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41_Illusions_of_Pastoral_Peace

41 Illusions of Pastoral Peace

The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City born and city bred, I have always regarded the country as something you look at through a train window, or something you occasionally visit during the weekend. Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at the mere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back in town within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendly people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My friend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of the TV--virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about the poor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people who have to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Why people are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubious privilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so much misery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong.

If you can do without the few pastoral pleasures of the country, you will find the city can provide you with the best that life can offer. You never have to travel miles to see your friends. They invariably live nearby and are always available for an informal chat or an evening's entertainment. Some of my acquaintances in the country come up to town once or twice a year to visit the theatre as a special treat. For them this is a major operation which involves considerable planning. As the play draws to its close, they wonder whether they will ever catch that last train home. The city dweller never experiences anxieties of this sort. The latest exhibitions, films, or plays are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is always a pleasure. There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best. Country people run wild when they go shopping in the city and stagger home loaded with as many of the exotic items as they can carry. Nor is the city without its moments of beauty. There is something comforting about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold wet winter nights. Few things could be more impressive than the peace that descends on deserted city streets at weekends when the thousands that travel to work every day are tucked away in their homes in the country. It has always been a mystery to me why city dwellers, who appreciate all these things, obstinately pretend that they would prefer to live in the country.

宁静的乡村生活从来没有吸引过我。我生在城市，长在城市，总认为乡村是透过火车车窗看到的那个样子，或偶尔周末去游玩一下的景象。我的许多朋友都住在城市，但他们只要一提起乡村，马上就会变得欣喜若狂。尽管他们都交口称赞宁静的乡村生活的种种优点，但其中只有一个人真去农村住过，而且不足6个月就回来了。即使他也仍存有幻觉，好像乡村生活就是比城市生活优越。他滔滔不绝地大谈友好的农民，洁净的空气，贴近大自然的环境和悠闲的生活节奏。他坚持认为，雄鸡第一声啼叫，黎明时分小鸟吱喳欢叫，冉冉升起的朝阳染红树木、牧场，此番美景无与伦比。但这种田园诗般的乡村风光仅仅是一个侧面。我的朋友没有提到在电视机前度过的漫长寂寞的冬夜——电视是唯一的娱乐形式。他也不说商店货物品种单调，以及那些每天不得不从乡下赶到城里工作的人们的不幸。人们为什么情愿每天在路上奔波4个小时去换取值得怀疑的乡间的优点，我是无法理解的。要是他们愿意住在本来属于他们的城市，则可以让他们省去诸多不便与节约大量开支。

如果你愿舍弃乡下生活那一点点乐趣，那么你会发出城市可以为你提供生活最美好的东西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好几英里，因为他们都住在附近，你随时可以同他们聊天或在晚上一起娱乐。我在乡村有一些熟人，他们每年进城来看一回或几回戏，并把此看作一种特殊的享受。看戏在他们是件大事，需要精心计划。当戏快演完时，他们又为是否能赶上末班火车回家而犯愁。这种焦虑，城里人是从未体验过的。坐公共汽车几站路，就可看到最新的展览、电影、戏剧。买东西也是一种乐趣。物品种繁多，从来不必用二等品来凑合。乡里人进城采购欣喜若狂，每次回家时都买足了外来商品，直到拿不动方才罢休，连走路都摇摇晃晃的。城市也并非没有良辰美景。寒冷潮湿的冬夜里，广告灯箱发出的暖光，会给人某种安慰。周末，当成千上万进城上班的人回到他们的乡间寓所之后，空旷的街市笼罩着一种宁静气氛，没有什么能比此时的宁静更令人难忘了。城里人对这一切心里很明白，却偏要执拗地装出他们喜欢住在乡村的样子，这对我来说一直是个谜。

