大学英语四第二单元
Unit 2 Book 4
Technology and Happiness
1. Difficult sentences
1) (LL24~25) But it’s been left largely unexamined by economists and social scientists.
What does “it” refer to here?
(= It refers to the relationship between happiness and technology.)
Paraphrase this sentence.
(=But economists and social scientists have hardly examined the relationship between happiness and technology at all.)
2) (LL25~29) The truly groundbreaking work on the relationship between prosperity and well-being was done by the economist Richard Easterlin, who in 1974 wrote a famous paper entitled “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot?”
What is the meaning of “lot”?
(=It means fortune in life.)
How is the paper of great significance?
(= As a work on the relationship between prosperity and well-being, it is innovative.)
Translate this sentence into Chinese.
(=经济学家理查德?伊斯特林在经济繁荣和幸福的关系方面进行了具有开拓性的研究，并于1974年发表了一篇题为“经济增长改变人类命运吗？”的著名论文。)
3) (LL32~33) Money, Easterlin argued, could not buy happiness — at least not after a certain point.
What does this sentence imply?
(= Money can’t bring people happiness, at least when people’s wealth
has reached to a certain level.)
4) (L.39) …people adapt very quickly to good news.
How usually will people react to good news?
(=They tend to feel happy and excited on hearing good news but they
soon take it for granted.)
5) (L.58) Telemarketing, traffic jams, and identity theft all come to mind.
Explain the three expressions in the sentence, “telemarketing”, “traffic jam” and “identity theft”.
(=Telemarketing means salespeople try to sell products to you on the phone. Traffic jam means your car is stuck in heavy traffic. Identity theft means your personal information is stolen.)
Translate this sentence into Chinese.
(=我们马上会想到电话推销、交通阻塞以及身份资料失窃等情况。)
6) (LL60~62) But for the most part, modern critiques of technology have
focused not so much on specific, bad technologies as the
impact of technology on our human relationships.
What do modern critiques of technology mainly focus on?
(= They mainly focus on the impact of technology on our human relationships.)
Paraphrase this sentence.
(=However, current comments on technology have mostly centered on the bad effects of technology on our human relationships rather than particular, harmful technologies.)
7) (LL 66~ 68) The notion that technology disrupts relationships and fractures community gained mainstream prominence as an attack on television.
What do people blame television mainly for?
(=Television is to blame mainly for interfering with the smooth development of relationships between people and breaking up community unity.)
Translate this sentence into Chinese.
(=人们对电视的批评主要集
中在以下方面：技术扰乱了人际关系、破坏了社区交往。)
8) (LL 78~ 81) Today, technological change is so rapid that when you buy something, you do so knowing that in a few months there’s going to be a better, faster version of the product, and that you’re going to be stuck with the old one.
With technology changing so rapidly, is it possible for people to buy the best product? Why or why not?
(=No, because rapid development of technology will always soon produce a better one.)
What can we do with the old version of the product?
(=We have to keep it even if we don’t like it any more.)
9) (LL 82~ 83) It’s as if disappointment were built into acquisition from the very beginning.
What does this sentence mean?
(=It seems as if people were doomed to disappointment the moment they bought the product.)
10) (LL84~87) Daily stress, an annoying sense of disappointment, fear that the government knows a lot more about you than you would like it to — these are obviously some of the ways in which technology reduces people’s sense of well-being.
Translate this sentence into Chinese.
(=日常生活的压力、一种令人烦恼的失望感、对政府知道你的情况超出你
希望程度的恐惧感 —— 这些显然都是技术降低了人们幸福感的几个方面。)
11) (LL94~ 95) …the more time they get on earth, the better off they feel they’ll be.
What does this sentence mean?
(=…the longer life people live in the world, the happier they feel
they’ll be.)
12) (LL97~101) As much as we should worry about the rising cost of health care and the problem of the uninsured, it’s also worth remembering how valuable for our spirits as well as our bodies are the benefits that medical technology has brought us.
