隨身英語閱讀文章303-342

Forsomeitisacelebrationoffemininityandbeauty.

Butfeministcampaignerssaythatitisnothingotherthan

thedegradationofwomen,whoareparadedlikeanimalsin

acattlemarket.

TheMissWorldbeautypageantisnow60butremainscontroversial,

aslastweekend'sshowinLondonproved.

Insidethevenue,about110contestants（競爭者，爭辯者）showed

offtheirfiguresandboastedabouttheirtalents（天賦,才能）.

Outside,dozensoffeministcampaignersheldplacardswith

messagessuchas"Sexismisprettyugly"and

shoutedslogansagainstchauvinismandwhattheycallthe

objectificationofwomen.

Feministsandbeautypageantorganisers（組織者，發(fā)起人）areold

enemies.Theshowwascreatedinthe1950stopromotetheFestival

ofBritain.Bythe70s,Women'sLibdemonstratorstriedto

disrupttheproceedings,allegingthatthewholethingwasanoffence

againstwomen'sequality.

Butsomecontestantsarguethatitcanactuallyempowerwomen.

LauraColeman,MissEngland2008,saidit"givesgirlsconfidenceand

opportunitiestheymaynototherwisehave."

Forsome,theseopportunitiesareinHollywood.About12beauty

queenslandedrolesinJamesBondmoviesandtheOscar-winning

starHalleBerryfinishedsixthin1986.Organisersarekeentopoint

outthatthecontestantsarenotairheadsbutoftenhavedegrees

andspeakseverallanguages.

Thisyear'swinneris21-year-oldVenezuelanIvianSarcos,whoinher

childhoodthoughtaboutbecominganun.Despitetheproteststhe

showislikelytocontinue,withplanstoholdnextyear'sMissWorldin

China.

Quiz小測驗

1.Whatdofeministscomparebeautypageantsto?

Acattlemarket.

2.HowoldistheMissWorldbeautypageant?

Sixty.

3.Howcanthecontestbepositiveforwomen,accordingtoan

ex-participant?

Itcangivecontestantsconfidenceandopportunities,accordingto

MissEngland2008LauraColeman.

4.Whatexpressioninthearticleisanimpolitephrasefora

stupidperson?

Anairhead.

5.Isthisstatementtrue,falseornotgiven?Thewinnerofthis

years'contestwasanun.

False.IvianSarcos,fromVenezuela,thoughtaboutbeinganuninher

childhoodbutdidnotfollowthiscareer.

Glossary詞匯表

femininity女性化，女人氣質(zhì)

feministcampaigner女權(quán)運動人士

degradation降低，貶低

tobeparaded列隊展示

cattlemarket牲畜市場

beautypageant選美活動

toshowoff(something)炫耀

figure體形

toboastabout(something)自吹自擂

placard標語牌

sexism性別歧視

slogan口號

chauvinism大男子主義，沙文主義者，盲目的愛國者

objectification(客觀化，對象化)ofwomen把婦女當(dāng)物品展示

Women'sLib婦女解放

todisruptsomething干擾某事

women'sequality婦女平等

empower讓人有能力去做什么

beautyqueen選美大賽皇后

airhead傻瓜，沒頭腦的人

Itisofficial:therearenowsevenbillionofus!ThisweekbabyDanica

hadhardlybeenbroughttolifeinaManilahospital'sdelivery

roomwhenshewasawardedaSymbolicSevenBillionthPerson

certificate.

ButtherewereclaimsinRussiaandIndiaofothernewly-bornbabies

being'CitizenSevenBillion'.

TheUN'spopulationdemographer,GerhardHeilig,acceptedthatit

isimpossibletoknowaccuratelywhocarriesthehonourasthe

figurescomewitha1-2%marginoferror.Butthisisanimportant

milestone.

TheUNwantedtodrawattentiontothespeedofpopulation

growthasittooklessthan13yearsfortheEarthtowelcomeabillion

morepeople.

Andtheorganisationpublishedareportthathighlightstherise

inaveragelifeexpectancyandthefactthatchildrenaremuchless

likelytodieininfancy.

