專業(yè)學(xué)位碩士研究生英語(yǔ)Unit-1

1、ENGLISH FOR GRADUATE STUDENTSExcuse NotesUnit OneExcuses, ExcusesFrank McCourt was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Irish immigrant parents. Unable to find work in the depths of the Depression, the McCourts returned to Ireland, where they sunk deeper into the poverty McCourt describes so movingly in h

2、is memoir, Angelas Ashes. About the authorMcCourts father, an alcoholic, was often without work. He drank up what little money he earned and eventually abandoned the family altogether. Three of the seven children died of diseases aggravated by malnutrition and the squalor of their surroundings. Fran

3、k McCourt himself nearly died of typhoid fever when he was ten. Despite the horrors of McCourts childhood, he told his story with humor, brilliant description, and deep compassion for his family, even for the shiftless father who instilled in him a love of language and storytelling. After quitting s

4、chool at 13, Frank McCourt alternated between odd jobs and petty crime in an effort to feed himself, his mother, and four surviving brothers and sisters. At 19, he returned to the United States and worked at odd jobs until he was drafted into the United States Army at the onset of the Korean War. Mc

5、Court spent the war stationed in Germany and on his return to civilian life was able to pursue a college education on the G.I. Bill. Although he had never attended high school, he was able to persuade the admissions office of New York University to accept him as a student. Although his childhood int

6、erest in language and storytelling were fed by creative writing classes and his own constant reading, he did not feel ready to pursue as career as a professional writer. On graduation, he went to work for the New York City Public School system, where he taught for the next 27 years.After years of te

7、aching creative writing to young people, McCourt determined to write his own life story. Angelas Ashes sold over 4 million copies, has been published in 27 countries and has been translated into 17 languages. It won McCourt the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, th

8、e ABBY Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.His second book, Tis, picked up the story of his life where Angelas Ashes left off, with his arrival in America at age 19. It shot to the top of the best-seller lists as soon as it was published. His 2005 memoir, Teacher Man, chronicled his 27-year c

9、areer in the New York City school system. Like its predecessor, it was an instant bestseller. Frank McCourt died in New York City at the age of 78. Attila (A.D. 406453), also known as Attila the Hun, was the Emperor of the Huns from 434 until his death in 453. He was leader of the Hunnic Empire whic

10、h stretched from Germany to the Ural River and from the River Danube to the Baltic Sea During his rule, he was one of the most fearsome of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires enemies: he invaded the Balkans twice and marchedthrough Gaul (modern France) as far as Orleans before being defeated at th

11、e Battle of Chalons. He refrained from attacking either Constantinople or Rome. His story, that the Sword of Attila had come to his hand by miraculous means, was reported by the Roman Priscus Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 November 24, 1963) was, according to three United States government inve

12、stigations, the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, who was fatally shot on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. An Ex United States Marine who defected to the Soviet Union and later returned, Oswald was arrested on suspicion of killing Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit and later connected

13、to the assassination of President Kennedy. Oswald denied any responsibility for the murders. Two days later, while being transferred under police custody from the city jail to the county jail, Oswald was shot and mortally wounded by Jack Ruby on live television. In 1964 the Warren Commission conclud

14、ed that Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy single-handedly, a conclusion also reached by prior investigations of the FBI and the Dallas Police Department. In 1979, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded, based largely on outdated acoustic ev

15、idence, that Oswald assassinated Kennedy “probably as a result of a conspiracy.Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 June 19, 1953) and Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg (September 28, 1915 June 19, 1953) were American communists who were executed in 1953 after having been found guilty of conspiracy to commit esp

16、ionage. The charges were in relation to the passing of information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Their execution was the first of civilians, for espionage, in United States history. Al Capone is Americas best known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order

17、 in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era. Capone had a leading role in the illegal activities that lent Chicago its reputation as a lawless city. E.g. 1Someone stole my credit card and forged my signature. 有人偷了我的信用卡,并假冒我的簽名。2a forged passport 偽造的護(hù)照Forgeto make an illegal copy of someth

