-
Introduction to the text:
1.
This text is a piece of narrative writing, a
story.
2.
The
narrator
of
the
story,
Dobie
Gillis,
a
freshman
in
a
law
school,
is
the
hero
or
protagonist(
主角，
正派角色）
. He struggles against two
antagonists
（反派角色）
: Petey
Burch, his
roommate
whose
girlfriend
he
plans
to
steal;
and
Polly
Espy,
the
girl
he
intends
to
marry
after
suitable re-education.
3. The climax
（高潮）
of the story is reached in
paragraphs147 to150 when Polly refuses to go
steady with the narrator because she
had already promised to go steady with Petey
Burch.
4. The
denouement
（结局）
follows rapidly and ends on a very
ironic tone.
About the
Title---The title of the story is humorous and
well-chosen. It has two meanings:
1. When
“
fallacy<
/p>
”
is taken in its
ordinary sense, the title means:
There is a
deceptive
（虚伪的，欺诈的）
or
delusive
（欺瞒的，迷惑的）
quality about love.
2. When
“
fallacy<
/p>
”
is taken as a
specific term in logic, the title means:
Love cannot be
deduced
（推理）
from
a set of given premises.
Perhaps Max Shulman wants the reader,
after reading the story, to conclude that
“
love
”
is an
error, a deception and
an emotion that does not follow the principles of
logic. But the writer, through
this
story has succeeded perhaps
unwittingly(
无意地
) in
revealing what love may sometimes mean
in the affluent
society
（
物质社会）
.
Girls do not want brilliant, gifted or educated
husbands, but want
husbands
who
are
rich
and
wealthy
enough
to
provide
all
the
things
necessary
in
life
—
home,
clothes, cars, etc..
Pay attention to his change of
emotions:
1. favoring her with a smile
2. chuckled with
amusement
3. chuckled with
somewhat less amusement
4. forcing a
smile/ ground my teeth
5. croaked,
dashed perspire
Detailed study of the
text
enterprising
: ad.
having or showing enterprise
有事业心的；有胆量的；富于创业精神的
It
’
s very
enterprising of them to try and start up a
business like that.
as
?
as: a
correlative construction used to indicate the
equality or sameness of two things.
He is as strong as an ox.
month of
Sundays
:
(colloquial
口语体的
) long time
unfettered
: ad. (fml. or
lit.) free from control; not tied by several rules
The new city
developed quickly, unfettered by the usual
planning regulations.
limp
:
ad. drooping; lacking firmness
无力的；易弯的
I like
lettuce to be crisp, not limp and soggy.
我喜欢莴苣是脆的，不喜欢软而湿乎乎的。
flaccid
: ad. soft and weak;
flabby
spongy:
ad. like a
sponge; soft and porous
pedantic:
ad. paying too
much attention to details and unimportant rules
迂腐的；学究的
pedant:
n.a person who pays more attention to formal rules
and book learning than they merit
discipline
: a branch of
knowledge or learning
trauma
: a term in psychiatry
meaning a painful emotional experience or shock,
often producing a
lasting psychic
effect.
心灵创伤；精神创伤
Read, then, the following essay which
undertakes to demonstrate that logic, far from
being a dry,
pedantic discipline, is a
living, breathing thing, full of beauty, passion,
and trauma.
Metaphor(
暗喻）
and
hyperbole
（夸张）
. It is a
metaphor comparing logic to a living human being.
It is a hyperbole because it
exaggerates for the sake of effect.
calculating:
ad.
coldly
planning
and
thinking
about
future
actions
and
esp.
whether
they
will
be
good or bad for oneself.
perspicacious
: ad. (fml.)
having or showing very clever judgment or
understanding
聪敏的；
睿智
的
a
perspicacious comment
有见地的评论
astute:
ad. clever and able
to see quickly something that is to
one
’
s advantage; shrewd
精明的；
敏锐的；狡黠的
an astute businesswoman/investment
acute: ad.
(1)
(of the senses) able to notice small differences;
sharp
感觉灵敏的；敏锐的
Dogs have an acute sense of smell.
/He has very acute hearing.
(2) showing an ability to understand
things clearly and deeply; penetrating.