Butitalsomentionsthechallengesforaspecieswithahighfertility

ratelivingonaplanetoflimitedresourcesanduneven

developmentconditions.Itpointsoutthat200millionwomenhaveno

accesstofamilyplanningadvice.

"Sexeducationhasanimpactindelayingtheageatthefirstsexual

intercourse,inincreasingtheuseofcontraception

methodsandcondoms,"saysGabrielaRiverafromtheUN's

populationagency.

Amidarticlesaboutpopulationcontrolmeasures,TheGuardian,in

Britain,inviteditsreaderstosendDanicaamessage.Acomment

signedbyFaisalAlMutarsaid:"Havingbeatenoutaround275million

otherlittlespermatozoayou'realreadyawinner!"

Quiz小測驗

1.WhyhasDanicabecomefamous?

BecausesheisconsideredthesevenbillionthpersontoliveonEarth.

2.Whyisitdifficulttoknowwhothesevenbillionthperson

is?

Becausethefigurescarrya1-2%marginoferror.

3.WhyhastheUNdecidedtotalkaboutthenumberofpeople

onEarthnow?

Topointouttheimplicationsofafastgrowingpopulation.

4.Whatexpressioninthearticlereferstothefirstfewhours

ofababy'slife?

Newly-born.

5.Isthisstatementtrue,falseornotgiven?Twohundred

miIlionwornenhadbabieswhentheydidn'twantto.

Itisnotgiven.Thearticlesaysthat200millionwomenhadnoaccess

tofamilyplanningadvicebutitdoesnotmeanthattheyhad

unwantedbabies.

Glossary詞匯表

broughttolife給以生命

deliveryroom產(chǎn)房

newly-born新生兒

demographer人口統(tǒng)計學(xué)家

accurately準確的

marginoferror誤差

todrawattentionto引起注意，關(guān)注

populationgrowth人口增長

average平均

ininfancy初期，嬰兒期

resources資源

fertilityrate受孕率

familyplanningadvice計劃生育咨詢

sexeducation性教育

contraceptionmethods避孕措施

condoms避孕套

populationcontrol人口控制

Thetraditionalmarriagevowsmadebycouplesontheirwedding

daycontainapromisetostaytogether"untildeathusdopart

ButaproposedchangeinthelawinMexicocouldmakethataslightly

lessbinding'twoyears'time'.Theideaistocutthedivorcerateby

creatingrenewablemarriagecontractssoloverscantrylivingwith

theirotherhalfbeforemakingalifetimecommitment.

Newlywedswouldtakeaminimumoftwoyearsbeforedeciding

whethertocementtheirrelationshiporsplitup,underplansto

alterthecity'scivilcode.

Ifitbecomeslaw,thecontractswouldmakeclearinadvancethe

responsibilityformaritalduties,suchaschildcare,schooling

andhouseholdbudgeting.

HalfofallmarriagesinMexicoCitycurrentlyendinabreak-up.The

authoroftheproposalhopesthatbeingable

torenewordissolvethemaritallinkafterafixedperiodoftimewill

leadtomoreharmoniousrelationshipsandkeepmorecouplesout

ofthedivorcecourts.

Thecustodyofdependentsincaseswherecouplesdecidenotto

staytogetherbeyondtheirinitialtermwouldalsobesetoutatthe

beginning.

It'shopedthatthiswouldavoidtheusualwranglingandemotional

turmoilexperiencedbyfamiliesgoingthroughadivorce.

Butnoteveryonethinksit'sagoodidea.Familycampaignerssayit

wouldcontributetoa"throwawayculture"whichwouldcreatemore

ratherthanlessanguishforthechildreninvolved.

Quiz小測驗

1.HavetheychangedthelawinMexicotoallowfixed-term

marriages?

No.Itisaproposedchange.

2.Dotheyhopetocutthemarriagerate?

No.Theideaistocutthedivorcerate.

3.Wouldthecontractmakeclearwhoisresponsibleforduties

suchaslookingafterchildrenandfinances?

