现代大学英语精读2 Unit3 the rite of spring译文
现代大学英语 第二版,第二册 第三单元 The Rite of Spring
as it is though
although, as it turns out/ in reality e.g. I had hoped to complete my essay today, as it is, though, I’m afraid I won’t be able to finish it until the end of the week. We know how important it is to change our economic policy. As it is, though, we still put too much emphasis on GDP.
Reasons for keeping a garden Gardening as a way of celebrating the coming of spring. Gardening enables people to stay hopeful for the future
Elliptical
Why go there today? Why sleep on the floor? Why tell me now?
crop
The crops are coming up beautifully this year. 今年庄稼长势很好 What kind of crops are grown here？ 这里种什么作物/庄稼？ We had a very good crop of strawberries this year? 我们今年草莓收成很好。
Unit 3 TPoints 1
1. I can still only tell Mark and Dave _____by the color of their shoes! A. apart B. about C. according D. between 2. He received one year's salary as ______for losing the job. A. compliant B. cooperation C. companion D. compensation 3. He was ______ guilt after the accident. A. consumed by B. consumed with C. consumed in D. consumed out 4. He________, insisting that the car be brought to the door. A. stand on his dignity B. stand in his dignity C. stood on his dignity D. stood in his dignity 5. How can you justify the expense? What does justify mean? A. explain B. spend C. make sure D. prove out
(完整版)课文原文Unit3TheRiteofSpring
Unit 3 The Rite of SpringArthur Miller1.I have never understood why we keep a garden and why over 36 years ago when I bought myfirst house in the country, I started digging up a patch for vegetables before doing anything else. When you think how easy and cheap, relatively, it is to buy a bunch of carrots or beets, why raise them? And root crops especially are hard to tell apart, when store-bought, from our own. There is a human instinct at work here, a kind of back-breaking make-believe that has no reality. Besides, I don't particularly like eating vegetables. I'd much rather eat something juicy and fat. Like hot dogs.2.Now, if you could raise hot dogs outside your window, you'd really have something you couldjustify without a second's hesitation. As it is, though, I cannot deny that when April comes I find myself going out to lean on the fence and look at that miserable plot of land, resolving with all my rational powers not to plant it again. But inevitably a morning arrives when, just as I am awakening, a scent wafts through the window, something like earth-as-air, a scent that seems to come up from the very center of this planet. And the sun means business, suddenly, and has a different, deeper yellow in its beams on the carpet. The birds begin screaming hysterically, thinking what I am thinking—the worms are deliciously worming their way through the melting soil.3.It is not only pleasure sending me back to stare at that plot of soil, it is really conflict. Thequestion is the same each year—what method should we use? The last few years we put 36-inch-wide black plastic between the rows, and it worked perfectly, keeping the soil moist in dry times and weed-free.4.But black plastic looks so industrial, so unromantic, that I have gradually moved over to haymulch. We cut a lot of hay and, as it rots, it does improve the soil's Composition. Besides, it looks lovely, and comes to us free.5.Keeping a garden makes you aware of how delicate, bountiful, and easily ruined the surfaceof this little planet is. In that 50-by-70-foot patch there must be a dozen different types of soil.Tomato won't grow in one part but loves another, and the same goes for the other crops. I suppose if you loaded the soil with chemical fertilizer these differences would be less noticeable, but I use it sparingly and only in rows right where seeds are planted rather than broadcast over the whole area. I'm not sure why I do this beyond the saving in fertilizer and my unwillingness