【正文】 我們從現(xiàn)實(shí) 世界中解放出來(lái)?？肩辏?731–1800）說(shuō)，“變化是生活的調(diào)味品，它讓 生活變得有滋有味。我們知道我們生活在一個(gè)充滿變化與差異的世界里，我們知道人們的生活方式各不相同，人們過(guò)日子的方式不同，做不同工作， 有不同信仰，持不同觀點(diǎn)，有不同的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣，操不同語(yǔ)言。Reading books allows us to enjoy and celebrate this variety and difference in safety, and provides us with an opportunity to grow. To interact with other people’s lives in the peace and quiet of our homes is a privilege which only reading fiction can afford us. We even understand, however fleetingly, that we have more in mon with other readers of books in other cultures than we might do with the first person we meet when we step out of our front doors. We learn to look beyond our immediate surroundings to the horizon and a landscape far away from home. 讀書(shū)讓我們能夠安全地享受和慶賀這種變化與差異，為我們提供成長(zhǎng)的機(jī)會(huì)。我們甚至感覺(jué)到——哪怕只是在那一瞬間——我們和異文化讀 者的共同點(diǎn)要多于我們和家門(mén)口隨便碰到的一個(gè)人的共同點(diǎn)。If we ever question the truth of the power of reading books, we should take the trouble to go to our local library or bookshop, or even, if we’re fortunate enough, to the books on our shelves at home. We should wonder at the striking vistas created by the titles of novels ranging from the classics to the most recent:The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Fourth Hand by John lrving, Cancer Ward by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene, The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger or Slamon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. Then we should reflect on the other lives we’ll meet once we begin to read.如果我們懷疑讀書(shū)是否能給我們力量的話，我們就應(yīng)該麻煩自己去一 趟當(dāng)?shù)氐膱D書(shū)館或書(shū)店，或者，如果我們足夠幸運(yùn)的話，從家里的書(shū)架上 取一本書(shū)來(lái)讀一讀。斯坦貝克的 《憤怒的葡萄》 約翰、 索 爾仁尼琴的《癌癥病房》 、厄內(nèi)斯特格林的《哈瓦那特派員》 、奧黛麗托迪的《到也門(mén)釣鮭魚(yú)》 。Every book will have its own language and dialect, its own vocabulary and grammar. We may not always understand every word or sentence, but whether we’re enchanted or whether we feel excluded, our emotions are nevertheless stimulated. Other people and other cultures are not always distant because of geography. In a book we may confront people who live in a different climate, have different religious beliefs, or e from from a different ethnic ours neighbours down the road may be strangers who we can only meet through books.每一本書(shū)都有自己的語(yǔ)言、方言、詞匯和語(yǔ)法。盡管在地理上有一定的距離，但其他民族、其他 文化未必就離我們那么遙遠(yuǎn)。即便是住在同一條街上的鄰居，我們都有可 能只在書(shū)上相識(shí)。 從父母給孩子讀的睡前故事一直到成年后家中擺滿書(shū)柜的客廳， 書(shū)界定了我們的人生。他寫(xiě)道： “我認(rèn)為能影響我們的書(shū)籍是那些 我們已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備要讀的書(shū)，它們只是在我們已經(jīng)選定的道路上走得比我們更 遠(yuǎn)一些而已。 Thomas Merton(19151968),the American monk,priest and writer,was once asked a series of seven questions by a journalist:Name the last three books you have read,the three books you are reading now ,the books you intend to read ,the books that have influenced you, and why, a book that everyone should read,and the books which had influenced him,he cited poetic works of William Blake,various plays by ancient Greek thinkers and writers,and a number of religious asked why they had influenced him,he replied, “These books and others like them have helped me to discover the real meaning of my life,and have made it possible for me to get out of the confusion and meaninglessness of an existence pletely immersed in the needs and passivities fostered by a culture in which sales are everything.”