内容正文:
Unit 2 Onwards and upwards
教材原文助读3
读文清障 文本助解释疑
词汇积累
①inform [Inˈfɔ:m] v.通知,告知
②dread [dred] v.畏惧,惧怕(相当于fear)
dread doing/to do sth.害怕做某事
③one's heart sinks 某人心情沉重/情绪低落(表示失去信心或希望)
④rarely [ˈreəli] adv.很少,难得
⑤overnight [ˌəʊvəˈnaIt] adv.
突然,一下子;一夜之间
⑥rejection [rIˈdʒekʃ(ə)n] n.
[C,U]拒绝,否决
a rejection letter 拒绝信
reject [rIˈdʒekt] vt.拒绝接受;不予考虑
⑦take...for example 以……为例
[拓展]与example相关的其他短语:
set an example (for/to sb.) (为某人)树立榜样
follow one's example 以某人为榜样;仿效某人
for example(=for instance) 例如
⑧have...in common (with...)(与……)在……方面有共同之处
⑨survive on 靠……生存
[近义词]live on靠……生活
⑩nevertheless [ˌnevəð əˈles] adv.
然而,不过
⑪persevere [ˌpɜ:sIˈvIə] v.
锲而不舍,坚持不懈
persevere in (doing) sth.
坚持(做)某事
perseverance [ˌpɜ:səˈvIərəns] n.
[U]毅力
⑫turn sb. down 拒绝某人
turn one's invitation down
拒绝某人的邀请
⑬all too often有太多时候,太过频繁(表示坏事发生次数太多)
⑭criticism [ˈkrItIsIz(ə)m] n.
[U,C]批评;指责
criticise [ˈkrItIsaIz] vt.& vi.批评
critical [ˈkrItIkl] adj.批评的;挑剔的
critic [ˈkrɪtɪk] n.[C]批评家;评论家
⑮struggle to do sth.努力做某事
⑯manuscript [ˈmænjʊskrɪpt] n.
[C]手稿,底稿
⑰当work on中的on是介词时,该短语意为“从事于”或“对……有作用”,可视具体语境翻译成相应的汉语,如:
work on a novel写小说
work on me对我起作用
当on是副词时,该短语意为“继续工作”。
⑱best-seller [ˌbestˈselə] n.[C]
畅销书;畅销产品
⑲overall adj.全面的;综合的
⑳go to sb. 由某人得到;授予某人
㉑in print 已刊印;已出版
get into print出版;发表
out of print绝版;不再印行
㉒then [熟词生义] adj.当时的
㉓business n.业务;工作
㉔classic [ˈklæsIk] n.[C]名著;经典作品
㉕honour vt.尊敬;尊重
㉖endurance [Inˈdjʊərəns] n.[U](忍)耐力
endure [Inˈdjʊə(r)] vt.忍耐;
忍受(同bear)
㉗industry [一词多义]
n.[U]勤奋,勤劳
a man of industry 勤劳的人
n.[U]工业
heavy/light industry重/轻工业
n.[C]行业
the tourist industry 旅游业
㉘means n.[C]方式;方法(单复数同形)
㉙end [熟词生义] n.[C]目标
㉚guarantee [ˌgærənˈti:] v.保证;确保
guarantee sb. sth.向某人保证某事
㉛a touch of一点儿;少许
touch [熟词生义] n.[C,usually sing.]一点儿;少许
㉜delighted [dIˈlaItId] adj.愉快的,高兴的
[人物小传]
1.The Brontë sisters lived in nineteenth-century Yorkshire, England. In 1846, they paid to publish their own poetry, and like many of their female contemporaries, they used male names to do this. In 1847, Wuthering Heights by Emily, Agnes Grey by Anne and Jane Eyre by Charlotte were published, and Jane Eyre became one of the best-sellers of that year.
2.Robert Southey (1774-1843) was an English poet. He was Poet Laureate for 30 years. Poet Laureate is a person who has been officially chosen to write poetry for the country's important occasions.
读文清障
We Regret to Inform① You...
“We regret to inform you...” [1]These are the words that every writer dreads② receiving, but words every writer knows well. The response from a publisher comes back and the writer eagerly opens and reads it, their hearts sinking③ when they reach that final sentence. You may have spent years giving up your weekends and free time to write your life's work, yet still this is often not enough. Everyone knows that success rarely④ happens overnight⑤, but perhaps not many know that a lot of highly successful writers have previously faced rejection⑥.
[1]本句中that引导定语从句,修饰先行词words;“every writer knows well”为省略关系词的定语从句,修饰先行词words。
Take for example⑦ J.K. Rowling. When she received her first rejection letter, she decided that it meant she now had something in common⑧ with her favourite writers, and stuck it on her kitchen wall. Rowling had spent years surviving on⑨ little money, [2]spending all her time writing. When she finally finished her first book, she received comments from publishers along the lines of “too difficult for children”, “too long”, “Children would not be interested in it”. Nevertheless⑩, she persevered⑪. “I wasn't going to give up until every single publisher turned me down⑫, but I often feared that would happen,” she later posted. After a total of twelve rejections, one publisher eventually agreed to print 500 copies of her first book, and as we know, Harry Potter became a global success, [3]with over 400 million books sold and translated into more than seventy different languages.
