Unit One

Two Words To Avoid, Two to Remember

I. Library Work

1. Manhattan, an island near the mouth of the Hudson River, is a borough of New York City, in southeastern New York State, U.S.A. Commercial and cultural heart of the city, Manhattan is the site of the Metropolitan Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the City Center of Music and Drama,

and numerous other music institutions. Main museums and art galleries of Manhattan include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and American Museum of Natural History, etc. Columbia University and New York University are also located here. Among other points of interest are the Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building.

A psychiatrist is a medical practitioner specializing in the diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness. Generally, after completion of medical training, physicians take a three-year residency in psychiatry to become qualified

psychiatrists. As psychiatry is an area of medicine, psychiatrists tend to view and conceptualize disordered behavior as types of mental illness. Those who have mental illness, psychological and emotional disorders consult psychiatrists.

Sigmund Freud / zikmunt froit/ (1856 - ‵ ‵1939) is an Austrian physician and the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud explored the workings of the human mind and developed psychoanalysis as a therapeutic technique to treat neurosis or mental disturbances. His idea of the unconscious mental processes and his

theory that a principal cause of neurosis is the repression of painful memories into the unconscious hold a central place in psychology and psychiatry today.

II. Organization of the Text

I. Setting of the story (Paragraphs 1 – 3) ① The instructive significance of the story

(1) ② Setting (2 – 3)II. Development of the story (Paragraphs 4

– 31) ① In the little French restaurant (4 – 8)

② In the Old Man’s office (9 – 26) ③ Outside the office (27 -31)III. Denouement or conclusion (Paragraphs

32 – 33)

III. Key Points of the Text

Paragraph 1rewarding: worth doing; satisfyingchange for the better: improve someth

ing that already exists or that has gone before 向着较好的情况转变；为了取得更好的结果

E.g.: His health has changed for the better. 他的健康状况已有好转。

make alterations for the better in the design of a house 修改房屋的设计使之更趋完善

c.f.: change for the worse: make worse something that already exists or that has gone before 向着较坏的情况转变，更不好

E.g.: He bought a new car but it turned out to be for the worse. 他买了一辆新汽车，但结果比原来的还不好。

for better (or) for worse ( 或 for better or worse): in both good and bad fortune; whether the result is good or bad 同甘共苦 , 祸福与共 ; 不管是好是歹 , 不论是祸是福 ; 不管结果怎样

E.g.: He has resolved to take her for better or for worse. 不论是福是祸，他决心娶她为妻。

Most leave-taking --- for better or worse --- are temporary affairs. 不管怎样，大多数的告别只是暂别。

Nothing in life is more exciting and rewarding than the sudden flash of light that leaves you a changed person --- not only changed, but changed for the better:

The most inspiring and gratifying fact of life is the unexpected spark of enlightenment that makes you different and a better person than before.

According to the author, how much did the session with his psychiatrist friend that afternoon mean to him?

To him, the session was just like “a flash of insight that leaves him a changed person --- not only changed, but changed for the better.”

Paragraph 2

wintry: of or like winter; cold, snowy ( 似 ) 冬天的；寒冷的；多雪的

E.g.: a wintry smile 冷若冰雪的微笑

frustrated: feeling annoyed disappointment because of the prevention of the fulfillment of or defeat of someone or someone’s effort, hopes, etc. 表示作出的某种努力受阻而失望或沮丧

E.g.: I’m feeling rather frustrated in my present job; I need a change.

I feel frustrated; I can’t go after all! 我感到很失望；我终归还是去不成了。

depressed: sad; low in spirits 沮丧的；抑郁的；（意志）消沉的

E.g.: I feel really depressed today, nothing went right. 今天我真倒霉，什么都不顺利。

on one’s part: made or done by one 某人所做的，某人有责任的；就某人而言，在某人一方；代表某人

E.g.: I consider this a gross oversight on your part. 我认为这是你的严重疏忽。

It was the lapse on the part of my wife. 这是我妻子出的差错。

There are still some doubts on the part of the employers. 雇主方面仍心存怀疑。

A frank question on his part led to a frank answer on mine. 他问题提得直率，因此我也回答得坦诚。

He expressed appreciation on the part of himself and his colleagues. 他代表自己以及同事们表示感谢。

fall through: fail to be successfully completed; come to nothing 失败，成为泡影；不能践约，失约

E.g.: To his disappointment, his plan to do further studies in the university fell through.

