2007北京太奇培訓學�？佳杏⒄Z強化班授課講義(十三)

Text  3

[2000, RC 1,試題重編]

    A history of long and effortless success can be a dreadful handicap, but, if properly handled, it may become a driving force. When the United States entered just such a glowing period after the end of the Second World War, it had a market eight times larger than any competitor, giving its industries unparalleled economies of scale. Its scientists were the world’s best, its workers the most skilled. America and Americans were prosperous beyond the dreams of the Europeans and Asians whose economies the war had destroyed.

    It was inevitable that this primacy would narrow as other countries grew richer. Just as inevitably, the retreat from predominance proved painful. By the mid-1980s Americans had found themselves at a loss over their fading industrial competitiveness. Some huge American industries, such as consumer electronics, had shrunk or vanished in the face of foreign competition. By 1987 there was only one American television maker left, Zenith. (Now there is none: Zenith was bought by South Korea’s LG Electronics in July.) Foreign-made cars and textiles were sweeping into the domestic market. America’s machine-tool industry was on the ropes. For a while it looked as though the making of semiconductors, which America had invented and which sat at the heart of the new computer age, was going to be the next casualty.

    All of this caused a crisis of confidence. Americans stopped taking prosperity for granted. They began to believe that their way of doing business was failing, and that their incomes would therefore shortly begin to fall as well. The mid-1980s brought one inquiry after another into the causes of America’s industrial decline. Their sometimes sensational findings were filled with warnings about the growing competition from overseas.

    How things have changed! In 1995 the United States can look back on five years of solid growth while Japan has been struggling. Few Americans attribute this solely to such obvious causes as a devalued dollar or the turning of the business cycle. Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride. “American industry has changed its structure, has gone on a diet, has learnt to be more quick-witted,” according to Richard Cavanagh, executive dean of Harvard’s School of Government. “It makes me proud to be an American just to see how our businesses are improving their productivity,” says Stephen Moore of the Cato Institute, think-tank in Washington, DC. And William Sahlman of the Harvard Business School believes that people will look back on this period as “a golden age of business management in the United States.” (420 words)

Notes: think-tank 智囊團，專家小組。

1. What is stated in the first paragraph can best be summarized as the ____________.

A. predominance of the U.S. in global economy after World War II
B. long and effortless success achieved by the U.S. economy
C. prosperous period of the U.S. economy during the Second World War
D. unparalleled advantages of the U.S. workforce over its competitors

2. According to the logical clue of the text, the second paragraph is written to show ___________.

  A. the destruction of American industries by its powerful competitors
  B. the loss of part of U.S. predominance in the world economy in the 1980s
  C. the reduction of U.S. industrial products in its domestic market
  D. the fading industrial competitiveness of U.S. economy after the 1980s

3. From the third paragraph we can reasonably deduce that, in a broad sense, ___________.

  A. the crisis of confidence discouraged the rapid expansion of the American economy
  B. international cooperation contributed to the revival of America’s economy in the 1990s
  C. the economic progress in America in the 1990s resulted in a great measure from the intense competition from abroad
  D. the reconstruction of industry and improved business management helped to rapidly develop the American economy

4. By saying “ Self-doubt has yielded to blind pride.” the author is most likely to attribute the economic progress of the U.S.  in the 1990s to the ___________.

  A. efficient business management                        B. rapid growth of productivity in industries
  C. change in the structure of businesses                       D. turning of the business cycle or a devalued dollar

5. The best title for the text would be ___________.

  A. A Long History of Economic Success in the U.S.A.           B. U.S. Economic Reforms and Its Achievements
  C. Change in U.S. Economic Situation over the Past 50 Years    D. Predominance of U.S. Economy in the World

Word Study

1. be at a loss … 對…不知所措。例如：1) We are at a loss what to do next.   2) Her statement left me completely at a loss. 

2. in (the) face of 面對著，在（危險困難）情況下。例如：1) He ran away in the face of danger.   2) In the face of threats and dangers they didn’t retreat.  3) What could we do in the face of all these difficulties?

3. sweep into 昂然走進，以絕對多數(shù)進入。例如：The Conservative swept into power in the election of last year.

