07Heres to a Long and Unhappy Life.docx

1、07Heres to a Long and Unhappy LifeLesson 07Text A Heres to a Long and Unhappy LifeVOCABULARY ITEMS 1. longevity: n. the property of being long-lived长寿，长命；持久 2. philanderer: n. a man who likes many women and has short sexual relationships with them爱和女人调情的男人，玩弄女性的男人 3. mortality: n. the quality or sta

2、te of being mortal必死性 4. widowed: ad. single because of death of the spouse成为寡妇的；成了鳄夫的 5. nana: n. grandmother or baby nurse外婆；祖母；保姆 6. diabetes: n. a medical condition in which someone has too much sugar in the blood【医】糖尿病 7. diaper: n. a piece of towel or paper worn by infants to catch excrement尿布

3、 8. chronic: ad. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering长期患病的；长期的；慢性的；难以治愈（或根除）的 9. spry: adj. moving quickly and lightly（指老年人）活跃的，敏捷的 10.perpetually: adv. seemingly uninterrupted; everlastingly; for all time永恒地；终身地；不断地 11. churlish: adj. rude and boorish; having a bad di

4、sposition脾气坏的；吝音的；无礼的12. bitch: (1)vt. to complain埋怨，抱怨; (2) n. a spiteful woman恶毒的女人，泼妇 13. sullenly: adv. silently showing dislike, lack of cheerfulness and interest; darkly and unpleasantly不高兴地；绷着脸；忧郁地 14. bawling: adj. with loud cries made while weeping爱叫骂的；大喊大叫的 15. withered: adj. weak and drie

5、d凋败了的；枯萎的，干瘪的；（手等）尽是皱纹的 16. tepid: adj. moderately warm微温的，不冷不热的 17.harrowing: adj. extremely upsetting or disturbing痛心的，悲惨的 18. Pollyanna: n. a person who is over optimistic盲目乐观的人 19.spar: v. to bandy words in argument; dispute争论，争吵 20. treacly: adj. overly sweet甜蜜的，像糖蜜的，如糖蜜一样甜的 21. agitate: to ups

6、et; disturb使不安；使焦虑 22. woefully: adv. in an unfortunate or deplorable manner悲哀地；令人遗憾地 23. coincidence: n. an event that might have been arranged although it was really accidental（令人吃惊的）巧合，巧事 24. deflate: to make someone feel less important or less confident挫败（某人的） 锐气，使泄气 25. bleak: adj. offering lit

7、tle or no hope; unpleasantly cold and damp阴冷的；阴郁的，凄凉的；没有希望的 26. blinds: n. window curtain窗帘；百叶窗27. fluff: v. to make fluffy使松软28. musty: ad. covered with or smelling of mold发霉的，陈腐的29. elegant: ad. refined and tasteful in appearance or behavior or style（人或其举 止）优美的，文雅的；漂亮的30. whiny: adj. habitually co

8、mplaining好发牢骚的，嘀咕不停的，烦躁的31. superbly: adv. extremely well庄重地；华美地；极好地；上等地32. stamina: n. enduring strength and energy体力，耐力，持久力33. repel: vt. to cause to move back by force or influence击退，抵制；使厌恶，使反感；排斥；相斥34. fragile: adj. easily broken or damaged or destroyed易碎的，脆的；虚弱的，脆弱的；经不起折腾的35. sulk: to be in a h

9、uff and display ones displeasure生闷气；温怒36. cajole: vt. to influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering（用甜言蜜语、虚假诺言等）劝诱，哄骗，勾引37. assuage: vt. to cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of减轻；缓和；平息38. tiptoe: v. to walk on ones toes用脚尖站立（或走路）；踞起脚尖39. quarry: n. a person wh

10、o is the aim of an attack (especially a victim of ridicule or exploitation) by some hostile person or influence被追逐的目标40. stoic: adj. seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive坚忍的；苦修的41. intrepid: adj. invulnerable to fear or intimidation无畏的；勇敢的42. mirth: n. great merriment（书）欢乐；欢笑43. thirtyso

11、mething: n. over 30 years old三十多岁44. eightysomething: n. over 80 years old八十多岁45. hatchet: n. a short ax used to chop wood短柄小斧46. villa: n. detached or semi-detached suburban house; pretentious and luxurious country residence with extensive ground（英）（城郊）住宅；别墅，公馆47. skorts: n. cross between a skirt a

12、nd shorts（女用）裙式短裤48. ratty: adj. dirty and in bad condition理破烂的；易怒的49. crabgrass: n. grasses with creeping stems that root freely; a pest in lawns一种杂草50. raccoon: n. an omnivorous nocturnal mammal native to North人merica and Central America洗熊51. yoga: n. a system of exercises practiced as part of the

13、 Hindu discipline to promote control of the bo即and mind瑜伽52. ball up: to make a mess of, destroy or ruin滚成球；团成球毁掉53. tune out: to turn off; ignore or not respond to关掉；不理；对无反应 54. wind up: to finally be or do something以告终（或终结） 55. throw up: to eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; vomi