美國(guó)修士、牧師及作家托馬斯關(guān)于對(duì)他有影響的書(shū)，他列出了《威廉當(dāng)被問(wèn)及這些書(shū)為何會(huì) 影響他時(shí)，他回答說(shuō)： “這些書(shū)——還有其他類似的書(shū)籍——幫助我找到了 人生的真諦，它們把我從生活的困惑和空虛中解脫出來(lái)。”So how would you answer the questions?那么，你又會(huì)如何回答這些問(wèn)題呢？In 1947,Clifton Fadiman coined the term homerun a baseball player hits a home run, he hits the ball so hard and so far he’s able to run round the four bases of the diamond, and score points not only for himself but for the other runners already on a base. It’s the most enjoyable and satisfying event in a baseball game. Likewise, a homerun book describes not the child’s first reading experience, but the first time they read a book which induces such pleasure and satisfaction that they can’t put it down. For hundreds of millions of children around the world,the best know example of a homerun book will be the Harry Potter stories.1947年，克里夫頓當(dāng)一個(gè)棒 球手打出一個(gè)全壘打時(shí)，因?yàn)閾羟蛴辛?、打得遠(yuǎn)，他有時(shí)間跑完整個(gè)棒球 場(chǎng)內(nèi)的四個(gè)壘，不僅自己得分，而且?guī)推渌鱾€(gè)壘的跑壘者得分，這是棒 球賽里最有趣和最開(kāi)心的事情。對(duì)世界上數(shù)以億計(jì)的兒童來(lái)說(shuō)，As adults, we’re always looking for our own homerun books,not just for the first time,but time after time has read a novel in one sitting will always remember the pleasure and satisfaction which await us,and eagerly,insistently,sometimes even desperately seeks to reproduce the marvellous sensation cannot withstand the hunger to visit another world, to meet different people,to live other lives and to reflect on ourselves.“全壘打書(shū)籍”的最典型的例子就是《哈利波特》系列小說(shuō)。所有一口氣讀完一本小說(shuō)的人都會(huì)記得那種令人期待 的愉悅和滿足感，并會(huì)焦急、固執(zhí)、有時(shí)甚至瘋狂地尋求重復(fù)體驗(yàn)這種感 覺(jué)。Danger!Books may change your is the power of reading.危險(xiǎn)！書(shū)可能會(huì)改變你的人生。Unit 3 時(shí)裝潮流 50年 No history of fashion in the yeas 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors: the ubiquitous jeans and the rise and fall of hemlines for women’s skirts and dresses.1960至 2010年間的時(shí)裝史存在著兩個(gè)不可忽略或不可低估的不變因 素：一是無(wú)處不在的牛仔褲，二是女裝裙擺的升降。 Co began to export blue jeans to Europe and Asia in the late 1950s,they were bought and worn with huge enthusiasm by young people and recognized as a symbol of the young,informal American way of life. 牛仔褲是用粗斜紋布做的，早在 16世紀(jì)末法國(guó)就有了這種布料。施特勞斯發(fā)現(xiàn)在加州淘金熱中勞動(dòng)的礦工很需要用這種耐用布料做成的牛仔褲，他還用鉚釘來(lái)加固褲子。1950年代末，李維年輕人趨之若鶩，視其為美國(guó)活力四射的、隨意 的生活方式的象征。人們時(shí)常會(huì)注意到，女人的裙擺和 經(jīng)濟(jì)之間存在一種頗為精確的關(guān)聯(lián)性，且鮮有例外。在經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮和蕭條時(shí)期女性到底為什么 要多暴露或少暴露雙腿至今仍然是個(gè)迷。Perhaps the most important development in fashion in the 1960s was the miniskirt, invented by the British designer Mary Quant worked in the heart of Swinging London, the miniskirt developed into a major international fashion. It was given greater respectability when the great French designer,Courreges,developed it into an item of high it would not have achieved such international currency without the development of tights,instead of stockings,because the rise in hemlines meant the stocking tops would be visible. 1960年代時(shí)裝史上一個(gè)最重要的發(fā)展就是英國(guó)時(shí)裝設(shè)計(jì)師瑪麗由于匡特在“搖擺倫敦”的中心地帶工作，超短裙很快就 風(fēng)行全球。但是，如果只有長(zhǎng)筒襪而沒(méi)有發(fā)明褲襪的 話，超短裙是不可能在全球流行的，因?yàn)槿箶[的上升會(huì)讓人看見(jiàn)長(zhǎng)筒襪的 襪口。到了 70年代中期，隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)的惡化，裙 擺降低到了小腿中部和腳踝部，而牛仔褲則不再是清一色的藍(lán)色了。這種樣式的牛仔褲延