21世紀(jì)大學(xué)英語教程07

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TextA

Pre-readingActivities

Beforeyoulistentothepassage

1.TakeaminutewithapartnertomatchthesportsinColumnAwiththeplayingareasinColumnB.TheninColumnC,listallthethings(equipment,specialclothing,etc.)thatarenecessarytoeachofthesports.

ColumnA

baseball

bowling

golf

running

soccer(football)

tennis

ColumnB

alley

course

court

diamond

field(pitch)

track

ColumnC

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

_____

Nowlistentothepassage

2.Whichsportisitabout?Compareyourequipmentlistwiththeequipmentmentionedonthetape.Whatattractsyoutotheactivitiesthatyouenjoyinyoursparetime?Howimportantisittoyouto"dothemright"?

SoWhat'sSoBadAboutBeingSo-So?

LisaWilsonStrick

TheotherafternoonIwasplayingthepianowhenmyseven-year-oldwalkedin.Hestoppedandlistenedforawhile,thensaid:"Youdon'tplaythatthingverywell,doyou,Mom?"

No,Idon't.Myperformancewouldmakeanyseriousmusicstudentweep,butIdon'tcare.I'veenjoyedplayingthepianobadlyforyears.

Ialsoenjoysingingbadlyanddrawingbadly.I'mnotashamedofmyincompetenceintheseareas.Idooneortwootherthingswellandthatshouldbeenoughforanybody.Butitgetsboringdoingthesamethingsoverandover.Everynowandthenit'sfuntotrysomethingnew.

Unfortunately,doingthingsbadlyhasgoneoutofstyle.Itusedtobeamarkofclassifaladyoragentlemansangalittle,paintedalittle,playedtheviolinalittle.Youdidn'thavetobegoodatit;thepointwastobefortunateenoughtohavetheleisuretimeforsuchpursuits.Butintoday'scompetitiveworldwehavetobe"experts"eveninourhobbies.

Youcan'ttoneupyourbodybypullingonyourgymshoesandjoggingaroundtheblockacoupleoftimesanymore.Why?Becauseyou'llbelaughedoffthestreetbythe"seriousrunners"—theoneswhoruntwentymilesormoreaweekintheirsixty-dollarrunningsuitsandfancyshoes.Theshoesarereallyabigdeal.Ifyousayyou'rethinkingabouttakingupalmostanysport,thefirstthingthe"serious"typeswillaskiswhatyouplantodoaboutshoes.Leatherorcanvas?Whattypeofsoles?Whichbrand?Thisisnotthetimetomentionthatthegymshoesyouworeinhighschoolarestillinprettygoodshape.Asfarassportsenthusiastsareconcerned,ifyoudon'thavethelatestshoesyouarehopelesslycommittedtoembarrassingyourself.

Therunnersaren'tnearlysosnobbishasthedancers,however.Incaseyoudidn'tknow,"goingdancing"nolongermeansputtingonaprettydressanddoingafewturnsaroundthedancefloorwithyourfavoritemanonSaturdaynight."Dancing"meanssqueezingintotightsandlegwarmers,thensweatingthroughsixhoursofwarm-ups,fivehoursofballetandfourhoursofjazzclasses.Everyweek.Nevertellanyonethatyou"liketodance"unlessthisisthesortofactivityyouenjoy.

Haveyounoticedwhatthisisdoingtoourchildren?"Wedon'twantthatnerdonoursoccerteam,"Ioverheardaten-year-oldcomplaintheotherday."Hedoesn'tknowagoalkickfromaheadshot."Asithappens,the"nerd"thattheboywastalkingaboutwasmyson,whodidnot—likesomeofhisfriends—startsoccerinstructionatagethree.I'msorry,Son,IguessIblewit.Inmyday,whenweplayedbaseball,weexpectedtogivealittleinstructiontotheyoungerkidswhodidn'tknowhowtoplay.Itdidn'tmatteriftheywereterrible;weweren'touttoslaughtertheotherteam.Sometimeswedidn'tevenkeepscore.Tous,sportswerejustawayofhavingagoodtime.