Words

  • City /ˈsɪti/ born /bɔrn/ and /ənd/ city /ˈsɪti/ bred /brɛd/ v. 培育
    1. There is a chance in a million that they were actually born and bred in the same environment.
    2. Evidence suggests that he was born and bred in London.
  • raptures /ˈræptʃɚz/ n. 欣喜
    1. After overcoming all sorts of obstacles, she went into raptures at the news of her success.（L39）
  • extol /ɪkˈstol/ v. 赞美
    1. It has long been known that doctors extol the virtues of eating less fat.
    2. In the speech, he extolled the benefits of filling cities with trees.
  • illusion /ˌɪˈluʒən/ n. 幻觉
    1. Needless to say, she was under the illusion that he was honest until he was caught stealing some money.
    2. It’s possible that she's under the illusion that she'll get the job.
  • superior /suˈpɪriɚ/ adj. 优越的
    1. A closed mind is when you believe that your way of making a profit is superior to everyone else’s.
    2. The manager pointed out that his products were far superior to others.
  • cockcrow /ˈkɑkˌkro/ n. 鸡叫
    1. As soon as they heard the first cockcrow, they quickly got back to the box as if they had never left.
    2. I am accustomed to getting up as soon as I hear the first cockcrow.
  • twittering /ˈtwɪtərɪŋ/ v. 鸟叫
    1. Birds twitter outside the open window as she starts to depict pictures on the wall.
    2. In the video, which was taken by investigators in the spring, birds twitter.
  • glinting /ˈɡlɪntɪŋ/ v. 闪烁
    1. I found it hard to tell who he was because of the sun glinting on his glasses.
    2. It was not until she saw something glinting on the carpet that she realized the diamond wasn’t lost.（N2L35）
  • pastures /ˈpæstʃɚz/ n. 牧场
    1. With the passage of time, the deserted village became surrounded by fields and pasture land.
    2. It seems that this pasture can no longer carry such a large number of cattle and sheep.（L9&L18）
  • idyllic /aɪˈdɪlɪk/ 田园诗的
  • virtually /ˈvɝtʃuəli/ adv. 几乎
    1. It’s virtually impossible to get advance information without any efforts.
    2. It’s virtually impossible to be exempted from military service when going to high school.
  • dubious /ˈdubiəs/ adj. 可疑的
    1. I hope you don't mind the interference, but he has been associated with some dubious characters.（L35&L23）
    2. I presume that the results of this policy will remain dubious for some time.
  • misery /ˈmɪzəri/ n. 苦难
    1. She is not in the least grateful for your help, as all that money brought nothing but sadness and misery.（L39&L40）
    2. Everything conspired to make her life a misery.
  • acquaintances /əˈkwentənsɪz/ n. 熟人
    1. Someone who is not a close friend
    2. After seeing the way Mr. Wyatt behaved at the party, I had little desire to make his acquaintance.
    3. I am delighted to make your acquaintance.
  • treat /trit/ n. 享受
    1. We took the kids to the zoo as a special treat.
    2. Emily, as a special treat, was granted permission to stay over at a school-friend’s.
  • dweller /ˈdwɛlɚ/ n. 居住者
    1. There is no doubt that city dwellers have a higher death rate than country people do.
    2. He pretended to be an urban dweller.
  • stagger /ˈstæɡɚ/ v. 摇晃
    1. After he was attacked, he managed to stagger to the phone and call for help.
    2. However painful it was, I managed to stagger the last few steps.
  • exotic /ɪɡˈzɑtɪk/ adj. 外来的
    1. She seems perturbed by the exotic clothes on the floor.
    2. His ideas shed light on why exotic foods are available in supermarkets.
    3. He obtained the money to go on all these exotic journeys by deception.
  • glow /ɡlo/ n. 白炽光
    1. The candles shed a soft glow on her face, which captured the attention of all the men in the room.
  • tucked /tʌkt/ v. 隐藏
    1. A sum of money was always tucked away in case there was an emergency.
    2. It looked as if there were thousands of pounds tucked away in another saving account.
    3. In the dim light, I discovered a box which had been tucked away in an odd corner of the house.（L22）
  • obstinately /ˈɑbstɪnətli/ adv. 固执的
    1. He obstinately denied that he had stolen anything.
    2. He obstinately thrusted a pile of money into her hands.

Expressions

  • under the illusion that+句子 误以为……
  • born and bred 土生土长
  • go into raptures 欣喜若狂
  • extol the virtues/benefits of something 赞美某物的优点/好处
  • be superior to ... 优于……
  • It’s virtually impossible to… 几乎不可能……
  • be dubious about 对……半信半疑
  • the privilege of doing something 做某事的特权
  • make somebody’s acquaintance 结识某人
  • as a special treat … 作为特别的款待
  • descend on/upon/over 降临；突然来到
  • be tucked away… 被藏起来
  • at the mere mention of 一提到……
    1. At the mere mention of the haunted house, my daughter leapt out at me.
    2. His face turned red at the mere mention of the embarrassing practical jokes he experienced last year.
    3. At the mere mention of the girl’s name, he got angry and charged at the shallow pool of water.
  • be compared with 与……相比
    1. I am under the impression that her talent in painting cannot be easily compared with others.
    2. Whether you agree or not, the idyllic pastoral scene can hardly be compared with anything else.
  • be prepared to 准备；愿意
    1. You have to be prepared to take a risk in this kind of work.
    2. Neither side seems to be prepared to get the traffic on the move.
    3. You have to be prepared to start at the bottom of your life and work your way up.
  • tolerate for 忍受
    1. It is naive to believe she can tolerate criticism for the benefit of personal growth.
    2. I suspect that he won’t be able to tolerate long hours of work for the dubious benefit of achieving his career goals.
    3. It seems highly improbable that they can tolerate inconvenience for the privilege of living in a big house.
  • beyond me 超出我的理解范围
  • do without 没有……也行
  • travel miles to do sth. 长途跋涉去做某事
    1. My mother reprimanded me for traveling miles just to eat a bowl of dumplings.
    2. We were willing to travel miles to see the breathtaking sunset at the beach.
    3. The mere fact [that she would travel miles to visit you during the holidays] means she likes you.
  • be available for 可用于……；有空
    1. Unable to find his preferred ingredients, the chef had to make do with what was available for the dinner.
    2. I was wondering if there a room available for you tonight.
    3. There is a considerable number of books available for you to choose from.
  • come up to 走到……跟前；达到
  • draw to a close 即将结束
    1. The festival drew to a close with the fantastic fireworks that lit up the night sky.
    2. What invariably happens is that as the semester drew to a close, students began making great efforts to prepare for their final exams.
  • make do with 凑合着用
    1. She had to make do with the old computer.
    2. We ran out of milk, so we had to make do with black coffee for breakfast.
    3. As the accident brought the traffic to a grinding halt, I had to make do with the subway.
  • run wild 放肆；撒野
    1. If someone, often a child, runs wild, that person behaves as they want to without being controlled by anyone.
    2. After being kept in the house all day, the children were allowed to run wild in the backyard.
    3. The imagination of the author seemed to run wild, creating fascinating worlds in each novel.
    4. They insist that all parents not let their children run wild.
    5. Few things could be more impressive than....
    6. Few things could be more impressive than seeing the mountain view while the curtain goes up.
    7. Few things could be more impressive than the beauty of the ocean that consists of a bewildering variety of sea life.
  • few things could be more impressive than… 很少有比……更令人印象深刻的
  • it has always been a mystery to me why... 我一直不明白为什么……