全新版大学英语快速阅读英汉对照UNIT4

Unit 4

学习单元四中有关

The Suburban Century

郊外的世纪

The United States is a nation of suburbs. The 1990 census makes it official. Nearly half the 美国是一个年轻的国家的郊区。一九九○年的人口普查使它的官员。近一半的

country 's population now lives in suburbs, up from a quarter in 1950 and a third in 1960.

国家的人口现在住在郊区的四分之一,而在1950年,三分之一在1960年创立的。

The third century of American history is shaping up as the suburban century. Until 1920 most 第三世纪的美国历史是塑造成郊区的世纪。直到1920年最

Americans lived in rural areas. By 1960 the country was a third urban, a third rural, and a

美国人都生活在乡下。1960年第三个国家的城市,三分之一的农村,

third suburban. That balance didn't last long, however. By 1990 the urban population had

第三郊区。这种平衡没有延续很久,不过了。到1990年城市人口

slipped to 31 percent and the rural population was down to less than a quarter. We are now a 滑落至31%和农村人口是到不到一刻钟。目前我们为

suburban nation with an urban fringe and a rural fringe.

郊区市镇边缘的国家与乡村刘海。

The first century of American life was dominated by the rural myth: the sturdy and self-

第一个世纪的美国人的生活主要是由农村传说:强劲和自我-

reliant Jeffersonian farmer. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, Americans were 支持杰斐逊来农民。到19世纪末,,然而,美国人

getting off the farms as fast as they could, to escape the hardship and brutality of rural

下车农场,越快越好、逃避那是一段艰苦和野蛮的农村

life.

生活。

Most of the twentieth century has been dominated by the urban myth: the melting pot; New 大部分的20世纪占主导地位的城市神话:熔炉;新

York, New York; the cities as the nation 's great engines of prosperity and culture. All the

纽约,纽约,城市为这个国家的伟大的引擎的繁荣和文化。所有的

while, however, Americans have been getting out of the cities as soon as they can afford to 同时,然而,美国人已经逐渐从城市中只要能承受

buy a house and a car. They want to escape the crowding and dangers of urban life. But there 买一套房子和一辆车。他们想逃离拥挤的城市生活和危险。但是

is more to it than escape. As Kenneth T. Jackson argues in Crabgrass Frontier, a history of

事情没有逃脱。肯尼思·t·杰克逊所讨论的是《杂草的前沿,一段校史》

suburbanization in the United States, the pull factors (cheap housing and the ideal of a

郊区化在美国,拉动因素(便宜的房屋和理想的

suburban "dream house") have been as important as the push factors (population growth and “梦想家郊区已经作为重要的推动因素(人口增长

racial prejudice).

种族歧视)。

The 1990 Census tells the story of the explosive growth of suburbs. That year fourteen

一九九○年的人口普查讲述的故事是关于爆炸性增长郊区。那一年14

states had a majority suburban population, including six of the ten most populous states

大多数州郊区人口,其中6人的10最多的国家

(California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and New Jersey).

加州,俄亥俄宾夕法尼亚,密西根州,弗罗里达、新泽西州)。

Suburban growth is not likely to end anytime soon. According to the polls, 43 percent of

郊区成长不是很有可能终止的迹象。根据民意调查,43%的

Boston residents, 48 percent of people who live in Los Angeles, and 60 percent of those who 波士顿居民的调查显示,48%的人住在洛杉矶,和60%的那些

live in New York City say they would leave the city if they could. When the Gallup Poll

住在纽约市认为他们会离开这个城市如果他们能够理解。当盖洛普民意测验

asked Americans in 1989 what kind of place they would like to live in, only 19 percent said 1989年,希望美国人民什么样的位置,他们希望能够安居乐业,只有19%的人说

a city.

