大學(xué)英語課外閱讀

Unit1TextTwocollege-ageboys,unawarethatmakingmoneyusuallyinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbyanadvertisementthatpromisesthemaneasywaytoearnalotofmoney.Theboyssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.BIGBUCKSTHEEASYWAYJohnG.Hubbell"Yououghttolookintothis,"Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons."Itmightbeawaytoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskformoneyallthetime."Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungonourdoorknob.Amessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurely,lucrativework("BigBuckstheEasyWay!"ofdeliveringmoresuchbags."Idon'tmindtheindignity,"theolderoneanswered."Icanlivewithit,"hisbrotheragreed."Butitpainsme,"Isaid，"tofindthatyoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesyou."Theboyssaidtheywouldlookintothemagazine-deliverything.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BymidnightIwascomfortablysettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.Itwasmywife.Shewantedtoknowhowmydayhadgone."Great!"Ienthused."Howwasyourday?"Iinquired."Super!"Shesnapped."Justsuper!Andit'sonlygettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront.""Anothertruck?""Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomeryWards.ThesecondbroughtfourthousandSears,Roebucks.Idon'tknowwhatthisonehas,butI'msureitwillbefourthousandofsomething.Sinceyouareresponsible,Ithoughtyoumightliketoknowwhat'shappening.WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarytohand-delivertheadvertisinginsertsthatnormallyareincludedwiththeSundaypaper.Thecompanyhadpromisedourboys$600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000housesbySundaymorning."Pieceofcake!"ouroldercollegesonhadshouted."Sixhundredbucks!"Hisbrotherhadechoed,"Andwecandothejobintwohours!""BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,"mywifeinformedme."Therearethirty-twothousandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguysarecarryingarmloadsofpaperupthewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?""Justtelltheboystogetbusy,"Iinstructed."They'recollegemen.They'lldowhattheyhavetodo."AtnoonthefollowingdayIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemywife.Hervoicewasunnaturallyhighandquavering.Therehadbeenseveralmoretruckloadsofadinserts."They'refordepartmentstores,dimestores,drugstores,grocerystores,autostoresandsoon.Somearewholemagazinesections.Wehavehundredsofthousands,maybemillions,ofpagesofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wallallthroughthehouseinstackstallerthanyouroldestson.There'sonlyenoughroomforpeopletowalkin,takeoneeachoftheeleveninserts,rollthemtogether,sliparubberbandaroundthemandslidethemintoaplasticbag.WehaveenoughplasticbagstosupplyeverytakeoutrestaurantinAmerica!"Hervoicekeptrising,asifworkingitswayoutoftherangeofthehumanear."Allthismustbedeliveredbyseveno'clockSundaymorning.""Well,youhadbettergetthoseguysbandingandslidingasfastastheycan,andI'lltalktoyoulater.Gotalunchdate.WhenIreturned,therewasanotherurgentcallfrommywife."Didyouhaveanicelunch?"sheaskedsweetly.Ihadhadamarveloussteak,butknewbetterbynowthantosayso."Awful,"Ireported."Somesortofsourfish.Eel,Ithink.""Good.Yourcollegesonshavehiredtheiryoungerbrothersandsistersandacoupleofneighborhoodchildrentohelpforfivedollarseach.Assemblylineshavebeensetup.Inthelanguageofdiplomacy,thereis'movement.'""That'sencouraging.""No,it'snot,"shecorrected."It'sverydiscouraging.They'rebeenasitforhours.Plasticbagshavebeenfilledandpiledtotheceiling,butallthishasn'tmadeadent,notadent,inthesituation!It'salmostasiftheinsertskeepreproducingthemselves!""Anotherthing,"shecontinued."Yourcollegesonsmustlearnthatonedoesnotgetthebestoutofemployeesbythreateningthemwithbodilyharm.ObtaininganaudiencewithsonNO.1,Isnarled,"I'llkillyouifthreatenoneofthosekidsagain!Idiot!Youshouldbeofferingabonusofadollareveryhourtotheworkerwhofillsthemostbags."Butthatwouldcutintoourprofit,"hesuggested."Therewon'tbeanyprofitunlessthosekidsenableyoutomakeallthedeliveriesontime.Iftheydon't,youtwowillhavetoremoveallthatpaperbyyourselves.Andtherewillbenoeatingorsleepinguntilitisremoved."Therewasashort,thoughtfulsilence.Thenhesaid,"Dad,youhavejustworkedaprofoundchangeinmypersonality.""Doit!""Yes,sir!"Bythefollowingevening,therewasmuchformywifetoreport.Thebonusprogramhadworkeduntilsomeonedemandedtoseethecolorofcash.Thensomeactivistontheworkforceclaimedthattheworkershadnobusinesssettlingfor$5andafewcompetitivebonuseswhilethebossedcollectedhundredsofdollarseach.Theorganizerhaddeclaredthatalltheworkerswereentitledto$5perhour!Theywouldnotworkanotherminuteuntilthebossesagreed.Thestrikelastedlessthantwohours.Inmediation,thepartiesagreedon$2perhour.Gradually,thehugestacksbegantoshrink.Asitturnedout,thejobwascompletedthreehoursbeforeSunday's7a.m.deadline.BythetimeIarrivedhome,theboyshadalreadysettledtheiraccounts:$150inlaborcosts,$40forgasoline,andalikeamountforgifts—boxesofcandyforsaintlyneighborswhohadvolunteeredstationwagonsandhelpindeliveryanddozenrosesfortheirmother.Thisleftthemwith$185each—abouttwo-thirdstheminimumwageforthe91hourstheyworked.Still,itwas"enough",asoneofthemputit,toenablethemto"avoidindignity"forquiteawhile.Allwentwellforsomeweeks.ThenoneSaturdaymorningmyattentionwasdrawntotheoddgoings-onofourtwoyoungestsons.Theykeptcarryingcartonaftercartonfromvariouscornersofthehouseoutthefrontdoortocurbside.Iassumedtheirmotherhadenlistedthemtoremovejunkforatrashpickup.ThenIoverheardthemdiscussingfinances."Geez,we'regoingtomakealotofmoney!""We'regoingtoberich!"Investigationrevealedthattheywereoffering"forsaleorrent"ourentirelibrary."No!No!"Icried."Youcan'tsellourbooks!""Geez,Dad,wethoughtyouweredonewiththem!""You'renever'done'withbooks,"Itriedtoexplain."Sureyouare.Youreadthem,andyou'redonewiththem.That'sit.Thenyoumightaswellmakealittlemoneyfromthem.Wewantedtoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskyoufor……"NewWordsbuckn.(sl.U.S.dollarplastica.塑料的n.(pl塑料doorknobn.門把手leisurelya.unhurried從容的，慢慢的leisuren.freetime空閑時(shí)間，閑暇fitable有利的；賺錢的painvt.causepaintopanhandlevi.(AmEbeg.esp.onthestreetsdeliveryn.delivering(ofletters,goods,etc.投遞；送交enthusevi.showenthusiasminquirevt.asksupera.(colloq.wonderful,splendid;excellentsnapvt.say(sth.sharply厲聲說insertn.插頁heusualconditions;ordinarily通常companyn.公司echovt.sayordowhatanotherpersonsaysordoes;repeat附和；重復(fù)adn.(shortforadvertisementinformvt.tell;giveinformation告知porchn.(AmEveranda門廊armloadn.asmuchasonearmorbotharmscanhold;armfulwalkn.apathspeciallyarrangedorpavedforwalking人行道unnaturallyad.inanunnaturalway不自然地quavervi.