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Lesson Two
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 Learning Guide
　　提起一位获得诺贝尔奖的华人物理学家的名字，今天的青少年恐怕很多人会感到陌生，无话可说，可是谈起当红歌星、球星，他们则是津津乐道。当今国内外的明星大腕被少男少女们一个个奉为偶像。君不见，追星族们为求得偶像的签名，可以在瓢泼大雨中等待半天，为一睹偶像的风采，可以大打出手破门而入。三四十年前青年人崇拜的科学家和英雄人物已被视为昨日黄花，中外都是如此。这种价值观的变化引起了社会学家和教育家的忧虑，他们指出星们、腕儿们只不过是媒体尤其是电视炒作的产物。
 Heroes and Cultural Icons
Gary Gosggarian
Abraham LincolnMartin Luther King Jr.Jacqueline KennedyOnassis Helen KellerRosa Parks
1. If you were asked to list ten American heroes and heroines, you would probably name some or all of the following: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel Boone, Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helen Keller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Rosa Parks. ①If next you were asked to list people who are generally admired by society, who somehow seem bigger than life, you might come up with an entirely different list. You might, in fact, name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour rather than their achievements and moral strength of character. ②And you would not be alone, because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their "Most Admired" list, but rather movie and television celebrities, fashion models, professional athletes, and even comic book and cartoon characters. In short media icons.
　　① If next you were……, who somehow seem bigger than life, you might come up with an entire different list. 
　　  　如果有人请你列举在社会上受到普遍赞赏、貌似非凡的人，你所列举的恐怕是完全不同的人。
　　  　who somehow appear distinguished from ordinary people.
　　②And you would not be alone, because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their "Most Admired" 
　　  　仅是你一个人提出的这些人，民意调查发现，今天人们不再选择创造过历史的政治领袖为他们“最钦佩的人物”。
　　 　And many other people would list the same kind of people as their Most "Admired" .
2. ①By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage, achievements, and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others — ②they are people against whom we measure others. They are men and women recognized for shaping our nation's consciousness and development as well as the lives of those who admire them. ③Yet, some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us — an artifact of the past. Some maintain that because the Cold War is over and because America is at peace our age is essentially an unheroic one. Furthermore, the overall crime rate is down, poverty has been eased by a strong and growing economy, and advances continue to be made in medical science. ④Consequently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural icons — media superstars such as actors, actresses, sports celebrities, television personalities, and people ⑤who are simply famous for being famous.
　　① By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage achievements, and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others. 
　　 　就定义而言，英雄之所以与众不同是因为他们有非凡的勇气、取得卓越的成就、常常为他人的利益而作出牺牲。 
　　 　　by definition：按定义 
　　 　　be distinguished by：由于……而有别（于……） 
　　 　heroes and heroines are people who are different from other people because of their unusual courage, achievements and the sacrifices they make in the interests of others.
　　② ...they are people against whom we measure others. 
　　  　他们是我们评价别人的标准。
　　 　they've become a sort of standard; we judge others by what they do and what they are.
　　③ Yet ,some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us--an artifact of the past. 
　　  　可是有人说，我们的时代是很难出现真正英雄的时代，英雄主义这一概念本身我们就很难理解——它已经成为历史。 
　　 　　ours：是名词性代词，作为宾语从句的主语。 
　　　　 where引出两个定语从句，修饰an age。 
　　　　 come by：找到 be beyond sb ：为某人所不能理解；对某人来说太难。 
　　 　Yet, some people say that we are living in a new age .In this age heroes and heroines are rare, and heroism is only something people admire but do not practice. Heroic and noble conduct is a thing of the past.
　　④ Consequently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural icon. 
　　  　因此，缺少了本民族（即本民族的文化）英雄，我们就迷上了通俗文化偶像。 
　consequently是副词，其连接词的作用，将本句与上句连接起来。 
　bereft：（正式）失去，缺少。 
　　 　As a result, when we no longer have national heroes to admire and worship, we have become crazy about cultural icons…As a result, since there were no cultural heroes for us to admire, we began to admire cultural icons. 
　　⑤ ...who are simply famous for being famous.
　　 　仅仅因为有名而成名的那些人。 
　　 　who are well-known just because they are frequently seen in public, so that a lot of people know them or know about them (not because they possess unusually fine qualities or because they have made great contributions to society).
3. Cultural icons are harder to define, but we know them when we see them. ①They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are legendary, who somehow manage to become mythic. But what makes some figures icons and others mere celebrities? That's hard to answer. ②In part, their lives have the quality of a story. For instance, the beautiful young Diana Spencer who at 19 married a prince, bore a king, renounced marriage and the throne, and died at the moment she found true love. ③Good looks certainly help. ④So does a special indefinable charisma, with the help of the media. But nothing be comes an icon more than a tragic and early death — such as Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy, and Princess Diana.


