英语自考本科高级英语笔记-下册-Lesson_Eight_2

Lesson Eight Science Has Spoiled My Supper Words and Expressions

Text Explanation

1Science, to my mind, is applied hoesty…

Science is something in which honesty is put into practice. There is no room for cheating in science.

2…I feel the way a man would if his favorite uncle had taken to drink.

You have mixed feelings if your favorite uncle has got into the bad habit of drinking alcoholic liquor. On the one hand, you feel resentful for his doing so, but on the other hand, as he is your beloved uncle, you may feel bitterly disappointed and sorry for him. This is exactly how the author feels about error committed in the name of science.

3America can set as good a table as any nation in the world.

America can provide food as good as that provided by any nation in the world.

4… it is sad to go back eating with my friends - even the alleged "good cooks" among them.

The food prepared by his friends is tasteless. This is true of the food prepared by those friends who are said to be god cooks.

So it is sad to go back to eating with them. Here "eating" is a verbal noun, expresses a frequent action.

5The latter were sharp but not too sharp.

Cheese can be made to be pungent, less pungent or light in taste. Usually the world "sharp" or "medium" or "light" is printed on the package of the cheese for the convenience of the customers.

6…but no one comes within miles of the old kinds - for flavor.

…they are all inferior in flavor to the old kinds of cheeses.

但是在味道上没有一种不和原来的奶酪差上十万八千里。

After a sound sleep last night, he feels miles better today. (much better)

7 A grocer used to be very fussy about his cheese.

A grocer used to be very particular about what cheese and how much cheese he bought to sell in his shop.

be fussy about: showing close attention to detail 为琐事担心

Our teacher is too fussy about our clothes.

8…who knew precisely what their patrons wanted.

…who knew exactly what kind of cheeses their regular customers wanted.

9The old-fashioned cheeses didn't ship well enough.

The old-fashioned cheeses could not be well transported, for their quality was likely to decline in transit.

10…so long as they can sell most persons anyhow.

…so long as they can sell their foodstuff to most persons anyhow.

11"Scientific samplings" got in its statistically nasty work.

"Scientific samplings" got its statistically nasty work in. This means "Scientific samplings" used its disgusting statistics to influence food production.

“科学抽样”的讨厌的统计工作插了进来。

12…but nobody is very violently put off.

… but nobody dislikes it so much as not to buy it.

但也没有人会厌恶到不去买的地步。

I quite like working for the director, but his bad temper puts me off.

13The result is that a "reason" has been found for turning out zillions of packages of something that will "do" for nearly all and isn't even imagined to be superlatively good by a single soul.

The result is that a "reason" has been found for producing a great many packages of something that will be tolerated by people in general but is not thought to be very good to anybody.

其结果是，找到了一个“理由”，去生产无数包某种东西，这些可以被几乎所有的人“凑合着用”，但

即使在想象时也不会有一个人认为它们是特别好的好东西。