全新版大英綜合教程3課文原文和翻譯.doc

1、 WORD格式可編輯 unit 1 Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life In America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside. Many living in towns dream of starting up their own farm, of living off the land. Few get round to putting their dreams into practice. This is perhaps just as well, as the life

2、 of a farmer is far from easy, as Jim Doherty discovered when he set out to combine being a writer with running a farm. Nevertheless, as he explains, he has no regrets and remains enthusiastic about his decision to change his way of life. 在美國(guó)，不少人對(duì)鄉(xiāng)村生活懷有浪漫的情感。許多居住在城鎮(zhèn)的人夢(mèng)想著自己辦個(gè)農(nóng)場(chǎng)，夢(mèng)想著靠土地為生。很少有人真去把夢(mèng)想變?yōu)楝F(xiàn)實(shí)

3、。或許這也沒(méi)有什么不好，因?yàn)椋缂范酄柕佼?dāng)初開(kāi)始其寫作和農(nóng)場(chǎng)經(jīng)營(yíng)雙重生涯時(shí)所體驗(yàn)到的那樣，農(nóng)耕生活遠(yuǎn)非輕松自在。但他寫道，自己并不后悔，對(duì)自己作出的改變生活方式的決定仍熱情不減。 Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream LifeJim Doherty 1 There are two things I have always wanted to do - write and live on a farm. Today Im doing both. I am not in E. B. Whites class as a writer or in my neighbors le

4、ague as a farmer, but Im getting by. And after years of frustration with city and suburban living, my wife Sandy and I have finally found contentment here in the country. 多爾蒂先生創(chuàng)建自己的理想生活 吉姆多爾蒂 有兩件事是我一直想做的寫作與務(wù)農(nóng)。如今我同時(shí)做著這兩件事。作為作家，我和EB懷特不屬同一等級(jí)，作為農(nóng)場(chǎng)主，我和鄉(xiāng)鄰也不是同一類人，不過(guò)我應(yīng)付得還行。在城市以及郊區(qū)歷經(jīng)多年的悵惘失望之后，我和妻子桑迪終于在這里的鄉(xiāng)村尋

5、覓到心靈的滿足。2 Its a self-reliant sort of life. We grow nearly all of our fruits and vegetables. Our hens keep us in eggs, with several dozen left over to sell each week. Our bees provide us with honey, and we cut enough wood to just about make it through the heating season. 這是一種自力更生的生活。我們食用的果蔬幾乎都是自己種的。自

6、家飼養(yǎng)的雞提供雞蛋，每星期還能剩余幾十個(gè)出售。自家養(yǎng)殖的蜜蜂提供蜂蜜，我們還自己動(dòng)手砍柴，足可供過(guò)冬取暖之用。 3 Its a satisfying life too. In the summer we canoe on the river, go picnicking in the woods and take long bicycle rides. In the winter we ski and skate. We get excited about sunsets. We love the smell of the earth warming and the sound of catt

7、le lowing. We watch for hawks in the sky and deer in the cornfields. 這也是一種令人滿足的生活。夏日里我們?cè)诤由鲜幹?，在林子里野餐，騎著自行車長(zhǎng)時(shí)間漫游。冬日里我們滑雪溜冰。我們?yōu)槁淙盏挠噍x而激動(dòng)。我們愛(ài)聞大地回暖的氣息，愛(ài)聽(tīng)牛群哞叫。我們守著看鷹兒飛過(guò)上空，看玉米田間鹿群嬉躍。 4 But the good life can get pretty tough. Three months ago when it was 30 below, we spent two miserable days hauling firewood

8、 up the river on a sled. Three months from now, it will be 95 above and we will be cultivating corn, weeding strawberries and killing chickens. Recently, Sandy and I had to retile the back roof. Soon Jim, 16 and Emily, 13, the youngest of our four children, will help me make some long-overdue improv