深刻的
an acute
analysis of the political situation
(3)
severe; very great
严重的
acute pain/an acute shortage of water
dynamo
:
an
earlier
form
of
generator,
a
machine
that
converts
mechanical
energy
into
electrical
energy
chemist
’
s scales:
Such scales are more precise and accurate for they
have to weigh small quantities
of
powder or other medicine.
scalpel
: a
surgeon
’
s sharp knife used
in operations
手术刀；解剖刀
My brain was as powerful as a dynamo,
as precise as a chemist
’
s
scales, as penetrating as a scalpel.
(Para.4)
Simile
（明喻）
,
comparing his brain to three different things.
Hyperbole, exaggerating for effect.
dumb
: (American
colloquialism or slang) stupid; moronic;
unintelligent
dumb as an ox: as stupid
as an ox; very stupid
nothing
upstairs
:
(American
slang)
empty-headed;
a
nitwit
(
笨蛋；傻瓜
).
The
corresponding
British slang is
“
unfurnished in the upper
storey.
”
unstable
: ad. easily moved,
upset or changed
emotional
:
ad. having feelings which are strong or easily
moved
impressionable
: ad.
easy to be influenced, often with the result that
one
’
s feelings and ideas
change
easily and esp. that one is
ready to admire other people.
The child
is at an impressionable age.
这孩子正处于易受影响的年龄。
faddist
: a person who
follows fads (a passing fashion or craze)
Emotional type. Unstable.
Impressionable. Worst of all, a faddist.
All four sentences are
elliptical
（省略的）
. The subject
and verb
“
he
is
”
is left out.
fads
: a passing fashion or
craze
submit
: v. to offer as
an opinion; suggest; propose
very
negation: complete (absolute) lack
reason
: the ability to
think, draw conclusions
to be swept up
in: to be carried away by; to follow
enthusiastically
craze
:
something that is currently the fashion; fad
to surrender yourself to: to yield; to
indulge in
idiocy
: n. [U]
great foolishness or stupidity
acme
: n. the highest point
of development, success, etc.
极度；发展、成就的顶点；登峰造极
the acme of perfection
acme of mindlessness: the height of
stupidity; the greatest lack of intelligence
Laxative
: n./ad/ (a medicine
or sth.) eaten for causing the bowels to empty
easily
泻药；通便剂
It
’
s dangerous
for people suffering from appendicitis to take any
kind of laxative.
pausing
in
my flight: n. fleeing or running away from. Here
it means
“
stopped rushing
out
”
(to get
a doctor).
wail
:
v. (often derog.) to cry out with a long sound (as
if) in grief or pain
嚎啕大哭；大声哭叫
pound
: v. to hit hard; to
deliver heavy, repeated blows
猛击；猛打；猛烈跳动
He
pounded the table angrily. /My heart pounded with
excitement.
incredulously
:
adv. showing disbelief, unbelievingly
an incredulous look/smile
incredible
: ad. sth. too
strange to be believed; unbelievable or very hard
to believe
不敢相信的；
难
以置信的
That
’
s the most
incredible coincidence I
’
ve
ever heard of!
Look at it
rationally
:
“
it
”
stands for the whole question of owning
and wearing a raccoon coat.
unsanitary:
ad. not clean or healthy
They
shed
: The fur of the raccoon
coats cast off or lose hair (all the time).
unsightly
: ad. not pleasant
to look at; ugly
It
’
s the thing to
do: It
’
s the right, proper
or fashionable thing to do.
in the swim: conforming to the current
fashions, or active in the main current of affairs
slip
: to pass, move, etc.
smoothly, quickly or easily
slipped
into high gear: began to work at high speed or
efficiency. A machine is in high gear when
the arrangement of gears provide the
greatest speed but little power.
gear
: any of several
arrangements, esp. of toothed wheels in a machine,
which allow power to be
passed from one
part to another so as to control the power, speed
or direction of movement.
(
齿轮传
动装置；排挡
)
narrowly
: adv. (fml.) in a
thorough and usu. doubting way
彻底的；
追根究底的
The teacher
questioned the boy narrowly about why he was late.
affirm
: v. to declare (usu.
again, or in answer to a question or doubt)
肯定；确认
She
affirmed that she was telling the truth.
The minister affirmed the
government
’
s intention to
reduce taxes.
stroke
: v.
pass the hand over gently, esp. for pleasure
抚摸
The cats like
being stroked.