to aid the weeds.6.The attractions of gardening, I think, at least for a certain number of gardeners, are neuroticand moral. Whenever life seems pointless and difficult to grasp, you can always get out in the garden and get something done. Also, your paternal or maternal instincts come into play because helpless living things are depending on you, require training and encouragement and protection from enemies. In some cases, as with beans and cucumbers, your children—as it were—begin to turn upon you in massive numbers, growing more and more each morning and threatening to follow you into the house to strangle you in their vines.7.Gardening is a moral occupation, as well, because you always start in spring resolved to keepit looking neat this year, just like the pictures in the catalogues. But by July, you once again face the chaos of unthinned carrots, lettuce and beets. This is when my wife becomes—openly now—mistress of the garden. A consumer of vast quantities of vegetables, she does the thinning and hand-cultivating of the tiny plants. Squatting, she patiently moves down each row selecting which plants shall live and which she will cast aside.8.At about this time, my wife's 86-year-old mother, a botanist, makes her first visit to the garden.She looks about skeptically. Her favorite task is binding the tomato plants to stakes. She is an outspoken, truthful woman, or she was until she learned better. Now, instead of saying, "You have planted the tomatoes in the damp part of the garden," she waits until October when she makes her annual trip to her home in Europe; then she gives me my good-by kiss and says casually," Tomatoes in damp soil tend more to get fungi," and walks away to her plane. But by October nothing in the garden matters, so sure am I that I will never plant it again.9.I garden, I suppose, because I must. It would be intolerable to have to pass an unplantedfenced garden a few times a day. There are also certain compensations, and these must be what annually turn my mind toward all that work. There are few sights quite as beautiful as a vegetable garden glistening in the sun, all dewy and glittering with a dozen shades of green at seven in the morning. Far lovelier, in fact, than rows of hot dogs. In some pocket of the mind there may even be a tendency to change this vision into a personal reassurance that all this healthy growth, this orderliness and thrusting life must somehow reflect similar movements in one's own spirit. Without a garden to till and plant I would not know what April was for.10.As it is, April is for getting irritated all over again at this pointless, time-consuming hobby. I donot understand people who claim to "love" gardening. A garden is an extension of oneself—or selves—and so it has to be an arena where striving does not cease, but continues by other means. As an example: you simply have to face the moment when you must admit that the lettuce was planted too deep or was not watered enough, cease hoping it will show itself tomorrow, and dig up the row again. But you will feel better for not standing on your dignity.And that's what gardening is all about—character building. Which is why Adam was a gardener.(And all know where it got him, too.)11.But is it conceivable that the father of us all should have been a weaver, shoemaker, oranything but a gardener? Of course not. Only the gardener is capable of endlessly reviving so much hope that this year, regardless of drought, flood, typhoon, or his own stupidity, this year he is going to do it right! Leave it to God to have picked the proper occupation for his only creature capable of such self-delusion.12.I suppose it should be added, for honesty's sake, that the above was written on one of thecoldest days in December.。
the rite of spring春之祭翻译教学文案
t h e r i t e o fs p r i n g春之祭翻译我从来都不明白我家为什么会开辟一方菜园子，也不明白为什么36年前我第一次在乡下买了一处房屋后，我所做的第一件事是开垦一块地来种菜。
