英文电子书-bridget
The Pleasure of Walking
Walking
gives
us
back
our
senses.
We
see,
hear,
smell
the
world
as
we
never
can
when
we
ride.
No
matter
what
vehicle,
it
is
the
vehicle
that
is
moving, not ourselves. We
are trapped inside its fixed environment, and once
we
have
taken
in
its
sensory
aspects
—
mainly
in
terms
of
comfort
or
discomfort
—
we
turn
off
our
perceptions
and
either
go
to
sleep
or
open
a
magazine
and begin dozing in and out.
But when
we walk, the environment changes every moment and
our senses
are
continuously
being
alerted.
Around
each
corner
of
a
city
block,
around
each bend in a
country road, there is something new to greet the
eyes, the ears,
the nose. Even the same
walk, the one we may take every day, is never the
same from one day to another, from one
week and season to another.
This is true not only in the country,
but everywhere else. In New York City,
a
group
of
executives
who
meet
every
weekday
morning
walk
from
their
homes
to
their
offices.
Their
way
takes
them
through
quiet
streets
of
old
brownstones, one of the oldest
neighborhoods in the city, then up and over the
Brooklyn Bridge with its cathedral
arches supporting the web-like drapery of
cables, then down into the tight
skyscraper canyons of the financial district.
On their daily
route they see, hear, smell the city in all its
seasonal changes,
under bright and
cloudy skies. Only the most inclement weather
stops them -
suitably dressed, they can
walk with pleasure in spring rains, autumn
drizzles,
the sunlight of a summer
morning or a soft winter snowfall. The river
waters
roll by below their feet, sullen
or sparkling. Tugboats chug past, shoving and
hauling
their
variously
laden
barges;
on
a
shrouded
morning,
foghorns
hoot
and
moan.
The
famous
skyline
of
lower
Manhattan
rises
before
them,
glittering
in
sun,
afloat
in
mist,
against
a
backdrop
of
sky
never
twice
the
same.
V
ocabulary
（词汇清单）
trap
[tr?p] v. 1) place in a confining or embarrassing
position
困住；使陷入绝境
eg: He was trapped in a
difficult situation.
他陷入了困境。
2) to hold fast
or prevent from moving
使受限制
eg: The child was trapped
under the fallen tree.
那孩子被倒下的树压住了。
3) catch in or
as if in a trap
诱骗
;
诱捕
;
设陷阱捕捉
eg: He trapped me into admitting I had
done it.
他诱我承认我干的那件事。
sensory
[
?sens
?
ri] adj.
involving or derived from the senses; relating to
or concerned in
sensation
感觉的
,
感知的
eg: a sensory organ
感觉器官
alert [
??
l
?
:t]
adj. 1) very attentive or
observant
警惕的
,
警觉的
,
注意的
eg: He is a man
alert in problem.
他是个留意问题的人。
2) mentally
responsive
机灵的
,
敏捷的
eg: He has an
alert mind.
他很机灵。
v.
warn or arouse to a sense of danger or call to a
state of preparedness
使
(
某人
)
保持
警觉；提醒<
/p>
(
某人
)
注意<
/p>
(
某事
)
eg: The boss alerted him that thief
might come out at night.
老板要他提防夜里可能有贼。
同义词：
attentive
，
nimble
，
prompt
，
watchful
executive
[i
ɡ
?
zekjutiv] n.
a person responsible for the administration of a
business; someone who
manages
a
government
agency
or
department
主管
,
高级行政人员
,
执行官
eg: A good executive usually gets on
well with people.
一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
cathedral
[k
??
θi:dr?
l] n.
the principal Christian church building of a
bishop's diocese; any large
and
important church
总教堂
,
大教堂
eg: There's a
cathedral in the town.
镇里有一座大教堂。