Who are the “uninsured”?
(= people who don’t enjoy health care insurance.)
How does medical technology benefit people according to this sentence?
(= It benefits people both physically and mentally.)
13) (LL102~104) … what the technological improvement of our health and our longevity emphasizes is a paradox of any discussion of happiness on a national or a global level…
What does this sentence imply?
(=…the fact that technology has greatly improved people’s health and life expectancy is just contradictory to the general claim at any level that technology cannot bring happiness to people.)
14) (LL104~107) …even though people may not be happier, even though they are wealthier and possess more technology, they’re still as hungry as ever for more time.
Translate this sentence into Chinese.
(=即使人们不会更幸福，即使他们更加富裕并拥有更多技术，他们还会像
以前那样渴望长寿。)
2. Words and Expressions
1) (L.3) gross: a. general, total
* gross domestic product (GDP) 国内生产总值
(=His gross annual income, before tax, is just $12, 000.)
这个包裹连盒子总重量是十公
斤。
(= The gross weight of the package is 10 kilos, including the box.)
2) (L.3) triple: v. (cause to) grow to three times the amount or number
* Apartments with generous spaces in this area will triple in value.
新设备的引进使我们的产量增加到了三倍。
(= The introduction of new equipment has tripled the output.)
(=World fuel consumption has tripled since World War Ⅱ.)
3) (L.5) life expectancy: the length of time that a person or animal is expected to live
* Women still have a longer life expectancy than men.
这个部落人的平均寿命是40岁。
(= The average life expectancy of the people in this tribe is 40 years.)
Collocations:
low life expectancy 预期寿命短
high life expectancy 预期寿命长
a life expectancy of 50 years 预期寿命50年
4) (L.5) soar: vi. rise rapidly or to a very high level
*Unexpectedly the jet crashed shortly after it soared into the air.
(=Industrial unemployment has soared to 40%, which is threatening the social stability.)
5) (L.5) boom: n. a (period of) rapid growth or increase
* This country's economy development has contributed a lot to the boom in world trade.
我们必须要意识到90年代的经济繁荣已经结束了。
(=We have to realize that the economic boom in 90s is over now.)
6) (L.10) entertainment: n. sth., esp. a public performance, that amuses
*Las Vegas is one of the biggest entertainment centers in the US.
(=Our agency supplies live entertainment for private or corporation parties.)
适当的娱乐对于情感和心理的健康是必要的。
(=Appropriate entertainment is necessary for emotional and psychological health.)
7) (L. 16) formal: a. suitable for official occasions, serious writing, etc.
but not for ordinary conversation
We should be formal on business occasions, and never call anyone by their first name. 我们在商务场合应该讲究礼仪, 不要对别人直呼其名。
(=You shouldn't use "Yours faithfully" — it's much too formal for this kind of letter. )
Collocations:
formal curriculum 正式课程
formal dress 礼服
formal effectiveness 正式生效
formal style 正式文体
8) (L.16) survey: n. a general examination or study, esp. carried out by asking people questions
最近的调查发现学生希望在课堂上有更多的时间练习口语。
(=The recent survey found that students wanted to spend more time practicing speaking in class. )
*In a survey conducted by a leading travel firm, the Canary Islands were the most popular vacation spot.
cf. inquiry, investigation & survey
这些名词均有“调查”之意。
inquiry普通常用词，指正式调查，也指一般的打听或查询。
investigation一般指系统的调查，以了解希望发现或需要知道的事。
survey多指为写书面报告而进
行的民意测验或调查。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. A/An _____ by airline officials has shown that the crash was caused by human error. (= investigation)
2. Out of curiosity, she made _____ about the guy who dated her sister. (=inquiries)
3. This report was based on a/an _______ our group carried out in the past two months. (=survey)
4. Some of the people under ______ have been accused of spying. (=investigation)
9) (L.19) on average: in most cases; usually
*On average, 18% of our daily calories come from sugar.
我国成年人平均每天抽烟五根。
(= Adults in our country smoke on average five cigerattes every day.)
10) (L.30) when it comes to: when it concerns
*When it comes to this matter, people’s opinions vary. 这个问题大家众说纷纭。
在记者招待会上，当提到这位影星的私人生活时，他总是保持沉默。
(=At the press conference, when it came to his personal life, the movie star always kept silence. )
11) (L.31) correlation: n. a structural, functional, or qualitative
correspondence between two things
*There is an obvious correlation between sun bath and skin cancer.
(=In tests, there was no correlation found between diet and intelligence.)
12) (L.37) phenomenon: n. an occurrence, a circumstance, or a fact that is perceptible by the senses.
*An eclipse of the moon is a rare phenomenon. 月蚀是罕见的现象。
对数学的透彻理解有助于解释各种各样的自然现象。
(=A thorough understanding of mathematics helps explain a wide range of natural phenomena.)
13) (L.48) at work: having an effect on sth.
*The pills are at work, and he is sleeping like a log now.
经济学家们正在研究通货膨胀在经济中的作用。
(=Economists are now studying the inflationary forces at work in the economy.)
14) (L.50) frustrating: a. annoying; discouraging
*Many learners find it frustrating that they can't speak the second language well enough after a long time of study, and then quit.
(=Recovery from a serious accident can be a slow and frustrating process.)
随着孩子们渐渐长大，他们开始反抗父母的管束。
(= As they grow older, kids begin to rebel against the restraints
imposed by their parents.)
frustrate: v. to cause feelings of discouragement
*Lack of progress in recovery frustrates her greatly.康复没什么起色, 这让她很灰心。
frustrated: a. being in a state of upset or discouragement
*The world-famous director once was a frustrated actor.这位 世界闻名的导演曾是个不得志的演员。
frustration: n. the state of being frustrated
*In children’s education, it’s necessary to develop their ability to endure frustration. 在儿童教育中，培养他们的耐挫能力是有必要的。
15) (L.54) make no difference: not matter at all
*The child always felt neglec
ted by his family, and no matter how hard he tried to do everything, it made no difference.
(=You can have a single or double room, — it makes no difference to the price.)
16) (L.58) come to mind: make (one) suddenly think of
*The moment when he locked the door, it came to his mind that he left his wallet in the room.
看到这幅图，你第一个会想到什么东西？
(= At sight of this picture, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?)
17) (L.59) consciously: ad. doing sth. with intention
*Most school teacher don’t discriminate their students consciously.
(=She proceeded, quite consciously, to destroy their relationship through neglect and indifference.)
18) (L.63) fragile: a. easily broken or damaged
*The porcelain plates are so fragile that we must handle them with care.
*Two ambulance attendants picked up his fragile body and put him onto a stretcher.
建立在利益基础上的友谊是脆弱的。
(= Friendship based on interest is fragile.)
cf. weak, feeble, frail & fragile
这些形容词均有“虚弱的，乏力的”意思。
Weak 普通用词，指缺乏应有的力量，可用于身体、意志或精神。
feeble指身体衰弱无力，精力几乎耗尽，含令人怜悯的意味。
Frail 多指因经常生病而身体虚弱。
fragile可与frail换用，但语气强，强调脆弱，指人表示容易生病，指物表示容易破碎。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. He was born a _______ child and was taken care of by all the family. (=frail)
2. This is a _______ and unconvincing argument. (= weak)
3. Keep the child away from the _______ glasses on the table. (=fragile)
4. The rescuers heard a ______ cry out of the wreckage. (=feeble)
19) (L.65) monitor: vt. watch or listen to (sth.) carefully over a certain period of time for a special purpose
我们将会监督他的表现, 看看他是否能有所进步。
(=We will monitor his performance to see if he can make some progress.)