9、ements on the outdoor toilet that supplements our indoor plumbing when we are working outside. Later this month, well spray the orchard, paint the barn, plant the garden and clean the hen house before the new chicks arrive. 但如此美妙的生活有時(shí)會(huì)變得相當(dāng)艱苦。就在三個(gè)月前，氣溫降到華氏零下30度，我們辛苦勞作了整整兩天，用一個(gè)雪橇沿著河邊拖運(yùn)木柴。再過(guò)三個(gè)月，氣溫會(huì)升到95

10、度，我們就要給玉米松土，在草莓地除草，還要宰殺家禽。前一陣子我和桑迪不得不翻修后屋頂。過(guò)些時(shí)候，四個(gè)孩子中的兩個(gè)小的，16歲的吉米和13歲的埃米莉，會(huì)幫著我一起把拖了很久沒(méi)修的室外廁所修葺一下，那是專為室外干活修建的。這個(gè)月晚些時(shí)候，我們要給果樹(shù)噴灑藥水，要油漆谷倉(cāng)，要給菜園播種，要趕在新的小雞運(yùn)到之前清掃雞舍。 5 In between such chores, I manage to spend 50 to 60 hours a week at the typewriter or doing reporting for the freelance articles I sell to ma

11、gazines and newspapers. Sandy, meanwhile, pursues her own demanding schedule. Besides the usual household routine, she oversees the garden and beehives, bakes bread, cans and freezes, drives the kids to their music lessons, practices with them, takes organ lessons on her own, does research and typin

12、g for me, writes an article herself now and then, tends the flower beds, stacks a little wood and delivers the eggs. There is, as the old saying goes, no rest for the wicked on a place like this - and not much for the virtuous either. 在這些活計(jì)之間，我每周要抽空花五、六十個(gè)小時(shí)，不是打字撰文，就是為作為自由撰稿人投給報(bào)刊的文章進(jìn)行采訪。桑迪則有她自己繁忙的工作日

13、程。除了日常的家務(wù)，她還照管菜園和蜂房，烘烤面包，將食品裝罐、冷藏，開(kāi)車送孩子學(xué)音樂(lè)，和他們一起練習(xí)，自己還要上風(fēng)琴課，為我做些研究工作并打字，自己有時(shí)也寫寫文章，還要侍弄花圃，堆摞木柴、運(yùn)送雞蛋。正如老話說(shuō)的那樣，在這種情形之下，壞人不得閑賢德之人也歇不了。 6 None of us will ever forget our first winter. We were buried under five feet of snow from December through March. While one storm after another blasted huge drifts up

14、against the house and barn, we kept warm inside burning our own wood, eating our own apples and loving every minute of it. 我們誰(shuí)也不會(huì)忘記第一年的冬天。從12月一直到3月底，我們都被深達(dá)5英尺的積雪困著。暴風(fēng)雪肆虐，一場(chǎng)接著一場(chǎng)，積雪厚厚地覆蓋著屋子和谷倉(cāng)，而室內(nèi)，我們用自己砍伐的木柴燒火取暖，吃著自家種植的蘋果，溫馨快樂(lè)每一分鐘。 7 When spring came, it brought two floods. First the river overflowed,

15、 covering much of our land for weeks. Then the growing season began, swamping us under wave after wave of produce. Our freezer filled up with cherries, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, peas, beans and corn. Then our canned-goods shelves and cupboards began to grow with preserves, tomato juice,

16、grape juice, plums, jams and jellies. Eventually, the basement floor disappeared under piles of potatoes, squash and pumpkins, and the barn began to fill with apples and pears. It was amazing. 開(kāi)春后，有過(guò)兩次泛濫。一次是河水外溢，我們不少田地被淹了幾個(gè)星期。接著一次是生長(zhǎng)季節(jié)到了，一波又一波的農(nóng)產(chǎn)品潮涌而來(lái)，弄得我們應(yīng)接不暇。我們的冰箱里塞滿了櫻桃、藍(lán)莓、草莓、蘆筍、豌豆、青豆和玉米。接著我們存放食品罐