一个城市。

Is there a suburban myth? Sure there is. It has been a staple of American popular culture

有郊区的神话?当然有。这是一个主要的美国流行文化中

since the 1950s, from television shows like The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave It 20世纪50年代以来,从电视节目诸如《奥齐和哈里特和离开它

to Beaver to movies like E.T. The debunking of the suburban myth has now reached American 海狸电影像E.T.的疗程的郊区神话已经达到了美国人

popular culture, where television comedies about lower middle-class families like Roseanne 流行文化,在电视喜剧关于降低中产阶级家庭娜喜欢

and the Simpsons portray the harsh realities of suburban life—unemployment, troubled

和《辛普森一家》塑造life-unemployment郊区的严峻现实,惊惶

families, and, above all, stress.

家庭,而且最重要的是,压力。

Adapting to the New World

以适应新的世界

Originally, I was born in South Korea and lived there all my life until I married and moved

最初,我出生在韩国,就住在其中的一切我的生活到我嫁给了和感动

to America. While living in America for five years now, I have tried to adapt to the rapid 到美国。而在美国生活五年了,我已经尽力去适应迅速

pace of change in my life. Although I felt worried at first, I doubted that I would find

在我的生活的变化速度。虽然我感到担心起初,我怀疑我会找到的

many differences between our two countries. After all, we are much alike even though we 我们两国之间有许多不同之处。毕竟,我们很相似,即使我们

speak different languages, and have different traditions and cultures. People in both

说不同的语言,有不同的传统和文化。两国人民

countries wear blue jeans, love children, and seek freedom. Despite these similarities, I 国家穿著牛仔裤,爱孩子,并寻求自由。尽管有这些相似之处,

found it difficult to adjust, for so much was alien to me.

发现很难适应,给了我这么多的是异己的给我。

Most difficult for me was learning a new language. I discovered that American English

对我来说最难学一门新的语言。我发现美国英语

combines the influence of many other languages, mostly European but many of them global. The 结合其他各种语言的影响,大部分是欧洲但其中很多是全球性的问题。这

language is basically English, of course, for the English, who came over on the Mayflower,

语言是主要的英语,当然,英国人,“五月花”上走过来,

settled here early, and in the largest numbers. On the other hand, the Korean language was

在这里定居在很早,最大的数字。另一方面,朝鲜的语言

heavily influenced by Chinese until about 400 years ago. For Korean learners of English, the

很大程度上受到了中国,直到大约400年前的事了。韩国英语学习者

different uses of noun and verb are hard to grasp, at first. For example, an English speaker

不同用途的名词和动词很难把握,放在第一位。例如,一个说英语的人来

would ask a question by reversing the noun and verb, and often separating the verb, as in

会问一个问题倒名词和动词,并经常分离动词,就像在吗

"Where are you going?" However, in Korean, one would ask, "You go where?" Learning a new “你到哪儿去?”然而,在韩国,人会问,“你去哪里?”学习一种新

language was hard for me, but an essential part of beginning life in this wondrous land.

语言是,但我很难开始生活的重要组成部分在这片神奇的土地。

Next, I needed to adjust to American food, which is relatively mild, with the exception of

其次,我需要适应美国的食物,那是比较温和的,除

Cajun dishes. Generally, Korean food is very spicy, like Kimchi, which covers many types of 卡津菜。一般来说,韩国菜都很辣,像泡菜,内容涵盖许多类型的

pickled cabbage and other vegetables; Koreans cannot live without it, and often make their

腌卷心菜和其他蔬菜,朝鲜人不活下去,并经常使他们的

own from old family recipes. In addition, Koreans enjoy low fat, mostly vegetarian diets.

自己的旧的家庭食谱。此外,韩国人享受低脂肪,大部分素食饮食。

The American diet, on the other hand, consists of high-fat, very salty items, like the fast

美国人的饮食习惯,另一方面,由脂肪,太咸项目包括快

food and instant TV dinners which are so popular. These foods may account for the high rates 食物和即时电视速食餐都十分受欢迎。这些食物可能占了较高的利率

of heart attacks and strokes, cholesterol-clogged veins, and fatness among Americans.

心脏病和中风,cholesterol-clogged血脉,在美国人中与肥胖。

Finally, Koreans and Americans treat marriage very differently. Even though we have entered 最后,而韩国人和美国人对婚姻很不同。虽然我们进入的

the twenty-first century, many Korean marriages are arranged by matchmakers hired by

二十一世纪的时候,许多韩国的婚姻是所安排的媒人聘用

parents. Or, parents of marriageable children will get together and arrange their marriages.

