【课文】
Punctuality is a necessary habit in all public affairs in civilized society. Without it, nothing could ever be brought to a conclusion; everything would be in state of chaos. Only in a sparsely-populated rural community is it possible to disregard it. In ordinary living, there can be some tolerance of unpunctuality. The intellectual, who is working on some abstruse problem, has everything coordinated and organized for the matter in hand. He is therefore forgiven if late for a dinner party. But people are often reproached for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting things fine. It is hard for energetic, quick-minded people to waste time, so they are often tempted to finish a job before setting out to keep an appointment. If no accidents occur on the way, like punctured tires, diversions of traffic, sudden descent of fog, they will be on time. They are often more industrious, useful citizens than those who are never late. The over-punctual can be as much a trial to others as the unpunctual. The guest who arrives half an hour too soon is the greatest nuisance. Some friends of my family had this irritating habit. The only thing to do was ask them to come half an hour later than the other guests. Then they arrived just when we wanted them.
If you are catching a train, it is always better to be comfortably early than even a fraction of a minted too late. Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or more for the next one; and you avoid the frustration of arriving at the very moment when the train is drawing out of the station and being unable to get on it. An even harder situation is to be on the platform in good time for a train and still to see it go off without you. Such an experience befell a certain young girl the first time she was traveling alone.
She entered the station twenty minutes before the train was due, since her parents had impressed upon her that it would be unforgivable to miss it and cause the friends with whom she was going to stay to make two journeys to meet her. She gave her luggage to a porter and showed him her ticket. To her horror he said that she was two hours too soon. She felt in her handbag for the piece of paper on which her father had written down all the details of the journey and gave it to the porter. He agreed that a train did come into the station at the time on the paper and that it did stop, but only to take on mail, not passengers. The girl asked to see a timetable, feeling sure that her father could not have made such a mistake. The porter went to fetch one and arrive back with the station master, who produced it with a flourish and pointed out a microscopic 'o' beside the time of the arrival of the train at his station; this little 'o' indicated that the train only stopped for mail. Just as that moment the train came into the station. The girl, tears streaming down her face, begged to be allowed to slip into the guard's van. But the station master was adamant: rules could not be broken and she had to watch that train disappear towards her destination while she was left behind.
【课文翻译】
准时是文明社会中进行一切社交活动时必须养成的习惯。不准时将一事无成,事事都会陷入混乱不堪的境地。只有在人口稀少的农村,才可以忽视准时的习惯。在日常生活中人们可以容忍一定程度的不准时。一个专心钻研某个复杂问题的知识分子,为了搞好手头的研究,要把一切都协调一致,组织周密。因此,他要是赴宴迟到了会得到谅解。但有些人不准时常常因为掐钟点所致,他们常常受到责备,精力充沛、头脑敏捷的人极不愿意浪费时间,因此他们常想做完一件事后再去赴约。要是路上没有发生如爆胎、改道、突然起雾等意外事故,他们决不会迟到。他们与那些从不迟到的人相比,常常是更勤奋有用的公民。早到的人同迟到的人一样令人讨厌。客人提前半小时到达是令人讨厌的。我家有几个朋友就有这有令人恼火的习惯。的办法就是请他们比别的客人晚来半小时。这样,他们可以恰好在我们要求的时间到达。
如果赶火车,早到总比晚到好,哪怕早到一会儿也好。虽然早到可能意味着浪费一点时间,但这比误了火车等上一个多小时坐下班车浪费的时间要少,而且可以避免那种正好在火车驶出站时赶到车站,因上不去车而感到的沮丧。更难堪的情况是虽然及时赶到站台上,却眼睁睁地看着那趟火车启动,把你抛下。一个小姑娘第一次单独出门就碰到了这种情况。
在火车进站20分钟前她就进了车站。因为她的父母再三跟她说,如果误了这趟车,她的东道主朋友就得接她两趟,这是不应该的。她把行李交给搬运工并给他看了车票。搬运工说她早到了两个小时,她听后大吃一惊。她从钱包里摸出一张纸条,那上面有她父亲对这次旅行详细说明,她把这张纸条交给了搬运工。搬运工说,正如纸条所说,确有一趟火车在那个时刻到站,但它只停站装邮件,不载旅客。姑娘要求看到时刻表,因为她相信父亲不能把这么大的事弄错。搬运工跑回去取时刻表,同时请来了站长。站长拿着时刻表一挥手,指着那趟列车到站时刻旁边一个很小的圆圈标记。这个标记表示列车是为装邮件而停车。正在这时,火车进站了。女孩泪流满面,央求让她不声不响地到押车员车厢里去算了。但站长态度坚决,规章制度不能破坏,姑娘只得眼看那趟火车消逝在她要去的方向而撇下了她。
【词汇】
punctuality n. 准时
rural adv. 农村的
disregard v. 不顾,无视
intellectual n. 知识分子
abstruse adj. 深奥的
coordinate v. 协调
reproach v. 责备
puncture v. 刺破(轮胎)
diversion n. 改道,绕道
trial n. 讨厌的事,人
fraction n. 很小一点儿
flourish n. 挥舞(打手势)
microscopic adj. 微小的
adamant adj. 坚定的,不动摇的
【重点词汇讲解】
【disregard】
英英:give little or no attention to
例句:
1. Please disregard the mess and sit right here.
请不顾凌乱状态,就坐在这儿吧。
2. The boy's failure was due to continued disregard of his studies.
这孩子不及格是由于他经常不重视功课的原故。
3. Her actions manifested a complete disregard for personal safety.
她的行动表明她全然不顾个人安危。
【abstruse】
例句:
1. Einstein's theory of relativity is very abstruse .
爱因斯坦的相对论非常难懂。
2. Lu Xun's works are very abstruse. You must read between the lines.
鲁迅的著作非常深奥难解,你必须从字里行间去仔细体会。
【coordinate】
英英:bring order and organization to
例句:
1. Coordinate labour relations and gradually improve the living standards of the workers.
协调劳动关系,逐步提高劳动者的生活水平。
2. We should have established a rescue center or a system that can coordinate our resources.
我们应该建立了救援中心或一个系统,能够协调我们的资源。
3. Communication was essential if we were to coordinate our protests and complaints.
如果我们要协调*和控诉活动,交流信息是必不可少的。
【reproach】
英英:express criticism towards
例句:
1. Do not reproach yourself, it was not your fault.
不要责备你自己,这不是你的过错。
2. I have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with.
我既没有什么奢望,也没有什么担心,更没有什么要责备他的地方。
3. It is illegal to reproach Jesus Christ or the holy ghost.
责备耶稣基督或圣灵是违法的。
【trial】
例句:
1. Character can not be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthed.
性格不可能在安逸和平静中得以发展,只有通过艰难和困苦的磨炼才能使内心坚定,视野开阔,雄心振奋,从而达到成功的目的。
2. His blindness is a great trial to him.
眼睛瞎对他来说是非常麻烦的事。
【fraction】
例句:
1. It remains a fraction of its former size.
它目前的规模只有以前的一小部分。
2. The cost of copying a disk of software or a tape of music is a fraction of the cost of the product.
事实上,复制一个软件光盘或者一盘音乐磁带的成本,只是这个产品的整个成本的一小部分。
【adamant】
例句:
1. She was adamant in refusing to comply with his wishes.
她固执地拒绝按他的意愿办。
2. Most officials are adamant that the policy remains in place.
很多官员在迟疑是否要保留这项政策。
【常用短语】
【bring to a cnoclusion】结束
【in hand】手头的
【in good time for】及时的
【impress upon】使牢记
【break the rule】违反规定
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