Supplementary Reading >> Culture Notes

I. Alfred Lubrano

Alfred Lubrano is an author, journalist and National Public Radio commentator. He is a feature writer on the staff of The Philadelphia Inquirer and has been an essayist for NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday since 1992. Lubrano is the author of the book, Limbo: Blue-Collar Roots, White-Collar Dreams, published by Wiley in November 2003.

II. Yuppies

Informal for (Y)oung (U)rban (P)rofessional, or “Yup”, turned into “yuppie” in the 1980s. A term used to describe someone who is young, possibly just out of college, and who has a high-paying job and an affluent lifestyle. It can now be used to describe any rich person who is not modest about their financial status.

Supplementary Reading >> Reading

I. Difficult Sentences

1. Sometimes we’d hook up on the subway going home.
Paraphrase the sentence.
(=Sometimes we would board the same subway and go home together.)

2. We didn’t know it then, but those days were the start of a branching off, a redefining of what it means to be a workingman in our family.
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=当时我俩并未意识到这一点，但那就是我们之间开始拉开距离的日子，是开始在家庭内部重新界定劳动者的意义的日子。)

3. Despite the myth of mobility in America, the true rule, experts say, is rags to rags, riches to riches.

4. What does “rags to rags, riches to riches” refer to?
(=It refers to the fact that a clear class distinction between the rich and the poor still exists in society and it is difficult for one to rise above where he belongs.)
2) Translate this expression.
(=穷者穷，富者富。)

5. What he didn’t count on was his eldest son breaking blue-collar rule No. 1: Make as much money as you can, to pay for as good a life as you can get.
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=他没有想到的是，他的大儿子打破了蓝领规则的第一条：赚尽可能多的钱，过尽可能好的生活。)

6. My dad learned a trade, as he was supposed to, and settled into a life of pre-scripted routine.
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=爸爸就像家人期望的那样，学了一门手艺，过上了一种预先设计好的单调生活。)

7. In the meantime, he takes life the blue-collar way, one brick at a time.
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=与此同时，他继续他的蓝领生活，一块一块地砌砖。)

II. Words & Expressions

campus: n.  grounds of a school, college or university 

- There’s accommodation for about five hundred students on campus.

- 大多数一年级学生住校。

(=Most first-year students live on campus.)

take on:  begin to have (a particular quality or appearance); decide to do (sth.), undertake

- She was finally admitted into the organization and since then her life had taken on a new dimension.

- 不要从事这项工作——这太危险了。

(=Don’t take on that job — it’s too dangerous.)

institution: n.  organization or school

- A major study of women and heart disease is being carried out by the Johns Hopkins Medical Institution.

- 牛津大学和剑桥大学是在国际上备受尊敬的学校。

(=Oxford and Cambridge universities are internationally respected institutions.)

branch off:  (of a tree) send out or divide into branches; (of a road) divide into branches

- The young apple trees are branching off.

- 主干道上分出了很多窄一些的岔道。

(=A number of smaller roads branch off from the main one.)

myth: n.  story, person, thing, etc., that is imaginary, fictitious, or invented 

- The children enjoyed the stories about the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman myths.

- 歌剧融合了神话、音乐和戏剧。

(=Opera combines myth, music, and drama.)

cash in on:  take advantage of

- Hot money flooded into this country to cash in on a predicted currency revaluation.

- 电视台推出的一个又一个真人秀节目，因其广受欢迎而从中获益。

(=TV stations launched one reality show after another to cash in on its popularity.)

lucrative: adj.  producing much money; profitable

- The owner and general manager offered the player a lucrative lifetime contract.

- 此次合并被证明对两家公司都非常有利。 

(=The merger proved to be very lucrative for both companies.)

load: v.  put a load in or on (sth./sb.)

- She loaded the camera (= put film in it).

- 使用计算机前，你需要安装新的软件。

(=You need to load the new software before you can use the computer.)

advertise: v.  praise publicly in order to persuade people to buy or use (sth.)

- You can advertise a garage sale, place a wedding announcement or sell something through a newspaper’s classified section.

- 他们不再在体育赛事中做烟、酒广告了。

(=They no longer advertise alcohol or cigarettes at sporting events.)

come down to:  be able to be summarized as

- I think Tiger Woods’ problem comes down to too much partying with that Swedish model girl friend of his.

- 这次总统竞选决定性的问题在于同性婚姻。

(=The deciding issue in this presidential campaign came down to gay marriages.)

trivial: adj.  of little importance  

- Many of us believe that schools should devote more time to essential questions and less time to trivial pursuit.

- 她时常为一些琐事发脾气。

(=She often loses her temper over trivial matters.)

rage: n.  violent anger 

- I was frightened because I had never seen him in such a rage before.

- 他为一点点小错大发雷霆。

(=He flew into a fit of rage over the smallest mistake.)

settle into:  become used to (living in a new home, doing a new job, etc.)

- I’m so excited to settle into my new home.

- 人造卫星未能适应其预先设定的轨道。

(=The artificial satellite failed to settle into its pre-set orbit.)

scratch: v.  make marks on or in (a surface) with a sharp tool.; write hurriedly or awkwardly

- My skin was so itchy that I was scratching all night.

- I’m afraid I scratched some paint off the door as I was getting out of the car.

- 很多年来，人们都将自己的名字刻在这块石头上。

(=People have been scratching their names on this rock for years.)

put (sb.) through:  cause (sb.) to undergo (a test, etc.); arrange for (sb.) to complete his education

- Working mothers are put through hell in search of a quality daycare center.

- 我妈妈是一位家庭主妇，在我读高中时爸爸去世了，社会保障使我完成了高等教育。

(=My mom is a housewife, and my dad died while I was in high school, but social security put me through college.)

in the meantime:  meanwhile

- Your computer won’t be arriving till Friday. In the meantime, you can use Julie’s.

- 医生很快会到这里。在此期间，要尽量放松。

(=The doctor will be here soon. In the meantime, try to relax.)

criticize: vt.  express a judgment on a work of art, etc.

- It’s not my place to criticize a firm that can generate incredible numbers like these.

- 这项决定遭到教师的强烈批评。

(=The decision has been strongly criticized by teachers.)

blunt: adj.  frank and direct

- Blunt and outspoken, he often quarreled with fellow officials.

- 恕我直言——你最后一部分工作做得太差了。

(=I’ll be blunt — that last piece of work you did was terrible.)

fantastic: adj.  extremely good; excellent 

- The view here is fantastic! I will take the apartment.

- 所有这些漂亮的玩具都廉价出售。

(=All those fantastic toys are now on sale.)

for once:  on this occasion only, as an exception

- For once in my life I have someone who needs me.

- 只此一次，这个狂妄自大的人真正认识到他是需要忠告的。

(=For once this self-important man really felt that he wanted advice.)

the Mets:  a New York baseball team

multi-brick education:

How do you understand the phrase?

(=education received in bricked-in institutions, referring to all the labor his father had invested in his son’s education in terms of the thousands of bricks he had laid)

serious:

What does the word “serious” mean here?

(=Here the word “serious” means “a substantial amount of”.)