He stroked his beard
reflectively.
他捋着胡子在沉思。
I stroked my chin
thoughtfully.
我若有所思的抚摸着下巴。
covet
: v. (esp. bibl or
humor) to desire eagerly (esp. sth. belonging to
another person)
觊觎；垂涎
to let my heart rule my head: Metonymy.
“
Heart
”
stands for
“
feelings and
emotions
”
and
“
head
”
for
“
reason and
good sense
”
.
cerebral
: ad. (fml. humor)
conceived by the intellect rather than the
emotions.
理智的
gracious
: ad. polite, kind
and pleasant, esp. in a generous way
亲切的；和蔼的；仁慈的；有礼貌
的
Busy as she was, she was gracious
enough to show us around her house
specification
: n. a detailed
plan or set of descriptions or directions
规格；
说明
The designer drew up his specifications
for the new car.
With
one
omission
?
perfectly:
Except
for
one
thing
(intelligence)
Polly
had
all
the
other
requirements (beauty and grace).
pin
-up: (American
colloquialism) designating a girl whose sexual
attractiveness makes her a subject
for
the kind of pictures often pinned up on walls.
proportions
: lines, shape of
the body
supply the lack: supply what
is wanting.
makings
: the
material or qualities needed for the making or
development of something
素质；必要
因素
He has the makings of a good doctor./
The story has all the makings of a great movie.
carriage
: n. (sing) the
manner of carrying oneself, bearing the manner of
holding one
’
s head, limbs,
and body when standing or walking;
physical posture
仪态；体态
Dancing can improve the carriage.
舞蹈能增进体态美。
erectness
of carriage: a
noun plus an
“
of
”
phrase helps to emphasize the noun
“
erectness
”
. So
also
“
ease
of bearing
”
and
“
best of
breeding
”
.
bearing
: n. the way a person
holds his body or behaves; deportment
举止；姿势；风度
She
had
an
erectness
of
carriage,
an
ease
of
bearing,
a
poise
that
clearly
indicated
the
best
of
breeding
.
“
bearing
”
and
“
carriage
”
are
synonymous(
同义词）
.
“
Bearing
”
in comparison denotes manner
of
carrying
or
conducting
oneself
and
refers
to
characteristic
physical
and
mental
posture.
“
Carriag
e
”
specifically
stresses the physical aspects of a person.
specialty of the house: the special
dish which the restaurant or cafeteria sells
pot roast: meat, usually a large cut of
beef cooked in one piece by braising
gravy
: n. [U] the juice
which comes out of meat as it cooks, thickened
with flour, etc., to serve with
meat
and vegetables (
加了面粉用于调味的
)
肉汁
dipper
: a long-handled cup
esp. for dipping
长柄勺
sauerkraut:
德国泡菜
a dipper of
sauerkraut: a small cupful of pickled chopped
cabbage
veer
: v. to turn or
change direction
The car went out of
control and veered across the road.
汽车失去了控制，突然转向冲向大路对面。
smarten up: to improve in appearance;
cause to become neat or stylish
We
smarten the office up with a fresh coat of paint.
我们新刷一层油漆使办公室焕然一新。
Smarten yourself up before you go in to
the interview.
你去面试之前，把自己打扮得漂亮点。
dumb: ad. (American colloquialism or
slang) stupid, moronic; unintelligent
keen: ad. (American slang) good, fine,
excellent, etc.: a general term of approval
kid: (American colloquialism) a young
person
go steady: (American
colloquialism) to date someone of the opposite sex
regularly and exclusively;
be
sweethearts
out of the picture: not
considered as involved in a situation
field: an area where games or athletic
events are held
open: free to take part
or compete in (games being held in the field)
wink: v. to close and open (one eye)
rapidly, usually as signal between people, esp. of
amusement
He winked at her and she knew
he was only pretending to be angry.
She
gave me a wink.
A transferred epithet.
He said mysteriously with a wink (the wink itself
was not mysterious)
gamy=gamey: ad. (of
meat) having the strong taste of game which has
been hung up for some time
before
cooking (
肉
)
有浓烈的野味
味道的
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
上一篇：旅游行业英语词汇
下一篇：accept的用法和例句