【最新編排】全新版大學(xué)英語綜合教程3課文原文及翻譯

1、unit 1 Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream LifeIn America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside Many living in tow ns 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 of a farmer

2、 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，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)?；蛟S這也沒有什么不好，

3、因?yàn)?，?如吉姆多爾蒂當(dāng)初開始其寫作和農(nóng)場(chǎng)經(jīng)營雙重生涯時(shí)所體驗(yàn)到的那樣，農(nóng)耕生活遠(yuǎn)非輕松 H在。但他寫道，H己并不后悔，對(duì)白己作岀的改變生活方式的決定仍熱情不減。Mr. Dohertv Builds His Dream LifeJim Doherty1 There are two things I have always wanted to do write and live on a farm. Today Fm doing both. I am not in E. B. White's class as a writer or in my neighbors1 league as

4、a farmer, but I'm getting by. And after years of frustration with city and suburban living, my wife Sandy and I have fin ally found contentme nt here in the countr y.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育想做的一一寫作與務(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Z后，我和妻子桑迪終于在這里的鄉(xiāng)

5、村尋覓到心靈的滿 足。2 It's 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

6、是自己種的。自家飼養(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 過冬取暖Z用。3 It s 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 o

7、f cattle 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H里我們?cè)诤由鲜幹?，在林子里野餐，騎著白行車長(zhǎng) 時(shí)間漫游。冬口里我們滑雪溜冰。我們?yōu)槁淙盏挠噍x而激動(dòng)。我們愛聞大地冋暖的氣息，愛 聽牛群陣叫。我們守著看鷹兒飛過上空，看玉米田間鹿群嬢躍。4 But the good life can get pretty tough Three months ago when it was 30 below, we spent two miserable days hauling fir

8、ewood up the river on a sled. Three months from now, it will be 95 above and we will be cultivating com, 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 im

9、provements 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)艱苫。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。再過三個(gè)月，氣溫會(huì)

10、升到95度, 我們就要給土米松土，在草莓地除瑩，還要宰殺家禽。前一陣了我和桑辿不得不翻修示屋頂。過些時(shí)候，四個(gè)孩子屮的兩個(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 久沒修的室外廁所修狂-下，那是專為室外干活修建的。這個(gè)月晚些時(shí)候，我們要給果樹噴 灑藥水，要油漆谷倉，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

11、 to magazines 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

12、typing 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)z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B己繁忙的

13、工作口稈。除了口常的家務(wù)，她還照管菜園 和蜂房，烘烤面包,將食品裝罐、冷藏，開車送孩子學(xué)音樂,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。正如老話說的那樣，在這種情形Z下，壞人不得閑一一賢徳Z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 dri

14、fts up against the house and barn, we kept warm inside burning our own wood, eating our own apples and loving every minute of i(.我們誰也不會(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 雪因著。暴風(fēng)雪肆虐，一場(chǎng)接肴一場(chǎng)，積雪厚厚地覆蓋著屋子和谷倉，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，溫馨快樂每一分鐘。7 When spring came, it brought two floods. First the river over

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

16、uice, 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.開春后，有過兩次泛濫。一次是河水外溢，我們不少皿地被淹了幾個(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，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。接肴

17、我們存放食品罐的架了上、柜櫥里也開 始堆滿一罐罐的腌漬食品，有番茄汁、葡萄汁、李了、果醬和果凍。最屁 地窖里遍地是大 堆大堆的土豆、西朋蘆、南瓜，谷倉里也儲(chǔ)滿了蘋果和梨。真是太美妙了。8 The next yeawe grew even more food and managed to get through the winter on firewoodthat was mostly from our own trees and only 100 gallons of heating oil. At that point I began thinking seriously about qui

18、tting 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 comi ng back to the same question: Will there ever be a better time? The answer, decide

19、dly, was no, and so - with my employer s blessings and half a years pay in accumulated ben efits in my pocket off I went.第二年我們種了更多的作物，差不女就靠著從白家樹林砍斫的木柴以及僅僅100加侖 的燃油過了冬。其時(shí)，我開始認(rèn)真考慮起辭了職去從事自由撰稿的事來。時(shí)機(jī)選得實(shí)在太并。半時(shí)，兩個(gè)大的女兒肖恩和埃米正在費(fèi)川很高的常春藤學(xué)校上學(xué)，而我們只冇幾T咲金的銀 行存款。但我們一再冋到一個(gè)老問題上來：真的會(huì)冇更好的時(shí)機(jī)嗎？答案無疑是否定的。于 是，帶著老板的祝福，口袋里揣著作為

20、累積津貼的半年薪水，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, I ve crawled into black-bear dens for Sports Illustrated, hitched up dogsled racing teams for Smithsonian magazine, checked out