17、的架子上、柜櫥里也開(kāi)始堆滿一罐罐的腌漬食品，有番茄汁、葡萄汁、李子、果醬和果凍。最后，地窖里遍地是大堆大堆的土豆、西葫蘆、南瓜，谷倉(cāng)里也儲(chǔ)滿了蘋果和梨。真是太美妙了。 8 The next year we grew even more food and managed to get through the winter on firewood that was mostly from our own trees and only 100 gallons of heating oil. At that point I began thinking seriously about quitting

18、 my job and starting to freelance. The timing was terrible. By then, Shawn and Amy, our oldest girls were attending expensive Ivy League schools and we had only a few thousand dollars in the bank. Yet we kept coming back to the same question: Will there ever be a better time? The answer, decidedly,

19、was no, and so - with my employers blessings and half a years pay in accumulated benefits in my pocket - off I went. 第二年我們種了更多的作物，差不多就靠著從自家樹(shù)林砍斫的木柴以及僅僅100加侖的燃油過(guò)了冬。其時(shí)，我開(kāi)始認(rèn)真考慮起辭了職去從事自由撰稿的事來(lái)。時(shí)機(jī)選得實(shí)在太差。當(dāng)時(shí)，兩個(gè)大的女兒肖恩和埃米正在費(fèi)用很高的常春藤學(xué)校上學(xué)，而我們只有幾千美金的銀行存款。但我們一再回到一個(gè)老問(wèn)題上來(lái)：真的會(huì)有更好的時(shí)機(jī)嗎？答案無(wú)疑是否定的。于是，帶著老板的祝福，口袋里揣著作為累積津貼的半年

20、薪水，我走了。 9 There have been a few anxious moments since then, but on balance things have gone much better than we had any right to expect. For various stories of mine, Ive crawled into black-bear dens for Sports Illustrated, hitched up dogsled racing teams for Smithsonian magazine, checked out the Lak

21、e Champlain monster for Science Digest, and canoed through the Boundary Waters wilderness area of Minnesota for Destinations. 那以后有過(guò)一些焦慮的時(shí)刻，但總的來(lái)說(shuō)，情況比我們料想的要好得多。為了寫那些內(nèi)容各不相同的文章，我為體育畫報(bào)爬進(jìn)過(guò)黑熊窩；為史密森期刊替參賽的一組組狗套上過(guò)雪橇；為科學(xué)文摘調(diào)查過(guò)尚普蘭湖水怪的真相；為終點(diǎn)雜志在明尼蘇達(dá)劃著小舟穿越美、加邊界水域內(nèi)的公共荒野保護(hù)區(qū)。 10 Im not making anywhere near as much mon

22、ey as I did when I was employed full time, but now we dont need as much either. I generate enough income to handle our $600-a-month mortgage payments plus the usual expenses for a family like ours. That includes everything from music lessons and dental bills to car repairs and college costs. When it

23、 comes to insurance, we have a poor mans major-medical policy. We have to pay the first $500 of any medical fees for each member of the family. It picks up 80% of the costs beyond that. Although we are stuck with paying minor expenses, our premium is low - only $560 a year - and we are covered again

24、st catastrophe. Aside from that and the policy on our two cars at $400 a year, we have no other insurance. But we are setting aside $2,000 a year in an IRA. 我掙的錢遠(yuǎn)比不上擔(dān)任全職工作時(shí)的收入，可如今我們需要的錢也沒(méi)有過(guò)去多。我掙的錢足以應(yīng)付每月600美金的房屋貸款按揭以及一家人的日常開(kāi)銷。那些開(kāi)銷包括了所有支出，如音樂(lè)課學(xué)費(fèi)、牙醫(yī)賬單、汽車維修以及大學(xué)費(fèi)用等等。至于保險(xiǎn)，我們買了一份低收入者的主要醫(yī)療項(xiàng)目保險(xiǎn)。我們需要為每一位家庭成員的