Yes.Thecontractswouldmakeclearinadvancetheresponsibilityfor

maritalduties,suchaschildcare,schoolingandhouseholdbudgeting.

4.DomostmarriagesinMexicoCityendindivorce?

No.HalfofallmarriagesinMexicoCitycurrentlyendinabreakup.

5.Isdivorceoftenupsettingforfamilies?

Yes.Itcreatesemotionalturmoil.

Glossary詞匯表

marriagevows結(jié)婚誓言

untildeathusdopart（直到死為止）永不分離

divorcerate離婚率

otherhalf（另一泮）配偶

alifetimecommitment終生承諾

newlyweds新婚夫婦

tocementtheirrelationship加固他們之間的關(guān)系

splitup分手

maritalduties婚姻的責(zé)任

householdbudgeting家庭開銷

abreakup分手

renew續(xù)約

dissolve解散

harmoniousrelationships和諧的關(guān)系

divorcecourts離婚法庭

custody監(jiān)護

dependents被撫養(yǎng)者

wrangling爭吵

emotionalturmoil感情波動

anguish苦惱

Whenitcomestorunningmarathons,eighthours,25minutesand16

secondsisnotaworldrecord.

ThiswasthetimeittookFaujaSinghtocompletetheToronto

WaterfrontMarathononSunday.

ButSingh,borninIndia,isnospringchicken-he's100yearsold

andhisrecentfeathasmadehimtheworld'soldestmarathonrunner.

Asanathlete,Singhwasalatestarter.Inhislate80s,afterthe

deathsofhiswifeandson,hedecidedhewasnotyetoverthe

hillandtookuprunning.

ForSingh,being100isjustanumber.Therearen't

manycentenariansinquitesuchrudehealth,buttheyareonthe

increase.LifeexpectancyintheUKtodayisaround80butatotalof

12,640menandwomenarenowcentenarianscomparedwithjust

2,500in1980,accordingtoofficialstatistics.

InBritain,pensionersthatreachthislandmarkagereceivea

congratulatorytelegramfromtheQueen,herselfan

86-year-oldseniorcitizen.

Retailersandpublicservicesarehavingtoadapttothisaging

society.Newfiguresrevealtheamountofmoneyspentannuallyby

peopleover65intheUKisnearingthe￡100billion(1trillionyuan)

mark.Awholesectoroftheeconomyisnowcateringtotheneeds

ofthegreypound.

Whydosomepeoplelivetosucharipeoldage?Scientistsin

Amsterdammayhavecomealittleclosertodiscoveringthesecret

tolongevity;they'veencodedtheentireDNAsequenceofawoman

wholivedto115.

Ofcourse,theycouldjustaskFaujaSinghwhathissecretis.Theold

boyputshislonglifedowntogingercurry,teaand"beinghappy".

Quiz小測驗

1.HasFaujaSinghbrokenaworldrecordforspeed?

No.FaujaSingh'srecordisforbeingtheworld'soldestmarathon

runner.

2.DidMrSinghfeeloldwhenhestartedrunning?

No.Inhislate80shedecidedthathewasnotyetoverthehilland

tookuprunning.

3.Isthisstatementtrue,falseornotgiven:Peoplewhoreach

86yearsoldsendatelegramtotheQueentocongratulate

her?

Itisfalse.Peoplewhoreach100yearsoldreceiveatelegramfromthe

Queentocongratulatethemontheirbirthday.

4.Whatexpressionusesthecolourofoldpeople'shairtorefer

totheirage?

Thegreypound.

5.WhatroledoesgingercurryplayinFaujaSingh'slife?

Hebelievesthatitcouldbeoneofthesecretsofhislongevity.

