主语，重读，表
示说话人的强烈意志和决心）：No one shall stop
me.
否定形式shall not表示“禁止”或“威胁”：You
shall not have it; it’s mine.
Should
1. Should用于虚拟，用在propose, suggest等动词后的
that-从句中；可以省略should，只用动词原形，用法
相当正式。

Someone suggested that they (should) break into groups.
2. Should还可放在句首，其后跟主语，表示语气较强的
假设，译作“万一”、“竟然”


Should ministers decide to instigate an inquiry, we would
welcome it.万一部长决定正式调查，我们会很赞成。
If it should rain tomorrow, I wouldn't go. （= Should it
rain tomorrow, I wouldn't go.） 万一明天天下雨，我就不
去了。
3. 表示现在或将来的责任或义务，译作“应该”、“应
当”，这时它可以和 ought to, be supposed to 互换
使用。

You should （= are supposed to ） complete your test in
time.
4. Should 表示谦逊、客气、委婉之意，译为
“可……”、“倒……”。


I should say that it would be better to try it again. 我
倒是认为最好再试一试。
He should expect their basketball team to win the
match. 他倒是希望他们的篮球队赢得这场比赛的胜利。
5. should表示意外、惊喜或者在说话人看来是不可
思议的。尤其在以 why， who， how 等开头的
修辞疑问句或某些感叹句中常常译为“竟会”、
“居然”。