现在想想，买一堆胡萝卜或甜菜，相对来说，那么容易，而且又那么便宜，为什么还要自己种菜呢？尤其是块根蔬菜，商店里买的和自己种的并没什么区别。
这里肯定有人的本性在起作用。
人就喜欢脱离现实，毫无意义地瞎折腾。
再说，我并不是特别喜欢吃蔬菜，我宁可吃些油汪汪、香喷喷、一咬一口肉汁的东西，比如说热狗。
要说，如果能在窗外种热狗的话，那倒真的有了一种可以毫不犹豫为自己辩护的理由。
可是在现在这种情况下，我无法否认，每当四月来临，我就会发现自己走出家门，倚着院子外的篱笆，望着那块倒霉的地，十分理智地下决心再也不去种它了。
然而，总有那么一天，当我早晨醒来的时候，就闻到窗外飘进的一缕香气，空气中有种泥土的气息，这香气仿佛从地球中心的地方飘来。
这时，太阳似乎也突然认真起来，它投射到地毯上的光似乎比往常更加深黄。
那些鸟开始歇斯底里地鸣叫，心里和我一样，想着那些美味可口的虫子正从那融化的土中慢慢爬出来。
我欣喜地看着这块土地，但是心里也充满了矛盾。
每年的难题都一样---用什么方式种呢？前几年我用的是36寸宽的黑色塑料薄膜，成效不错，干旱的时候土壤仍能保持水分，不生杂草。
但是黑色塑料薄膜看起来太工业化、一点浪漫的情调都没有，我开始慢慢用干草来覆盖。
我们收割了很多干草，干草腐烂后确实能改良土壤成分，而且看上去也很舒服，而且不用花一分钱。
家里有个菜园子能使你感觉到我们这个小小的星球的表面有多娇嫩，多丰饶，多容易被毁坏。
这块50英寸宽、70英寸长的田地肯定有十几种不同的土壤。
西红柿在某个地方张不好，但是在另外一个地方却长得很好，其他庄家也一样。
我想，要是你在地里洒满化肥，这种差别就不那么明显了，但是我用化肥很节省，只是放在播种种子的那些地方，而不是播撒在整片地里。
lesson3-The-Rite-of-Spring知识讲解
4. Broadcast n. radio or television programme e.g. Do you listen to the broadcast?
v. a. send out (programmes) by radio or television （用无线电或电视）播送
（节目）: broadcast the news, a concert, a football match
b send out radio or television programmes 播送（无线电或电视）节目: The BBC broadcasts all over the world..
lesson3-The-Rite-of-Spring
I Warm up
Questions: 1. Do you still recall a text on gardeninቤተ መጻሕፍቲ ባይዱ we studied
last semester? 2. If you have a garden, what will you like to plant?
He catched the public eye not only for his creation, but also for :
his testifying before the notorious Un-American Activities Committee during The McCarthy period;
Backbite Backchat Backhand Backlighting
背后中伤 回嘴 反手 逆光
3. Bountiful adj. in large numbers
the rite of spring
mean more . 尽管卡片可以在店里买的，但亲手做的更有意义。 6.human instinct : the nature of human 人类本能
7. at work : come into effect/play 起作用 eg. Political manoeuvrings could well be at work. 政治部署 也可能正在起作用。 8. back-breaking : (of physical work ) very hard and tiring艰苦繁重的 eg. Cleaning is a back-breaking work for me. 9.make-believe : a playful pretence 伪装
Words:
1.patch:n. a small piece of land (尤指种菜用的)小块土地;
ب
vt. repair, solve，mask 修补；解决；掩饰 vi. 打补丁 2.relatively : fairly相对的来说 3.a bunch of : 一堆 4. tell apart from : distinguish (...) from 区分 eg . Can you distinguish right from wrong? 你能分清是非吗? 5. store-bought : bought in the store 店里买的 eg. Though cards can be store-bought, but hand-made ones
The last few years we put 36-inch-wide black plastic between the rows, and worked perfectly, keeping the soil moist in dry times and weed-free.
现代大学英语精读第二版book2unit3
Warming up
Check-on Preview
See the Preview Quiz on P67-70.
Warming up
Objectives
• Know something about the author • Understand the genre of essay • Learn how to interpret and appreciate literary essay
4. 5.5 - 7.5. Most plants require ph levels of 6-7, but a few can tolerate 5.5 like corn, carrots, and potatoes. Others can grow well in soil ph of 7.5 like cabbage and cauliflower.
A
Genre Essay
short piece of prose often written from the author’s personal point of view
Vague
definition, great variety: literary, political, academic, journalistic, argumentative, expository, etc.
Objective and factual:
in these essays, the authors "do not speak directly of themselves, but turn their attention outward to some literary or scientific or political theme".