Glossary詞匯表

nospringchicken原意指童子雞，(喻)上了年紀的人

alatestarter起步較晚的人

tobeoverthehill不禮貌的表達，指走下坡路，走向衰老

(age)isjustanumber年齡只是一個數(shù)字，喻年齡不代表什么，關(guān)鍵的是一

個人的心態(tài)

acentenarian百歲老人

tobeinrudehealth身體健壯

lifeexpectancy平均壽命

apensioner領(lǐng)養(yǎng)老金者，委婉指老年人

alandmarkage有特殊意義的歲數(shù)

aseniorcitizen65歲以上的老年公民

theagingsociety老年社會

thegreypound灰色英鎊，指老年群體的消費力

aripeoldage老年，晚年

longevity長壽

anoldboy男性老人

toputsomethingdowntosomething為什么事情做出解釋

Everwonthelottery?No?Butdidthatstopyoubuyinganotherlottery

ticket?

Iftheanswerisanother'no',youmightcallyourselfanoptimist.

Butthen,accordingtoresearchersatUniversityCollegeLondon,

humanbeingsarenaturallysanguinecreatures.

Itisallinthebrain,theysay.Astudysuggestsitisveryefficientat

processinggoodnews:about80%ofpeoplehaveatendencytosee

theglassashalf-full,nothalf-empty,eveniftheydon'tconsider

themselvestobeoptimists.

Thegoodnewsisthatthisbringsahealthbenefit.

Beingupbeatandhavingapositiveoutlookonlifereduces

anxiety.Astudyofnearly100,000womenshowedalowerriskof

deathfromheartdiseaseamongstoptimists.

Buttherearepitfallstoalwayshavinganupbeatattitude.The

authorsofthestudypointoutthe2008financialcrisismayhavebeen

causedbyanalystsoverestimatingtheirassets'performance

eveninthefaceofclearevidencetothecontrary.

Therearepersonalhealthriskstoo.DrTaliSharot,leadresearcher,

said:'"SmokingKills'messagesdon'tworkaspeoplethinktheir

chancesofcancerarelow.There'saveryfundamentalbiasinthe

brain."

But,astheysay,everycloudhasasilverlining.Evenifseeing

theworldthroughrose-tintedglassesposesarisktoourhealth,

it'snotsomethingthatislikelytocauseustolosesleep.

Let'sjustkeepourchinsupandkeepsmiling!

Quiz小測驗

1.Whatthingdoesthearticlementionassomethingan

optimistwoulddo?

Tokeepbuyinglotteryticketsinspiteofnotwinning.

2.Whydoscientistssaythathavingatendencytobean

upbeatindividualisinthebrain?

Theyfoundoutthatthebrainisveryefficientatprocessinggood

news.

3.Whatcouldbeanadvantageofbeingnaturallysanguine?

Itcouldreduceanxietyandbegoodforaperson'shealth.

4.Whydon'tpeoplestopsmokingassoonastheylearnthat

thehabitcankill?

Becausetheyareoptimistsbynaturetheythinkthatthechancesof

themgettingcancerarelow.

5.Whattwoeverydayobjectsfeatureinphrasesusedto

describeoptimism?

Aglass（toseetheglassashalf-full,nothalf-empty）andglasses

（seeingtheworldthroughrose-tintedglasses）.

Glossary詞匯表

optimism樂觀主義

sanguine（正式用語）滿懷希望的

toseetheglassashalf-full,nothalf-empty表示同樣半杯水，樂觀的人

覺得杯子是半滿，悲觀的人覺得杯子是半空的。

upbeat樂觀的，歡快的

tohaveapositiveoutlookonlife有一個積極的人生觀

upbeatattitude樂觀的態(tài)度

tooverestimate過高估計

inthefaceof縱然，面對，即使

bias偏見

everycloudhasasilverlining（喻）黑暗中總有一絲光明（原意：烏云也

有銀邊）

toseetheworldthroughrose-tintedglasses（喻）把世界看得過于美好

（原意：透過玫瑰色眼鏡看世界）

tokeepyourchinup（喻）勇敢面對困難（原意：抬起下巴，仰起頭）

"Getyourgobingearforanight!"Thatwastheinvitationtoarecent

eventinLondoncelebratingtheartofkissing.

Peoplewereaskedtoputonlipgloss,presstheirmouthsagainsta

pieceofcardandthenwriteamessagedescribinga

memorablesmacker.

