新视角研究生英语1-2讲稿

Unit Two

The Roots of My Ambition

About the author and the text Russell Baker, born on August 14, 1925, in Loudoun County, Virginia, U.S. When Baker was five years old, his father died. He and his mother and one of his sisters moved frequently from that time on, living in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. Baker is a journalist, essayist, author, and a former columnist and correspondent for The New York Times. His books include The Good Times, Growing Up, and Looking Back. He is most famous for turning the daily gossip of most newspapers into the stuff of laugh-out-loud literature. Baker received his first Pulitzer Prize for distinguished commentary in 1979, in

recognition of his "Observer" column and received his second Pulitzer Prize in 1983 for his autobiography Growing Up (1983). This text is condensed from his memoir The Good Times (1989). Russell Baker is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

American Depression The Great Depression began in 1929 when the entire world suffered an enormous drop in output and an unprecedented rise in unemployment. The world economic output continued to decline until 1932 when it clinked bottom at 50% of its 1929 level. Unemployment soared, in the United States it peaked at 24.9% in 1933. It remained above 20% for two more years, reluctantly declining to 14.3% by 1937. It then leapt back to 19% before its long-term decline. Since most households had only one income earner the equivalent modern unemployment rates would likely be much higher. Real economic output (real GDP) fell by 29% from

1929 to 1933 and the US stock market lost 89.5% of its value. Another unusual aspect of the Great Depression was deflation. Prices fell 25%, 30%, 30%, and 40% in the UK, Germany, the US, and France respectively from 1929 to 1933. The economic troubles of the 1930s were worldwide in scope and effect. Economic instability led to political instability in many parts of the world. Political chaos, in turn, gave rise to dictatorial regimes such as Adolf Hitler's in Germany and the military's in Japan. (Totalitarian regime in Italy predated the depression.) These regimes pushed the world evercloser to war in the 1930s. When world war finally broke out in both Europe and Asia, the United States tried to avoid being drawn ^e .into the conflict. But so powerful and influential a nation as the United States could scarcely avoid involvement for long.

Pulitzer Prize Pulitzer Prize established and endowed by Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911, born in Hungary), In writing his 1904 will, which made provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes as an incentive to excellence, Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one for education, and four traveling scholarships. The prize honors excellence in American literature, journalism, drama and music. The prizes, administered by Columbia University, bestow on winners both literary prestige and a cash pr

ize.

The board of the Pulitzer Prize typically exercised its broad discretion in 1997, the 150th anniversary of Pulitzer's birth, in two fundamental respects. It took a significant step in recognition of the growing importance of work being done by newspapers in online journalism. Beginning with the 1999 competition, the board sanctioned the submission by newspapers of online presentations as supplements to print exhibits in the Public Service category. The board left open the distinct possibility of further inclusions in the Pulitzer process of online journalism as the electronic medium developed. Thus, with the 2006 competition, the Board allowed online content in all 14 of its journalism categories and said it will continue to monitor the field.

New Words Ambition Fury Tackle Scoff Bleak Break Gaudy Preposterous Gumption Roll Concede hound The sticks Circuitry Exalt heretical

Ambition : strong desire, esp. over a long period, for success, power, wealth, etc. (Longman) : Strong desire to achieve sth. (Oxford) 雄心，野 心，抱负，志向，志气 e.g. She is clever but she lacks ambition. (Longman) 她很聪明，但是胸无大志。 野心：对领土，权利或名利的大而非分的欲望 (现代汉 词典)

e.g 野心家 careerist 野心勃勃 be overwelmingly ambitious or be obsessed with ambition 雄心：远大的理想和抱负 great ambitions or lofty aspirations 雄心勃勃 very ambitious

Ambition is one of those Rorschach words: define it and you instantly reveal a great deal about yourself. Even that most neutral of works, Webster’s, in its Seventh New Collegiate Edition, gives itself away, defining ambition first and foremost as “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.” Ardent immediately assumes a heat incommensurate with good sense and

stability, and rank, fame, and power have come under fairly heavy attack for at least a century. One can, after all, be ambitious for the public good, for the alleviation of suffering, for the enlightenment of mankind, though there are some who say that these are precisely the ambitious people most to be distrusted. (from unit 7, Approaching Proficiency)

野心是罗夏墨迹测验的字眼之一：给它下个定义 你立刻就流露出你很多的内心世界。即使是最中 立的著作，韦伯斯特的字典，新大学版第七版， 也暴露出自己的观点，将‘ambition’ 首先定义 为：“追求官阶、名誉或权势的强烈欲望。”于 是乎 ‘ardent’ 这个词直接承受一种压力，与褒 义和恒心不再相称，而官阶、名誉和权势至少受 到百年的抨击。毕竟是有人热衷于为民谋福利； 为减轻民众的痛苦而奔走，为开发民智而雄心万 丈，尽管有人说这些恰巧是野心勃勃的人，绝大 多数不可信任。

furyn.: rage ; indignation furious adj.: up the wal …… 此处隐藏：3788字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……