新概念英語第三冊：Illusions of Pastoral peace
Illusions of Pastoral peace 寧靜田園生活的遐想
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 cock crow, 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.
寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活從來沒有吸引過我。我生在城市，長在城市，總認(rèn)為鄉(xiāng)村是透過火車車窗看到的那個(gè)樣了，或偶爾周末去游玩一下景象。我的許多朋友都住在城市，但他們只要一提起鄉(xiāng)村，馬上就會(huì)變得欣喜若狂。盡管他們都交口稱贊寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活的種種優(yōu)點(diǎn)，但其中只有一個(gè)人真去農(nóng)村住過，而且不足6個(gè)月就回來了。即使他也仍存有幻覺，好像鄉(xiāng)村生活就是比城市生活優(yōu)越。他滔滔不絕地大談?dòng)押玫霓r(nóng)民，潔凈的空氣，貼近大自然的環(huán)境和悠閑的生活節(jié)奏。他堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為，凌晨雄雞第一聲啼叫，黎明時(shí)分小鳥吱喳歡叫，冉冉升起的朝陽染紅樹木、牧場，此番美景無與倫比。但這種田園詩般的鄉(xiāng)村風(fēng)光僅僅是一個(gè)側(cè)面。我的朋友沒有提到在電視機(jī)前度過的漫長寂寞的冬夜——電視是唯一的娛樂形式。他也不說商店貨物品種單調(diào)，以及那些每天不得不從鄉(xiāng)下趕到城里工作的不幸的人們。人們?yōu)槭裁辞樵该刻煸诼飞媳疾?個(gè)小時(shí)去換取值得懷疑的鄉(xiāng)間的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，我是無法理解的。要是他們愿意住在本來屬于他們的城市，則可以讓他們省去諸多不便與節(jié)約大量開支。
New words and expressions 生詞與短語
illusion
n. 幻想，錯(cuò)覺
pastoral
adj. 田園的
breed (bred, bred)
v. 培育
rapture
n. 欣喜
extol
v. 贊美，頌揚(yáng)
superior
adj. 優(yōu)越的
cockcrow
n. 雞叫
v. (鳥)吱吱叫，嘁嘁喳喳叫
glint
v. 閃爍
pasture
n. 牧場
idyllic
adj. 田園詩的
virtually
adv. 幾乎，差不多
dubious
adj. 可疑的，懷疑的
privilege
n. 特權(quán)
misery
n. 苦難
acquaintance
n. 熟人
treat
n. 難得的樂事，享受
dweller
n. 居住者
stagger
v. 搖晃，蹣跚
exotic
adj. 導(dǎo)乎尋常的，外來的
glow
n. 白熾光
descend
v. 縮進(jìn)，隱藏
descend
v. 縮進(jìn)，隱藏
obstinately
adv. 固執(zhí)地，頑固地