(ofthevoiceorsoundshake;tremble顫抖truckloadn.asmuchorasmanyasatruckcancarrydepartmentstoren.storesellingmanydifferentkindsofgoodsinseparatedepartments百貨公司dimen.coinofU.S.andCanadaworthtencentsdimestoren.(AmEastoresellingalargevarietyoflow-pricedarticles;varietystore廉價(jià)商品店；小商口店drugstoren.(AmEastorethatsellsnotonlymedicine,butalsobeautyproducts,film,magazines,andfood藥店，雜貨店groceryn.astorethatsellsfoodandhouseholdsupplies食品雜貨店sectionn.partofsubdivisionofapieceofwriting,book,newspaper,etc.;portion（文章等的）段落；節(jié)；部分cramvt.filltoofull;forceorpressintoasmallspace把……塞滿；把……塞進(jìn)stackn.anorderly;heaporgroupofthings一疊（堆、垛等）bandn.flat,thinpieceofmaterial帶；帶狀物vt.tieupwithaband捆扎rubberbandn.橡皮筋takeouta.（餐館）出售外賣菜的rangen.thedistanceatwhichonecanseeorhear（聽覺、視覺等）的范圍marvel(lousa.wonderful;astonishingsteakn.牛排；大塊肉（或魚）片soura.酸的eeln.鰻鱺diplomacyn.外交encouraginga.鼓舞人心的dentn.ahollowinahardsurfacemadebyabloworpressure;initialprogress凹痕，凹坑，初步進(jìn)展ducetheyoungof(oneselforone'sownkind生殖，繁殖bodilya.ofthehumanbody;physicalharmn.damageorwrong傷害audiencen.thepeoplegatheredinaplacetohearorsee;achancetobeheard觀眾；聽眾；陳述意見的機(jī)會(huì)snarlvt.speakinaharshvoice咆哮著說bonusn.anextrapaymenttoworkers獎(jiǎng)金thoughtfula.givetoorindicatingthought沉思的，思考的cashn.moneyincoinsornotes現(xiàn)金activistn.apersontakinganactivepartesp.inapoliticalmovement激進(jìn)分子workforcen.totalnumberofworkersemployedinaparticularfactory,industryorarea工人總數(shù)；勞動(dòng)人口competitivea.競爭的organizern.personwhoorganizesthings組織者mediationn.調(diào)解partyn.oneofthepeopleorsidesinanagreementorargument一方；當(dāng)事人graduallyad.slowlyandbydegrees.graduala.shrink(shrank,shrunkvi.becomelessorsmaller減少；變小deadlinen.fixedlimitoffinishingapieceofwork最后期限stationwagonn.小型客車，客貨兩用車minimum(pl.minimaorminimumsn.thesmallestpossibleamount,number,etc.最低限度的量、數(shù)等minimumwagen.thelowestwagepermittedbylaworbyagreementforcertainwork法定最工資odda.strange;unusualgoings-onn.activities,usu.ofanundesirablekindcartonn.acardboardboxforholdinggoods紙板箱（或盒）curbsiden.theareaofsidewalkatornearcurb（curb:人行道的鑲邊石）enlistvt.obtainthesupportandhelpof;causetojointhearmedforces取得……的支持和幫助；征募trashn.wastematerialtobethrownaway;rubbish垃圾pickupn.asmalllighttruckwithanopenbackusedforlightdeliveries小卡車；輕型貨車overhearvt.hearbychance;hearwithouttheknowledgeofthespeaker(s無意中聽到；偷聽到financen.moneymatters;(usedinpl.money;(scienceofthemanagementoffunds財(cái)政；錢財(cái)；金融geezint.哎呀，呀salen.theactofsellingsth.Phrases&Expressionspullupbringorcometoastop（使）停下apieceofcake(informalsth.veryeasytodoevenasjustatthesamemomentasknowbetterthanbewiseorexperiencedenoughnot(todosth.明事理而不至于beatbeoccupiedwith,bedoingmakeadent(inmakelessbyaverysmallamount;reduceslightly;makeafirststeptowardssuccess(in減少一點(diǎn)；取得初步進(jìn)展cutintoreduce;decrease減少havenobusinesshavenorightorreason無權(quán)，沒有理由settleforaccept,althoughnotaltogethersatisfactory（無可奈何地）滿足于settleone'saccountpaywhatoneowes結(jié)帳quiteawhileafairlylongtimedraw(sb.'sattentiontomakesb.notice,orbeawareofforsaleintendedtobesoldforrentavailabletoberentedbedonewithstopdoingorusing;finish做完，不再使用may/might/couldaswellwithequalorbettereffect不妨，還不如，最好ProperNamesMontgomeryWard蒙哥馬利—沃德百貨公司Sears,Roebuck西爾斯—羅百克百貨公司Unit2TextIsthereanythingwecanlearnfromdeer?Duringthe"energycrisis"of1973-1974thewriterofthisessaywaslivinginnorthernMinnesotaandwasabletoobservehowdeersurvivewhenwinterarrives.Thelessonshelearnsabouthewaydeerconserveenergyturnoutapplicabletooureverydaylife.DEERANDTHEENERGYCYCLESomepersonssaythatlovemakestheworldgoround.Othersofalessromanticandmorepracticalturnofmindsaythatitisn'tlove;it'smoney.Butthetruthisthatitisenergythatmakestheworldgoround.Energyisthecurrencyoftheecologicalsystemandlifebecomespossibleonlywhenfoodisconvertedintoenergy,whichinturnisusedtoseekmorefoodtogrow,toreproduceandtosurvive.Onthiscyclealllifedepends.Itisfairlywellknownthatwildanimalssurvivefromyeartoyearbyeatingasmuchastheycanduringtimesofplenty,thesummerandfall,storingtheexcess,usuallyintheformoffat,andthenusingthesereservesoffattosurviveduringthehardtimesinwinterwhenfoodisscarce.Butitisprobablylesswellknownthatevenwiththeirstoredfat,wildanimalsspendlessenergytoliveinwinterthaninsummer.Agoodcaseinpointisthewhiter-taileddeer.Likemostwildlife,deerreproduce,grow,andstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenthereisplentyofnutritiousfoodavailable.AphysicallymaturefemaledeeringoodconditionwhohasconceivedinNovemberandgivenbirthtotwofawnsduringtheendofMayorfirstpartofJune,mustsearchforfoodforthenecessaryenergynotonlytomeetherbody'sneedsbutalsotoproducemilkforherfawns.Thebestmilkproductionoccursatthesametimethatnewplantgrowthisavailable.Thisisgoodtiming,becausemilkproductionisanenergyconsumingprocess—itrequiresalotoffood.Thecostcannotbemetunlesstheregionhasamplefoodresources.Asthesummerprogressesandthefawnsgrow,theybecomelessdependentontheirmother'smilkandmoredependentongrowingplantsasfoodsources.Theadultmalesspendthesummergrowingantlersandgettingfat.Bothmalesandfemalescontinuetoeathighqualityfoodinthefallinordertodepositbodyfatforthewinter.Inthecaseofdoesandfawns,agreatdealofenergyisexpendedeitherinmilkproductionoringrowing,andfatisnotaccumulatedasquicklyasitisinfullgrownmales.Fatreservesarelikebankaccountstobedrawnoninthewinterwhenfoodsuppliesarelimitedandsometimesdifficulttoreachbecauseofdeepsnow.Asfallturnsintowinter,otherchangestakeplace.Fawnslosetheirspottedcoat.Haironallthedeerbecomesdarkerandthicker.ThechangeinthehaircoatsisusuallycompletebySeptemberandmaximumhairdepthsarereachedbyNovemberorDecemberwhentheweatherbecomescold.Butinaddition,natureprovidesafurthersafeguardtohelpdeersurvivethewinter—aninternalphysiologicalresponsewhichlowerstheirmetabolism,orrateofbodilyfunctioning,andhenceslowsdowntheirexpenditureofenergy.Thedeerbecomesomewhatslowanddrowsy.Theheartratedrops.Animalsthathibernatepracticeenergyconservationtoagreaterextremethandeerdo.Althoughdeerdon'thibernate,theydothesamethingwiththeirseasonalrhythmsinmetabolism.Deerspendmoreenergyandstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenfoodisabundant,andspendlessenergyandusestoredfatinthewinterwhenfoodislessavailable.Whenthe"energycrisis"firstcamein1973-1974,IwaslivingwithmyfamilyinacabinontheedgeofanareawheredeerspendthewinterinnorthernMinnesota,observingthedeerastheirbehaviorchangedfrommoreactivityinsummerandfalltolessaswinterprogressed,followedbyanincreaseagaininthespringasthesnowmelted.Itwasinterestingandratheramusingtolistentotheadvicegivenontheradio:"Driveonlywhennecessary,"weweretold."Putonmoreclothestostaywarm,andturnthethermostatonyourfurnacedown."Meanwhilewewatchedthedeerreducetheiractivity,growawintercoatofhair,andreducetheirmetabolismastheyhaveforthousandsofyears.Itisbiologicallyreasonablefordeertoreducetheircostoflivingtoincreasetheirchanceofsurvivinginwinter.Noteverywinteriscriticalfordeerofcourse.Ifthewinterhaslightsnow,survivalandproductivitynextspringwillbehigh.Butifdeepsnowscomeandtheweatherremainscoldforseveralweeks,thenthedeermustspendmoreenergytomoveabout,foodwillbehardertofind,andtheymustthendependmoreontheirfatreservestopullthemthrough.Ifsuchconditionsgoonfortoolongsomewilldie,andonlythelargestandstrongestarelikelytosurvive.Thatisafundamentalruleoflifeforwild,freewanderinganimalsuchasdeer.Yes,life—anddeath,too--isacyclethatgoesroundandround,andwhenanimalsdietheirbodiesbecomefoodforotherlifeformstousebyconvertingthemintoenergy.Andthecyclecontinues.NewWordsDeern.(sing.orpl.鹿romantica.belongingtoorsuggestingromance;fancifulnotpractical浪漫的；幻想的turnn.anaturaltendency;inclination(天生）傾向currencyn.moneythatisactuallyinuseinacountry通貨，貨幣ecologicala.oforconcerninginterrelationshipoforganismsandtheirenvironment生態(tài)的ecologyn.生態(tài)學(xué)convertvt.change(fromoneform,use,oanother;cause(apersontochangehisbeliefs,etc.使轉(zhuǎn)變；使改變信仰（等）excessn.thepartthatismorethanenough;theconditionofexceedingwhatisusualornecessary過量；過度reserven.sth.thatisbeingorhasbeenstoredforlateruse儲(chǔ)備（物）scarcea.notavailableinsufficientquantity缺乏的wildlifen.animalsandplantswhichliveandgrowwildnutritiousa.fullgrownanddeveloped成熟的；成年的femalea.ofthesexthatgivesbirthtoyoung女（性）的；雌的n.afemaleperson,animalorplantconceivevt.becomepregnantwith(young;form(anidea,plan,hemind懷（胎）；構(gòu)思fawnn.ayoungdeerlessthanayearoldtimingn.selectionformaximumeffectoftheprecisemomentforbeginningordoingsth.時(shí)機(jī)的選擇consumevt.eatordrink;use;useup消耗；消費(fèi)regionn.aplace,spaceorarea;apartofthebody地區(qū)；（身體的）部位amplea.plentiful充裕的resourcen.(pl.possessions(heformofwealthandgoods,thathelponetodowhatonewants資源dependenta.relying(onanotherforsupportmalea.ofthesexthatdoesnotgivebirthtoyoung男（性）的；雄的n.amaleperson,animalorplantantlern.thesolid,bonyhornofamaledeer鹿角，茸角depositvt.putorstoreforsafekeeping;(esp.ofaliquid,ariverleavelying(alayerofmatter存放；使沉積doen.afully-grownfemaledeerexpendvt.spendoruseup花費(fèi)；耗盡accumulatev.makeorbecomegreaterinnumberorquantity;collectorgather積累；積聚accountn.asumofmoneykeptinabankwhichmaybeaddedtoortakenfrom帳戶；存款spotteda.markedwithspotsdepthn.thestateordegreeofbeingdeep深；深度，厚度safeguardn.ameansofprotectionagainststh.unwanted預(yù)防措施internala.oforintheinside,esp.ofthebody內(nèi)部的；體內(nèi)的physiologicala.生理的；生理學(xué)的metabolismn.新陳代謝hencead.therefore因此，所以expendituren.expendingorusingup;theamountofmoney,time,etc.expended花費(fèi)；用光；支出額，費(fèi)用somewhatad.bysomedegreeoramount;alittle有點(diǎn)，稍微drowsya.sleepyorhalfsleepy;makingonesleepy困倦的；催眠的hibernatevi.(ofsomeanimalspassthewholeofthewinterinastatelikesleep冬眠extremen.eitherendofanything;highestdegree極端seasonala.dependingontheseason;changingwiththeseasons季節(jié)性的rhythmn.