18、ing in order to deceive:偽造，鑄造E.g.1This ring is genuine gold. 這枚戒指是真金的。2All genuine knowledge originates in direct experience. 一切真知都是從直接經(jīng)驗(yàn)發(fā)源的。3a genuine signature 親筆簽字4a genuine person誠(chéng)懇的人5a genuine breed 純種2. genuineIf something is genuine, it is real and exactly what it appears to be:真的E.g.1) They

19、dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage. 他們把新衣服發(fā)給孤兒院的小孩們。2Weve allocated a sum of money to education. 我們已經(jīng)撥出了一筆教育經(jīng)費(fèi)。3. distributeto give something out to several people, or to spread or supply something分發(fā)，發(fā)送E.g.1You have omitted my name in from the list. 你把我的名字從名單上漏掉了。2He omitted to s

20、tate his reasons. 他未表達(dá)理由。4. omitto fail to include or do something省略，疏忽E.g.a hopeless plight絕望的境地be in a sorry pitiable, wretched plight處境困窘He is in a sad plight.他陷入了悲慘的境地。5. plight an unpleasant condition, especially a serious, sad or difficult one處境，狀態(tài)。E.g.1) I can attest to the absolute truth of

21、his story. 我可以證實(shí)他的話是千真萬(wàn)確的。2) The childs good health attests his mothers care. 這孩子健康的身體證實(shí)他母親照料周到。3)I have said nothing that I am not ready to attest. 我發(fā)誓, 我說(shuō)的話句句屬實(shí)。4)The handwriting expert attested to the genuineness of the signature. 筆跡專家作證該簽名無(wú)訛。6. attest to show something or to say or prove that so

22、mething is true證明。E.g.1to glance at ones watch 看一下表2) She glanced along the road to see if he was coming. 她沿路掃視著，看他是否要來(lái)了。3) He glanced at his watch and then looked at the sky. 他看了看手表,然后又看了看天空。glance at to give a quick short look 看一下；一瞥；掃視E.g. turn coins into paper money把硬幣換成紙幣Can you turn this artic

23、le into Chinese?你能把這篇文章譯成漢語(yǔ)嗎?2. turn intochange into進(jìn)入, (使)變成E.g.1) He urged her to rest. 他催促她休息。2)When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could bear. 當(dāng)我的老朋友布賴恩慫恿我接受一支香煙時(shí),我實(shí)在熬不住了。3. Urge to having a strong wish to do something強(qiáng)烈欲望做某事1. I had seen Mikey writing the

24、 note at his desk, see somebody doing something “看見(jiàn)某人正在做某事 例: I saw her cleaning the classroom. 我看到她正在掃打教室強(qiáng)調(diào)正在做某事 I saw him coming towards the school building. 我看見(jiàn)他朝學(xué)校大樓走來(lái). I saw them watching TV. 我看見(jiàn)他們正在看電視.我看見(jiàn)邁克正在寫(xiě)假條,1. I had seen Mikey writing the note at his desk, .be supposed to do something :意

25、為“應(yīng)該 ；“被期望，它可以用來(lái)表示勸告、建議、義務(wù)、責(zé)任等， “強(qiáng)調(diào)客觀上 。例：He is supposed to work hard. 他應(yīng)該努力工作。 Everyone is supposed to wear a seat-belt in the car. 每個(gè)人在汽車?yán)锒紤?yīng)該系平安帶。 Teachers are supposed to treat all the students alike. 老師應(yīng)該對(duì)所有的學(xué)生一視同仁。 2. Theyre supposed to be written by parents, 那些假條應(yīng)該是由他們的父母寫(xiě)才對(duì)，2. Theyre supposed

26、 to be written by parents, sooner or later遲早E.g.1) He hasnt got any money, so hes bound to turn up sooner or later. 他沒(méi)有錢, 所以, 他必定會(huì)出現(xiàn)的。2) You should tell her, because shell find out sooner or later. 你還是告訴她吧, 因?yàn)樗t早會(huì)覺(jué)察的.3)You will leave your parents sooner or later. 你遲早會(huì)離開(kāi)父母的3. Sooner or later, I figur