现代大学英语精读2Unit3theriteofspring译文
现代大学英语精读2 Unit3the rite of spring春之祭说真的，我从来都不明白，我们到底为什么要有一个菜园子，为什么36年前，当我第一次在乡下买了房子以后，我会别的事情都不做，首先就挖一块菜地。
现在想想买一堆胡萝卜或者甜菜头，相对来说那么容易，而且又那么便宜，为什么还要自己去种呢？尤其是那些块根植物，自己种的和店里买的，根本就很难分辨。
这里肯定有人的本性在起作用。
人就喜欢脱离现实，毫无意义地瞎折腾。
再说，我又并非特别喜欢吃蔬菜，我宁可吃些油汪汪、香喷喷、一咬一口肉汁的东西，比如说热狗。
要说，如果能在窗外种热狗的话，那倒真的有了一种可以毫不犹豫为自己辩护的理由了。
可是，在现在这种情况下，我无法否认，每当4月来临，我就会发现自己走出家门，倚着院子外的篱笆，望着那块倒霉的地，十分理智地下定决心再也不去种它了。
然而，总有那么一天，当我早晨醒来的时候，一股香味似乎从窗外飘进来，就好像来自地球中心的泥土的清香味。
这时，太阳似乎也突然认真起来，它投射到地毯上的光似乎比往常要更加深黄。
那些鸟开始歇斯底里地鸣叫，心里和我一样，想着那些美味可口的虫子正从那融化的土中慢慢爬出来。
让我回去看那块地的并不只是快乐，而是矛盾和斗争。
每年碰到的问题是一样的：今年我们该使用什么方法？前几年，我们在一行行的蔬菜之间放上了36英寸宽的黑塑料薄膜。
效果极好，干旱的时候能够保湿，而且保证没有杂草。
但是黑塑料薄膜一看就是来自工厂的东西，一点浪漫的情调都没有。
所以我就逐步改用干草作覆盖料。
我们收割了不少干草，草一腐烂，的确能改善土壤的结构。
再说，看起来很舒服，而且又不花一分钱。
家里有个菜园子能是你感觉到我们这个小小星球的表面有多娇嫩、多丰饶、多容易被毁坏。
现代大学英语精读2unit3单词及释义
现代大学英语精读2unit3单词及释义Unit3 Glossaryannual adj. happening or done once every yearapart adv. not together; separate or separately; tell ~区分arena n. an area of activity that concerns the public, esp. one where there is a lot ofopposition between different groups or countrics竞争舞台back-breaking adj. (of physical work) Very hard and tiring艰苦繁重的beet n. a plant with a root that is used as a vegetable, csp. for feedinganimals or making sugar甜菜bind v. to tie or fasten sb./sth. so that they can't move or are held together firmlybotanist n. a scientist who studies plants and their structure 植物学家bountiful adj. in large numbersbroadcast ad. scattered over a wide area撤播bunch n. a number of things of the same type which are growing together; a~of一束串…catalogue n. a complete list of items, for example, of things that people can look at or buycease v. to stop happening or existingchaos n. a state of complete confusion and disordercompensation n. things that make a bad situation better补偿conceivable adj. able to be believed or imagined可想像的;可信的conflict n. a situation where there are opposing ideas,opinions, feelings or wishes; a situation in which it is difficult to chooseconsume v. to use sth. esp. fuel, energy or time; time-~ing耗时的creature n. a living thing real or imaginary, that can move around, such as an animalcrop n. a plant that is grown in large quantities, esp. as food; root ~s 块根作物cucumber n. a long thin round vegetable with a dark green skin and a light green inside usu. eaten raw黄瓜cultivate v. to grow plants or crops; hand-~ing手工栽培(不用机械)damp adv. slightly wet, often in a way(that is unpleasant )delicate adj. easily damaged or broken脆弱的delusion n. the act of believing or making yourself believe sth. that is nottrue错觉, self-delusion自欺欺人dewy adj. wet with small drops of water that form on the ground, etc in the nightdignity n. a calm and serious manner that deserves respect; stand onone's~保持尊严,要求受到应有的礼遇earth-as-air n.泥土气息extension n. the act of increasing the area of activity, group of people, etc. that is affected by sth.