Onewomanmentionedherexperienceofgivingapeckonababy's

cheek.

Anothermoanedaboutasloppykissshehadreceivedfromanew

boyfriend.

Anthropologistssuggesttheoriginsofthesnogaren'tromantic:in

primitivetimesmotherschewedfoodandgaveittotheirbabies

mouth-to-mouth.

Today,kissingetiquettevariesaccordingtolocalcustoms.Insome

countriespeoplewillgreetyouwithonepeck,inotherswithtwoor

more.

InFrance,theyaresokeenonkissingthattheyhaveevengota

smackernamedafterthem:theFrenchkiss.That'stheonewhere

tonguesgetbusy.

ButinIndiaasmoochinpubliccouldlandyouinjail.InGermany,

youwon'tbegivingyourfreedomthekiss-offbutan

inappropriatesnogcouldbethekissofdeathforyourpromotion.

TheKniggeSocietysaysthepracticeofgreetingworkcolleagueswith

akissisuncomfortableformanyGermans.

Thelongestcontinuoussnogeverrecordedlastedformorethan46

hours.AThaicouplelockedlipsinaspecialeventinthebeachresort

ofPattaya.

ButwhataboutBritain?Well,weBritsaremuchlessshythanweused

tobeaboutkissinginpublic,butnoteveryoneiskeen.In

particular,airkissingisseenasanaffectationoftherichand

beautifulclasses.Youcanevenrefertosuchpeopleasmwahs,which

isthesoundofakiss:"Darling!Mwah!"

Quiz小測驗

1.Whatisawordforasmall,quickkiss?

Apeckonthecheek.

2.Doeseverybodyliketoreceivewetkisses?

No.Thewomanmentionedinthetextwasmoaningaboutthesloppy

kissshereceivedfromanewboyfriend.

3.Whatwastheoriginalpurposeofkissing,accordingto

researchers?

Itwasawayformotherstofeedtheirbabies:theychewedfoodand

gaveittotheirbabiesmouth-to-mouth.

4.InwhichcountrycouIdyoubearrestedforkissingpeople

passionatelyonthestreet?

India.

5.Putthesekissingstylesinorderofextentofcontact,from

moretoless:asmacker,aFrenchkiss,anairkiss.

Orderfrommorecontacttolesscontact:aFrenchkiss,asmacker,an

airkiss.

Glossary詞匯表

agob（俚語）嘴

lipgloss唇彩

asmacker（俚語）響亮的吻

apeck（俚語）輕吻

asloppykiss心不在焉，草率的親吻

asnog（英式俚語）長時間的接吻

aFrenchkiss法式接吻

asmooch浪漫地親吻并擁抱在一起

togivesomethingthekiss-off（俚語）直接說不要什么東西了

thekissofdeath死亡之吻

tolocklips親吻

airkissing空吻

affectation矯揉造作、裝模做樣

amwah（原意指親臉頰發(fā)出的聲音）?個無誠意的有錢社交名流

Adiscoveryinthelastweekhasturnedphysicsonitshead.

Ateamofscientistshavesaidthattheyrecordedsubatomic

particlescalledneutrinostravellingfasterthanlight.No-onethought

thatwaspossible.

Itisafindingthatcouldoverturnoneof

Einstein'slong-acceptedfundamentallawsoftheUniverse.

ThefindingwasmadebyresearchersatCerninSwitzerlandandGran

SassoinItaly.

ThespeedoflightisacornerstoneinEinstein'stheoryofspecial

relativity,whichiswhatgivesustheconceptofcausality:causes

precedeeffects.

Amongtheimplicationsofthischallengetomainstreamtheoryis

thefactthatitcouldmeantimetravelispossible,

ahypothesisthathaslongconvincedwritersofsciencefiction.

Buttheexperimenthasitssceptics.AphysicistfromtheUniversity

ofSurrey,JimAl-Khalili,believesthatthecurrentconsensusis

correctandthatthelight-speedbarrierisimpossibletosurpass.