21、the Lake Champlain M monstern for Scienee Digest, and canoed through the Boundary Waters wilderness area of Minnesota for Destinations.那以后有過一些焦慮的時(shí)刻，但總的來說，情況比我們料想的要好得多。為了寫那些 內(nèi)容備不相同的文章，我為體冇畫報(bào)爬進(jìn)過黑熊窩；為史密森期刊替參賽的一纟I組 狗套上過雪橇；為科學(xué)文摘調(diào)杳過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 Fm not making anywhere near

22、 as much money as I did when I was employed full time, but now we don't need as much either. I generate eno ugh income to handle our $600amonth mortgage payments plus the usual expenses for a family like ours. That includes everything from music lessons and dental bills to car repairs and colleg

23、e costs. When it comes to insurance, we have a poor manrs 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

24、covered against 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T作時(shí)的收入，可如今我們需要的錢也沒有過去多。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口常開銷。那些開銷包括了所有支 出，如音樂課學(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)。

25、我們需要為毎一位家庭成員的任何一項(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% o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)，我們就沒有其他保險(xiǎn)了。不過我們每年留出2000美元入個(gè)人退 休金賬戶。11 We've been able to make up the difference in income by cutting back without appreciably lowering our standard of living. We continu

26、e to dine out once or twice 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

27、 we combine vacations with story assignments.,我們通過節(jié)約開支而又不明顯降低生活水準(zhǔn)的方式來彌補(bǔ)收入差額。我們每個(gè)月仍出去吃一兩次飯，不過現(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?基聽歌劇看芭蕾演出，不過一年才幾次。我們?nèi)獬缘蒙倭耍坪鹊帽阋肆?，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 s

28、pecial qualities. One is a tolerance for solitude. Because we are so busy and on such a tight budget, we don't 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

29、鄉(xiāng)村的人都會(huì)樂意過我們這種生活的。這種生活需要一些特殊的素質(zhì)。其一是耐得住寂寞。由于我們?nèi)绱嗣β?，手頭又緊，我們很少請(qǐng)客。在作物生長(zhǎng)季節(jié), 根本就沒工夫參加社交活動(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 devi

30、ces.Instead, you do the 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)要求是體力一一相當(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 we'

31、;ll have enough energy to stay on here is anybody's 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 we*ve been able to accomplish. We should make a fair profit on the sale of the place, too. We've

32、 invested about $35,000 of our own money 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

33、把農(nóng)場(chǎng)岀售也會(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)在售出的話價(jià)格差不多可以翻一倍。不過現(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15 We didn't move here primarily to earn money though. We came because we wanted to improve the quality of our lives. When 1 watch Emily collecting eggs in the evening, fishing with Jim on the river o

34、r enjoying an old-fashioned picnic in the orchard with the entire family, I know we've 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 y

35、ears- She identifies three forces at work. What are they? Read on to find out. Then ask yourself whethersimilar 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家庭生活近幾年來的變化。她指出有三種力量在起作用。是哪 三種力量？請(qǐng)讀本文。讀后問一下自己，同樣的力量在中國是否也在起作用。中國的家庭生活最終是否會(huì)朝著同一個(gè)方向變化?Ameri

36、can Family Life: The Changing PictureDonna BarronIt's another evening in an American household.美國家庭生活：變化中的景象 唐娜巴倫這是美國家庭一個(gè)尋常的傍晚。2 The door swings open at 5:30 sharpJHi, honey! Pm home!*1 In walks dear old Dad, hungry and tired after a long day at the office. He is greeted by Mom in her apron, thr

37、ee happy children, and the aroma of a delicious pot roast.門在5： 30準(zhǔn)時(shí)推開。“嗨，親愛的！我回來了！”親愛的老爸走了進(jìn)來，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【oom. There everyone

38、 spends the evening playing Scrabble or watching 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。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

39、散發(fā)的香味中醒來。5 (1) What? You say that doesn't sound like life in your house? Well, youie not alone. In fact,yourre probably in the majority.什么？你說那聽起來不像你府上的生活？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 t

40、elevision. Just watch reruns of old situation 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 Cleaver's are fewer and fewer. TheyTe disappearing because three p

41、arts of our lives have changed: the way we work, 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在美國曾一度相當(dāng)?shù)湫?。如今你仍能見到這樣的家庭一一不過 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

42、越來越少了。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，餐飲方式以及娛樂方式。了解這些變化所帶來的影響也許有助于我們改善家庭 生活。7 Let's look first at the changes in the way we work. Today the words ' Hi, honey! I'm home!*1 might not be spoken by dear old Dad- Dear old Mom is just as likely to be saying them. A generation ago, most ho

43、useholds could get along on one paycheck 一 Dad's. Mom stayed home, at least 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 m