延伸;扩展fungus n. (pl. fungi) any plant without leaves, flowers or green coloring, usu. growing on other plants or on decaying matter真菌glisten v. to shine because it is wet or covered with oilglittering adj. shining brightly with many small flashes of lightgrasp v. to understand sth. completely理解hay n. grass that has been cut and dried that is used as food for animalhysterically adv. (crying or laughing) in an uncontrolled way 歇斯底里地instinct n. the way people or animals naturally react or behave本能intolerable adj. so bad or difficult that you can't tolerate itirritate v. to annoy, esp. by sth. that continuously happensjuicy adj. containing a lot of juice and good to eat多汁的justify v. to show that sb./sth. is right or reasonablelettuce n. a plant with large green leaves that are eaten esp. in salad生菜，莴苣loaded adj. (infiml) full of a particular thing, quality or meaning; ~ with sth,充满……的make-believe n.a playful pretence假装massive adj. extremely large or serious; in ~ numbers大量的maternal adj. having feelings typical of a caring mother toward a child母爱的mean v. ~ business当真了(不开玩笑了)means n. a way of achieving or doing sth.; by other~以其他的方法c~miserable adj. very unhappy or uncomfortablemoist adj. slightly wet湿润的mulch n. material, usu. organic (有机的), that is put around a plant to protect its base and its roots, to improve the quality of the soil or to stop weeds growing覆盖物neurotic adj. unreasonably anxious or afraid神经质的occupation n. a job or professionorderliness n. (AmE) which means arranged or organized(in a neat, tidy or orderly way)整齐,有条理,守秩序outspoken adj.expressing one's opinion honestly, even if this shocks or offends peopleplanet n. used to mean the worldpatch n. a small piece of land, esp. one used for growing vegetables or fruitpaternal adj. connected with being a fatherpocket n. a small group or area that is different from its surroundings; {n some ~of the mind)在头脑中的某些地方pointless adj. having no purpose: not worth doingrational adj. (of behavior, ideas, etc.) based on reason rather than emotionsreassurance n. (AmE) sth. that is said or done to take away a person's fear or doubtsreflect v. to show the nature of sth. or of sb.'s attitude or feeling表达;反映regardless adv. (AmE) paying no attention, even if the situation is bad or there are difficulties, ~of不理会relatively adv. to a fairly large degree, esp. in comparison to others相关地resolve v. to make a firm decision to do sth.revive v. to become or to make sb./sth. become strong again rite n. a ceremony performed by a particular group of people 仪式;典礼row n. a number of objects arranged in a lineruin v. to damage sth. so badly that it loses all its value, pleasure, etc.scream v. to give a long, loud, piercing cry, as from pain, fear or excitementselect v. to choose sb. or sth., usu. carefully, from a group of people or thingsshade n. a particular form of a color; ~s of green浅绿色sights n. a thing that you see or can see景象skeptical adj. having doubt that a claim or statement is true or that sth. will happensomehow adv. in a way(that is not known or certainsparingly adv. in a careful way, using a littlesquat v. to sit with knees bent and the hams resting on or near the heels蹲stake n. a wooden or metal post that is pointed at one end and pushed into the ground to support sth.桩-头倒减了strangle v. to kill sb. by squeezing or pressing on their throat and neckstriving n. the great efforts sb. is making to achieve sth.努力;奋斗stupidity n. (AmE) of stupidtendency n. likely to act or behave in a particular way倾向thrust v.. to push or drive quickly and forcibly,~ing有强大推进力的till v. to prepare and use land for growing crops 耕地turn v. ~ upon/on: to make a sudden and unexpected attack on sb.突然向发起进攻(文中是幽默的夸张)typhoon n. a violent tropical storm with very strong winds台风unromantic adj. not romantic缺乏情调的vision n. an idea or picture in your imagination幻觉,幻想waft v. to move, or make sth. move, gently through the air weaver n. a person whose job is weaving fabric织布工;编织者weed-free adj. free of weed 没有杂草的worm v. to move like a warm through a narrow or crowded place.~one's way through曲折前行,蠕动。