27、ed, everyone needed an excuse. 我捂出，總有一天，人人需要借口。 3. Sooner or later, I figured, everyone needed an excuse. 借口，借口弗蘭克 麥考特學(xué)生杜撰了種種假條,我把它們用作一堂課的教案1我在紐約史坦頓島的拉爾夫麥基職業(yè)學(xué)校教?創(chuàng)意寫(xiě)作?已經(jīng)到第三個(gè)年頭了。一天早晨，我的一個(gè)學(xué)生，16歲的米奇，遞過(guò)來(lái)一張請(qǐng)假條，解釋他缺席的原因。上面寫(xiě)到： 2“親愛(ài)的麥考特先生：米奇的外婆，也就是我媽，今年80歲了。由于咖啡喝多了，從樓梯上掉了下來(lái)，所以我得把米奇留在家，照顧他祖母，還有他妹妹，我自己得去碼頭上班。請(qǐng)

28、原諒米奇的缺席，他以后一定會(huì)表現(xiàn)好的！又及：他外婆沒(méi)事。我親眼看到這小子為了不讓我認(rèn)出他的筆跡，用左手寫(xiě)的這請(qǐng)假條?？墒俏覍?duì)此事沒(méi)有言語(yǔ)。3那段時(shí)間我收到的以父母名義寫(xiě)的請(qǐng)假條，絕大多數(shù)都是是學(xué)生由自己操刀。自從學(xué)會(huì)寫(xiě)作那天起，他們就開(kāi)始編假條了。如果我要是一一追究，那好，簡(jiǎn)直一天24小時(shí)都閑不下來(lái)。4我把米奇的假條連同其它幾十份類似的假條塞進(jìn)抽屜。時(shí)逢考試時(shí)段，我決定把我先前讀過(guò)的假條在班上念給大家聽(tīng)。我把它們分成兩摞，第一摞是確實(shí)出自媽媽們之手，第二摞是學(xué)生們以媽媽的名義寫(xiě)的。第二摞的份數(shù)要多些，而且寫(xiě)作風(fēng)格各異，有的富于想像，有的富于異想。5我突然靈機(jī)一動(dòng)。6這豈不是不可思議，我暗暗想，

29、當(dāng)我要求學(xué)生們寫(xiě)個(gè)200字的作文時(shí)，他們牢騷滿腹，抱怨寫(xiě)不出什么。但是寫(xiě)起請(qǐng)假條來(lái)，卻文思泉涌？我收集的那些請(qǐng)假條，真該入選?美國(guó)假條大全?。它們是在歌曲、故事、研究中從未出現(xiàn)過(guò)的才智佳作。7這簡(jiǎn)直是美國(guó)高中寫(xiě)作的典范佳作，原創(chuàng),真實(shí),緊迫的，明晰的，簡(jiǎn)單，說(shuō)謊。我讀到： 8我家爐子著火了，順著墻紙燒，消防隊(duì)員來(lái)忙了一夜，我們一宿沒(méi)睡 9 阿諾德完成了您布置的作業(yè)，昨天乘坐地鐵的時(shí)候，書(shū)包被地鐵門夾住，車開(kāi)走了，所以作業(yè)也沒(méi)了。10他妹妹的狗把他的作業(yè)給吃了，但愿這該死的狗給噎死。11我們從公寓被趕了出來(lái)，那個(gè)可惡的治安官說(shuō)如果我的兒子一直嚷著要他的筆記本的話，他就把我們?nèi)甲テ饋?lái)。12杜撰這

30、些借口的作者沒(méi)有意識(shí)到老實(shí)的借口常常乏味，如：皮特遲到了是因?yàn)轸[鐘沒(méi)響。13 一天，我打印了十多份借口假條，把它們發(fā)給我的高年級(jí)班。學(xué)生們?nèi)褙炞?，安靜地閱讀。 “麥考特先生，是誰(shuí)寫(xiě)的？一男孩問(wèn)道。14 “是你們寫(xiě)的，我答復(fù)?！俺鲇诒Ｗo(hù)作者的目的，我劃掉姓名。這些假條按道理是由父母寫(xiě)的，不過(guò)你們和我都知道真正的作者是誰(shuí)，對(duì)吧，米奇？15 “那么我們接下來(lái)要做什么？16 “這是第一堂學(xué)習(xí)借口假條寫(xiě)作藝術(shù)-第一次課堂練習(xí)寫(xiě)作借口假條。你們很幸運(yùn)要拿出你們的佳作，把它變成值得學(xué)習(xí)的主題。 17 每位學(xué)生面帶笑容。我接著說(shuō)“你們不必只寫(xiě)舊鬧鐘的故事。發(fā)揮你們的想象。也許有一天，你的孩子們上學(xué)遲到或缺席