Idon'tthinkkidshaveasmuchfunastheyusedto.Competitionkeepsgettingintheway.Thedaughterofaneighborisanervouswreckworryingaboutgettingintothebesttennisschool."Iwasalatestarter,"shetoldme,"andIonlygettopracticefiveorsixhoursaweek,somytechniquemaynotbeuptotheirstandards."Thechildisnine.Shedoesn'twanttobeatennisplayerwhenshegrowsup;shewantstobeanurse.Iaskedwhatshelikestodoforfuninherfreetime.Sheseemedtothinkitwasanoddquestion."Well,Idon'tactuallyhavealotoffreetime,"shesaid."Homeworkandtennisandpianolessonskindofeatitallup.Ihavepianolessonsthreetimesaweeknow,soIhaveagoodshotatgettingintotheall-stateorchestra."

Ambition,driveandthedesiretoexcelareallgreatwithinlimits,butIdon'tknowwherethelimitsareanymore.Iknowawomanwho'sbeencomplainingforyearsthatshehasn'tgotthetimetostudyaforeignlanguage.I'vepointedoutthataneveningcourseinFrenchorItalianwouldtakeonlyacoupleofhoursaweek,butshekeepsputtingitoff.Isuspectthatwhatshehasn'tgotthetimeforistobecomecompletelyfluentwithinoneyear—andthatanylowerlevelofaccomplishmentwouldembarrassher.InsteadshespendshereveningswatchingTVandtidyingupherclosets—occupationsatwhichnoparticularexpertiseisexpected.

Iknowlotsofotherpeople,too,whoavoidactivitiestheymightenjoybecausetheylackthetimeortheenergytotacklethem"seriously."Itstrikesmeassosilly.Wearetalkingaboutrecreation.Ihavenothingagainstself-improvement.ButwhenIhearateenagermuttering"practicemakesperfect"ashegrimlymakeshisfour-hundred-and-twenty-seventhtryathookingthebasketballintothenetleft-handed,Iwonderifsomeofusaren'timprovingourselvesrightintotheinsaneasylum.

Ithinkit'stimeweputastoptoallthis.Forsanity'ssake,eachofusshouldvowtotakeupsomethingnewthisweek—andtomakesurewenevermasteritcompletely.Singalongwithgrandopera.Makepeculiar-lookingobjectsoutofclay.Icantellyoufromexperiencethatahomemadecakestilltastesprettygoodevenifitdoesn'tlookperfect.Thepointistoenjoybeingabeginneragain;torediscoverthejoyofcreativefoolingaround.Ifyoufinditdifficult,askanytwo-year-oldtoteachyou.Two-year-oldshaveagiftfortacklingtheimpossiblewithenthusiasm;repeatedfailurehardlydiscouragesthematall.

Asforme,I'mgettingalittleoutofshape,soI'mlookingintogolf.AlotofpeopleIknowenjoyit,anditdoesn'tlooktoohard.Givenacoupleoflessons,Ishouldbestumblinggracelesslyaroundthegolfcourseandplayingbadlyinnotimeatall.

(1,050words)

NewWords

so-so

a.&ad.(infml)neitherverybad(ly)norverygood/well不好也不壞的（地）

mom

n.（美口）媽媽

incompetence

n.thelackofskillorabilitytodoatasksuccessfully不勝任，不稱職

*competence

n.skillorabilitytodoatasksuccessfully能力；稱職

boring

a.dullanduninteresting乏味的；令人厭倦的

leisure

n.timefreefromworkorotherduties;sparetime閑暇

gym

n.(infml)(=gymnasium)aroomorhallwithapparatusforphysicalexercise體操館；健身房

gymshoe

n.體操鞋，球鞋

sole

n.thebottompartofashoeorsock鞋底；襪底

a.beingtheonlyone;belongingtooneandnoothers唯一的；獨占的

enthusiast

n.apersonwhoisveryinterestedinsth.熱衷于…的人

squeeze

vt.1.forceorpress(oasmallspace)硬塞，硬擠

2.pressfirmlyfromtwosides擠壓，榨

n.1.anactofpressinginfromtwosides擠壓，榨

2.tighteconomiccircumstances經(jīng)濟困難；拮據(jù)

tights

n.［復(fù)］女用（連）褲襪

legwarmers

n.［復(fù)］暖腿套

warm-up

n.anactoraperiodofpreparationforphysicalexercise,aperformance,etc.準(zhǔn)備活動；準(zhǔn)備練習(xí)