HehastriedtopickholesinthemethodologyoftheCern

researchers.SosureisAl-Khalilithattheyhavemadeanerrorintheir

measurementsthathehasdecidedtodefendthelawsofphysicsby

challengingthelawsofsocialconvention.

Al-Khalilisaid:"IftheCernexperimentprovestobecorrect...Iwill

eatmyboxershortsonliveTV."

Quiz小測驗

1.WhattheorycouIdbeaffectedbythenewdiscovery?

AlbertEinstein'stheoryofspecialrelativity.

2.Doesthenewexperimentprovethetheorymostphysicists

believe?

No,itchallengesmainstreamtheory.

3.Whatsci-fiactivitycouldbepossibleifthenewfindingsare

correct?

Timetravel.

4.WhydoesJimAl-Khalilithinktheexperimentiswrong?

Hethinksthattheresearchersmadeamistakewiththeir

methodology,thewaytheydidtheexperiment.

5.Isthefollowingstatementtrue,falseornot

given?"Al-Khaliliwillchallengesocialconventionsbyeating

hisunderwearonliveTV."

Notgiven.Al-KhaliliwillonlydothisifthenewCernexperiment

provestobetrue.

Glossary詞匯表

toturnsomethingonitshead完全改變

subatomicparticle次原子粒子

tooverturn推翻

longaccepted長期被認可的

cornerstone基石

theoryofspecialrelativity狹義相對論

theconceptofcausality因果關(guān)系的概念

implications影響，含義，推斷

mainstreamtheory主流理論

timetravel時空穿梭

hypothesis假設(shè)

sciencefiction科幻小說

experiment實驗

sceptic懷疑論者

currentconsensus當(dāng)前的共識

thelight-speedbarrier光速障礙

overcome克月艮

topickholesinsomething尋找漏洞

methodology方法論，方法學(xué)

socialconvention社會慣例，常規(guī)

Lights,camera,action!Whenwegotothecinemawesometimes

experiencescenesthatreflectreality.Butdoestheimageryaffect

ourbehaviour?

Anewstudyhasfoundthatteenagerswhoseeactorssmokingon

screenaremorelikelytotakeitup.

5,00015yearoldsintheUKwerequestionedandmanysaid

seeingblockbusterfilmsthatdepictsmokingwouldencourage

themtolightup.

ThisresearchbyBristolUniversitylookedatthepotentialinfluenceof

someofthe360topUSboxofficefilmsreleasedbetween2001and

2005thatshowedsmoking,suchasSpider-ManandTheMatrix.

Nowsomeexpertsarecallingforachangeinfilmcertificationso

theunder-18sareunabletoseeactorssmokingonthesilver

screen.

DrAndreaWaylen,wholedtheresearch,said"Wesawalinear

relationshipbetweenadolescentsmokingandthenumberoffilms

theyhadseendepictingsmoking."

IntheUK,filmswithratingsU(universal)orPG(parentalguidance)

banscenesshowingdrugmisusebutnotcigarettesmoking.

Butisseeingtheleadpuffingonacigarette

reallyglamorisingsmoking?Ifso,would

themotion-pictureindustryhavetore-thinkwhatgoesin

everyscenefromthestarttotheendcredits?

SimonClark,directorofthesmoker'sgroupForest,said:"Wegoto

thecinematoescapefromthenannystate...whatnext?Should

governmentreclassifyfilmsthatfeaturefatpeopleaswellincase

theyarebadrolemodels?"

Quiz小測驗

1.Dosometeenagersgetinfluencedbyseeingactorssmoking

infilms?

Yes.Anewstudyhasfoundthatteenagerswhoseeactorssmokingon

screenaremorelikelytotakeitup.

2.Isthisstatementtrueorfalse?Everyfilmisgivena

certificatewhichsaysunder-18saren'tallowedtowatchit.

False.Thearticlesaid:"Someexpertsarecallingforachangeinfilm

certificationsotheunder-18sareunabletoseeactorssmokingonthe

silverscreen."