父母。或者,父母的结婚的孩子会聚集并安排他们的婚姻。

Of course, some marriages come about through dating just as in America—young people meet, 当然,某些婚姻发生的通过约会就像在America-young人的满足,

fall in love, and decide to marry. Yet, despite or because of arranged marriages, the Korean

坠入爱河,并决定结婚。然而,尽管还是因为包办婚姻,韩国

divorce rate is very low compared with American divorces. This may be due largely to the

离婚率非常低与美国离婚。这可能是很大程度上因为

strong family bonds in Korea.

很强的家庭债券在韩国。

On the other hand, young people in America are allowed the greatest freedom in choosing

另一方面,美国的年轻人在最伟大的自由可以选择

their partners; they base marriages almost entirely on love, never through matchmakers. And

他们的合作伙伴,其中的婚姻,几乎完全取决于爱,摒弃媒人。和

a very strong trend, nowadays, is for two persons to live together for a while before

一个非常有力的趋势,如今,是两个人一起住了一段时间才能

getting married, though many never formally marry.

结婚,尽管很多人从未正式结婚。

Despite these differences between our cultures, I 've realized that Koreans and Americans

尽管有这些差异我们的文化,我立刻就来。我明白韩国人和美国人

have much in common. We tend to seek freedom, share the same excitement at a new birth, and 有许多共同之处。我们倾向于追求自由,分享相同的而感到非常兴奋,新生

want to make good friends. Also, we place a high value on hard work, often spending long 想让好朋友。同时,我们很看重艰难的作品,往往花长

hours at our own businesses in order to send our children to good colleges; we want to give 时间自己的公司为了将自己的孩子送去不错的大学;我们想给你们

them opportunities earlier generations could only dream of. If we can learn to accept

机遇更早的一代只能在梦中想象。如果我们能学会接受

cultural differences as unique values, the world may be more peaceful. We need to put aside 文化差异为独特的价值,世界可能更和平的。我们需要放在一边

our often unfounded attitudes of superiority and prejudice against other cultures.

我们经常没有根据的优势和偏见的态度,其他国家的文化。

The Jeaning of America and the World

Jeaning的的美国和世界

This is the story of a sturdy American symbol which has now spread throughout most of the 这是一个坚实的美国象征,现在已传播在绝大部分

world. The symbol is not the dollar. It is not even Coca-Cola. It is a simple pair of pants

世界。标志是不美元。这甚至也不是可口可乐。这是一个简单的裤子

called blue jeans, and what the pants symbolize is what Alexis de Tocqueville called "a

叫作蓝色牛仔裤,和什么样的裤子象征是托克维尔称为“

manly and legitimate passion for equality ... " Blue jeans are favored equally by

对于平等的热情和合法的男子汉…“蓝色牛仔裤的青睐同样

bureaucrats and cowboys; bankers and deadbeats; fashion designers and beer drinkers. They 官僚和牛仔,银行家和胁迫欠税者、时尚设计师和啤酒饮用者。他们

draw no distinctions and recognize no classes; they are merely American. Yet they are sought

画没有差别和本身没有类;他们只不过是美国人。他们还寻求

after almost everywhere in the world. They have been around for a long time, and it seems

经过近在世界的每个角落。他们一直在很长的一段时间内,它看起来的那样

likely that they will outlive even the necktie.

可能他们将名垂青史,甚至领带。

This ubiquitous American symbol was the invention of a Bavarian-born Jew. His name was Levi 这无所不在的美国符号是发明出一种Bavarian-born犹太人。他的名字是利未

Strauss.

