新起点大学英语精读第四册Unit1BigBuckstheEasyWay

1、UnitOne:BigBuckstheEasyWayTwocollege-ageboys,unawarethatmakingmoneyusuallyinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbyanadvertisementthatpromisesthemaneasywaytoearnalotofmoney.Theboyssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.BIGBUCKSTHEEASYWAYJohnG.HubbellYououghttolookintothis,Isuggestedtoourtwocol

2、lege-agesons. Itmightbeawaytoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskformoneyallthetime.Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungonourdoorknob.Amessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurely,lucrativework(BigBuckstheEasyWay!)ofdeliveringmoresuchbags.Idontmindtheindignity,theolderoneanswered.Icanlivewithit,h

3、isbrotheragreed.Butitpainsme,Isaid，tofindthatyoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesyou.Theboyssaidtheywouldlookintothemagazine-deliverything.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BymidnightIwascomfortablysettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.Itwasmywife.Shewantedtoknowhowmydayhad

4、gone.Great!Ienthused. Howwasyourday?Iinquired.Super!Shesnapped. Justsuper!Anditsonlygettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront.Anothertruck?Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomeryWards.ThesecondbroughtfourthousandSears,Roebucks.Idontknowwhatthisonehas,butImsureitwillbefou

5、rthousandofsomething.Sinceyouareresponsible,Ithoughtyoumightliketoknowwhatshappening.WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarytohand-delivertheadvertisinginsertsthatnormallyareincludedwiththeSundaypaper.Thecompanyhadpromisedourboys$600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000

6、housesbySundaymorning.Pieceofcake!ouroldercollegesonhadshouted.Sixhundredbucks!Hisbrotherhadechoed, Andwecandothejobintwohours!BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,mywifeinformedme. Therearethirty-twothousandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguysarecarryingarmloadsofpaperu

7、pthewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?Justtelltheboystogetbusy,Iinstructed. Theyrecollegemen.Theylldowhattheyhavetodo.AtnoonthefollowingdayIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemywife.Hervoicewasunnaturallyhighandquavering.Therehadbeenseveralmoretruckloadsofadinserts. Theyrefordepartmentsto

8、res,dimestores,drugstores,grocerystores,autostoresandsoon.Somearewholemagazinesections.Wehavehundredsofthousands,maybemillions,ofpagesofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wallallthroughthehouseinstackstallerthanyouroldestson.Theresonlyenoughroomforpeopletowalkin,takeoneeachoftheeleveninserts,roll

9、themtogether,sliparubberbandaroundthemandslidethemintoaplasticbag.WehaveenoughplasticbagstosupplyeverytakeoutrestaurantinAmerica!Hervoicekeptrising,asifworkingitswayoutoftherangeofthehumanear. AllthismustbedeliveredbysevenoclockSundaymorning.Well,youhadbettergetthoseguysbandingandslidingasfastasthey

10、can,andIlltalktoyoulater.Gotalunchdate.WhenIreturned,therewasanotherurgentcallfrommywife.Didyouhaveanicelunch?sheaskedsweetly.Ihadhadamarveloussteak,butknewbetterbynowthantosayso.Awful,Ireported. Somesortofsourfish.Eel,Ithink.Good.Yourcollegesonshavehiredtheiryoungerbrothersandsistersandacoupleofnei

11、ghborhoodchildrentohelpforfivedollarseach.Assemblylineshavebeensetup.Inthelanguageofdiplomacy,thereismovement.Thatsencouraging.No,itsnot,shecorrected. Itsverydiscouraging.Theyrebeenasitforhours.Plasticbagshavebeenfilledandpiledtotheceiling,butallthishasntmadeadent,notadent,inthesituation!Itsalmostas

12、iftheinsertskeepreproducingthemselves!Anotherthing,shecontinued. Yourcollegesonsmustlearnthatonedoesnotgetthebestoutofemployeesbythreateningthemwithbodilyharm.ObtaininganaudiencewithsonNO. 1,Isnarled, Illkillyouifthreatenoneofthosekidsagain!Idiot!Youshouldbeofferingabonusofadollareveryhourtotheworke

13、rwhofillsthemostbags.Butthatwouldcutintoourprofit,hesuggested.Therewontbeanyprofitunlessthosekidsenableyoutomakeallthedeliveriesontime.Iftheydont,youtwowillhavetoremoveallthatpaperbyyourselves.Andtherewillbenoeatingorsleepinguntilitisremoved.Therewasashort,thoughtfulsilence.Thenhesaid, Dad,youhaveju

14、stworkedaprofoundchangeinmypersonality.Doit!Yes,sir!Bythefollowingevening,therewasmuchformywifetoreport.Thebonusprogramhadworkeduntilsomeonedemandedtoseethecolorofcash.Thensomeactivistontheworkforceclaimedthattheworkershadnobusinesssettlingfor$5andafewcompetitivebonuseswhilethebossedcollectedhundred

15、sofdollarseach.Theorganizerhaddeclaredthatalltheworkerswereentitledto$5perhour!Theywouldnotworkanotherminuteuntilthebossesagreed.Thestrikelastedlessthantwohours.Inmediation,thepartiesagreedon$2perhour.Gradually,thehugestacksbegantoshrink.Asitturnedout,thejobwascompletedthreehoursbeforeSundays7a.m.de

