全新版大学进阶英语综合教程(二)课文+翻译.docx

全新版大学进阶英语综合教程(二)课文+翻译.docx

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Unit1

Afterlivinginthe 24-hourcityofLasVegas,Nevadafornearlytenyears,myfamilyandIdecidedto slowthingsdown. Mydaughterwantedahorse. Myhusbandwanted property. Mysonwanteda dirtbike. Iwantedourfamilytobemore self-sufficient.

Noneofusfeltthatthiscouldbe accomplished wherewewerelivingandweallagreedthatamovetothecountrywouldbegreatforeveryone.

Beforelongwe setabout lookingforahomeinYucca,Arizona,averysmalltownoflessthan1,000people. ItwaswhileIwasscanninglistingsfromourrealestate agent thatIfirst learnedof it. Therewasahomeforsalethereon40acres. WhenIcalledto inquire abouttheproperty,Iwasinformedthattherewasnoelectricity available inthearea. What?

Noelectricity?

Ialmostdismissedtheideaimmediately.

Thepropertywasoffthegrid. Itwasnotconnected whatsoever toany utilities —power,waterorsewer. Powerwassuppliedbyawindturbineandsolarpanels. Waterhadtobe hauled inandstoredintwotanks located ontheproperty. Fortyacreswouldgiveusplentyofroomforallofouranimalsandgivemyhusbandandsonspacetoridetheir ATVs. Besides,whatbetterwayistheretobecomemoreself-sustainable?

 Aftergivingitsomethought,wedecidedto putin anoffer andmovedinon ThanksgivingDay.

Whenwefirstmovedtotheproperty,wedidsomeremodelingandstayedinourmotorhome. Wewereconfrontedwithrealchallengesatthetime. Thepowerkept goingout,themainwaterlinetothehousebroke, theplumbingbackedupintothefrontyard andthegeneratordied.

Butthe setbacks justmadeusworkharder. Weslowlygotthingsfixedandmovedintothehouseafter38daysinthe RV. Thenextchallengewasto becomefamiliarwith yourpower system,and tolearnthe insandouts ofhaulingyourownwaterand generating yourownpower.

Ouroff-the-gridsystem consistsof eightsolarpanels（1,000watts）thataremountedonasuntrackerrack. Wealsohaveawindturbinethatgenerates3,000wattsin24mphwinds. Theenergygeneratedbythewindandsunisstoredin166vgolfcartbatteries. Wealsohavetwo2,500-gallonabove-groundwatertanksanda250-gallonpropanetank. Everyweekend,wehaultwo275-gallonwatertankstothenearbytownofYuccaandfillthemwithwater,whichwethenpumpintoourbigwatertanks.

Whilelivinghereforthepastfourmonthshasbeenabig adjustment,therearemanybenefitstolivingoffthegrid. Ithinkoneofthegreatestisteachingmykidstheimportanceofconservation. Theyusedto takewater,powerandgasforgranted. Thefirstweekwewerehere,weusedalmost1,000gallonsofwater. Withonlya5,000-gallonwatertank,itdidn’ttakethemlongtounderstandthatwehadtouselesswater. Westartedtakingquickershowers,doingonlyfullloadsof laundry,turningoffthewaterwhilebrushingourteethorshaving.

Over-consumptionisevenmoreclearlydemonstratedbyourelectricityusage. WehaveadigitalreadoutofhowmanyvoltsofDCpowerwehavestoredinourbatteriesatanygiventime. IfyouturnonalightortheTV,thenumbergoesdown. Inordertoprotectthebatteries,thesystemissetuptoshuttheinverteroffifthevoltsgettoolow. Thenthepowergoesout. Whenwefirstmovedin,welostpoweralmostdaily. Afterthishappensafewtimes,itbecomesclearveryquicklyjusthowoftenyouwasteelectricity. Everythingfromlightsandceilingfanstocomputersandradioswereleftonwhentheywerenot inuse. Thecellphonechargerswere pluggedinevenwhentheyweren’tcharginganything. Allofthisusesunnecessarypower. Wearesteadilylearningtobemore diligent withourpowerusage.

Inaddition,wearealsotryingtomakeotherchanges. Theyincludereducingtheamountof trash wegenerateby recycling andcomposting,growingourown organic vegetables,andreusingandrepurposingthingsthatwewouldnormally toss. Wealsowanttoproduceourowneggsandgoat’smilkinthenearfuture.

Overall,goingoffthegridhasbeengreatforourfamily. Wehavelearnedhowtoconservepowerandwaterandtoreally appreciate whattheearthgivestouseveryday. Ihopethatoncemykidsmoveoutofthehouse,theywillkeepthehabitsthattheyhavelearnedbylivingoffthegrid.

Unit3

Ireceivedanemailfromareaderwhoasked,“Whydosomefriendshipsend, nomatterhow muchyouwantthemtolast?

” She referredto havingseenthequestioninoneofmyarticles, Mystery ofFriendship. AsIwroteinit,Idon’tthinkeasyanswersexistastohowfriendshipsstart,whysometurnintolifetimeones,andwhysomeend. AlthoughI’vetriedansweringthefirsttwoquestionsinotherarticles（ToHaveAFriend and BeAFriend）,Istillgetsurprisedbyfriendshipsthatendureanddisillusionedbyonesthat slipaway. Evenso,I’lltrytooffersome insights hereastowhyfriendshipsend.