(完整版)现代大学英语精读2Unit3theriteofspring译文
现代大学英语精读2 Unit3 the rite of spring春之祭说真的，我从来都不明白，我们到底为什么要有一个菜园子，为什么36年前，当我第一次在乡下买了房子以后，我会别的事情都不做，首先就挖一块菜地。
现在想想买一堆胡萝卜或者甜菜头，相对来说那么容易，而且又那么便宜，为什么还要自己去种呢？尤其是那些块根植物，自己种的和店里买的，根本就很难分辨。
这里肯定有人的本性在起作用。
人就喜欢脱离现实，毫无意义地瞎折腾。
再说，我又并非特别喜欢吃蔬菜，我宁可吃些油汪汪、香喷喷、一咬一口肉汁的东西，比如说热狗。
要说，如果能在窗外种热狗的话，那倒真的有了一种可以毫不犹豫为自己辩护的理由了。
可是，在现在这种情况下，我无法否认，每当4月来临，我就会发现自己走出家门，倚着院子外的篱笆，望着那块倒霉的地，十分理智地下定决心再也不去种它了。
然而，总有那么一天，当我早晨醒来的时候，一股香味似乎从窗外飘进来，就好像来自地球中心的泥土的清香味。
这时，太阳似乎也突然认真起来，它投射到地毯上的光似乎比往常要更加深黄。
那些鸟开始歇斯底里地鸣叫，心里和我一样，想着那些美味可口的虫子正从那融化的土中慢慢爬出来。
让我回去看那块地的并不只是快乐，而是矛盾和斗争。
每年碰到的问题是一样的：今年我们该使用什么方法？前几年，我们在一行行的蔬菜之间放上了36英寸宽的黑塑料薄膜。
效果极好，干旱的时候能够保湿，而且保证没有杂草。
但是黑塑料薄膜一看就是来自工厂的东西，一点浪漫的情调都没有。
所以我就逐步改用干草作覆盖料。
我们收割了不少干草，草一腐烂，的确能改善土壤的结构。
再说，看起来很舒服，而且又不花一分钱。
家里有个菜园子能是你感觉到我们这个小小星球的表面有多娇嫩、多丰饶、多容易被毁坏。
在我们那块50英尺宽、70英尺长的土地上，肯定有十几种不同的土壤。
西红柿在某个地方长不好，但是在另一个地方却长得很好。
其他庄稼也一样。
我想，要是你在地里洒满化肥，这种差别就不会如此明显。
the rite of spring 课文原文
Rite of Spring (Arthur Miller)1.I have never understood why we keep a garden and why over 36 years ago when I bought my first house in the country, I started digging up a patch for vegetables before doing anything else. When you think how easy and cheap, relatively, it is to buy a bunch of carrots or beets, why raise them? And root crops especially are hard to tell apart, when store-bought, from our own. There is a human instinct at work here, a kind of back-breaking make-believe that has no reality. Besid es, I don’t particularly like eating vegetables. I’d much rather eat something juicy and fat. Like hot dogs.2.Now, if you could raise hot dogs outside your window, you’d really have something you could justify without a second’s hesitation. As it is, thou gh, I cannot deny that when April comes I find myself going out to lean on the fence and look at that miserable plot of land, resolving with all my rational powers not to plant it again. But inevitably a morning arrives when, just as I am awakening, a scent wafts through the window, something like earth-as-air, a scent that seems to come up from the very center of this planet. And the sun means business, suddenly, and has a different, deeper yellow in its beams on the carpet. The birds begin screaming hysterically, thinking what I am thinking—the worms are deliciously worming their way through the melting soil.3.It is not only pleasure sending me back to stare at that plot of soil, it is really conflict. The question is the same each year—what method should we use? The last few years we put 36-inch-wide black plastic between the rows, and it worked perfectly, keeping the soil moist in dry times and weed-free.4.But black plastic looks so industrial, so unromantic, that I have gradually moved over to hay mulc h. We cut a lot of hay and, as it rots, it does improve the soil’s composition. Besides, it looks lovely, and comes to us free.5.Keeping a garden makes you aware of how delicate, bountiful, and easily ruined the surface of this little planet is. In that 50-by-70-foot