课文文本

Lesson 30 Adventures of Ideas 大胆的想法

Each civilization is born, it culminates, and it decays. There is a widespread estimony that this ominous fact is due to inherent biological defects in the crowded life of cities. Now, slowly and at first faintly, an opposite tendency is showing itself. Better roads and better vehicles at first induced the wealthier classes to live on the outskirts of the cities. The urgent need for defence had also vanished. This tendency is now spreading rapidly downwards. But a new set of conditions is just showing itself. Up to the present time, throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this new tendency placed the home in the immediate suburbs, but concentrated manufacturing activity, business relations, government, and pleasure in the centres of the cities. Apart from the care of children and periods of sheer rest, the active lives were spent in the cities.

In some ways the concentration of such activities was even more emphasized, and the homes were pushed outwards even at the cost of the discomfort of commuting. But, if we examine the trend of technology during the past generation, the reasons for this concentration are largely disappearing. Still more, the reasons for the choice of sites for cities are also altering.

Mechanical power can be transmitted for hundreds of miles, men can communicate almost instantaneously by telephone, the chiefs of great organizations can be transported by airplanes, the cinemas can produce plays in every village, music, speeches, and sermons can be broadcast. Almost every reason for the growth of the cities,concurrently with the growth of civilization has been profoundly modified.

生词短语

Ⅰ、words
▲culminate vi.鼎盛，达到顶点
n.culmination n.（顶点,多用做抽象意义）/summit n.顶峰/peak/top
He reaches/attains the culmination in his thirties.他三十岁达到了顶峰。
His efforts culminate in his success.他的努力终于使他成功了。（culmite＝lead to
His efforts culminate in the prosperity of his family.
His efforts culminate in failure.他的努力付诸东流。
His excessive drinking culminates in his moral degeneration/decay.他的过度饮酒导致他道德败坏
mend one's morals改过自新

decayvt 衰亡，腐烂 同义词：rot见第二课
My health decays.我的身体江河日下。
Tooth decays.牙齿咬不动东西了。

testimony n 证据=evidence testmen n.证人 testify v.
Bear/produce the testimony to his innocence.我证明他无罪。
oral证词/verbal证词/ material物证

▲inherent adj固有的
the sloth that inherent in him天生的懒惰
inbred 天生的 inbuilt嵌入的 ingrain 根深蒂固的 deep－rooted根深蒂固的

faintly adv不明显的
faint微弱的
The light is so faint.光线太暗。
I fainted.我晕了过去。

tendency n倾向
I have the tendency to shop.我是个购物狂。
I have the tendency to smoke/read.我是个烟鬼/书迷
trend潮流/inclination（自己的）倾向 /current潮流（更常用）

vanish vi消失见26课

▲a set of 一批后只跟sth不跟sb
a set of rules一系列规则/a set of equipmeng一套设备/a set of furniture一套家具/a set of short stories短篇小说集

▲sheeradj纯粹的
sheer brandy纯白兰地/sheer liar大骗子/sheer rubbish一派胡言

emphasize vt强调 n.emphasis
place/lay/put emphsis……on
We have to place emphasis on construction of civilization.我们要加强文明建设。
同义词：underline/spotlight

at the cost of 以……位代价＝at the ptice of =sactifice v.牺牲，n牲
I learn English at the cost of my holidays.

▲commute adv即刻地 n.commuter 通勤者/commuter time/rush hour上下班时间
There is a New York or commuters devoured by locusts in the day and spit out at night.
It's commuter time,I will go.要下班了，我要走了。

instantaneously adv.即刻地
instant noodles 方便面，快餐面
in no time快，很快
I will come in no time.我马上回来。

sermonn布道
preach a sermon by a priest牧师布道

▲profoundly adv深刻地
profound theory深奥的理论
bid for Olympics申奥
profound sleep死睡/sleep like a log睡得像猪/eat like a dog

课文注释

This is about civilization and industry.That is the association between industry and civilization.

Each civilization is born( 产生), it culminates, and it decays①. There is a widespread testimony that this ominous（ominous

不吉祥地） fact is due to② inherent biological defects（biological defect 生物地缺陷，指前文中的产生、发展、灭亡的过程） in

the crowded life of cities③. Now, slowly and at first faintly, an opposite tendency④ is showing itself⑤. Better roads and

better vehicles ⑥at first induced the wealthier classes to live on the outskirts of the cities. The urgent need ⑦for

defence had also vanished. This tendency is now spreading rapidly downwards⑧. But a new set of conditions is just showing

itself. Up to the present time, throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this new tendency placed the home in the

immediate suburbs⑨, but concentrated manufacturing activity, business relations（商业贸易）, government, and pleasure in the

centres of the cities. Apart from（除了） the care of children and periods of sheer rest, the active lives （活动生活，主要生

活）were spent in the cities. In some ways（在某些方式上而言） the concentration of such activities was even more emphasized,

and the homes were pushed outwards even at the cost of the discomfort （：menace，威胁，不舒适）of commuting. But, if we

examine（探究） the trend of technology during the past generation, the reasons for this concentration（指前文relations 、

government, and pleasure ）are largely disappearing. Still more, the reasons for the choice of sites for cities are also

altering.（下文解释说明） Mechanical power can be transmitted for hundreds of miles, men can communicate almost

instantaneously by telephone, the chiefs of great organizations can be transported by airplanes, the cinemas can produce

plays in every village, music, speeches, and sermons can be broadcast. Almost every reason for the growth of the cities,

concurrently with the growth of civilization has been profoundly modified.

①例句：A man is born,he culminates/grows up,and he decays/dies.

②due to=becouse of，而due to 多指不好之意
Due to my carelessness/drinking/overspeeding

③本句看试与首句不相关联，但前句中的 civilization 城市生活多半代表了文明的含义，而countryside多有backward（落后）、

supersitious （迷信的），故由前句讲到本句的城市生活。
④opposite tendency 相反的倾向，指与城市生活拥挤不堪相反

⑤showing itself 显露迹象
suggest itself
As time goes on,the adwantage of my sound English is showing itself.随着时光流逝，我良好的英语功底终于派上用场了！

⑥vehide(in Britain)/lorry or motocar,automobile(in America)
induce 归纳 from every point to the center
induced=attracted
outskirts:it is only within the city but actually it is outer city

⑦urgent need迫切需求,指人们开始搬到市郊居住，使得城市的应急防护就显得不必要了

⑧downwards向下转移
I am homeward.我朝家里走去。
I am schoolward.我上学去。
I am eastward.我向东走去
I am restaurantward.我吃饭去。
I am bridgeward.我向桥上走去。
I am bookstoreward.我买书去。

⑨ city－outskirts-suburb：expansion outward向外扩展
immediate:近的，接近的
immediate goal近期目标
long term goal长期目标
immediate boss顶头上司
concentrate集中，若后接抽象内容则需加on，具体事物则不必。
concentrate on my studies集中学习