4. be on the ropes 步履艱難，困難重重。例如：Frank was out of work and broke, and he was on the ropes.

5. take … for granted 把…認為理所當然。例如：I keep telling myself never to take anything for granted.

6. look back on 回顧。例如：I look back on my childhood with mixed feelings. (回想到我的童年，我百感交集。)

7. attribute …to 把…歸因于：1) Jim attributes his success to hard work.  2) The car accident was attributed to faulty brakes.

8. diet 適合某種病人的特種飲食。例如：1)The doctor put her on a diet.  2) I mustn’t have chocolate – I’m on a diet.

II. Writing (I)

Directions: In this section, you are to write an essay entitled “What Is Success?”

Your composition must be based on the information given in the outline below.

1. Different opinions on success
2. Ways to achieve success
3. My view on success

    什么是成功? 不同的人對此問題有不同的看法。有些人認為, 如果一個人能掙許多的錢, 他就是成功者。 另一些人則爭辯說, 成功意味著高居政府要職。還有些人則認為, 誰有高級職稱, 誰就是成功者�？梢�, 對成功有截然不同的看法。

    要成為成功者, 首先, 你必須有毅力, 又勤奮。正如你所知道的，不管你做什么事, 總有兩種可能的結(jié)果：成功或失敗。當你失敗時，你不應喪失信心。相反，你應該增強信心，并加倍努力。你應始終牢記, 毅力是成功之母, 勤奮則是成功的關鍵。此外，你應注意工作方法。你應不斷總結(jié)經(jīng)驗。提高工作效率。最后你應該和你的同事搞好協(xié)作，互相幫助，互相關心。如果你遵循這些原則, 你將來一定能取得成功。

    我認為, 成功就是在一個人的工作中取得輝煌成就, 也就是說, 對國家的發(fā)展做出貢獻、為人民帶來幸福。因此, 我的結(jié)論是, 即使你在工作中取得了巨大的進步, 你也沒有任何理由固步自封。

What Is Success?

    What is success? Different people hold different views on this question. Some people  think that one is successful if he can make a great deal of money. Others argue that success means holding an important government post. Still others believe that whoever has got a high academic title is successful. It is clear that there are quite different opinions on success.

    In order to become successful, you should first of all be both perseverant and hardworking. As you know, whatever you do, there are always two possible results: success and failure. When you fail, you should never lose heart. On the contrary, you must build up your confidence and work even harder. You should always keep in mind that perseverance is the mother of success and industry is the key to it. In addition, you should pay great attention to your work method. It is necessary for you to sum up your experience constantly and improve the efficiency of your work. Finally, it is important for you to get along well with your co-workers, care for each other and help each other. If you follow these principles, you will certainly achieve remarkable success in the future.

    In my opinion, success means achieving brilliant results in one’s work, that is, making outstanding contributions to the development of the country and bringing happiness to the people. So my conclusion is that even if one has made great progress in what he does, I don’t think there’s any reason for him to be conceited (自滿). (248 words)

背記重點詞語漢英對照：1. 掙錢：make money。 2. 擔任重要職位：hold an important post。 3. 一些人…，另一些人…，還有一些人…：Some people … , others … , still others …。 4. 喪失信心：lose heart=lose confidence。5. 樹立信心：build up(=create, establish) confidence。 6. 牢記某事：keep sth. in mind=bear sth. in mind。7. 非常注意：pay great attention to; attach great importance to …。 7. 總結(jié)經(jīng)驗：sum up one’s experience。 8. 與某人相處融洽：get along with sb.。 9. 奉行/遵守這些原則：follow /observe these principles。 10. 對…做出杰出貢獻：make outstanding contributions to sth.。 10. 在…方面取得進步：make progress in …。

Put the following sentences from English into Chinese:
1. 他過去在政府中擔任要職，現(xiàn)在他已下海經(jīng)商掙錢。
2. 有些人年輕模仿明星的衣著和談吐，而另一些人則是學明星的發(fā)式。
3. 無論何時我們都不應該喪失信心，我們應該牢記：失敗是成功之母。
4. 只要你遵循這些原則，你一定會對社會做出杰出貢獻。