3.Isthisstatementtrueorfalse?Spider-ManandTheMatrix

wereboxofficehitsintheUS.

True.Thearticlesaid:"ThisresearchbyBristolUniversitylookedat

thepotentialinfluenceofsomeofthe360topUSboxofficefilms

releasedbetween2001and2005thatshowedsmoking,suchas

Spider-ManandTheMatrix."

4.ArefilmswiththeratingUorPGnotallowedtoshowpeople

smoking?

No.IntheUK,filmswithratingsU(universal)orPG(parental

guidance)banscenesshowingdrugmisusebutnotcigarette

smoking.

5.Doblockbusterfilmsbeginwiththecredits?

No.Thearticlesaid:"Wouldthemotion-pictureindustryhaveto

re-thinkwhatgoesineveryscenefromthestarttotheendcredits?"

Glossary詞匯表

lights,camera,action!燈光，鏡頭，開拍！

imagery想象中的

blockbuster暢銷大片

depict表現(xiàn),刻畫

boxoffice票房

filmcertification（針對觀眾年齡的）電影限制規(guī)定

thesilverscreen銀幕

ratings評級

PG（parentalguidance）家長指導(dǎo)級（不適合兒童觀看的）

thelead領(lǐng)銜主演

glamorising瀟灑的

motion-picture電影

scene場面

theendcredits影片末尾的演員表

reclassify重新劃定

rolemodels榜樣

OddthingsarehappeningtoBrits...weseemtobedevelopinggreen

fingers!

Thenumberofpeoplegrowingtheirownfruitandveghasalmost

doubledinthepastyear,accordingtoGardeners'Worldmagazine.

GardensandallotmentsacrosstheUKhavebeenputtouseas

peoplediscoverthejoysofhome-grownproduce.

Butnoteveryonehasspaceforavegetablepatchoraflowerbed.

Andsometimesawindowboxjustisn'tenoughofagardening

challenge.

That'swhysomepeoplehavebeenturningtoguerrillagardening.

Thisiswhenpeopleplantflowersorvegetablesinpublicspacesto

makethemgreenerandmorepleasingtotheeye.

Manypeoplewouldapproveofprettifyingtownsandcities,but

guerrillagardeningisnotstrictlylegal.Therefore,thistypeof

gardeningoftentakesplaceinthedeadofnight.

Butthestereotypeofthekeengardenerisnotsomeonewhowears

combatbootsandbreaksthelaw.Itisofsomeonewho

wearswelliesandspendsalltheirtime

ingreenhousesandpottingsheds.Weexpectsuchapersonto

knoweveryaspectofhowtotendandcultivatetheirplants.

Yet,despitetheincreaseinpeoplegrowingtheirown,morethan

halfoftheUKpopulationstilldonotknowwhen18outofthetop22

fruitandvegetablesareinseason,accordingtoGardeners'World.

ItseemsthatBritainstillhassomewaytogobeforewecanjustifiably

becalledanationofgardeners.

Quiz小測驗

1.WhathashappenedtoBritishpeople'shandsrecently?

Nothing.Tohavegreenfingersisanidiom,meaningtobegoodat

gardening.

2.Hasgardeningincreasedbyover100%?

No,ithasalmostdoubled.

3.Isitpossibletolegallygardenpublicproperty?

Yes,ifyouhaveanallotment,whichisrentedoffthelocalauthority.

4.Whydosomepeoplegardenatnight?

Becausetheyarebreakingthelawbygardeningillegally.

5.Isthisstatementtrue,falseornotgiven?Britswhohave

startedgardeningrecentlystilldon'tknowwhenmanyfruit

andvegetablesareinseason.

Notgiven.WeknowthatmorethanhalfoftheUKpopulationdon't

knowthisinformation,butnotwhetherthesearethesamepeople

whohavestartedgardeningrecently.