[2]此处为动词-ing 短语作伴随状语。
[3]此处为with复合结构,在句中作状语;books与sell、translate之间为逻辑上的动宾关系。
All too often⑬ writers of great works have had to face criticism⑭ along with rejection. J.D. Salinger started writing short stories in high school, but later struggled to⑮[4]get his works published. “We feel that we don't know the central character well enough” was the criticism he received on his manuscript⑯ for The Catcher in the Rye. Despite rejections from several publishers, J.D. Salinger refused to give up. Even [5]when serving in the US Army during the Second World War, he carried six chapters of The Catcher in the Rye with him and worked on⑰ the novel throughout his war service. When it was eventually published, the book became an immediate best-seller⑱ and went on to sell millions and millions of copies.
[4]此处为“get+宾语+宾语补足语”结构,his works是宾语,published是过去分词形式作宾语补足语;his works与publish之间为逻辑上的动宾关系。
[5]此处为时间状语从句的省略,其完整形式是“when he was serving...Second World War”。因从句的主语和主句的主语一致,且从句谓语中包含be动词的某种形式,故可省略从句的“主语+be”部分。
Perhaps the overall⑲ prize for perseverance should go to⑳ three sisters from Victorian England who dreamt of seeing their words in print㉑. This, however, was a time when women were not encouraged to become writers. As the then㉒ Poet Laureate, Robert Southey, wrote to one of them: “Literature cannot be the business㉓ of a woman's life, and it ought not to be.” Nevertheless, the sisters didn't stop trying. Their response was [6]to write a book of poems under male names. Even when the book sold only two copies, the sisters still didn't give up. They started writing novels, and today Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Anne Brontë's Agnes Grey are regarded as classics㉔ of world literature. In fact, [7]it is within the pages of Jane Eyre that we can find these words:“I honour㉕ endurance㉖, perseverance, industry㉗, talent; because these are the means㉘[8]by which men achieve great ends㉙...”
[6]此处为动词不定式短语作表语,解释Their response的内容。
[7]此处为强调句型,强调地点状语within the pages of Jane Eyre。
[8]此处为“介词+关系代词”引导定语从句,修饰先行词means。之所以用介词by,是因为by与先行词常构成“by...means”的惯用搭配。
So, [9]it seems that talent alone isn't enough to guarantee㉚ success. [10]While a lot of hard work and a touch of㉛ luck play a part, perseverance is the key. Keep trying and eventually you will read the words “We are delighted㉜ to inform you...”
[9]此处为“It seems that...”句式,意为“似乎……”,可转化为“Sb./Sth. seem(s) to do/to be doing/to have done sth.”句式。
[10]此处While引导让步状语从句,while在此意为“虽然”。
原文翻译
我们遗憾地通知您……
“我们遗憾地通知您……”这些是每个作家都害怕收到的话,但又为每个作家所熟知。出版商的回复来了,作家急切地展开阅读,当他们读到最后一句时,心随即跌落谷底。你可能花了数年,放弃了周末和空闲时间去创作你毕生的作品,但这往往还不够。每个人都知道成功很少突然降临,但也许没有多少人知道,很多卓越的作家也曾被退稿。
以J.K.罗琳为例。当她收到第一封退稿信时,她认为这意味着她现在和她最喜欢的作家们有了共同之处,并把这封信贴在了厨房的墙上。罗琳过了很多年拮据的生活,她把所有的时间都花在写作上。当她终于写完她的第一本书时,她收到的出版商的评价却是“对孩子们来说太难了”“太长了”“孩子们不会对它感兴趣”。然而,她还是坚持了下来。“我不会放弃的,除非每一个出版商都拒绝我,但我经常担心它会发生。”她后来说道。在总共被拒绝了12次之后,终于有一家出版商同意出版她的第一本书并印刷了500本。后来,正如我们所知的,《哈利·波特》在全球大获成功,销量超过4亿册,并被翻译成70多种不同的语言。
那些写出伟大作品的作家在被回绝的同时,还要遭受批评,这太常见了。J.D.塞林格高中时开始写短篇小说,但后来他的作品却难以发表。“我们觉得我们无法充分理解主角”,这是他的《麦田里的守望者》的手稿所收到的批评。尽管遭到几个出版商的拒绝,J.D.塞林格从未放弃。甚至在第二次世界大战期间,他在美国军队服役时,也随身带着《麦田里的守望者》的六章内容,并在整个战争服役期间专注于这部小说的创作。最终这本书一经出版,便立即成了畅销书,卖出了数百万册。
或许坚持不懈的最高荣誉应该授予英国维多利亚时代的三姐妹,她们梦想着看到自己的作品出版。然而,那是一个不鼓励女性成为作家的时代。正如当时的桂冠诗人罗伯特·骚塞写给她们其中一位的信中所说:“文学不可能也不应该成为女人一生的事业。”然而,三姐妹没有停止努力。她们的对策是用男性的名字出一本诗集。即使这本诗集只卖出了两册,姐妹三人依旧没有放弃。她们开始写小说,如今夏洛蒂·勃朗特的《简·爱》、艾米莉·勃朗特的《呼啸山庄》和安妮·勃朗特的《艾格妮丝·格雷》都被认为是世界文学的经典作品。事实上,这正印证了我们在《简·爱》中读到的话:“我尊崇忍耐、毅力、勤奋和天赋;因为这些是人们实现伟大目标的手段……”
所以,仅靠天赋似乎不足以保证成功。虽然大量艰苦的努力和少许的运气起一部分作用,但毅力才是关键。继续努力,最终你会读到这些话,“我们高兴地通知您……”。
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