25、任何一項(xiàng)醫(yī)療費(fèi)用支付最初的500美金。醫(yī)療保險(xiǎn)則支付超出部分的80。雖然我們?nèi)砸Ц缎〔糠轴t(yī)療費(fèi)用，但我們的保險(xiǎn)費(fèi)也低-每年只要560美金-而我們給自己生大病保了險(xiǎn)。除了這一保險(xiǎn)項(xiàng)目，以及兩輛汽車每年400美金的保險(xiǎn)，我們就沒(méi)有其他保險(xiǎn)了。不過(guò)我們每年留出2000美元入個(gè)人退休金賬戶。 11 Weve been able to make up the difference in income by cutting back without appreciably lowering our standard of living. We continue to dine out once or t

26、wice a month, but now we patronize local restaurants instead of more expensive places in the city. We still attend the opera and ballet in Milwaukee but only a few times a year. We eat less meat, drink cheaper wine and see fewer movies. Extravagant Christmases are a memory, and we combine vacations

27、with story assignments. 我們通過(guò)節(jié)約開(kāi)支而又不明顯降低生活水準(zhǔn)的方式來(lái)彌補(bǔ)收入差額。我們每個(gè)月仍出去吃一兩次飯，不過(guò)現(xiàn)在我們光顧的是當(dāng)?shù)夭宛^，而不是城里的高級(jí)飯店。我們?nèi)匀ッ軤栁只?tīng)歌劇看芭蕾演出，不過(guò)一年才幾次。我們?nèi)獬缘蒙倭?，酒喝得便宜了，電影看得少了。鋪張的圣誕節(jié)成為一種回憶，我們把完成稿約作為度假的一部分 12 I suspect not everyone who loves the country would be happy living the way we do. It takes a couple of special qualities. One i

28、s a tolerance for solitude. Because we are so busy and on such a tight budget, we dont entertain much. During the growing season there is no time for socializing anyway. Jim and Emily are involved in school activities, but they too spend most of their time at home. 我想，不是所有熱愛(ài)鄉(xiāng)村的人都會(huì)樂(lè)意過(guò)我們這種生活的。這種生活需要一些

29、特殊的素質(zhì)。其一是耐得住寂寞。由于我們?nèi)绱嗣β担诸^又緊，我們很少請(qǐng)客。在作物生長(zhǎng)季節(jié)，根本就沒(méi)工夫參加社交活動(dòng)。吉米和埃米莉雖然參加學(xué)校的各種活動(dòng)，但他倆大多數(shù)時(shí)間也呆在家里。 13 The other requirement is energy - a lot of it. The way to make self-sufficiency work on a small scale is to resist the temptation to buy a tractor and other expensive laborsaving devices. Instead, you do the

30、 work yourself. The only machinery we own (not counting the lawn mower) is a little three-horsepower rotary cultivator and a 16-inch chain saw. 另一項(xiàng)要求是體力相當(dāng)大的體力。小范圍里實(shí)現(xiàn)自給自足的途徑是抵制誘惑，不去購(gòu)置拖拉機(jī)和其他昂貴的節(jié)省勞力的機(jī)械。相反，你要自己動(dòng)手。我們僅有的機(jī)器（不包括割草機(jī)）是一臺(tái)3馬力的小型旋轉(zhuǎn)式耕耘機(jī)以及一架16英寸的鏈鋸。 14 How much longer well have enough energy to st

31、ay on here is anybodys guess - perhaps for quite a while, perhaps not. When the time comes, well leave with a feeling of sorrow but also with a sense of pride at what weve been able to accomplish. We should make a fair profit on the sale of the place, too. Weve invested about $35,000 of our own mone

32、y in it, and we could just about double that if we sold today. But this is not a good time to sell. Once economic conditions improve, however, demand for farms like ours should be strong again. 沒(méi)人知道我們還能有精力在這里再呆多久-也許呆很長(zhǎng)一陣子，也許不是。到走的時(shí)候，我們會(huì)愴然離去，但也會(huì)為自己所做的一切深感自豪。我們把農(nóng)場(chǎng)出售也會(huì)賺相當(dāng)大一筆錢。我們自己在農(nóng)場(chǎng)投入了約35，000美金的資金，要是現(xiàn)