patch there must be a dozen different types of soil. Tomato won’t grow in one part but loves another, and the same goes for the other crops. I suppose if you loaded the soil with chemical fertilizer these differences would be less noticeable, but I use it sparingly and only in rows right where seeds are planted rather than broadcast over the whole area. I’m not sure why I do this beyond the saving in fertilizer and my unwillingness to aid the weeds.6.The attractions of gardening, I think, at least for a certain number of gardeners, are neurotic and moral. Whenever life seems pointless and difficult to grasp, you can always get out in the garden and get something done. Also, your paternal or maternal instincts come into play because helpless living things are depending on you, require training and encouragement and protection from enemies. In some cases, as with beans and cucumbers, your children—as it were—begin to turn upon you in massive numbers, growing more and more each morning and threatening to follow you into the house to strangle you in their vines.7.Gardening is a moral occupation, as well, because you always start in spring resolved to keep it looking neat this year, just like the pictures in the catalogues. But by July, you once again face the chaos of unthinned carrots, lettuce and beets. This is when my wife becomes—openly now—mistress of the garden. A consumer of vast quantities of vegetables, she does the thinning and hand-cultivating of the tiny plants. Squatting, she patiently moves down each row selectingwhich plants shall live and which she will cast aside.8.At about this time, my wife's 86-year-old mother, a botanist, makes her first visit to the garden. She looks about skeptically. Her favorite task is binding the tomato plants to stakes. She is an outspoken, truthful woman, or she was until she learned better. Now, instead of saying, "You have planted the tomatoes in the damp part of the garden," she waits until October when she makes her annual trip to her home in Europe; then she gives me my good-by kiss and says casually," Tomatoes in damp soil tend more to get fungi," and walks away to her plane. But by October nothing in the garden matters, so sure am I that I will never plant it again.9. I garden, I suppose, because I must. It would be intolerable to have to pass an unplanted fenced garden a few times a day. There are also certain compensations, and these must be what annually turn my mind toward all that work. There are few sights quite as beautiful as a vegetable garden glistening in the sun, all dewy and glittering with a dozen shades of green at seven in the morning. Far lovelier, in fact, than rows of hot dogs. In some pocket of the mind there may even be a tendency to change this vision into a personal reassurance that all this healthy growth, this orderliness and thrusting life must somehow reflect similar movements in one's own spirit. Without a garden to till and plant I would not know what April was for.10.As it is, April is for getting irritated all over again at this pointless, time-consuming hobby. I do not understand people who claim to "love" gardening. A garden is an extension of oneself—or selves—and so it has to be an arena where striving does not cease, but continues by other