How should I know it ？ 我怎么会知道这件事？
Why should you be so late today ？ 你今天怎么来得
这么晚？
6. 表示有较大可能实现的猜测、推论，通常译为
“可能”、“总该……吧”，相当于 be
expected to .
They should be home by now, I think. 我想现在他们
总该到家了吧。
would是will的过去式(可用在过去将来时:would+
动词原形),但它也是一个情态动词，
1. aux. (will 的过去式) [表示过去将来时, 用于第二、
三人称](第一人称英国用 should, 美国用 would)
将, 会
He said he would come. 他说他要来。
2.[表示意愿]愿; 偏要, 肯
He would eat nothing. 他不肯吃东西; 他什么也不
愿吃。
I told him not to go, but he would not listen. 我叫
他别去, 可他偏不听 。
3. [表示过去的习惯动作]常常, 总是
He would sit for hours doing nothing. 过去他常
常 坐几个钟头什么事也不做。
He would come to see us on Sundays. 过去星期
天他经常来看望我们。
4. [表示推测]大概, 该是
I would be about ten when my brother left home.
我哥哥离开家时, 我大概十岁左右 。
5. [表示某种假设的意志]想要, 愿意
I could do so if I would. 要是我愿意, 我能够这样
做(但我不愿意)。
If you would do this for me, I should be grateful
indeed. 若是你愿意为我做这件事, 我将万分感激 。
6. [表示虚拟, 假设, 虚 构, 用于虚拟条件句的主句第
二、第三人称, 美国也用于第一人称]要, 会, 就会,
将要
They would be killed if the car went over the cliff.
如果汽车翻在悬崖下, 他们就会丧命。
They would have been killed if the car had gone
over the cliff. 如果汽车当时翻到悬崖下, 他们早就
丧命了。
7. [表示请求或个人想法、看法, 使语气更婉转]请
Would you kindly show me the way to the
station? 劳驾, 请问到车站的路怎么走?
I would like to speak a few words. 我想讲几句话
8. [表示假想的愿望]但愿, 要是...多好
Would [I would] that they were safe home again!
愿他们再能平安回家 !
Would that I were young again. 我若能再年青些
该多好啊!
I would rather you came on Sunday. 希望你星期
天来 。
9. [表示能力](=could) 能
The barrel would hold 100 litres. 这桶能装一百
升。
Grammar exercises –IV.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
once, nowadays
ages ago
lately, just
soon, after a long time
immediately, Eventually
once
Grammar exercises –V.
1. After standing in the queue for hours,
we got good seats.
After talking to you, I always feel better.
2. You look as if you knew each other.
He lay still as if shot.
Translation exercise -I
1.这所大学是世界上历史最悠久的高等学府之一。
The university is one of the most venerable
institutions of higher education in the world.
2. 如果一个人缺乏实践经验，他仅仅凭借课堂里
学的东西是难以使自己成为一个成功人士的。
If one is deficient in practical experience, he
can hardly make himself a success with only
what he has acquired in class.
3. 我为老是受到打断干扰而感到恼怒，因
为我不得不在本周内完成这篇专题文章。
I felt exasperated by constant
interruptions, for I had to finish writing
the monograph by the end of this week.
4. 他认为用旧文体来写一个当代的主题是
滑稽可笑的。
He feels that it is ludicrous to write
about a contemporary topic in an ancient
style.
5. 上海的外滩在上世纪70年代和80年代是
年轻情侣喜欢来谈情说爱的地方。
The Bund in Shanghai was a place where
young couples liked to come to coo in the
70's and the 80’s of the last century.
6. 作为一个10岁左右的孩子，他的女儿是
非常恬静的，因为她喜欢读书胜于嬉戏。
His daughter is very sedate for a girl of
about ten, for she likes reading more than
playing.
7.当第一抹阳光洒向大地的时候，这对情人
手拉手，在乡村的大道上散步。
The couple strolled hand-in-hand along
the country road when the sun in its first
splendor steeped the earth.
steep 浸透，充满
8. 这个诗人在世时被普遍认为是一个怪癖
的浪漫天才。
The poet was commonly considered as an
eccentric romantic genius when alive.
Translation exercises –II.
大约三年前，我和我妻子对大城市的嘈杂生活感到厌倦，因此，
我们决定在一个小镇落户，那里安静、令人感到愉快。现在，我
们的生活很好，因为这地方方便，办点事步行去就行。
我经常四处走走，心情好的时候，在星巴克咖啡店歇一下，喝
杯咖啡，或在洲际戏院停住脚步，看一场戏。但是，有些人似乎
不理解我的怪癖行为。
我喜欢尽可能地多走路，这是大部分人所不能理解的，因为他
们太过于依赖于车子了。有时，这种情况几乎到了荒唐滑稽的程
度，即便只是10分钟步行的路程，他们仍然喜欢驾车。
有时，我在独自散步，他们会问我是否需要搭他们的车。然而，
我认为，车子使腿脚功能退化。
在这个社会里，大多数人占据主导地位。我意识到，我或许是
唯一主张短距离步行的人，这也就是我不时地遇到麻烦的原因。
比如：许多商店把门前清除干净，以便让购物的顾客停车，因
为商店关心的是商业成就。
Exercises for integrated skills
I. Dictation
Recently in the United States, / there
has been a debate concerning old drivers. /
There have been a series of accidents /
committed by elderly drivers / and they
have given rise to new debates on the old
issue; / how old is too old to drive? / Some
people point to statistics / showing that
older drivers are safer than teenagers, / at
least until they reach seventy-five. /
Moreover, elderly drivers are, less likely to
drive drunk / than other drivers. However, at
least twenty-one states / have special
requirements on older drivers; / those over sixtyfive and older / are required to renew their
driving license every year / and undertake vision
tests. / Taking away a license can rob older
people of their independence / and force them to
rely on others / for trips to the grocery store or
doctor's office. / Some people argue / whether
someone continues to drive or not / should be
based on performance / not just simply age.
II.
1. on
3. as
5. need
7. Expensive
9. affect
11. traffic
13. offering
15. poor
2. hates
4. growth
6. develop
8. on
10. little
12. which
14. public
Listening exercises -
Transcript
Bikes Are Just Better Than Cars
Part 1
Car? What car? We don't need no stinking cars!
My father never owned an automobile because a
vision impairment in his right eye prevented him from
obtaining a driver's license. My mother never drove
either. I grew up in a family without a car. This made
the family a bit of a statistical anomaly in a country
built around the automobile. My siblings did not learn
to drive until they were well into their twenties. That's
enough to make you an odd ball in America, but odder
still is the fact that I, approaching the age of forty, still
do not know how to drive.
Where I grew up, many teenagers seemed
more concerned about obtaining a driver's license
than they were about graduating from high school.
The automobile industry would have us believe
that not owning a car is practically a mortal sin.
What is not even having a driver's license then? It
is tantamount to never even having been baptized,
never having one's sins washed away with
gasoline on the greasy banks of the petroleum
river. One is forever forbidden from entering the
heavenly state of acceleration, and condemned to
walk along the litter filled shoulders of life's
highways while everyone else roars off toward the
smoldering gray horizon.
Part 2
While all my siblings have married and
succumbed to the two car family dream, I have yet to
commit myself to spending two hours a day
commuting by hurtling down the highway neatly
encased in steel while smogging up the atmosphere.
