基英课文

Unit 1New Year’s resolutions① are like anything---you get out of them what you put in②. Judging from result of other years, I had never put enough in, but this year was going to be different. I read books on self-improvement before I wrote my list. Fin d some beauty in everything… Make the other fellow feel important. …About thirty like that.Pretty clearly, anyone who followed my collection of rules would blessed with a richer③ in life, boundless④love from his family,and the admiration④ of the community⑤I could hardly wait until New Year’s Day①【resolution [,rezə'lu:ʃən] =determination,决心】②【you get out of them what you put in种瓜得瓜种豆得豆】③【=colorful】④【['baundlis] ，无限的】⑤【[,ædmə'reiʃən] ，赞扬】⑥【[kə'mju:niti]，社区】.When I came downstairs Maggie, my wife, was at the kitchen sink①. I tiptoed over②and kissed her on the back of the neck.(Resolution No 1: Be spontaneous③in showing affection④.)She shrieked⑤and dropped a cup. “Don’t ever sneaku p⑥on me like that again!”she cried.“You’re looking looking l ovely this morning,” I said.(A sincere compliments⑦ worth its weight in gold)①【[siŋk]，水槽】②【['tiptəu]，偷偷的】③【[spɔn'teiniəs] ，自发的】④【=love】⑤【[ʃri:k]，尖叫】⑥【[sni:k] ，偷偷的】⑦【['kɔmplimənt]，赞美】“Look,” she said, “it wasn’t my idea to stay out until four a.m.”I took some aspirin① and coffee into the living room. I’d just started reading the paper when Sammy, our five-year-old ,came in. He was wearing the watch he’d receives for Christmas. “Say, Dad,” he said, “what makes your watch run?”In the old days I would have told him to ask his mother.Instead ,I got a pencil and drew a sketch② of the escapement③mechanism④. (Always encourage your child’s curiosity.)It took about fifteen minutes, and Sammy wandered off⑤several times, but I kept calling him back. “There,” I said, “that’s what makes your watch run.”“There how come it doesn’t ?”he asked.His brother Roy walked by. “You have to wind⑥it,” said Roy. Sammy wound it and held it to his ear. He smiled. “Roy sure smart,” he said.Our daughter Gretchen came in with her doll, Mrs. Robinson. “Good morning, Gretchen,” I said. “Happy New Year, Mrs. Robinson.”(Meet your children at his own level)⑦It isn’t either happy,” said Gretchen. “Mrs. Robinson is sick. Probably a coronary.”⑧①【['æspərin]，阿司匹林】②【[sketʃ] ,素描】③【[i'skeipmənt] ，齿轮】④【['mekənizəm]，原理】⑤【溜号】⑥【[wind]，扭】⑦(Meet your children at his own level【站在你孩子的立场上考虑问题】⑧【['kɔ:rənəri]，心血管病】“Why don’t you take her to see Dr. Sammy?”I suggested. “He ca n use his new doctor’s kit”The phone rang, and I answered it. It was a friend of our daughter Kit. “Happy New Year ,Marilyn,” I said . “What have you been doing over①the holidays?” (Show an interest in your children’s friends.) She said she hadn’t be en doing anything much. “Come now, a pretty girl like you,” I said jovially② “I ’ll bet 【sure】the fellows are swarming around③…What’s that? Yes , of course you can speak to Kit. Certainly .”Kit was in her room with the record player going very loud. I rapped on the door. She called out something, and I went in. She was in her pajama s④. “I didn’t say you could come in!” She yelled, grabbing a robe and holding it in front of her. At fourteen , she has become extremely aware of being female.“I’m sorry . I couldn’t understand you,” I said apologetically⑤. T o ease⑥the situation, I pick up her brand-new⑦sweater from the floor and put it over⑧a chair.①【during】②【['dʒəuviəli] ，开玩笑地】-③【['swɔ:miŋ]，群聚】④【[pə'dʒɑ:məz] ，睡衣】⑤【[ə,pɔlə'dʒetikəli]，歉意的】⑥【[i:z] ，缓和】⑦【['brænd'nju:] ，崭新的】⑧【=on】“I was going to pick it up,” she said defensively①. “You don’t always put your things away.”② There was series of③shrieks down the hall. I found Gretchen in tears. Roy and Sammy were about to perform open-heart surgery on Mrs. Robinson with a scout④knife. “She told us Mrs. Robinson was sick” Roy said.I suggested that they carve something for their mother-like a salad spoon.