*Satellite technology means that enemy airwaves can be monitored more closely than ever before.
cf. overhear, bug & monitor
这些动词均含“偷听，窃听”之意。
Overhear 多指在别人不注意或不知道的情况下偶然听到谈话的内容。
Bug 指在室内等处安装窃听器以窃听他人的谈话内容。
Monitor 通常指用仪器设备偷听别人的谈话内容。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. Be careful what you say; our conversation may be being _______. (=bugged)
2. I _______ their quarrelling when I passed the office. (= overheard)
3. The doctor is ______ the patient’s pulse. (=monitoring)
4. I haven’t been informed of this, just ______ it. (=overheard)
20) (L.66) disrupt vt. bring or throw int
o disorder
(=Protesters disrupted the candidate's speech.)
转校，尤其是在11岁至16岁之间，很容易打断一个孩子的教育。
(=Moving to a new school can easily disrupt a child’s education, especially between the ages of eleven and sixteen.)
Collocations:
disrupt traffic 引起交通混乱
disrupt schedule 扰乱计划
disrupt public order 扰乱治安
21) (L.67) fracture: v. (cause to) break or crack
*The old lady fell down the stairs, and her right leg fractured in two places. 老妇人摔下楼梯，右腿两处骨折。
他被提名破坏了权利的微妙平衡。
(=The nomination of him fractured the delicate balance of power.)
cf. burst, crack, fracture & smash
这些动词均含“打破、弄碎”之意。
burst 指某物因内部或外部压力过大而出现严重破裂、爆开或胀破。例如：
*It seemed that his heart would burst with happiness. 看上去他心中的快乐快要爆发出来。
crack 多指因长期使用或经受压力，物体表现呈现裂纹、裂口或破裂、裂开，但一般没成碎片。例如：
*Seeing the ice crack, he quit the idea of skating on it.看到冰裂开了，他打消了溜冰的念头。
fracture比crack的破裂程度更深更严重，常指断裂，医学上指骨折。例如：
*He was X-rayed and was founded that he had fractured his skull. 他照了X光，发现头骨破裂。
smash 指突然而猛烈地重击某物，使之破碎或完全变形。例如：
* The car smashed into the wall, and was all ruined, but luckily the driver survived. 汽车撞上了一堵墙，完全毁了，幸好驾驶员活了下来。
22) (L.67) prominence: n. the quality or condition of being prominent.
*Some young writers born in 80s have recently come to prominence.一些生于80年代的青年作家们近来已经崭露头角。
(=The newspapers are giving the affair considerable prominence.) 各报都以相当的重要性报道了那件事.
23) (L.69) gradual: a. happening or developing slowly and by degrees; not sudden
*The gradual increase in income has improved our family’s life.
逐步的恢复对病人和医生来说都是鼓舞人心的。
(=The gradual recovery is encouraging not only to the patient but to the doctors as well.)
24) (L.69) isolation: n. the quality or condition of being isolated.
*The tribe lives in isolation, keeping hold of its traditions.
(= Children are not permitted to visit patients in isolation wards.)
25) (L.76) for certain: without doubt
*AC Milan are going to win the cup for certain. They are so much better than the opposition.
毫无疑问，税收将会成为总统竞选的关键问题。
(=Taxation is for certain going to be the key issue to the President’s campaign.)
26) (L.81)be stuck with: have or deal with sth. unwanted unwillingly
*Jill asked me to take care of her little son, so I had to be s
tuck with the naughty boy for a whole weekend, which almost drove me crazy.
(= As a result of the financial collapse, many people are stuck with worthless investments. )
27) (LL82~-83) build … into: make (sth.) a part of a system, agreement, etc.
*The government is focusing on building stability into the economy. 政府正致力于建立经济的稳定性。
正直已经根植于我们的企业文化之中。
(=Integrity has been built into our corporation’s culture.)