斯特劳斯。

He was born in Bad Ocheim, Germany, in 1829, and during the European political disorder of 他出生在坏Ocheim、德国、在1829年时,在欧洲的政治混乱

1848 decided to take his chances in New York, to which his two brothers already had

1848年决定把他的机会在纽约,进到他那两个兄弟拥有的

emigrated. For two years he was a lowly peddler, hauling sundries door-to-door to eke out a 移居别处。为两年,他就杂物,托运的低级小贩们挨家挨户上门推销

hand-to-mouth living. When a married sister in San Francisco offered to pay his way West in 只能现挣现吃的生活。当一个结婚的姐姐(妹妹)在旧金山愿意付他奔赴西部吗

1850, he jumped at the opportunity, taking with him bolts of canvas he hoped to sell for 1850年,他毫不迟疑地答应了,带著螺栓的帆布他希望卖

making tents.

制作帐篷。

It was the wrong kind of canvas for that purpose, but while talking with a miner, he learned 是错误的类油画为此,但你正和一名矿工之中,他就学会了

that pants—sturdy pants that would stand up to the rigors of the diggings—were almost pants-sturdy裤,会站起来的苛刻diggings-were差不多

impossible to find. Opportunity beckoned. On the spot, Strauss measured the man 's waist and 不可能找到了。机会示意。史特劳斯实地测量那个人的s腰

inseam with a piece of string and, for six dollars in gold dust, had the canvas tailored inseam用一根细绳,6美元的金砂,有了帆布剪裁

into a pair of stiff but rugged pants. The miner was delighted with the result, word got

但硬进了一条崎岖的裤子。矿工很满意的结果,消息

around about "those pants of Levi 's," and Strauss was in business. The company has been in 大约有“利未的裤子的s,”和史特劳斯在业务。公司一直

business ever since.

商业至今。

When Strauss ran out of canvas, he wrote his two brothers to send more. He received instead 当史特劳斯跑出画布上,他写下他的两个兄弟派遣更多的。他收到相反

a rough, brown cotton cloth made in Nimes, France—called serge de Nimes and swiftly

一个粗野、棕色的棉布在尼姆是France-called斜纹布”,并迅速

shortened to "denim" (the word "jeans" derives from G ê nes, the French word for Genoa,

缩短“棉布”(“牛仔”这个词来源于e新,法国号字热那亚,

where a similar cloth was produced). Almost from the first, Strauss had his cloth dyed the

在类似的布料是生产)。几乎从第一,史特劳斯有他的衣服染红了

distinctive indigo that gave blue jeans their name, but it was not until the 1870s that he

独特的靛蓝让蓝色牛仔裤他们的名字,但直到19世纪70年代,他睡着了

added the copper rivets which have long since become a company trademark.

添加铜铆钉,早已成为公司商标。

Over the following years the company prospered locally and by the time of his death in 1902, 在接下来的公司多年来发展当地及逝世1902年,

Strauss had become a man of prominence in California. For three decades thereafter the 史特劳斯长大中显著的加利福尼亚。此后,三十年

business remained profitable though small. From a company with fifteen salespeople, two 业务仍然有利可图的虽然小。从一家以15销售人员,两个

plants, and almost no business east of the Mississippi in 1946, the organization grew in

植物,几乎没有业务在密西西比河以东的1946年,这个组织也迅速成长起来

thirty years to include a sales force of more than twenty-two thousand, with fifty plants 30年销售人员包括了超过22万,五十植物

and offices in thirty-five countries. Each year, more than 250,000,000 items of Levi 's

35个国家及办公室内。每年,超过25万项利未的

clothing are sold—including more than 83,000,000 pairs of riveted blue jeans. They have

衣服的人,是sold-including超过8300万双铆接的蓝色牛仔裤。他们

become, through marketing, word of mouth, and demonstrable reliability, the common pants of 成,通过市场营销、口碑及非凡的可靠性、普通的裤子

America. They can be purchased pre-washed, pre-faded, and pre-shrunk for the suitably

美国。他们可以购买pre-washed,pre-faded,pre-shrunk适当的

proletarian look.

无产阶级的表情。

The pants have become a tradition, and along the way have acquired a history of their own.

这条裤子已经成为一项传统,沿方法也有了自己的历史。

There was, for example, the Wyoming man who used his jeans as a tow-rope to haul his car out 有,例如,怀俄明的人,用他的牛仔裤作为一个tow-rope把他的车