33、在售出的話價(jià)格差不多可以翻一倍。不過(guò)現(xiàn)在不是出售的好時(shí)機(jī)。但是一旦經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)好轉(zhuǎn)，對(duì)我們這種農(nóng)場(chǎng)的需求又會(huì)增多。 15 We didnt move here primarily to earn money though. We came because we wanted to improve the quality of our lives. When I watch Emily collecting eggs in the evening, fishing with Jim on the river or enjoying an old-fashioned picnic in the orc

34、hard with the entire family, I know weve found just what we were looking for. 但我們主要不是為了賺錢而移居至此的。我們來(lái)此居住是因?yàn)橄胩岣呱钯|(zhì)量。當(dāng)我看著埃米莉傍晚去收雞蛋，跟吉米一起在河上釣魚，或和全家人一起在果園里享用老式的野餐，我知道，我們找到了自己一直在尋求的生活方式。 Donna Barron describes how American family life has changed in recent years. She identifies three forces at work. What a

35、re they? Read on to find out. Then ask yourself whether similar forces are at work within China. Will family life here end up going in the same direction? 唐娜巴倫描述了美國(guó)家庭生活近幾年來(lái)的變化。她指出有三種力量在起作用。是哪三種力量？請(qǐng)讀本文。讀后問(wèn)一下自己，同樣的力量在中國(guó)是否也在起作用。中國(guó)的家庭生活最終是否會(huì)朝著同一個(gè)方向變化？ American Family Life: The Changing PictureDonna Barr

36、on 1 Its another evening in an American household. 美國(guó)家庭生活：變化中的景象 唐娜巴倫 這是美國(guó)家庭一個(gè)尋常的傍晚。 2 The door swings open at 5:30 sharp. Hi, honey! Im home! In walks dear old Dad, hungry and tired after a long day at the office. He is greeted by Mom in her apron, three happy children, and the aroma of a delicious

37、 pot roast. 門在5：30準(zhǔn)時(shí)推開(kāi)?！班耍H愛(ài)的！我回來(lái)了！”親愛(ài)的老爸走了進(jìn)來(lái)，他在辦公室上了一天的班，肚子餓了，人也累了。迎接他的是系著圍裙的媽媽，3個(gè)快樂(lè)的孩子以及燉肉誘人的香味。 3 After a leisurely meal together, Mom does the dishes. That, after all, is part of her job. The whole family then moves to the living room. There everyone spends the evening playing Scrabble or watchi

38、ng TV. 全家人從容地吃完飯后，媽媽就刷洗碗碟。反正這是她的活。接著全家人聚在起居室。一個(gè)晚上大家玩玩牌，看看電視。 4 Then everyone is off to bed. And the next morning Dad and the kids wake up to the sounds and smells of Mom preparing pancakes and sausages for breakfast. 隨后各自上床睡覺(jué)。第二天早上，爸爸和孩子們?cè)趮寢寽?zhǔn)備早餐發(fā)出的聲響和薄餅、香腸散發(fā)的香味中醒來(lái)。 5 (1) What? You say that doesnt so

39、und like life in your house? Well, youre not alone. In fact, youre probably in the majority. 什么？你說(shuō)那聽(tīng)起來(lái)不像你府上的生活？其實(shí)，不僅僅是你一個(gè)人這么想。事實(shí)上，大多數(shù)人很可能都跟你一樣這么想的。 6 At one time in America, the above household might have been typical. You can still visit such a home - on television. Just watch reruns of old situati

40、on comedies. (2) Leave it to Beaver, for example, shows Mom doing housework in pearls and high heels. Dad keeps his suit and tie on all weekend. But the families that operate like Beaver Cleavers are fewer and fewer. Theyre disappearing because three parts of our lives have changed: the way we work,