*overhear

vt.hear(sb.,aconversation,etc.)withouttheknowledgeofthespeaker(s);hearbychance偷聽到；無意中聽到

goalkick

n.球門球

*slaughter

vt.1.kill(ananimal),esp.forfood;kill(peopleoranimals)violentlyandinlargenumbers屠宰；屠殺

2.(infml)defeat(sb.)badlyinsportsorgames（口）使慘敗

wreck

n.1.(usu.sing)(infml)apersonwhosehealth,esp.mentalhealth,hasbeenseriouslydamaged受到嚴(yán)重?fù)p害的人

2.ashiplostatsea;aplane,car,etc.whichisbadlydamagedinanaccident遇難船只；失事飛機等的殘骸

vt.cause(aship)tobedestroyed;(fig.)destroy,ruin造成（船舶等）失事；（喻）破壞

orchestra

n.a(usu.large)groupofpeopleplayingvariousmusicalinstrumentstogether管弦樂隊

limit

n.(oft.pl.)thegreatestextentofsth.thatispossibleorallowed限度；范圍

vt.keepwithinacertainsize,amount,number,area,orplace;restrict限制；限定

limited

a.smallinamount,powerandnotabletoincrease有限的

tidy

vt.make(sb.orsth.)neatorinorder使整潔，使整齊

a.neatandinorder;likingthingstobeneatlyarranged整潔的；愛整潔的

*recreation

n.anactivitydoneforenjoymentwhenoneisnotworking消遣，娛樂

self-improvement

n.improvementofone'scharacter,mind,etc.,byone'sownefforts自我改進，自我修養(yǎng)

grimly

ad.inadeterminedmanner堅定地；不屈地

*insane

a.1.精神病患者的；為瘋?cè)硕O(shè)的

2.(ofpeopleortheiracts)mad（患）精神病的；精神失常的

asylum

n.收容所；精神病院

insaneasylum

n.amentalhospital精神病院

sanity

n.thestateofhavinganormalhealthymind;thestateofbeingsensibleorreasonable;goodsoundjudgement神智健全；清醒，明智

opera

n.歌劇

peculiar-looking

a.奇形怪狀的

peculiar

a.1.odd,strange奇特的，古怪的

2.(to)belonging,relatingonly(toaparticularperson,placeortime)獨有的，特有的

clay

n.黏土

homemade

a.madeathome,ratherthaninashoporfactory家制的；做得簡單粗糙的

discourage

vt.takeaway(sb.'s)confidenceor(sb.'s)hopeofdoingsth.使泄氣，使灰心

*stumble

vi.1.walkinaclumsyway跌跌撞撞地走

2.speakorperformwithmanymistakesorhesitations結(jié)結(jié)巴巴地說話

gracelessly

ad.notattractivelyorelegantly;inaclumsymanner不優(yōu)美地，笨拙地

grace

n.1.eleganceinmovementorbehaviour優(yōu)美；風(fēng)度

2.kindness;willingnesstodowhatisright善意；體諒

graceful

a.1.(ofmovementorshape)attractivetosee優(yōu)美的

2.(ofaspeechorfeeling)suitablyandpleasantlyexpressed優(yōu)雅的；得體的

*gracious

a.polite,kindandpleasant,esp.topeopleofalowersocialposition親切的，和藹的

PhrasesandExpressions

toneup

make(one'sbody)stronger,fitter,etc.使更強壯，使更健康

pullon

put(sth.)onbypulling穿上，戴上

abigdeal

sth.important了不起的事，大事

takeup

starttolearnorpractice(ahobby)開始從事

ingoodshape

ingoodcondition處于良好狀況

becommittedto

carealotabout(acause,one'sjob.etc.);