Personally, I would hardly ever think about my lack of
"automobility " if it were not for the fact that it raises
so many eyebrows when it comes up in conversation.
My students, in particular, seem to be absolutely
astounded whenever I mention it. When I explain to
them that I do not need a car because I ride a bike,
the statement is met with much rolling of the eyes
and a certain amount of snickering.
Some even insinuate that I am too cheap to buy a car.
Hmm ... true as that might be, there are other
reasons as well.
For many years, I could not afford a car.
Owning one was out of the question so I went for
almost twenty years without even thinking about the
finances involved in having one. Imagine my
astonishment upon learning that today a person can
spend as much on a car as it costs to put a nice down
payment on a house. Today, I am told that the yearly
upkeep of a car almost exceeds what I currently pay
for rent.
It puzzles me that the average person would
pay such a large percentage of their yearly income to
own and maintain a car. In New York City you can
expect to pay as much as five thousand dollars or
more to keep it running.
In contrast, the used bicycle I own cost me forty-five
dollars. Over the last two years, I have spent less
than two hundred dollars maintaining it.
In the urban environment that I live in, given
the range of my travels, a bike is as fast as an
automobile, and more convenient. Biking is also a
very good exercise. It's good to your heart and helps
reduce stress. And I think the modem automotive
lifestyle looks like a pretty bad deal in comparison.
No wonder the industry has to spend such enormous
sums of money convincing people they should own a
car.
Bikes are just better than cars.
Listening exercises -A
Father: never owned an automobile
because a vision impairment in his right
eye prevented him from obtaining a
driver's license
Mother: never drove
Siblings: did not learn to drive until they
were well into their twenties
Professor Wright: approaching the age of
forty, still do not know how to drive
Answer the following questions
briefly.
1. You will be treated as a statistical
anomaly.
You will be made an odd ball.
2. Obtaining a driver's license.
3. Not owning a car is practically a mortal
sin.
Not having a driver's license is
tantamount to never having been
baptized.
B. Why doesn't Professor Wright
want to have a car?
Cars smog up the atmosphere.
For many years, he could not afford a car
– A person can spend as much on a car as
it costs to put a nice down payment on a
house.
The yearly upkeep of a car is also very
expensive – In New York City one needs
to pay as much as five thousand dollars or
more to keep a car running.
What, in Professor Wright's viewpoint, are
the advantages of having a bike?
Bicycles are cheap – The one he owns only
costs him forty-five dollars.
The maintenance cost is low – Over the last two
years, he has spent less than two hundred
dollars maintaining it.
A bike is as fast as an automobile, and more
convenient in the urban environment that he
lives in.
Biking is also a very good exercise – It's good to
your heart and helps reduce stress.
Text II -Questions for discussion
1. They are likely to notice at once
seemingly incongruous opposites about
the Manhattan skyline. They may
conclude that it is not sensible from either
human or aesthetic angle and that it is
the result of insane politics, greed,
deliberate intention to impress others and
megalomania. The ill effects of the result
are, in turn, traffic jams, bad ventilation,
noise and all the other problems any
metropolitan city can hardly avoid.
2. The total effect which is termed as "the
Manhattan skyline" is made up of
numerous buildings, each competing with
all of the others in height, or glamour, or
efficiency, or respectability. Though each
goes its own way, the skyline as a whole
evokes the universal feeling of exaltation
and aspiration out of all this irrational,
unplanned, and often infuriating chaos.
There actually exists an unforeseen unity.
3. It is achieved mainly by means of two
elements, namely the gridiron ground plan
and the vertical grid of steel cage
construction, both of which are composed
of simple and infinitely repeatable units.
So far as the first element is concerned,
the artificial geometric grid imposed upon
the land without regard to contours has
one important quality of rational simplicity.
The second element, the vertical thrust or
the motion upward, is, in effect, only a
three-dimensional variant of the gridiron
street plan.
Dictation –TEM4 2002
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Disappearing Forest
The world’s forests are disappearing. /
As much as a third of the total tree cover has been
lost /since agriculture began some ten thousand
years ago. /
The remaining forests are home to half of the
world’s species, /thus becoming the chief resorts for
their survival. /
Tropical rain forests once covered twelve percent of
the land of the planet. /
As well as supporting at least half of the world’s
species of plants and animals, /these rain forests
are home to millions of people./
6. But there are other demands on them. /
7. For example, much has been cut for timber. /
8. An increasing amount of forestland has been
used for industrial purposes, /or for
agricultural development such as crop
growing. /
9. By the 1990s less than half of the earth’s
original rain forests remained, /and they
continued to disappear at an alarming rate
every year. /
10.As a result, the world’s forests are now facing
gradual extinction. /
Topics for oral discussion
My opinions about private cars in China
--the advantages and disadvantages of
private cars in China
Private cars vs. public means of transport
-- Do you prefer cars or public means of
transport if you are an urban dweller?
Have a debate in class.
Bikes are better than cars
Introducing an alternative to car-driving
as a means of transport