44、ushroomed in the last thirty years.我們先來看一下我們工作方式的變化。今天，“嗨，親愛的，我回家了！”這句話可能 不是出自親愛的老爸之口。親愛的老媽也同樣可能說這句話。在上一代，大多數(shù)家庭可以靠 一份工資一一爸爸的工資一一維持。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

45、 work, children came home from school to Mom, (In TV situation comedies, they came home to Mom and home-baked cookies) Today, well find them at an after-school program or a neighbor's house Or they may come home to no one at all. In every community, children are caring for themselves until their

46、 parents return from work Are these children missing out on an important part of childhood? 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 托班或鄰居家里見到他們

47、。要不他們就回到空無一人的家。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)？這些問題是克立弗太太過去從來不用操心的。9 In addition, Dad and now Mom are often gone from home longer than even Not too long ago, most men worked close to home. The office or factory was just downtown. Dad often walked to work or hitc

48、hed 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 Today's 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 hou

49、r are common. Workers travel on buses, subways, and crowded highways- Many leave their suburban homes at dawn and don't return until dark. No running home for lunch for today's commute匚no今天的上班男女都是坐車來回的。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)的車程是常見的。上班族坐公共汽車、地鐵，或開車行駛在交通擁 擠的公路上。不少人一清早就離開位于郊區(qū)的家，一直要到

50、天黑了才回來。今天的通勤族不 再趕回家吃午飯。11 And speaking of lunch, there's been a second big change in American family life. If both parents are away from home for long hours, who's whipping up those delicious meals in tlie kitchen? The answer, more and more, is nobody.說起午飯，那正是美國家庭生活的第二大變化。要是父母都長(zhǎng)時(shí)間不在家，那誰在廚房里忙

51、著準(zhǔn)備美味的菜肴呢？越來越多聽到的回答是沒有人做飯。12 These days, few people have time to shop for and prepare ,rhome-stylef, meals. The 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

52、 fix.People can't spend hours in the kitchen if they get home at 5:30.如今，很少人有時(shí)間采購、烹制“家常”飯菜?？肆⒏ヒ患页３３詿跞饣驘蹼u，除主 菜外還有土豆、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, an

53、d heat-and-serve dishes make up much of the modem American diet Dad may arrive home with a bag of Big Macs and shakes. 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己經(jīng)烹制好的食品。

54、快餐，外賣食物,加熱即食的菜肴構(gòu)成了當(dāng)今美國食譜的很大一部分。爸爸可能帶回家一大包巨無霸漢堡包和 飲料。媽媽可能電話定購中國菜，或讓附近的比薩店外送。越來越多的人依賴微波爐在幾 分鐘內(nèi)把冷凍食品解凍。14 One consequence 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 enjo

55、yed at the dinner table* The modern family no longer shares tlie evening meat As a result, it no longer shares the day's 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。現(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，也感覺不到合家團(tuán)聚的氣氛。15 Finally, what abou

56、t 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家多少有幾分相似了吧?16 Not a chance.沒有絲毫相似之處。17 We don't have to look outside the home to see the changes. The modem American family entertains itself in ways the Cleavers would never have drea

57、med of.我們不必走出家門去看有什么變化。當(dāng)今美國家庭的娛樂方式是克立弗家無從想像的。18 Thirty years ago, families gathered around a radio each evening. Later, television took oven Most families had just one set, which they watched together Today, television and computers bring a dizzying array of entertainment into the home. Cable televi

58、sion provides everything from aerobics classes to Shakespeare. VCRs expand the choices even more. (3) If there*s nothing good on network TV or cable, the video store offers the best and worst of Hollywood: recent movies, cartoons, f,adult1' films, exercise programs, travel, sports, how-to tapes.

59、 Computer games, which make viewers part of the action, also provide excitement. Players can compete in the Olympics, search out aliens, or wipe out entire civilizations on their little screens.三十年前，家家戶戶每天晚上圍坐著聽收音機(jī)。后來電視機(jī)取而代之。大多數(shù)家庭只有一臺(tái)電視機(jī)，全家人一起收看。如今，電視機(jī)和電腦將多得令人眩目的娛樂活動(dòng)帶入家庭。有線電視播出的節(jié)目從有氧操到莎士比亞戲劇無所不有。錄像機(jī)更是擴(kuò)大了選擇性。要是網(wǎng) 絡(luò)電視或有線電視沒有中意的節(jié)目，錄像制品商店可提供好萊塢制作的品質(zhì)迥異的各種節(jié) 目：新近發(fā)行的電影、動(dòng)畫片、喊人'電影、體育鍛煉節(jié)目、旅游、體育以及入門指南錄像 帶。讓收看人參與其間的電腦游戲也提供了相當(dāng)?shù)拇碳ぁＳ螒蛘吣茉趭W運(yùn)會(huì)上施展身手，尋 找外星人，或者在小小的屏幕上摧毀整個(gè)文明國家。19 Wit