41、 the way we eat, and the way we entertain ourselves. Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life. 上面描述的家庭可以說(shuō)在美國(guó)曾一度相當(dāng)?shù)湫?。如今你仍能?jiàn)到這樣的家庭不過(guò)得在電視里。只要看一看那些重播的情景劇老片子。例如，交給比弗吧一劇中媽媽帶著珍珠項(xiàng)鏈、穿著高跟鞋做家務(wù)。爸爸整個(gè)周末都穿著西裝，戴著領(lǐng)帶。但像比弗克立弗那樣的家庭越來(lái)越少了。那樣的家庭正在消失，因?yàn)槲覀兩钪械娜齻€(gè)部分發(fā)生了變化：我們的工作方式，餐飲方式以及娛樂(lè)方

42、式。了解這些變化所帶來(lái)的影響也許有助于我們改善家庭生活。 7 Lets look first at the changes in the way we work. Today the words Hi, honey! Im home! might not be spoken by dear old Dad. Dear old Mom is just as likely to be saying them. A generation ago, most households could get along on one paycheck - Dads. Mom stayed home, at l

43、east until the children started school. But today, over half the mothers with young children go to work. An even greater percentage of mothers of older children are in the workforce. And the number of single-parent homes has mushroomed in the last thirty years. 我們先來(lái)看一下我們工作方式的變化。今天，“嗨，親愛(ài)的，我回家了！”這句話可能

44、不是出自親愛(ài)的老爸之口。親愛(ài)的老媽也同樣可能說(shuō)這句話。在上一代，大多數(shù)家庭可以靠一份工資爸爸的工資維持。媽媽呆在家里，至少在孩子上學(xué)前是如此。但今天，一半以上有幼兒的母親外出工作。在職人員中有大孩子的母親的比例更高。而單親家庭的數(shù)量在過(guò)去30年中急劇增長(zhǎng)。 8 These changes in work have affected children as well as parents. When only Dad went out to work, children came home from school to Mom. (In TV situation comedies, they c

45、ame home to Mom and home-baked cookies) Today, well find them at an after-school program or a neighbors house. Or they may come home to no one at all. In every community, children are caring for themselves until their parents return from work. Are these children missing out on an important part of c

46、hildhood? Or are they developing a healthy sense of self-reliance? These are questions that Mrs. Cleaver never had to deal with. 工作方面的這些變化影響著家長(zhǎng)以及孩子。當(dāng)父親一人外出上班時(shí)，孩子們放學(xué)回家有媽媽在。（在情景電視劇里，他們回家有媽媽在，還有家里做的餅干）如今，我們會(huì)在晚托班或鄰居家里見(jiàn)到他們。要不他們就回到空無(wú)一人的家。在各社區(qū)，孩子們都自己照管自己，直到父母下班回家。這些孩子會(huì)不會(huì)失去童年時(shí)期本應(yīng)有的一些重要的東西？還是會(huì)因此培養(yǎng)起一種健康的自立意識(shí)？

47、這些問(wèn)題是克立弗太太過(guò)去從來(lái)不用操心的。 9 In addition, Dad and now Mom are often gone from home longer than ever. Not too long ago, most men worked close to home. The office or factory was just downtown. Dad often walked to work or hitched a ride with a friendly neighbor. But no more. 此外，爸爸，如今還有媽媽，在外的時(shí)間常常比以往任何時(shí)候都長(zhǎng)。不多久

48、前，大多數(shù)男人還就近工作。辦公室或者工廠就在市區(qū)。爸爸經(jīng)常走著去上班，或者順路搭友好鄰居的車。但現(xiàn)在不一樣了。 10 Todays working men and women are commuters. They travel distances to work that would have made their parents gasp. Commutes of forty-five minutes or an hour are common. Workers travel on buses, subways, and crowded highways. Many leave their

49、 suburban homes at dawn and dont return until dark. No running home for lunch for todays commuter. 今天的上班男女都是坐車來(lái)回的。他們上班距離之遠(yuǎn)會(huì)讓他們的父母驚訝得倒抽一口涼氣。45分鐘或1小時(shí)的車程是常見(jiàn)的。上班族坐公共汽車、地鐵，或開(kāi)車行駛在交通擁擠的公路上。不少人一清早就離開(kāi)位于郊區(qū)的家，一直要到天黑了才回來(lái)。今天的通勤族不再趕回家吃午飯。 11 And speaking of lunch, theres been a second big change in American famil