(Encourage creativity in the young)⑤①【[di'fɛnsivli],抵制的②【put sth away ,把东西放回原处】③【一系列】④【[skaut]，侦查、儿童的】⑤【I suggested that i (should) do ，虚拟语气】In the kitchen, Maggie wanted to know what was wrong with Gretchen. “Mrs. Robinson had a coronary,” I told her.“I know you’re feeling your best after last night,” she said, “but I’mgetting at little tired of these smart remarks①. Would you mind taking the garbage out ?”“I’d be happy to,” I said.( The most trivial②chore③can prove rewarding if approached with④zest⑤.)①【俏皮话】②【['triviəl]，琐碎的】③【[tʃɔ:] ，日常家务】④【以--方式处理】⑤【[zest，热情=enthusiasm】“Do you have to be so sarcastic①?”she said.It seemed that my resolutions weren’t working the way the books had said. I didn’t quit②, though. I helped the boys build a snowman-only Sammy got his feet wet and Roy lost his mittens③and they went inside. I played jacks④ with Gretchen, but she said I didn’t do it right. I struck up⑤ a conversation with Kit, trying to establish some kind of rapport⑥. I touched on⑦hippies⑧, pop music, dating, morality and so on. She contributed⑨very little. Anybody else would have thrown in the sponge⑩but I kept trying. For example, Maggie always dread⑾taking down the Christmas tree, so I thought I’d do it for her. (Taking over⑿one of your wife’s chores, she’ll love you for it)①【[sɑ:'kæztik],讽刺】②【[kwit] ,停止】③【['mitən] ，连指手套】④【[dʒæks]，抓子游戏】⑤【开始，strike 罢工，敲打】⑥【[ræ'pɔ:t] ，友谊】⑦【谈及】⑧【嬉皮士】⑨【[kən'tribju:t] ，回应】⑩【人们好像都被扔到了海绵上，指没有回音】,⑪【[dred]，+动名词格式，害怕做sth】⑫【接管，On his father death, he take over the company】I was about two thirds ①done when Maggie came in. “Oh, no!”she cried. “I wanted it left up for the party tonight. Can’t you just sit and watch a football game? Please ? It’s what you usually do on New Year’s”“This year is different ,”I s aid.“Yes, isn’t it?”She shook her head. “I swear ② I don’t know. The kids have been impossible all day. I found the boys whittling on my best salad spoon, and then they had the nerve to③say you suggested it. And Kit has been in a poisonous mood④. She said that Marilyn phone and you didn’t tell her. And that you cross-examined⑤ Marilyn about her boyfriends.”“Hold it!”⑥I said. “I was only making small talk.” By now the kids were in the room, drawn by the commotion.⑦“You never bothered with small talk before. Why start now?”“Because it’s New Year’s,” I said. I explained to the assembled gathering about the books and the resolutions and what I’d been trying to accomplish. Silence. The kids stood there looking uneasil y at each other. “A man wants to improve himself,” I said . “He wants to be a better husband, a better father-"“We all want to be better,” Maggie said. “Except that when you’re so considerate it doesn’t seem natural. If the kids do something and you get mad, they know where they stand. But when you’re so even-tempered-”“Yeah,” Kit said. “You didn’t say a word about my clothes on the floor. You just smiled. It made me sick.”Roy said. “I been in more trouble today…”Gre tchen said. “I think it was better when you didn’t play jacks”“And yelled,⑧” Sammy said, “and said ‘damitall’.”“All right,” I snarled. “I make every effort to be a good father, and this is the thanks I get. The fact is, you don’t deserve the father you’ve got”I was illustrating my points with gestures. “You’re the ones who’d better start making resolutions. Like doing your homework, cleaning your rooms, letting the spoons alone. And when I tell you to do something ,jump!”I reached out to steady a lamp I had brushed with my sleeve. Furthermore-At this moment, I realized suddenly that the atmosphere had changed. The kids were sprawled on the floor, relaxed. I turned to Maggie.“Why is everybody smiling? What’s the big joke?”“No joke,” she said. “We’re just happy to have you back again.”①two thirds:几分之几（A/B）A基数词，B为序数词。