Unit Three

1. recur v. come, happen again; be repeated重复 2. nag v. scold or criticize sb. continuously 唠叨；责骂不休
Naturally his faults get worse still - and she nags him even more. Governed, like the rat, by a fixated reaction to the problem of her husband's faults, she can meet it only in one way. The longer she continues, the worse it gets, until they are both nervous wrecks.
1. blast n. strong, sudden rush of wind一阵突然的劲风 2. insoluble adj. that cannot be solved or explained不能解决 3. execute v. carry out执行
The response chosen under these conditions becomes fixated.... Once the fixation* appears, the animal is incapable of learning an adaptive response in this situation." When a reaction to the left-hand door is thus fixated, the right-hand door may be left open so that the food is plainly visible. Yet the rat, when pushed, continues to jump to the left, becoming more panicky* each time.
If the rat jumps to the right, the door holds fast, and it bumps its nose and falls into a net; if it jumps to the left, the door opens, and the rat finds a dish of food. When the rats are well trained to this reaction, the situation is changed. The food is put behind the other door, so that in order to get their reward they now have to jump to the right instead of to the left. (Other changes, such as marking the two doors in different ways, may also be introduced by the experimenter.)
1. attain v. succeed in doing or getting达到，实现 2. cynical adj. sneering or contemptuous嘲骂的，讽刺的 3. disillusion△ v. set free from mistaken beliefs使幻想破灭
[ 4 ] Is this an exaggerated picture? It hardly seems so. The pattern recurs* throughout human life, from the small tragedies of the home to the world-shaking tragedies among nations. In order to cure her husband's faults, a wife may nag him. His faults get worse, so she nags* him some more.
If the rat fails to figure out the new system, so that each time it jumps it never knows whether it is going to get food or bump its nose, it finally gives up and refuses to jump at all. At this stage, Dr. Maier says, "Many rats prefer to starve rather than make a choice."
1. neurosis n. functional derangement caused by disorder of the nervous system or by something in the subconscious mind神经官能病 2. induce※ v. persuade or influence; lead or cause劝诱；促 使
S. I. Hayakawa①
[ 1 ] Professor N. R. F. Maier of the University of Michigan performed a series of experiments several years ago in which "neurosis*" is induced* in rats. The rats are first trained to jump off the edge of a platform at one of two doors.
1. frustration※ n. defeat or disappointment挫折 2. compulsion△ n. compelling or being compelled强迫，被 迫
finally, even with the goal visible in front of them, to be attained* simply by making a different choice, they go crazy out of frustration. They tear around wildly; they sulk in corners and refuse to eat; bitter, cynical*, disillusioned*, they cease to care what happens to them.
1. convulsion n. violent disturbance; (usu. pl. ) violent irregular movement of a limb or the body震动；抽搐 2. coma△ n. unusual deep sleep usu. from injury or illness昏迷
《研究生英语精读教程》(第三版· 上)
中国人民大学出版社
Unit Three
Rats and Men "Insoluble" Problems
1. Text 2. Exercises 3. Supplementary Reading
Rats and Men "Insoluble" Problems
1. suspend v. hang up悬挂
Hale Waihona Puke [ 3 ] It is the "insolubility" of the rat's problem that leads to its nervous breakdown, and, as Dr. Maier shows in his studies of disturbed children and adults, rats and human beings seem to go through pretty much the same stages. First, they are trained to make habitually a given choice when confronted by a given problem; secondly, they get a terrible shock when they find that the conditions have changed and that the choice doesn't produce the expected results;
[ 5 ] Again, white people in a northern city, deploring* the illiteracy* and high crime rate among Negroes, segregate them, persecute them (it is well known that the police are almost always tougher on Negro suspects than on whites),and deny them opportunities for employment and advancement.
In this passive state, it refuses to eat, refuses to take any interest in anything: it can be rolled up into a ball or suspended* in the air by its legs—the rat has ceased to care what happens to it. It has had a "nervous breakdown①."