50、y life. If both parents are away from home for long hours, whos whipping up those delicious meals in the kitchen? The answer, more and more, is nobody. 說(shuō)起午飯，那正是美國(guó)家庭生活的第二大變化。要是父母都長(zhǎng)時(shí)間不在家，那誰(shuí)在廚房里忙著準(zhǔn)備美味的菜肴呢？越來(lái)越多聽(tīng)到的回答是沒(méi)有人做飯。 12 These days, few people have time to shop for and prepare home-style meals. The

51、 Cleavers were used to dinners of pot roast or chicken. Potatoes, salad, and vegetables went with the main course, with pie or cake for dessert. But this kind of meal takes several hours to fix. People cant spend hours in the kitchen if they get home at 5:30. 如今，很少人有時(shí)間采購(gòu)、烹制“家?！憋埐??？肆⒏ヒ患页３３詿跞饣驘蹼u，除主菜外還

52、有土豆、色拉、蔬菜，甜食是餡餅或蛋糕。但燒這種飯菜要花幾個(gè)小時(shí)。要是人們5：30才回到家，就無(wú)法在廚房里呆上幾個(gè)小時(shí)。 13 So what do working families eat? They choose meals that are easy to prepare or are already prepared. Fast food, takeout, and heat-and-serve dishes make up much of the modern American diet. Dad may arrive home with a bag of Big Macs and s

53、hakes. Mom may phone out for Chinese food or ask the local pizza parlor to deliver. And more and more people rely on microwaves to thaw frozen food in minutes. 那么雙職工家庭吃什么呢？他們選擇容易烹制或已經(jīng)烹制好的食品?？觳?，外賣食物，加熱即食的菜肴構(gòu)成了當(dāng)今美國(guó)食譜的很大一部分。爸爸可能帶回家一大包巨無(wú)霸漢堡包和飲料。 媽媽可能電話定購(gòu)中國(guó)菜，或讓附近的比薩店外送。越來(lái)越多的人依賴微波爐在幾分鐘內(nèi)把冷凍食品解凍。 14 One con

54、sequence of these quickly prepared meals is that families spend less time dining together. And classic fast foods, like hamburgers and fries, are meant to be eaten on the run, not slowly enjoyed at the dinner table. The modern family no longer shares the evening meal. As a result, it no longer share

55、s the days news. or the feeling of togetherness. 這些烹制簡(jiǎn)易的菜肴造成的后果之一是，一家人一起坐下吃飯的時(shí)間少了。傳統(tǒng)的快餐，如漢堡包，炸薯?xiàng)l，是讓人匆匆忙忙吃的，而不是坐在餐桌旁慢慢享用的?，F(xiàn)代家庭不再一起享用晚餐。其結(jié)果是，大家不再相互交流一天的事，也感覺(jué)不到合家團(tuán)聚的氣氛。 15 Finally, what about after dinner? Is the family evening at least something the Cleavers could relate to? 最后一點(diǎn)，晚飯之后又如何？晚上的家居生活總該跟克立弗

56、家多少有幾分相似了吧？ 16 Not a chance. 沒(méi)有絲毫相似之處。 17 We dont have to look outside the home to see the changes. The modern American family entertains itself in ways the Cleavers would never have dreamed of. 我們不必走出家門去看有什么變化。當(dāng)今美國(guó)家庭的娛樂(lè)方式是克立弗家無(wú)從想像的。 18 Thirty years ago, families gathered around a radio each evening

57、. Later, television took over. Most families had just one set, which they watched together. Today, television and computers bring a dizzying array of entertainment into the home. Cable television provides everything from aerobics classes to Shakespeare. VCRs expand the choices even more. (3) If theres nothing good on network TV or cable, the video s