Lesson one:
Rock Superstars: What Do They Tell Us about Ourselves and Our Society
1. Rock Superstars 摇滚乐超级明星
rock : rock music , rock ' n ' roll ( or : rock and roll )摇滚乐早期的摇滚乐是源于美国的民歌( folk )爵士乐( jazz )勃鲁斯歌曲(blues)等的一种音乐,其特征是具 有强烈的节奏 ( rhythm )单纯的旋律 ( melody )一再重复的歌词和音符的后拍音 ( after beat )
2. Rock is the music of teenage rebellion .摇滚乐是青少年的反叛音乐
a. teenage adj. pertaining to a teenager ( 13 至 19 岁的 ) 青少年的。
其名词形式为teenager: (13至19岁的青少年)。
b. rebellion : resistance to or defiance of any authority 造反,反派。
如; a rebellion against old traditions 对旧传统的反叛。
3. By a man's heroes ye shall know him. 你将从一个人崇拜的英雄得知其人。
a.这句句子的句型与英语中常说的 judge a man by the company he keeps(以一个人所交的朋友断定其为人)很相似。
b. ye = you 用于古英语或诗歌中,是第二人称代词thou的复数。 如:
Ye are the salt of the earth .你们是社会的中坚。 (出自<>)
4. " Midnight Rambler
ramble :walk for pleasure漫游,既可表动词,也可作名词。
如; They rambled through the woods.他们在林中漫步。
5. …… he said," Grabs a half-gallon jug of water and runs along the front platform,sprinkling its contents over the first rows of sweltering listeners …… "
a. grab : to seize suddenly , eagerly , or roughly ; snatch 急抓,夺取。
如: He jumped up from the table, grabbed his hat and ran out of the door.
他从桌子旁跳了起来,抓起自己的帽子,奔出门去。
另外,grab后面可以跟其他名词或名词短语。 如:
grab a shower快速冲了澡,
grab a sandwich,胡乱吃了一个三明治,
grab a taxi 赶搭 ******************************************************.
有时,还可以作不及物动词。 如:
He grabbed at the opportunity of going abroad. 他设法抓住这次出国的机会 b. sprinkle :to scatter drops or particles of water ,powder or the like on 洒液体,撒粉末等(于……上)。如:
They sprinkled ashes on the icy sidewalk .他们在积水溜滑的人行道上撒了灰。
We sprinkle the lawn every day .我们每天给草坪洒水。
以" sprinkling "引导的短语是动词的 " - ing " 形式做伴随状语。 再如:
They stood there , watching the basketball .他们站在那里,观看篮球比赛。
6. They surge to follow him, eager to be touched by a few baptismal drops.
a. surge : to move or swell forward in or like waves 如波涛汹涌而至。
A crowd surged out of the theater .观众从剧院里蜂拥而出。
b. 以形容词" eager "引导的不定式词组在语法功能上起着并列分句的作用。
7. Some 14,000 screaming fans were crunching up to the front of the stage at Capital Center……
a. some : ( before a number ) approximately , about (在数字前)大约。
如: some twenty students大约20个学生。
b. scream to make a loud , sharp cry 尖声大叫。
" screaming "是动词 scream的 " - ing "形式作前置修饰语, " screaming fans " 意为“尖声大叫的歌迷”
c. crunch : to proceed with a crushing noise嘎吱嘎吱地往前。
如: The children crunched through the snow .孩子们嘎吱嘎吱地踩着雪走。
8. I ought to be crawling on my knees.
a. crawled : to move with the face downward and the boys close to the ground爬行。
如; The bus crawled along .公共汽车缓慢地行进。
注意:短语 crawl into the favor of one's superiors表示“卑躬屈膝地讨好上司”。
b. on one's knees : 双膝跪地。
9. How do you feel about all this adulation and hero worship
a. feel about : consider , think of 觉得,感到。经常用于疑问句中,
如: How do you feel about the suggestion 你认为这个建议怎么样
b. adulation 是adulate的名词形式。
adulate : flatter or admire excessively过分赞赏,奉承,恭维。
如: One can hardly understand why young people so adulate film stars.