節(jié)奏abundanta.morethanenough充足的；豐富的cabinn.asmallroughlybuilt,usu.woodenhouse小木屋；茅舍meltv.cause(asolidtobecomeliquid;(ofasolidbecomeliquid（使）融化；（使）熔化amusinga.funny逗人笑的；引起樂趣的amusevt.causetolaughorsmilethermostatn.anautomaticdeviceforregulatingtemperature恒溫器biologicallyad.生物學(xué)上biologicala.survivaln.thefactorlikelihoodofsurviving幸存productivityn.theabilityorcapacitytoproduce,productiveness生產(chǎn)力；生產(chǎn)率；多產(chǎn)fundamentala.basic;mostimportantPhrases&Expressionsgoroundfunctionsmoothlyintheformof以…形式inpointappropriate;pertinent適用的；相關(guān)的in(goodconditioningoodhealth,physicallyfitgivebirth(tobear;(duce生（孩）子，產(chǎn)（仔）；產(chǎn)生，引起drawontakeoruseasasource利用；動(dòng)用slowdown(causetogomoreslowlythanusual;(causetolive,work,etc.inalessactiveandintenseway（使）慢下來；（使）放松turndownreducetheforce,speed,loudness,etc.of(sth.byusingcontrols減弱；關(guān)小，調(diào)低moveabouttravelaround;gofromoneplacetoanotherpullthroughhelp(sb.tosurviveaperiodofdangerorcrisis使渡過危險(xiǎn)或危機(jī)ProperNameMinnesota明尼蘇達(dá)（美國州名）Unit3TextCanyouprovethattheearthisround?Goaheadandtry!Willyourelyonyoursensesorwillyouhavetodrawontheopinionsofexperts?WHYDOWEBELIEVETHATTHEEARTHISROUND?GeorgeOrwellSomewhereorother—IthinkitisintheprefacetosaintJoan—BernardShawremarksthatwearemoregullibleandsuperstitioustodaythanwewereintheMiddleAges,andasanexampleofmoderncredulityhecitesthewidespreadbeliefthattheearthisround.Theaverageman,saysShaw,canadvancenotasinglereasonforthinkingthattheearthisround.Hemerelyswallowsthistheorybecausethereissomethingaboutitthatappealstothetwentieth-centurymentality.Now,Shawisexaggerating,butthereissomethinginwhathesays,andthequestionisworthfollowingup,forthesakeofthelightitthrowsonmodernknowledge.Justwhydowebelievethattheearthisround?Iamnotspeakingofthefewthousandastronomers,geographersandsoforthwhocouldgiveocularproof,orhaveatheoreticalknowledgeoftheproof,butoftheordinarynewspaper-readingcitizen,suchasyouorme.AsfortheFlatEarththeory,IbelieveIcouldrefuteit.Ifyoustandbytheseashoreonaclearday,youcanseethemastsandfunnelsofinvisibleshipspassingalongthehorizon.Thisphenomenoncanonlybeexplainedbyassumingthattheearth'ssurfaceiscurved.Butitdoesnotfollowthattheearthisspherical.ImagineanothertheorycalledtheOvalEarththeory,whichclaimsthattheearthisshapedlikeanegg.WhatcanIsayagainstit?AgainsttheOvalEarthman,thefirstcardIcanplayistheanalogyofthesunandmoon.TheOvalEarthmanpromptlyanswersthatIdon'tknow,bymyownobservation,thatthosebodiesarespherical.Ionlyknowthattheyareround,andtheymayperfectlywellbeflatdiscs.Ihavenoanswertothatone.Besides,hegoeson,whatreasonhaveIforthinkingthattheearthmustbethesameshapeasthesunandmoon?Ican'tanswerthatoneeither.Mysecondcardistheearth'sshadow:Whencastonthemoonduringeclipses,itappearstobetheshadowofaroundobject.ButhowdoIknow,demandstheOvalEarthman,thateclipsesofthemoonarecausedbytheshadowoftheearth?TheansweristhatIdon'tknow,buthavetakenthispieceofinformationblindlyfromnewspaperarticlesandsciencebooklets.Defeatedintheminorexchanges,Inowplaymyqueenoftrumps:theopinionoftheexperts.TheAstronomerRoyal,whooughttoknow,tellsmethattheearthisround.TheOvalEarthmancoversthequeenwithhisking.HaveItestedtheAstronomerRoyal'sstatement,andwouldIevenknowawayoftestingit?HereIbringoutmyace.Yes,Idoknowonetest.Theastronomerscanforetelleclipses,andthissuggeststhattheiropinionsaboutthesolarsystemareprettysound.Iam,tomydelight,justifiedinacceptingtheirsay-soabouttheshapeoftheearth.IftheOvalEarthmananswers—whatIbelieveistrue—thattheancientEgyptians,whothoughtthesungoesroundtheearth,couldalsopredicteclipses,thenbanggoesmyace.Ihaveonlyonecardleft:navigation.Peoplecansailshiproundtheworld,andreachtheplacestheyaimat,bycalculationswhichassumethattheearthisspherical.IbelievethatfinishestheOvalEarthman,thougheventhenhemaypossiblyhavesomekindofcounter.Itwillbeseenthatmyreasonsforthinkingthattheearthisroundareratherprecariousones.Yetthisisanexceptionallyelementarypieceofinformation.OnmostotherquestionsIshouldhavetofallbackontheexpertmuchearlier,andwouldbelessabletotesthispronouncements.Andmuchthegreaterpartofourknowledgeisatthislevel.Itdoesnotrestonreasoningoronexperiment,butonauthority.Andhowcanitbeotherwise,whentherangeofknowledgeissovastthattheexperthimselfisanignoramusassoonashestraysawayfromhisownspecialty?Mostpeople,ifaskedtoprovethattheearthisround,wouldnotevenbothertoproducetheratherweakargumentsIhaveoutlinedabove.Theywouldstartoffbysayingthat"everyoneknows"theearthtoberound,andifpressedfurther,wouldbecomeangry.InawayShawisright.Thisisacredulousage,andtheburdenofknowledgewhichwenowhavetocarryispartlyresponsible.NewWordsprefacen.anintroductiontoabookorspeech前言,序oafalsebelief;credulous易受騙的;輕信的superstitiousa.fullofsuperstition;believinginsuperstitions迷信的credulityn.atendencytobelievetoreadily輕信citevt.mentionasanexample;quote(apassage,book,etc.舉出;引出widespreada.foundordistributedoveralargearea分布廣的;普遍的advancevt.putorbringforward;offer提出appealvi.please,attractorinterest投合所好;有感染力;有吸引力mentalityn.wayofthinking,outlook;mentalpowerorcapacity心理,思想;腦力exaggeratevt.think,speakorwriteofasgreaterthanisreallyso;overstate夸張;夸大saken.end,purpose緣故geographern.aspecialistingeographyoculara.of,for,bytheeyes;basedonwhathasbeenseen眼睛的;憑視覺的theoreticala.oforbasedontheorycitizenn.公民;市民ve(astatementtobeuntrue;prove(apersontobemistaken駁斥mastn.alonguprightpoleofwoodormetalforcarryingflagsorsailsonaship桅桿funneln.ametalchimneyforlettingoutsmokefromasteamengineorsteamship(蒸汽機(jī),輪船等的煙囪invisiblea.thatcannotbeseenhorizonn.thelinewheretheskyseemstomeettheearthorsea地平線phenomenon(pl.phenomenan.現(xiàn)象curvevt.bendsoastoformalinethathasnostraightpart使成曲線n.acontinuouslybendinglinewithoutangles曲線followvi.resultoroccurasaconsequence,effect,orinference結(jié)果產(chǎn)生;得出sphericala.shapedlikeaball球形的ovaln.&a.(anythingwhichisegg-shaped卵形的(東西,橢圓的(東西cardn.紙牌parisonofthingsthathaveacertainlikeness;similarity類比;相似promptlyad.quicklyandwillingly敏捷地;迅速地prompta.bodyn.=celestialbody天體discn.圓盤castvt.throwordrop;cause(lightorshadowtoappear(on扔,投;投射eclipsen.thetotalorpartialhidingofonecelestialbodybyanother(天文學(xué)食bookletn.asmallbook,usu.withapapercover小冊(cè)子exchangevt.giveandreceive(onethinginreturnforanother交換trumpn.王牌royala.for,belongingto,orconnectedwithakingorqueen皇家的;王室的statementn.expressioninwords;awrittenorspokendeclaration,esp.ofaformalkind陳述;聲明acen.(紙牌中的"A"牌,愛司foretellvt.tellbeforehand;predict預(yù)言solara.ofthesunthesolarsystemthesunandtheplanetswhichrevolverounditjustifyvt.giveagoodreasonfor;showtobejust,rightorreasonable證明……是正當(dāng)?shù)?；為…辯護(hù)say-son.anauthoritativepronouncement;one'sunsupportedassertion權(quán)威性聲明；無證據(jù)的斷言Egyptiann.,a.(nativeofEgypt埃及人；埃及的predict