Glossary詞匯表

toreapwhatonesows種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆

tohavegreenfingers形容有園藝才華的人

fruitandveg蔬果

allotment［英］（劃成小塊出租的）菜地

home-grown自家種植

produce農(nóng)作物

vegetablepatch菜地

flowerbed花壇

windowbox放在窗臺上的長花盆

guerrilla游擊隊式的

toprettifysomething美化某物

thedeadofnight深夜

wellies雨靴

greenhouse溫室

pottingshed盆栽棚

totendsomething照顧某物

tocultivatesomething培養(yǎng)某物

togrowone'sown種植自己的蔬菜和水果

inseason當(dāng)季的

anationofgardeners園藝大國

Drriinnggg!That'sthesoundkidsupanddownthecountrydonot

wanttohear-thealarmbell.

TheschoolyearhasjuststartedandchildrenacrosstheUKhaveto

wakeupbrightandearlytogotoschool.

Butstudentsatoneschoolinnorth-eastEnglandcanlieinforan

extrahourbeforetheygotoschool.

MonkseatonHighSchoolhasbeenallowingitspupilstocomeinto

schoolanhourlaterthanotherschools.

Theheadmaster,DrPaulKelley,saysthatthisapproachhelps

studentspaymoreattentioninclass.

Hefeelsthatyoungpeoplearemoreproductivelateronintheday

andthatalatestartmaybebetterfortheirschoolcareerthanan

earlyone.

DrKelleytoldtheBBCthat"teenagersdon'tfunetionverywellinthe

morningandtheirneedtosleepisbiological."

Itseemsthatthisnovelapproachtoteachingshowspositive

results.Theschoolhasalreadyseenadropinthenumberof

pupilsplayingtruantby27%.

Moreimportantly,DrKelleyalsosaidthatexamresultshave

improvedby20-30%overthepastyear.

LessonsatMonkseatonHighSchoolbeginat10amandfinishat

3.40pm;however,theschoolopensfrom8amto5pm.

Quiz小測驗

1.DoestheheadmasterofMonkseatonHighSchoolbelieve

thatstartingschoollateisagoodthingforstudents?

Yes.DrPaulKelleybelievesitmakesthestudentsmoreproductive.

2.HaveexamresultsimprovedsinceMonkseatonHighSchool

begantoallowitsstudentstohavealiein?

Yes.Examresultsattheschoolhaveimprovedbetween20-30%.

3.AremorestudentsmissinglessonsatMonkseatonHigh

School?

No.Therehasbeena27%dropinstudentsplayingtruant.

4.Doesthisapproachmakestudentspaymoreattentionin

class?

Yes.DrPaulKelleysaysallowingstudentstohavealieinmakesthem

paymoreattentioninclass.

5.WhendolessonsatMonkseatonHighSchoolbegin?

Theybeginat1Oam.

Glossary詞匯表

juststarted剛剛開始

brightandearly明亮的大清早兒

liein躺在床上

students學(xué)生

pupils小學(xué)學(xué)生

paymoreattentioninclass更集中精力聽課

moreproductive生產(chǎn)效率更高的

schoolcareer在學(xué)生涯

function運作

biological生物的

novel新穎的

approachtoteaching教學(xué)方法

playingtruant逃學(xué)，曠課

examresults考試成績

Theweb-savvyamongstyouwillknowthatjustasamouseisno

longeronlyarodent,atweetisn'tnecessarilyanoisemadebyabird.

Nearlyaquarterofthenewwordsaddedtothelatesteditionofthe

ChambersDictionarycomefrominternetculture,withtheeconomic

recessionandclimatechangealsocontributingstrongly.

Theinternetage'sabilitytoreinventoldwordswithnewmeanings

continues.Thecloud,youmaythink,isthethingaboveyourhead

whichproducesrain.It'snotassimpleasthatanymore.

Weallknowwhatpayis,right?Andawallisawall-asinTheGreat

Wallof...Butwhataboutapaywall?Canyouworkitout?

Movingontotheeconomy,wordssuchasquantitative

easinganddouble-diprecessionhavebecomefamiliartofollowers

ofcurrentaffairs.

Amongsttheenvironmentaltermsnowappearinginthedictionary

youcanfindupcycleandprecycleaswellascarbonoffsetting.