I have made an appointment with him, but I’m afraid he’ll fall through. 我已和他约好会面，可是我怕他会失约。

hindsight: wisdom about an event after it has occurred 事后的觉悟；事后的聪明

E.g.: By hindsight I should have gone there earlier. 事后想来，我应早些去那里。

Hindsight is always clearer than one’s view at the time. 事后看问题总要比当时看得清楚。

c.f.: foresight: the ability to imagine what will probably happen, allowing one to act to help or prevent developments; care or wise planning for the future 预见；先见之明

chew the cud: think deeply before making a decision; think reflectively 深思，反复思考

E.g.: He didn’t reply immediately, but seemed rather to be chewing his cud. 他没有立即回答，不过看上去在反复思考。

How were the author and the old man related?

The old man was an eminent psychiatrist and the author was a client of his.

Paragraph 3

He came across the street, finally, muffled in his ancient overcoat, shapeless felt hat pulled down over his bald head, looking more like an energetic gnome than an eminent psychiatrist.

At last he walked over from the other side of the street, wrapped in his old-fashioned overcoat, his bald head covered by a shapeless felt hat. He looked like a dwarfish old man full of energy rather than a well-known psychiatrist.

gnome: (in legends) a little old man who lives underground and guards the earth’s treasures; a small ugly person 守护神；土地神 ; 侏儒

Paragraph 5

perceptiveness: unusual ability to notice and understand; awareness and understanding 观察敏锐；善于理解

E.g.: We all admired his perceptiveness; he was always so quick to respond to a new situation.

proceed: begin a course of action

E.g.: After the preparations had been made, we proceeded to draft the plan.

Paragraph 10

flat: with a broad level surface and little depth 浅的

Paragraph 11

berate: (formal) scold or criticize angrily because of a fault

E.g.: Don’t berate anyone just because he has made a mistake. Don’t we all make mistakes from time to time?

go by: pass; elapse

The woman who spoke next had never married because of a sense of obligation to her widowed mother; she recalled bitterly all the marital chances she had let go by.

The next speaker on the tape was a woman who had remained single because she thought she was obliged to take care of her mother who was a widow. She still remembered and told others miserably about all the chances of marriage she had missed.

Paragraph 14

woeful: regretful; full of woe, sadE.g.: a woeful countenance (song) 悲伤的

面容 ( 歌曲 ) a woeful spectacle 悲惨的景象 woeful shortage of commodities 商品的

可悲的匮乏 woeful ignorance 可悲的无知

It was woeful to see him spoiling the painting. 眼见他毁坏那幅油画真叫人惋惜。

Paragraph 15

Why did the old man let the author listen to the three speakers on the tape?

The three speakers on the tape were all unhappy, and the two words they all used frequently in what they said were “if only.” What the old man wanted to point

out to the author was that to keep saying “if only” would not change anything; on the contrary, it only kept the person facing the wrong way --- backward instead of forward. Thus it did more harm than good to the person who kept saying them.

In the end, if you let it become a habit, it can become a real roadblock, an excuse for not trying any more.

Eventually, if you form a habit of saying “if only”, the phrase can really turn to an obstruction, providing you with an excuse for giving up trying anything at all.

Paragraph 16

lament: feel or express great sorrow (for or because of something); complain about 痛惜；抱怨

E.g.: One should not lament the past mistakes, but should try to do better later.

lament this great loss 痛惜这巨大的损失

lament one’s folly (carelessness) 悔恨自己的愚蠢（粗心）

… you never got out of the past tense. Not once did you mention the future.