28) (L.84 ) annoying: a. causing anger or irritation; troublesome
*Unexpected visit from a salesman on a Sunday morning can be really annoying.
我们发现说明书很含糊，这很麻烦。
(= We find it annoying that the instructions are quite vague. )
29) (L.96 ) nasty: a. very ugly or unpleasant to see, taste, smell, etc.
*I almost threw up at sight of the nasty scene.
腐乳是中国的传统食物， 它闻起来臭吃起来香。
(=Preserved bean curd is traditional Chinese food, which smells nasty, but tastes good.)
cf. dirty, foul & nasty
这些形容词均有“脏的，污秽的”意思。
dirty 普通用词，泛指被玷污或弄脏。例如：
*The poor child had to wash his own dirty clothes. 可怜的孩子得自己洗脏衣服。
foul 指由于腐烂、恶臭等造成的不干净，令人恶心。例如：
*We must get rid of the foul rubbish dump. 我们必须处理掉这堆恶臭的垃圾。
nasty主要指让特别讲究清洁的人感到讨厌的东西。
*Jenny doesn’t like the carpet they’ve chosen, and she thinks the color is nasty. 珍尼不喜欢他们挑的那块地毯，她觉得颜色很难看。
30) (L.96 ) rough: a. not delicate or comfortable
*The coat is made of rough woolen cloth.
(= Roars of rough laughter rang out from the other end of the bar.)
cf. hoarse, harsh & rough
这些形容词均有“嘶哑的，沙哑的”之意。
hoarse指嘶哑刺耳的声音，通常因高声喊叫后嗓子失音所致。
harsh一般多指刺耳难听的声音。
rough指粗哑难听的声音。
(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. The ______ cry of a crow woke me up early in the morning. (=harsh)
2. Your engine sounds a bit ______, you'd better have it checked. (= rough)
3. The fans shouted themselves _______ during the game. (=hoarse)
3. Useful Expressions
1) 国内生产总值 gross domestic product
2) 预期寿命 life expectancy
3) 富裕 well off
4) 平均 on average
5) 永恒的课题 an eternal subject
6) 工业革命 Industrial Revolution
7) 突破性研究成果 groundbreaking work
8) 人类命运 human lot
9) 就……而言 when it comes to
10) 普遍现象
a universal phenomenon
11) 彩票中奖者 lottery winners
12) 幸福感 sense of well-being
13) 起作用的原则 principles at work
14) 牢记在心 keep in mind
15) 没有影响 make no difference
16) 好歹 for good or ill
17) 身份资料失窃 identity theft
18) 想到 come to mind
19) 脆弱的隐私 fragile privacy
20) 联网的数据库 linked databases
21) 被……缠住 be stuck with
22) 医疗技术 medical technology
23) 在更深层次上 on a deeper level
24) 渴望 be hungry for
4. Proverbs and Quotations
1) Happiness consists in contentment.
知足常乐。
2) Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand.
科技受两种人支配，一种是理解他们所无法掌控的，另一种是掌控着他们所无法理解的。
3) Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
— Franklin Roosevelt , American president
幸福不在于拥有金钱，而在于获得成就时的喜悦以及产生创造力的激情。
—— 美国总统 F. 罗斯福
4) The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved.
— Victor Hugo, French novelist
生活中最大的幸福是坚信有人爱我们。
—— 法国小说家 V. 雨果
5) There is an evil tendency underlying all our technology — the tendency to do what is reasonable even when it isn't any good.
— Robert Pirsig, American philosopher
我们的科技潜藏着一个不幸的倾向，那就是去做合理的事，甚至当它并无任何好处。
—— 美国哲学家 R. 普西格
6) Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. If we continue to develop our technology without wisdom and prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.
— Omar Bradley, American general
这是个只有核巨人和道德侏儒的世界。如果我们继续无知而随意地发展科技， 我们的仆人也许就是我们的掘墓人。
—— 美国上将 O. 布雷德利