16、adline.BythetimeIarrivedhome,theboyshadalreadysettledtheiraccounts: $150inlaborcosts, $40forgasoline,andalikeamountforgiftsboxesofcandyforsaintlyneighborswhohadvolunteeredstationwagonsandhelpindeliveryanddozenrosesfortheirmother.Thisleftthemwith$185eachabouttwo-thirdstheminimumwageforthe91hourstheyw

17、orked.Still,itwasenough,asoneofthemputit,toenablethemtoavoidindignityforquiteawhile.Allwentwellforsomeweeks.ThenoneSaturdaymorningmyattentionwasdrawntotheoddgoings-onofourtwoyoungestsons.Theykeptcarryingcartonaftercartonfromvariouscornersofthehouseoutthefrontdoortocurbside.Iassumedtheirmotherhadenli

18、stedthemtoremovejunkforatrashpickup.ThenIoverheardthemdiscussingfinances.Geez,weregoingtomakealotofmoney!Weregoingtoberich!Investigationrevealedthattheywereofferingforsaleorrentourentirelibrary.No!No!Icried. Youcantsellourbooks!Geez,Dad,wethoughtyouweredonewiththem!Youreneverdonewithbooks,Itriedtoex

19、plain.Sureyouare.Youreadthem,andyouredonewiththem.Thatsit.Thenyoumightaswellmakealittlemoneyfromthem.WewantedtoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskyouforNewWordsbuckn. (sl.)U.S.dollarplastica. 塑料的n. (pl) 塑料doorknobn. 门把手leisurelya.unhurried从容的，慢慢的leisuren.freetime空闲时间，闲暇fitable有利的；赚钱的painvt.

20、causepaintopanhandlevi. (AmE)beg.esp.onthestreetsdeliveryn.delivering(ofletters,goods,etc.)投递；送交enthusevi.showenthusiasminquirevt.asksupera. (colloq.)wonderful,splendid;excellentsnapvt.say(sth.)sharply厉声说insertn. 插页heusualconditions;ordinarily通常companyn. 公司echovt.sayordowhatanotherpers

21、onsaysordoes;repeat附和；重复adn. (shortfor)advertisementinformvt.tell;giveinformation告知porchn. (AmE)veranda门廊armloadn.asmuchasonearmorbotharmscanhold;armfulwalkn.apathspeciallyarrangedorpavedforwalking人行道unnaturallyad.inanunnaturalway不自然地quavervi. (ofthevoiceorsound)shake;tremble颤抖truckloadn.asmuchorasm

22、anyasatruckcancarrydepartmentstoren.storesellingmanydifferentkindsofgoodsinseparatedepartments百货公司dimen.coinofU.S.andCanadaworthtencentsdimestoren. (AmE)astoresellingalargevarietyoflow-pricedarticles;varietystore廉价商品店；小商口店drugstoren. (AmE)astorethatsellsnotonlymedicine,butalsobeautyproducts,film,mag

23、azines,andfood药店，杂货店groceryn.astorethatsellsfoodandhouseholdsupplies食品杂货店sectionn.partofsubdivisionofapieceofwriting,book,newspaper,etc.;portion（文章等的）段落；节；部分cramvt.filltoofull;forceorpressintoasmallspace把塞满；把塞进stackn.anorderly;heaporgroupofthings一叠（堆、垛等）bandn.flat,thinpieceofmaterial带；带状物vt.tieupwit

24、haband捆扎rubberbandn. 橡皮筋takeouta. （餐馆）出售外卖菜的rangen.thedistanceatwhichonecanseeorhear（听觉、视觉等）的范围marvel(l)ousa.wonderful;astonishingsteakn. 牛排；大块肉（或鱼）片soura. 酸的eeln. 鳗鲡diplomacyn. 外交encouraginga. 鼓舞人心的dentn.ahollowinahardsurfacemadebyabloworpressure;initialprogress凹痕，凹坑，初步进展ducetheyoung

25、of(oneselforonesownkind) 生殖，繁殖bodilya.ofthehumanbody;physicalharmn.damageorwrong伤害audiencen.thepeoplegatheredinaplacetohearorsee;achancetobeheard观众；听众；陈述意见的机会snarlvt.speakinaharshvoice咆哮着说bonusn.anextrapaymenttoworkers奖金thoughtfula.givetoorindicatingthought沉思的，思考的cashn.moneyincoinsornotes现金activistn

26、.apersontakinganactivepartesp.inapoliticalmovement激进分子workforcen.totalnumberofworkersemployedinaparticularfactory,industryorarea工人总数；劳动人口competitivea. 竞争的organizern.personwhoorganizesthings组织者mediationn. 调解partyn.oneofthepeopleorsidesinanagreementorargument一方；当事人graduallyad.slowlyandbydegrees.gradua

27、la.shrink(shrank,shrunk)vi.becomelessorsmaller减少；变小deadlinen.fixedlimitoffinishingapieceofwork最后期限stationwagonn. 小型客车，客货两用车minimum(pl.minimaorminimums)n.thesmallestpossibleamount,number,etc. 最低限度的量、数等minimumwagen.thelowestwagepermittedbylaworbyagreementforcertainwork法定最工资odda.strange;unusualgoings-o

28、nn.activities,usu.ofanundesirablekindcartonn.acardboardboxforholdinggoods纸板箱（或盒）curbsiden.theareaofsidewalkatornearcurb（curb: 人行道的镶边石）enlistvt.obtainthesupportandhelpof;causetojointhearmedforces取得的支持和帮助；征募trashn.wastematerialtobethrownaway;rubbish垃圾pickupn.asmalllighttruckwithanopenbackusedforlightde