… you are always thinking of the past, regretting and lamenting. You did not look forward to what you can do in the future at all.

a perverse streak: an obstinate qualityperverse: stubbornly unreasonable 任性的，蛮

不讲理的 streak: long thin mark, line or band of a different

substance or color from its surroundings; element or trace (in a person’s character) ( 与整体不同物质或颜色的 ) 条纹，线条，斑纹 ; (个性中的 ) 些微特点或特征

E.g.: black with red streaks 带红条纹的黑色

There were tear streaks down her face. 她脸上有一条条泪痕。

He has a stubborn streak. 他生性有点儿固执。

He had a petty bourgeois streak in him. 他有点小资产阶级味道。

a streak of jealousy (vanity, cruelty) 几分妒忌（虚荣，残忍）

have a jealous streak 有点儿妒忌

hash over: (AmE informal) talk about something such as a difficulty in detail and at length 充分讨论；回顾

E.g.: Hasn’t the committee finished hashing over the question yet?

I have something I want to hash over with you. 我有事要跟你好好谈谈。

hash over the old days 追忆旧日hash: chop (meat) into small pieces 把

(肉 ) 切成小块 ; 把 (肉 ) 剁碎

Paragraph 19

ruefully: regretfully; showing or feeling good-humored regret 表示或感到后悔的 ( 但很看得开 )

E.g.: He faced his recent failure ruefully. a rueful smile 抱憾的微笑

Paragraph 20

lift: a feeling of elation 鼓舞，振奋E.g.: Winning the scholarship gave her a tr

emendous lift. 她获得奖学金后受到了极大的鼓舞。

drag: (slang) a boring thing; nuisance 累赘的或使人生厌的人或事物

E.g.: Walking is drag --- let’s take the car. 走路太费事 --- 我们坐车吧。

Paragraph 22

strike out (also strike through): remove by drawing a line through; cross out

Paragraph 24

grim: harsh, unpleasant, dreadfulE.g.: He was depressed when he heard the

grim news that two-thirds of the workforce might be discharged.

Paragraph 25

fanciful: using the imagination rather than reason; imagined rather than based on facts 空想的，想象的

E.g.: a fanciful tale 想象出来的故事 a fanciful notion 毫无根据的想法 a fanciful girl 爱空想的女孩

Paragraphs 28 - 29

“My, my,” said the Old Man slyly. “If only we had come down ten seconds sooner, we’d have caught that cab, wouldn’t we?”

I laughed and picked up the cue. “Next time I’ll run faster.”

The Old Man said to me trickily, using the phrase “if only” on purpose, “If only we’d got here ten seconds earlier, we’d have caught the cab.”

I laughed and understood what he meant. So I followed his advice and said, “Next time I’ll run faster.”

Why did the Old Man say slyly? Find out the reason in the context.

What was the cue the author picked up? How did the author pick up the cue?

take in one’s stride: deal with (a situation, problem, etc.) calmly and without needing to make a special effort 一跨而过；轻易地解决 (困难 ) ，毫不费力地做；从容处理

E.g.: They took the emergency in their stride. 他们泰然地处理了紧急情况。

Some people find retiring difficult, but he has taken it all in his stride. 有人觉得很难适应退休后的生活，但他却能安之若素。

so to speak (say): one could say; as it were 可以说，可谓；恕我直言

E.g.: You are, so to speak, a fish out of water. 你可以说是像离了水的鱼儿。

Therefore I think we must, so to say, resort to more extreme measures. 因此，恕我直言，我认为我们必须采取更为激烈的措施。

Paragraphs 32

to this day: even now

Paragraphs 33

to be sure: I can not deny that; admittedly 无可否认；诚然；固然；必须承认

E.g.: He is clever, to be sure, but not very hard-working. 他聪明是聪明，但不怎么勤奋。

He is young, to be sure, but experienced. 他固然还年轻，但很有经验。

Thank you!