　　① They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are legendary, who somehow manage to become mythic.
　　 　他们超越了名流，成为传奇式人物，甚至在某种程度是神话式的人物。 
　　 　Cultural icons make themselves more famous than celebrities; they inspire great admiration; and to a certain degree, they become important people. 
　　② In part, their lives have the quality of a story.
　　 　部分原因是他们的生平带有传奇故事的特点。 
　　　　　in part：partly, not completely 部分地。 
　　 　Part of the reason is that their lives are unusual, full of ups and downs like people in legends or myths.
　　③ Good looks certainly help. 
　　 　漂亮的长相当然有用。
　　 　Attractive appearance is surely very useful in the making of an icon. 
　　④ So does a special indefinable charisma, with the help of the media.
　　 　另外，在媒体的炒作下某种难以描述的、特殊的个人魅力也起作用。
　　 　A particular great charm that is hard to define also proves useful. The media help to impress people with it.


Being Somebody
Donna Wool folk Cross


4. One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved. Men like J.P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman and Jay Gould were all notable achievers. So were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.
5. ①Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. ②Today's celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we most admire today are usually those who are most highly publicized by the media.
　　① Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day.
　　 　Today we still see or feel what they achieved in the past. 
　　② Today's celebrities, however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement.
　　 　But, today, people often do not become famous because they've achieved something ( a great book, an invention, a discovery, a way of thinking, etc. ) that will last or influence people for a long time.
6. In 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation's "most admired woman." ①The year before, that distinction went to President Carter's wife, Rosalynn. In fact, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation's most admired women. Today's celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are "people well-known for their well-knownness."
　　① The year before, that distinction went to President Carter's wife, Rosalynn.
　　 　The year before, the title/honour was given to President Carter’s wife, Rosalynn./The year before, President Carter's wife, Rosalynn, won the honour.
7. To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boorstin says, "①The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his image or trademark. ②The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. ③The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name."
　　① The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his image or trademark.
　　 　英雄因其成就而出众，而名流则因其形象或者说是其特征而出名。
　　 　The hero was different from ordinary people because of what he had achieved ; the celebrity differs from ordinary people merely because he is well-known.
　　② The hero created himself ; the celebrity is created by the media. 
　　 　The hero was admired for what he had hone for society ; the celebrity bursts onto the scene through the work of the media. 
　　③ The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name. 
　　 　英雄是了不起的人物，名流是了不起的名声。 
　　 　the hero was an outstanding man with excellent qualities ; the celebrity is an average person with an enviable reputation.
8. There is another distinction: ①heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy. Few of us believe we could be another Jonas Salk or Eleanor Roosevelt, but we could be another TV star like Telly Savalas or Suzanne Somers. ②Except for the attention they get from the media, these people are exactly like us.


　　① Heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy.
　　 　Another way to distinguish heroes and celebrities is that people respect heroes and envy celebrities.
　　② Except for the attention they get from the media, these people are exactly like us.
　　 　要是没有媒体的关注，这些人和我们完全一样。
　　 　If the media didn't give them so much attention, they wouldn’t be any different from ordinary people.
9. The shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship occurred around the turn of the century. It was closely tied to the rise of new forms of media— first photography, and later moving pictures, radio and television. For the first time, Americans could see and recognize their heroes. ①Previously, men like Gould and Harriman, whose names everyone knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being recognized. ②The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly, the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to knowing what they looked like.
　　① Previously, men like Gould and Harriman , whose names everyone knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being recognized.
　　 　以前，像古尔德和哈里曼这样家喻户晓的人完全可能穿过人群而没被人认出来。 
　　　　 whose names everyone knew：非限制性定语从句，修饰Gould and Harriman。 
　　　　 being recognized：动名词的被动形势。 
　　 　In the past , when famous men like Gould and Harriman walked through a crowd , it was quite possible that people don’t recognize them , though everyone knew of them.
　　② The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress , appearance ,and personal habits were widely commented upon. 
　　 　现在报纸上能刊登照片，这使名人成为名流，他们的衣着、外貌和体态举止都成为人们评论的对象。 
　　 　When famous people’s photos appeared in newspapers , their outward features—their appearance , their clothes , and the way they carried themselves—began to attract public attention and get talked about , In this way these famous people gradually became celebrities.
10. The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political leaders, inventors, professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most articles were about movie stars.
11. ①With the arrival of television, the faces of the stars became as familiar as those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities ②than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than seventy years after the appearance of the first moving pictures, the shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship was complete.
　　① With the arrival of television….
　　 　电视的出现
　　 　Because we now have television…
　　② ...than we did about most of the people we know personally.
　　 　多于对我们认识的多数人的了解。 
　　　　　than we did：比较从句，did 代表knew。 
　　　　　people we know personally：指我们常见并有接触的人（相对于那些我们只是在媒体上见过的名流）
　　 　than we know about most of the people we actually know.
12. ①Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of "making it" in America. Actually, the term "talk show" is misleading. ②Celebrities do not appear on such a program because of an actual desire — or ability — to talk, but simply to gain recognition, and prove, merely by showing up, that they are "somebody."