means. As an example: you simply have to face the moment when you must admit that the lettuce was planted too deep or was not watered enough, cease hoping it will show itself tomorrow, and dig up the row again. But you will feel better for not standing on your dignity. And that's what gardening is all about—character building. Which is why Adam was a gardener. (And all know where it got him, too.)11.But is it conceivable that the father of us all should have been a weaver, shoemaker, or anything but a gardener? Of course not. Only the gardener is capable of endlessly reviving so much hope that this year, regardless of drought, flood, typhoon, or his own stupidity, this year he is going to do it right! Leave it to God to have picked the proper occupation for his only creature capable of such self-delusion.12. I suppose it should be added, for honesty's sake, that the above was written on one of the coldest days in December.。
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现代大学英语精读2 Unit3 the rite of spring
春之祭
说真的，我从来都不明白，我们到底为什么要有一个菜园子，为什么36年前，当我第一次在乡下买了房子以后，我会别的事情都不做，首先就挖一块菜地。
现在想想买一堆胡萝卜或者甜菜头，相对来说那么容易，而且又那么便宜，为什么还要自己去种呢？尤其是那些块根植物，自己种的和店里买的，根本就很难分辨。
这里肯定有人的本性在起作用。
人就喜欢脱离现实，毫无意义地瞎折腾。
再说，我又并非特别喜欢吃蔬菜，我宁可吃些油汪汪、香喷喷、一咬一口肉汁的东西，比如说热狗。
要说，如果能在窗外种热狗的话，那倒真的有了一种可以毫不犹豫为自己辩护的理由了。
可是，在现在这种情况下，我无法否认，每当4月来临，我就会发现自己走出家门，倚着院子外的篱笆，望着那块倒霉的地，十分理智地下定决心再也不去种它了。
然而，总有那么一天，当我早晨醒来的时候，一股香味似乎从窗外飘进来，就好像来自地球中心的泥土的清香味。
这时，太阳似乎也突然认真起来，它投射到地毯上的光似乎比往常要更加深黄。
那些鸟开始歇斯底里地鸣叫，心里和我一样，想着那些美味可口的虫子正从那融化的土中慢慢爬出来。
让我回去看那块地的并不只是快乐，而是矛盾和斗争。
每年碰到的问题是一样的：今年我们该使用什么方法？前几年，我们在一行行的蔬菜之间放上了36英寸宽的黑塑料薄膜。
效果极好，干旱的时候能够保湿，而且保证没有杂草。
但是黑塑料薄膜一看就是来自工厂的东西，一点浪漫的情调都没有。
所以我就逐步改用干草作覆盖料。
我们收割了不少干草，草一腐烂，的确能改善土壤的结构。
再说，看起来很舒服，而且又不花一分钱。
家里有个菜园子能是你感觉到我们这个小小星球的表面有多娇嫩、多丰饶、多容易被毁坏。
在我们那块50英尺宽、70英尺长的土地上，肯定有十几种不同的土壤。
西红柿在某个地方长不好，但是在另一个地方却长得很好。
其他庄稼也一样。
我想，要是你在地里洒满化肥，这种差别就不会如此明显。
但是，我用化肥非常节省。
我只放一点在播种的地方，而不是漫撒在整片地上。
我不知道我为什么要这么做，我只是想节省化肥，也不想给杂草占便宜。
管理菜园对人的吸引力，我以为，起码对某些人来说，是处于神经或道德方面的原因。
每当生活似乎变得无聊，掌握不住的时候，你总可以走出房门到园子里去做点什么。
此外，你当父亲或母亲的本能也会发生作用。
因为那些有生命的东西全都依靠着你，要你去训练、去鼓励、去保护，让它们不受敌人的侵害。
有时候，比如你种的是扁豆或是黄瓜的话，你那些可以说是你的孩子们，会突然向你发起大肆进攻，每天早晨长得越来越多，好像要追着你进房间将你绞杀在他们的瓜豆藤条之中。
管理菜园也是一种与道德品质有关的活动。
因为你总是在春天开始的时候下定决心今年要把它弄得就和商品广告上画的那么好。
但是到了7月，你又一次会面对那些那些因为没有及时采摘而密密麻麻，乱成一堆的胡萝卜、莴笋和甜菜头。
这个时候，也就是我妻子公开成为菜园女主人的时候。
她吃蔬菜的胃口奇大。
她会来间苗，培育那些小植物。
她会耐心地蹲着，一行行走下去，决定哪些应该保留，哪些必须扔掉。
在这个时候，我妻子86岁的老母第一次来看我们的菜园了。
她是一个植物学家，她以怀疑的眼光四下望望。
她最喜欢的工作就是给西红柿搭架子。
她是一个有话就说、直言不讳的人。
起码原来是这样，知道后来学乖了。
她没有说“你们把西红柿种到园子最潮湿的地方了。
”她一直要等到10月份，也就是她每年照例回欧洲她自己家里的时候，临和我吻别的时候，才随便说一句，“在潮湿的地方种的西红柿容易长霉。
”说完就向飞机走去了。
不过，到10月份的时候，园子里什么东西都无所谓了，我已经肯定我永远不会再种什么了。
我想，我之所以搞了一个菜园，是因为我必须如此。
不然我要每天走过什么也不种的围
着篱笆的空园子好几次，这是无法想象的。
再说，种菜还有一些好处，这肯定是我为什么每年又会想这件事的原因。
世上很少有在早晨7点钟阳光下闪闪发亮的菜园子那么美妙的景色，一切都闪耀着晶莹的露水，深浅不同的层层绿色。
实在比一行行的热狗要好看很多。
在人的脑子的某个角落，甚至于有一种把这美妙的景象转化为个人安慰的倾向，让他觉得这些植物的茁壮成长、整齐有序和努力向前推进的生命一定在某种意义上反映了一个人精神上的活动。
如果没有菜园子让我们去耕种，我都不知道4月份有什么意义。
按现在情况看来，4月就是为了再一次让人去为这个毫无意义、消耗时间的业余爱好去烦心。
我不理解那些扬言“爱好”园艺的人。
一个菜园子是一个人或者多个人的延伸。
所以，它应该是这么一个活动舞台，在那里努力和奋斗不会停止，而只会以其他办法继续下去。
比方说，你有时必须面对这样的情形：你必须承认你的莴笋种的不够深，或者水浇得不够。
这时你不能再幻想它明天还会长出来，你必须把这块地再刨一遍。
但是你会感觉好多了，因为你没有为了自尊而不及时认错。
而这正是从事园艺的意义所在，它能锻炼人的性格。
这就是为什么亚当会是园丁的原因。
（而我们都知道他最后的下场）
但是，除了当园丁，我们能想像我们的祖先是一个织布工、鞋匠或其他任何人吗？当然不能，只有园丁才能够永不停顿地恢复巨大的希望，相信不管旱灾、水灾、台风或是他自己的愚蠢，今年他一定能做好。
让我们还是相信上帝为他创造的唯一能够自欺欺人的人所选择的合适的职业吧。
我想，为了表示我的诚实，我应该坦白承认，以上这段话是我在12月份最冷的某一天写下的。