31、或做了搗蛋事，你得為他們編借口。想象一下你有個(gè)15歲大的孩子需要編寫(xiě)英語(yǔ)成績(jī)落后的理由。 我們開(kāi)始吧。18學(xué)生們編撰了種種理由，從一輛16輪大車撞上房子到學(xué)校餐廳造成的嚴(yán)重食物中毒。他們紛紛說(shuō)：“再寫(xiě)一個(gè)，再寫(xiě)一個(gè)。我們可以多寫(xiě)點(diǎn)嗎？19我答道：“你們寫(xiě)吧. “我完成了, “亞當(dāng)給上帝的請(qǐng)假條 “夏娃給上帝的請(qǐng)假條.這些學(xué)生唰唰唰地寫(xiě)著,頭都不抬。20不久，下課鈴聲響起，我第一次看到學(xué)生如此沉浸在寫(xiě)作中以致要他們的朋友催促著去吃午飯： 呦，勒尼，快點(diǎn)，等會(huì)再做。21第二天每人都帶來(lái)他們寫(xiě)好的假條，請(qǐng)假人從亞當(dāng)?shù)较耐?，更從上帝到撒旦。一名女生為亞?dāng)?shù)恼T惑辯白道：夏娃厭倦了在天堂里整天撒謊，無(wú)所事

32、事。也厭倦了上帝干預(yù)他們的生活。22學(xué)生就亞當(dāng)和夏娃的罪進(jìn)行劇烈討論。雖然有些跡象，但是還沒(méi)有人對(duì)上帝說(shuō)難聽(tīng)的話。有學(xué)生說(shuō)，上帝應(yīng)該對(duì)人類第一個(gè)男人和第一個(gè)女人的處境多些理解。23我讓全班同學(xué)思考任何一個(gè)可能找個(gè)好借口的歷史人物。我把自己的建議寫(xiě)在了黑板上： 愛(ài)娃布勞恩，希特勒的女朋友；朱利葉斯與伊瑟爾羅森伯格，因賣國(guó)罪被處死；猶大；阿提拉；奧斯瓦耳德；鋁彭；24“呦，麥考特先生，你能把老師們也寫(xiě)上去嗎？ 一學(xué)生問(wèn)。25然后，我聽(tīng)到有人說(shuō)，“麥考特先生，校長(zhǎng)在門口。 26當(dāng)校長(zhǎng)和學(xué)監(jiān)走進(jìn)來(lái)時(shí)，我的心直往下沉。他們都沒(méi)和我打招呼，徑直走到學(xué)生面前，盯著看學(xué)生的作文。學(xué)監(jiān)拿了一份給校長(zhǎng)看。27學(xué)監(jiān)皺了皺眉頭，校長(zhǎng)撅起嘴。當(dāng)他們出去時(shí)，校長(zhǎng)要我下課后去找學(xué)監(jiān)。28我想，又玩完了，等著被炒魷魚(yú)吧。校長(zhǎng)坐在桌子旁，學(xué)監(jiān)那么站著。“請(qǐng)進(jìn)，學(xué)監(jiān)說(shuō)?！拔抑幌敫嬖V你，這堂課，這個(gè)話題先不管你到底在做什么簡(jiǎn)直太棒了！那些孩子到達(dá)了大學(xué)水平。 29他轉(zhuǎn)向校長(zhǎng)說(shuō)：“那個(gè)為猶大找借口寫(xiě)假條的，太棒了。我要和你握握手， 他邊說(shuō)邊轉(zhuǎn)向我，“你的檔案里會(huì)增加一封證明你富有活力和想象力的教學(xué)的信。謝謝你。30天哪！能得到如此重要人物的贊揚(yáng)。我不知是應(yīng)該在過(guò)道上飄舞，還是縱身飛起來(lái)？第二天我得意地在教室里哼唱小調(diào)。31學(xué)生們放聲大笑。他們說(shuō)：“嘿，學(xué)校每天都應(yīng)該這樣，我們寫(xiě)借口假條，老師們突然引