《新概念英语》第四册 Lesson 5 Youth

Lesson 5 Youth

First listen and then answer the following question:

How does the writer like to treat young people? 

People are always talking about 'the problem of youth'. If there is one -- which I take leave to doubt -- then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings -- people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is.

When I was a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain -- that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking.

I find young people exciting. They have an air of freedom, and they not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort. They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to material things. All this seems to me to link them with life, and the origins of things. It's as if they were, in some sense, cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures. All that is in my mind when I meet a young person. He may be conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect of elders -- as if mere age were a reason for respect. I accept that we are equals, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong. 

FIELDEN HUGHES from Out of the Air, The Listener

New words and expression

生词和短语 

leave  n.  允许

fundamental [ˌfʌndəˈmentl] n.  基本原则

fundament  n.基础，基本原理;肛门，臀部

fund基础 + a + ment 表名词 → 基础

There is a fundamental difference between the two points of view.

这两个观点有根本区别。

glorious [ˈɡlɔːriəs]  adj. 光辉灿烂的

a glorious sunset

瑰丽的晚霞

a glorious chapter in our country's history

我国历史上光辉的一页

splendid [ˈsplendɪd]  adj. 灿烂的

splend 发光 + id 形容词后缀 → 辉煌的

The hotel stands in splendid isolation , surrounded by moorland.

那旅馆岿然独立，周围是一片荒原。

We've all had a splendid time.

我们大家都玩得很开心。

rub  [rʌb] n.  难题

The hotel is in the middle of nowhere and there lies the rub . We don't have a car.

难就难在旅馆很偏远，我们又没有汽车。

identity  [aɪˈdentəti] n.  身份

ident 相同 + ity 名词后缀 → 身份；特性；同一性

The police are trying to discover the identity of the killer.

警方正努力调查杀人凶手的身份。

dreary[ˈdrɪri]  adj. 沉郁的

同源词：drip，drop。

a long and dreary journey on the train

火车上漫长而乏味的旅程

commitment [kəˈmɪtmənt]  n.  信奉

commit + ment 名词后缀

commit [kəˈmɪt]  v.犯罪;自杀;做出(错或非法的事);犯(罪或错等);承诺，保证(做某事、遵守协议或遵从安排等)

com 共同 + mit(=mess, mis ) 送，放出 → 共同派送 → 委任

She doesn't want to make a big emotional commitment to Steve at the moment.

她不想在此刻对史蒂夫在感情上作出重大的承诺。

mean  adj. 吝啬，小气:34

来源：杨亮讲英文

social climber  追求更高社会地位的，向上爬的人

devotion [dɪˈvoʊʃn] n.  热爱

devote + ion 名词后缀

devote [dɪˈvoʊt]  v.致力于;献(身);奉献，投入(时间、精力等);将(文章或讲话的某一部分)专用(于)

de 加强 + vot 发誓 + e → 拼命发誓 → 献身

His devotion to his wife and family is touching.

他对妻子和家人的关爱感人至深。

cosmic  [ˈkɑːzmɪk]  adj. 宇宙的

cosm 世界，宇宙 + ic 形容词后缀 → 宇宙的

Do you believe in a cosmic plan?

你相信冥冥中的安排吗？

suburban  [səˈbɜːrbən]  adj. 见识不广的，偏狭的

suburb 郊区，市郊 + an形容词后缀 → 郊区的

suburb [ˈsʌbɜːrb] n.郊区;城外

sub 接近 + urb 城市 → 靠近城市 → 郊区

School crime and violence cuts across urban, rural and suburban areas.

城市、乡村和郊区都出现了校园犯罪和校园暴力现象。

conceited[kənˈsiːtɪd]  adj. 自高自大的

conceit [kənˈsiːt]  n.自负;骄傲自大;别出心裁但不实用的效果;巧妙但不实用的东西;巧妙的言辞;别出心裁的比喻

con 强调 +ceit (=ceiv) 拿，取，抓 

同源词conceive， concept。原指形成思想和概念的，后指异想天开的，盲目自大的。

It's very conceited of you to assume that your work is always the best.

你认为你的工作总是最好的，真是太自大了。

presumptuous  [prɪˈzʌmptʃuəs]  adj. 自以为是的，放肆的

pre 前，先 + sumpt 拿，买 + u + ous 形容词后缀 

来自presumption。

presumption [prɪˈzʌmpʃn]  n.可能的事;认为真实的事;非分的行为;妄自尊大;推定;假定;假设

pre 前；预先 + sumpt 拿，取 + ion，presume 的名词 → 假定；专横

presume [prɪˈzuːm]  v.假设;假定;推定;设定;设想

pre 预先 + sum 拿，取 + e → 预先拿住 → 假定

It would be presumptuous to judge what the outcome will be.

现在就判断结果将会怎样未免有些冒昧。

fatuous [ˈfætʃuəs]  adj. 愚蠢的

fatu 笨 + ous 形容词后缀 → 昏庸的

The Chief was left speechless by this fatuous remark.

这句傻话让主任一时说不出话来。

cliche  [klɪˈʃeɪ]  n.  陈词滥调

 词源：这个单词来自法语，是一个印刷术语，表示“凸印版”、“铅版”。一块铅版可以反复使用，印出多份材料。一个词语也或某种表达方式可以反复使用，直到成为老生常谈的陈词滥调。所以人们就用cliche（铅版）来比喻陈词滥调。

She trotted out the old cliché that ‘a trouble shared is a trouble halved.’

她又重复了“与人说愁愁减半”的陈词滥调。

参考译文

人们总是在谈论“青年问题”。如果这个问题存在的话 -- 请允许我对此持怀疑态度 -- 那么，这个问题是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。让我们来认真研究一些基本事实：承认青年人和他们的长辈一样也是人。老年人和青年人只有一个区别：青年人有光辉灿烂的前景，而老年人的辉煌已成为过去。问题的症结恐怕就在这里。

我十几岁时，总感到自己年轻，有些事拿不准 -- 我是一所大学里的一名新生，如果我当时真的被看成像一个问题那样有趣，我会感到很得意的。因为这至少使我得到了某种承认，这正是年轻人所热衷追求的。

我觉得年轻人令人振奋，无拘无束。他们既不追逐卑鄙的名利，也不贪图生活的舒适。他们不热衷于向上爬，也不一味追求物质享受。在我看来，所有这些使他们与生命和万物之源联系在了一起。从某种意义上讲，他们似乎是宇宙人，同我们这些凡夫俗子形成了强烈而鲜明的对照。每逢我遇到年轻人，脑子里就想到这些年轻人也许狂妄自负，举止无理，傲慢放肆，愚昧无知，但我不会用应当尊重长者这一套陈词滥调来为我自己辨护，似乎年长就是受人尊敬的理由。我认为我和他们是平等的。如果我认为他们错了，我就以平等的身份和他们争个明白。

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