年轻人为什么如此过分赞赏影星,真让人费解。
10. Or are you drawn somehow to this strange clown , perhaps because he acts out your wildest fantasies
a. draw : attracts 吸引。
如: Some mutual interests draw us together .一些共同的兴趣把我们吸引到一块了。
b. somehow : in some way not specified or known 不知什么缘故。
如: Somehow I don't like this novel though it is so popular.
这本小说虽然很流行,但不知什么原因我却不喜欢它。
c. fantasy : imagination , esp. when it is let free and not held back(自由奔放的)想象,幻想,狂想。
wildest fantasies ,最为狂妄的奇想。
11. These aren't idle questions.
idle : of no real worth or purpose 无聊的。
如: idle rumor无聊的谎言。
12. Horwitz sees the rock music arena as a sort of debating forum, a place where ideas clash and crash.
a. see …… as …… : consider …… as ……把……看作……
b. forum : a meeting place of discussion of matters of public interest论坛。
c. a place 是a sort of debating forum的同位语,后面由 where引导的句子是定语从句,修饰 a place.
" ideas clash and crash "意为“各种思想冲撞”。
13. " The redefinition, " Horowitz says " is a task uniquely performed by the young……"
" uniquely performed by the young " 是过去分词短语,用于修饰前面的"a task"。
14. It is they alone who combine invention and exaggeration……
a. it is …… who ( that ) 是强调句式。
b. lone : ( after a noun or pronoun ) only(在名词或代词后面)仅,只。
His name alone was enough to draw a large audience .仅仅他的名字就足以吸引一大批观众。
15. " Rock music," he says " is really a sociological expression rather than a musical force. "
rather than : instead of 而不是(肯定前者,否定后者。) 比如:
He is a poet rather than a novelist .与其说他是小说家,不如说他是诗人。
这里介绍另一个短语or rather,意为 more exactly更为确切地说“。
如: late last night , or rather early this morning昨天深夜,更为确切地说,是今天清晨。
16. It's just that Elvis managed to embody the frustrated teenage spirit of the 1950s.
a. 句中的it有 the reason的意思, that = be cause .
b. embody : give a definite form to具体体现 如:
The statue embodies the sentiment of the sculptor .这尊塑像表现了雕像家的感情。
The latest model of the lorry embodies many improvements .卡车的最新式样体现了许多改进的地方。
17. TV network banned him.
a. network :a group of radio or television stations linked by wire or microwaves (广播,电视)广播网
b. ban :prohibit ,forbid 禁止。
如: Students are banned from reading dirty books .禁止学生阅读色情书刊。
18. Most of the older viewers frowned, while most of the younger viewers applauded.
a. frown: to wrinkle the forehead , such as when one is displeased or in deep thought皱眉。
如:听到我说错了答案,他便皱起了眉头。
短语frown on ( upon )表示“不赞同”。
如: He frowned upon my plan .他不赞同我的计划。
b. applaud : to clap the hands together in approval or appreciation鼓掌喝彩;称赞。
如: The audience applauded wildly .观众热烈鼓掌。
c. 连接词while在这里表示对照,
再如: I like books while my brother loves sports .我喜欢书,而我的兄弟则热衷于体育。
19. The Rolling Stones, arrogant street-fighting men, demanded revolution.
arrogant : acting as if one were more important than others傲慢的;妄自尊大的。
如; He was just too arrogant to his subordinates .他对他的部下太傲慢了。
20. Feelings, always a part of any musical statement, were a major subject.
这里always a part of any musical statement 是feelings的同位语。
21. The Beatles showed there were a range of emotions between love and hate.
range : a number of different things of the same general sort or type (变动的,可供选择的)范围;幅度。
如: a range of colors to choose from可以选择的一系列颜色;
a range of prices from 5 Yuan to 50 Yuan 从5元到50元不等的各种价格。
22. This country element, Horowitz feels, helped its audience express an urge to " get away from it all, "……
urge : an instinctive drive .冲动。
如: I felt an urge to further my studies in Europe .我有一种去欧洲深造的冲动。
23. ……these rock musicians mirror feelings……
mirror : reflect 反映。
如: The election result reflects their opinions.选举结果反映了他们的观点。
24. …… where it's heading
head ( for ) : move toward (朝某一方向)前进。
如: They were heading for the deep jungle for hunting .他们去丛林深处打猎。