　　① Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of "making it" in America.
　　 　今天在电视台的一个脱口秀节目上一露脸就绝对能证明你在美国“一举成名” 。 
　　 　Today, if you are invited as a guest on a TV talk show ,you definitely have proved yourself successful in America.
　　② Celebrities do not appear on such a program because of an actual desire—or ability—to talk , but simply to gain recognition , and prove , merely by showing up,that they are "somebody."
　　 　名流在这样的节目中出场，并不是因为他们真想说些什么，或是口才很棒，而纯属为了出名，并通过（在荧屏上）露脸，证明他们是“重要人物”。
　　 　Celebrities often appear on talk shows, not because they really want to talk, or because they have something to say, but simply because they want to become famous and to show that they are important.
13. Being a guest on a talk show does not require qualities of wit, eloquence, brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent coordinator for "the Tonight Show," says that when he would ask a scheduled guest, "What would you like to talk to the host about?"the reply he got most often was, "Have him ask me anything."This, he says, usually meant, "I am a typical Hollywood actor, so I have never had an original thought and I have nothing to say of any interest to anyone anywhere." 
14. ①Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with sound. One talk show coordinator comments, "We look for the guest who is sure to talk no matter what. Ten seconds of silence appears very awkward on television; thirty seconds is disastrous. A guest who's got to stop to think about everything he says before he opens his mouth is ②a ratings nightmare."


　　① Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with sound.
　　 　多数主持人只要有人说话，让演播室老有声音就很满意。
　　 　Most hosts are more than happy as long as the guests keep talking.
　　② ...a ratings nightmare.
　　 　If a guest on a talk show always hesitates to talk about everything, the program will get a very bad rating.
15. This kind of attitude rewards smooth, insincere talk, and makes hesitancy look like stupidity.


16. "We wouldn't have used George Washington on our show," says one talent coordinator. "He might have been first in the hearts of his countrymen, but today he'd be dragging his bottom in the ratings."

（单选题）3.After a heated discussion, the team finally ______ an original idea about how to spend the holiday.
A． came across
B． came down with
C． came up with
D． came up
【答案】C

【解析】本题考查重要短语come up with。该句句意是“经过激烈的讨论之后，这个团队最终想出了一个关于如何度假的新颖主意。”
【知识点】重要短语come up with

（单选题）4.In this highly competitive society, good jobs are hard to _______ owing to the large number of college graduates.
A． come by
B． come down
C． come at
D． come up with
【答案】A

【解析】本题考查重要短语come by。该句句意是“在当今竞争激烈的社会，因为大学毕业生的数量众多，好工作很难找到。”

【知识点】重要短语come by
（单选题）5.Their conversation ______ from fashion to politics.
A． varied
B． ranged
C． changed
D． shifted
【答案】D
【解析】本题考查近义短语vary/range/change/shift from…to…辨析。vary from…to…意思是“因……的不同而不同，随……的不同而不同”，例如：Customs vary from country to country. 风俗随国家的不同而不同。/ 不同的国家有不同的风俗。Habits vary from person to person.习惯因人而异。range from…to…意思是“在某个范围内波动”，例如：The vegetables in that store range from 1 to 10 yuan in price. 那个店里的蔬菜的价格从1元到10元不等。change from…to…意思是“从……变成……”，例如：In fall leaves change from green to brown.秋天，树叶由绿色变成褐色。shift from…to…意思是“从……转到……上”，如本题，句意是“他们的谈话从时尚转到了政治上。”
【知识点】近义短语vary/range/change/shift from…to…辨析