Mysimpleansweristhatfriendshipsendbecausethesituationsfriendsareinoreventhefriendsthemselveschange. Othershavesimilaranswers. First,thesituationsfriendsfacemaychange. Thedecisiontorelocateforanewschoolorjob cannothelpbut affect afriendship. Likewise,ifafriendisinanaccident,developsanillness,orlosessomeoneclose,thesesituationscannothelpbutaffectafriendship. Doesafriendshipneedtoendbecauseofthesechanges?

 No,butit’llrequireadjustmentsthatoneorbothfriendsmightnotbewillingtomake.

Second,thefriendsthemselvesmaychange. Asignificantreasonthatfriendshipsoftenendwhenfriendsare apart foran extended periodoftime（forsummercamp,college,etc.）isthatoneorbothofthefriendschange. Ithinkithurtslesswhenbothfriendschange, becausethenthebreakupismoreoften mutual andsobothfriendsgetclosurebybothdecidingtoletgoandmoveforwardintheirliveswithouteachother. What tends tohurtmostiswhenjustonefriendchanges. Onefriendmightchangesocialcircles,become involved innewsocialorganizations,startto date,getapet,or takeon someother venture that consumes moretimeand passion. Again,afriendshipcanendurethesechanges,unlessoneorbothofthefriendsforsomereasondecidenotto invest thetimeandenergyinvolvedintheadjustmentperiod. （Forexample,onefriendmightforgettheimportanceofthefriendship dueto thehighofhavinganewpetormightfeelthatthechangeisimpossibleto overcome whenonegetsmarriedbuttheotherisstillsingle.） Inthissituation,breakupsmaynotbemutualandsooneorbothfriendsfeel betrayed and endupwith bittermemoriesaboutwhatwasapreciousfriendshiptothem.

Thereareotherreasonswhyfriendshipsend. Forexample, asmuchas twopeoplemightwantafriendshipto survive,oneorbothofthemmightunintentionally neglect it. Friendshipisoftencomparedtoaflowergarden. Well,ifflowersdon’tget exposed regularlyenoughtosunlightanddon’tgetwateredenough,flowerswillwitherandevendie. Thesame appliesto friendship. Ifweekafterweekpasseswhereplansaremadetospendtimetogetherbutareneverhonored,perhapsduetotakingafriendshipforgranted, eventuallyeventheclosestoffriendshipsmay cease to haveareasontoexist.

Conflictscanalsocausetheendoffriendships. Iftheflowerisafledglingplant,oneblowmightdestroyitjustassometimesrelativelyyoungfriendshipsaren’tstrongenoughtoenduremuchconflict. Eventhoseamazingclosefriendships, wherefriendsloveusnomatterwhatourfaultsare, needcare whenitcomesto conflicts. Sure,ifa flourishing flowergetssteppedon,itmight revive onitsown. Moreover,ifitgetsalittleextraspecialcare,it’llprobably bounceback asifithadn’teverbeen injured. Atthesametime,ifaflowergetsrepeatedlytrampledon,it’llprobablyeventuallybreak. Especiallythefriendshipsthat havebeenaround foralongtimecanendurestorms,andevenbecomestrongerforthem,butmostfriendshipshavebreakingpoints.

Nevertheless,whilewecanrarelypredictattheoutsetwhichoneswilllast,mostfriendshipsdoenrichusforhowevershortorlongthey’reapartofourlives.

Unit4

Inthesleepinessattheendofalibrarynap,Iwasn’tsurewhereIwas. I stretchedout myarmtoreachforahumanbeing,butwhatI grabbed wasausedcopyof TheOdyssey,thebookaboutgoinghome. Myheartached.

Itwas2a.m. Thelibrary, floodedwith whitefluorescentlightandsmellingofmustybooksandsweatysneakers,waseerilyquiet. Myreadingsseemedendless. Ihadbeenadmittedintoathree-course,yearlongfreshman program calledDirectedStudies, dubbed Directed Suicide byYalies. Itwassupposedtointroduceusto“thesplendorsofWesterncivilization,”inthewordsofthe catalog,byforce-feedingthecanonsofphilosophy,literatureandhistory.

IwantedverymuchtostudytheWesterncanon,becauseIknewnothingaboutit. Yes,McDonald’sadsandMadonnaposterswereplasteredonShanghaistreets,butfewWesternideas filtered through. WehadbeeninformedofKarlMarx’shabitofsittingatthesame spot intheBritishLibrary, forinstance,buthadreadnoneofhis original words. Westerncivilizationwasdifferent, mysterious andthus alluring. Besides,becauseIlongedtobeacceptedhere,I yearned tounderstandAmericansociety. Whatbetterwayto comprehend itthantostudytheveryideasonwhichitisbased?

Butat2a.m.,I wastiredof themall:

Homer,Virgil,HerodotusandPlato. Theirwordsweredullandthepresentationsdifficulttofollow. TheprofessorsheredonotteachinthesamewaythatteachersinChinado. StudyinghumanitiesinChinameans memorizing allthe“correct,”standard interpretations givenduringlectures. Here,professorsask provocative questionsandletthestudentsargue,researchandwri