Track 2-06-02.mp3

Supplementary Reading                        

Ⅰ. Culture Notes

ⅰ. Adult Education

1. A Brief Introduction

Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens in the workplace, through “extension” or “continuing education” courses at secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers.

1.  Adult Education in America

Millions of Americans take part in adult education programs. Some adults are completing high school, college or graduate school work. They attend classes designed especially for working people on weekends or at night. Other adults take classes by mail or on their computers. For example, the University of Arizona Extended University is one of many colleges now providing such courses.

Other adults learn job skills like computer science or wood-working. Still other adult students learn to read or improve their English.

Some adult students are not trying to finish their education or learn job skills. Instead, they want to explore new interests. They want to learn to speak a foreign language, play a musical instrument or take good pictures. They attend continuing education programs at a community college or public school. For example, Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, offers many classes. They teach adults how to build a house or how to write their memories.

An agency in the federal government's Department of Education supervises public adult education programs. The Departments of Agriculture and Defense offer many subjects for adults. So do private companies, labor unions and organizations. These subjects include the arts, science and business.

Adult education classes meet in schools, public libraries and business offices. They also meet in religious centers or shopping centers. Classes in nature sciences and sports often take place outside.

ⅱ. Teenage Mothers  

1.  A Brief Introduction

A Teenage mother is defined as a teenaged or under-aged girl (usually within the ages of 13–19) becoming pregnant and giving birth to babies. The term in everyday speech usually refers to women who have not reached legal adulthood, which varies across the world, who become mothers.

Being a young mother in an industrialized country can affect one's education. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school.

Young motherhood in an industrialized country can affect employment and social class. The correlation between earlier childbearing and failure to complete high school reduces career opportunities for many young women.

2.  Teenagers and Pregnancy In America

   More than seven hundred thousand teenagers a year get pregnant in the United States. The teen pregnancy rate has fallen thirty-eight percent since the early nineteen nineties. And the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy says the teen birth rate has fallen by almost as much. Six out of ten pregnant teenagers in two thousand six gave birth.
  The nonprofit campaign says these changes have been driven by decreases in sexual activity and increases in contraceptive use. But it points to recent findings that reductions in teen sex and increases in contraceptive use have leveled off. And the teen birth rate is rising for the first time in fifteen years.

  Eight out of ten pregnancies in teenagers are unplanned, compared to half of all pregnancies nationally.
  A two thousand one UNICEF report on teenage births in rich nations showed that the United States had the highest rate. But, as a New York Times columnist just noted, the United States did not have the highest rate of sexually active teens. A few others had higher rates. Denmark had the highest. Yet its teen birth and teen abortion rates were much lower than America's.
  Part of the debate over what to do about teen pregnancy is how to deal with sex education. Some people argue for an expansion of "abstinence-only" programs. These center on the message that young people should not have sex until marriage. Other people argue that while this may be a good message to teach, it should not be the only one taught in schools.

ⅲ. Midlife Crisis   

A new study shows that unhappiness in middle age, also known as midlife crisis, is a universal experience.
  Two economists did the study: Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and David Blanchflower at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. They used information collected earlier on two million people from eighty nations. They found that people around the world seem to share an emotional design in life. That design, they say, is shaped like the letter U. Levels of happiness are highest when people are young and when they are old. In the middle, however, most people's happiness and life satisfaction levels drop. Professor Oswald says some people suffer from midlife depression more than others. But, he says, it happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor and to those with and without children.
  Generally speaking, people reach their lowest levels between the ages of about forty and fifty-five. But then, as they continue into old age, their happiness starts to climb back up. What the research does not show is why all this happens. Professor Oswald says one possibility is that people recognize their limitations in middle age and give up on some long-held dreams. Or perhaps people who are happier live longer, and this is responsible for a growing percentage of happy older people. Or, he says, maybe people have seen others their age die and they value more their own remaining years.

Ⅱ. Language Study  

1. (Para.1) live for: regard as one's main reason for living

* He lived for his art.

  她努力的目标就是可以有自己的公寓.

(=She lives for the day when she can have an apartment of her own.)

2. (Para.1) take/get/gain credit (for sth.): get honor, praise or approval

* I don't think they will try to take the credit for what you have done. They are decent people.

   她并没有真正得到对她成功的赞誉.

   (=She doesn't really get the credit for her success.)

3. (Para.1) depression: n. being depressed; low spirits

*专家说孩子们如果如此感觉将处在失败和沮丧的危险中。

(=Specialists say children who feel this way are in danger of failure and depression.)

 * He committed suicide during a fit of depression.

4. (Para.3) How long could I live like this? Certainly not until I retired.

  Translate the sentence into Chinese.

  (=这样的生活我能维持多久？肯定不会到我退休之时.)

5. (Para.4) crisis: n. a point or moment of great danger, difficulty, or uncertainty

* If we're not at a crisis, we're coming to a crisis.