14、t呕吐 56. hit the snooze: to go to bed睡觉 57. hit the bottle: to drink alcohol to the point of intoxication; acquire and drink alcohol, usually beer喝酒买醉 58. hit the skids: to rapidly slow down or stop a moving vehicle by mashing down the brake pedal; halt whatever action or process is currently occurri

15、ng刹车 59. under rug: nothing hiding nothing不用隐藏任何东西 60. embark on: to get off the ground; start从事，着手 61. prop up: to support, or prevent from falling, with or as if with a prop (often followed by up）支持，资助 62. lazy ass: a man that stays home and plays computer games all day待在家玩计算机的宅男NOTES 1. Energizer

16、 Bunny: Someone who will never quit trying. They wont give up. Much like the Energizer Batterys Mascot, they just keep going and going and going and going美国劲霸电池广告中装了劲霸电池的玩具兔子，当别的兔子都不动了，它还在一边敲鼓一边跳着。 2. supporting hose: a pair of hoses with steel support老年人穿的带支架的护腿 3. The Corrections: The Corrections

17、is a 2001 novel by American author Jonathan Franzen. It revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-twentieth century to one last Christmas together near the turn of the millennium. The novel was awarded the National B

18、ook Award in 2001 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2002. 4. The House of Mirth: The House of Mirth (1905) is a novel by Edith Wharton. It is about a woman who risks losing her chance of happiness with the only man she has ever loved. First published in 1905, the novel is Whartons first imp

19、ortant work of fiction, sold 140,000 copies between October and the end of December, and added to Whartons existing fortune. Although The House of Mirth is written in the style of a novel of manners, set against the backdrop of the 1 890s New York ruling class, it is a text considered to be part of

20、American literary. 5. beta blocker: Beta blockers (sometimes written as 3-blockers) or beta-adrenergic blocking agents, beta-adrenergic antagonists, or beta antagonists, are a class of drugs used for various indications. They are contraindicative to patients with asthma as stated in the BNF 2011. Th

21、ey are particularly for the management of cardiac arrhythmias, cardio-protection after heart attack, and hypertension.受体阻滞剂（一种缓解心动过速的药） 6. skort: A skirty sort of shorts. Something that appears to be a skirt of knee-length or shorter, but which includes an integral boxer-like lining of shorts to pro

22、tect the modesty of the wearer. The term can be either singular or plural when referring to a single item of this clothing. Skorts are a common feature of girls school uniforms, for elementary and middle school children, but rare outside that setting.（女用）裙式短裤Text A Heres to a Long and Unhappy Life L

23、isa Gabriele 1 Last week, a bunch of people forwarded to me a copy of a stu町done on older women and longevity. It found that those who were mildly, though markedly, depressed tended to live longer. Big surprise, I thought, tossing the balled-up clipping over my shoulder. Thats up there with money ea

24、ses stress, liars make good writers and philanderers make even better liars. (On the other hand, researchers found that depression had no influence on the mortality of men. Thats because when asked So, whats wrong? all the men circled Nothing, really, really hard.) 2 Most of us know an old aunt, a l

25、onely grandmother, or a widowed neighbor-lady whos a little depressed about life. Maybe wed spend more time with them if theyd just stop complaining about their backs, the noise, their pensions, the pollution, all these foreigners. Sometimes we tune out their depression, thinking, I cannot believe s

26、he is still around, this Energizer Bunny in support hose. 3 My own nana finally died after suffering for decades from strokes and diabetes. For the last 10 years of her life, she sat paralyzed in an adult diaper on the chronic-care floor of an excellent hospital. She was almost 100 years old, and fo

27、r most of this century, she was pretty much happy about pretty much nothing. My spry, perpetually young mother visited her often, more often than we did, her churlish grandkids. Poor Nana bitched constantly, and sank sullenly into her own shoulders every time we asked her how she was doing. Terrible

28、, shed say. How do you think Im doing? 4 Who can blame her? Two World Wars, the Depression, a long marriage to a difficult man, children accidentally born to her in her forties, during the Forties. At the end of her harrowing life, to wind up sharing a room with bawling strangers, baring her withere

29、d body to impatient nurses for tepid sponge baths would render any Pollyanna somewhat depressed, no? 5 But we all agreed that sparring with us, and nurses, kept Nana alert, treacly soap operas kept her agitated, and the absence of her ungrateful, lazy grandkids kept her permanently dissatisfied. Thi

30、ngs that caused her to sigh heavily depressed her, yes, but they also kept her willfully (woefully) alive. 6 When my mother would return from one of her exhausting visits, shed always say she never, ever wanted to grow old like Nana. Last year, she sadly got her wish, far too soon, living just over

31、half as long as the woman who bore her. 7 It is no coincidence that my mother worked as a private, uncomplaining nurse for old, depressive ladies. But she loved her job, loved caring for those sick, deflated people, loved making their grey, bleak lives a little cheerier. Shed throw up their dusty bl

32、inds, fluff their musty pillows, serve their canned fruit cocktail, read to them, iron for them, and try her best to cheer them up. Her last client, an elegant, whiny, rich lady, still alive in her early nineties, did not send flowers to my mothers funeral. My mother was devoted to this woman, so my nickname for her became That Miserable Old Bitch. 8 In The Corrections, author Jonathan Franzen superbly captures the stamina of these mildly depressed old ladies. Hi