 2008年的经济危机沉重地打击了冰岛。

  (=Iceland was heavily hit by the economic crisis of 2008.)

6. (Para.4) plead: v. give (sth.) as an excuse for an action; ask in a begging way

*他跪在地上，恳求宽恕。

(=He was on his knees, pleading for forgiveness.)

* She appeared on television to plead with the kidnappers.

7. (Para.4) temporary: adj. lasting or meant to last for a limited time only

*我正在申请一个临时签证以便访问加拿大。

(= I am applying for a temporary visa to visit Canada.)

* The boss hired some temporary workers.

8. (Para.5) renew: vt. start (sth.) again; give new energy to 

* During the interview, he renewed his criticism of the party leadership.

 *她能够以新的活力和热情处理这个任务。

 (=She was able to handle the task with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.)

9. (Para.5) personal: adj. not of one's public or professional life; private

*他的私生活对于他的同事而言是个谜.

(=His personal life is a mystery to his colleagues.)

 * Men dreamed of going to work in their own personal helicopters.

10. (Para.5) involve: vt. include or affect

*许多人参加了罢工.

(=The strike involved many people.)

 *Great love and great achievements involve great risk.

11. (Para.5) positive: adj. completely certain

* She is not sure where music will take her, but she is positive that the piano will be a big   part of her future.

*你肯定他就是你昨天看到了那个人吗？

(=Are you positive he's the man you saw yesterday?)

Collocation:

  be positive of/ about          对…很肯定

  positive criticism             建设性的批评

  think positive                往积极的方面去想

12. (Para.5) steel: vt. make (esp. oneself) hard, unfeeling, or determined

*He takes a deep breath, clenches his jaw, lifts his head proudly and steels his heart against the biggest disappointment in his life.

  * 我必须狠下心来逼自己躺进冰冷的床单里.

(=I had to steel myself to go to bed between icy sheets.)

13. (Para.5) supportive: adj. giving encouragement, help, etc. to people in difficulty

* Happy people tend to be more supportive of other people in their life.

 * 尼克一贯支持和信任我的工作。

(=Nick has always been supportive and trusting of my work.)

14. (Para.5) soak up: learn quickly and easily; absorb

*The dry earth soaked up the rain.

*青少年更容易吸收新的信息。

(=It's easier for young people to soak up new information.)

15. (Para.5) at every opportunity: whenever possible

*我尝试一有机会就讲法语。

 (=I try to speak French at every available opportunity.)

*Although he was very busy at work, he tried to do more housework at home at every  opportunity.

16. (Para.5) weigh down: make (sb.) worried, etc.

*她由于担心和劳累过度而疲于奔命。

(=She was weighed down by worry and overwork.)

* The responsibilities of the job are weighing her down.

17. (Para.6) practically: adv. almost; nearly

 * Griffith has practically no money to live on.

 *事实上现在所有工作对妇女都开放。

  (=Practically all jobs are open to women nowadays.)

18. (Para.7) expense: n. an amount of money spent

* 今年我们最大的支出是我们的暑假。

(=Our biggest expense this year was our summer holiday.)

* We went on holiday at my father's expense.

Collocation:

 household/medical expenses     家庭/医疗支出

 spare no expense              不惜代价

 at great/little expense          花大价钱/没花多少代价

 at sb’s expense                由某人付费

19. (Para.7) stir: vt. move around and mix

* Stir the sauce gently until it begins to boil.

  * 她停下来搅拌着咖啡里的牛奶。

 (=She paused to stir some milk into her coffee.)

20. (Para.7) plentiful: adj. more than enough

 * 在夏季，草莓很多。

 (=Strawberries are plentiful in the summer.)

* You can find plentiful supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables here in winter.

21. (Para.8) And it's not so much the results of the action that have reshaped me (although that's important, too) as it is the realization that I have within myself what it takes to do what I set out to do.

1. Translate the sentence into Chinese.

(=此外，给我带来新的生活的，与其说是自己努力取得的结果（虽然这也很重要），不如说是由于意识到自己具有潜在的能力可以做自己想做的事。)

2. Analyze the sentence pattern.

“it is not so much… as it is…” 这个句型的意思是”与其说…还不如说…”. 例如：

 * It is not so much advice as approval that he seeks.

 他所寻求的与其说是忠告，不如说是赞扬。

 * It is not so much the cold as the rain which makes the climate unpleasant.

 与其说是冷，不如说是雨使气候令人不快。

22. (Para.8) in control: having the power to command, influence, or direct

* She may be old, but she's still in control of all that is happening.

  *是谁在管理这个项目？

  (=Who's in control of the project?)

Collocation:

out of control: 失去控制

under control: 在控制中

lose control of: 失去（对…的）控制

23. (Para.9) seek after: try to find or get

* The local government is seeking after the solutions to the current problems.

 *他们是一群寻求成功的年轻毕业生。

 (=They are a group of young graduates seeking after success in life.)