精读1第三单元重要知识点

Whatever Happened to Manners?

1.

Linda Dano

Do you remember a time when people were a little nicer, a little softer, a little gentler with

each other? I certainly do, and I feel that much of the world has somehow gotten away from

that. I see such a difference in New York City, for example, from when I first moved here

more than 20 years ago: people rushing into elevators without giving those inside a chance to

get off first, never saying “Thank you” when others hold a door open for them, or “Please”

when

they

want

a

coworker

to

hand

them

something,

never

giving

a

wave

or

nod

of

appreciation

when another motorist lets them

pull out

into traffic.

We

ge

t

lazy,

and

in

our

laziness

we

think

that

something

like

a

simple

“Thank

you”

doesn’t really matter. But it can matter very much. The fact is that no matter how nicely we

dress, how beautifully we decorate our homes, or how lovely our dinner parties are, w

e can’t

be truly stylish without good manners.

In fact, I think of good manners as a sort of hidden beauty secret.

Haven’t you noticed

that

the

kindest,

most

generous

people

seem

to

keep

getting

prettier?

They

become

Cary

Grant or Lauren Bacall right b

efore our eyes. It’s funny how that happens, but it does.

Take the long-

lost art of saying “Thank you.” Like wearing a little lipstick or making

sure your hair is neat, getting into the habit of saying “Thank you” can make you feel better

about yourself, and then you look better to everyone around you. A

gracious

manner not only

sets an excellent example for your children and grandchildren but it adds

pricelesspanache

to

your image

.

Positive Thanking

Of course, saying “Thank you” does

wonder

s for the person on the receiving end too. I

recently got a thank-you note from a guest who attended a 40th birthday party that Frank and

I hosted for Frank’s daughter

-in-law. The note was lovely enough, but even lovelier was the

fact that the guest had also inclu

ded a recipe for a dish I’d

compliment

ed her on at an earlier

gathering. It was a sweet gesture that made me feel terrific and put mein a great

mood

. What

a gift!

Many of us know we should write thank-

you notes, but we think we don’t have the time

or energy. Now, I know we all have busy lives, but

I bet the note my guest sent me didn’t take

long to you feel like a feel

because you’ve

put off

sending a card, write a note that

says,

“I

should

have

done

this

two

weeks

ago,

but

I

didn’t

want

to

let

another

day

go

by

without telling you how much I enjoyed your party.” It’s much better than not writing at all.

Magic Words

Just as powerful as a thank-you n

ote is the simple phrase “Excuse me.” Don’t you just

hate it when someone knocks an enormous carry-

on bag into your head when he’s

barrel

ing

down the aisle to board an airplane

—

and then doesn’t bother to say he’s sorry? But when

someone does stop and tur

n around and genuinely apologizes, doesn’t it melt away most —

if

not all

—

of the

irritation

you felt?

Same for holding the door open for others when you see their hands are full. I’ll even do

this for a hotel bellman carrying my luggage. Just because

his job is to carry my bags doesn’t

mean

he

doesn’t

appreciate

a

little

gesture

that

makes

his

life

a

wee

bit

easier.

And

punctuality

is

not

a

thing

of

the

past,

either.

Being

on

time

for

lunch

dates,

for

example,

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

shows the person we’re meeting that we va

lue his or her precious time as much as we do our

own.

9.

Bringing Manners Home

And for heaven’s sake, we shouldn’t forget to use good manners with our own families.

That’s where it

count

s the most because those are the people we love the most. How lovely it

would be to put a card on your spouse’s pillow at night to say “Thank you” for some dear

thing he or she did for you or even just to say “I love you.”

10.

Similarly,

bringing

home

the

most

insignificant

little

presents

for

people

you

cherish

will go a

long way. It shows they’re in your thoughts and you want to make them happy. If

you’re a husband, how long has it been since you walked in the door with a rose for your

wife?

Or

maybe

her

favorite

candy

—

even

if

it’s

just

a

Snickers

bar

.

You’d

sure

get

my

attention if you brought me a Snickers! I firmly believe spouses should be gracious about the

routine

things they expect each other to do. Show that you don’t take the other person for

granted.

He or she is much more likely to treat you the same way.

11.

Good manners are

infectious.

Now, if we could just get everyone to catch them!

Words and Expressions

Paragraph 1

Words and Expressions

1. appreciate:

vt.

1)to recognize with gratitude; be grateful for

e.g.

We appreciate your helping us.

2)to recognize or understand that something is valuable, important or as described

e.g.

There's no point buying him expensive wines

—

he doesn't appreciate them.

Derivations:

appreciation:

n

.

appreciative:

adj.

Synonyms:

enjoy, understand

Comparison:

appreciate, enjoy

appreciate:

It

means

“to

be

thankful

or

grateful

for

something,”

as

well

as

“to

like

or

value

something for its good qualities.”

e.g.

We really appreciate all the help you gave us last weekend.

enjoy:

Itstresses

taking

pleasure

in

a

situation

one

is

in,

esp.

to

find

satisfaction

in

doing

something, and often appears in the structure of “ enjoy oneself”.

e.g.

Now that I am free, I can enjoy music for a while.

既然有空，我可以享受一下音乐。

2. pull out

:

1) (of a motor vehicle, boat, etc.) to move out of a sideways

e.g.

A car suddenly pulled out in front of me.

一辆汽车突然横冲到我面前。

2) toleave or depart

e.g.

When I arrived, the train was pulling out of the station.

Sentences:

Do you remember a time when people were a little nicer, a little softer, a little gentler with

each other?

(Paragraph 1)

Paraphrase

:

Years ago, people were kind and generous with each other, but now people are less

gentle, less friendly or less polite than people in the past.

Paragraphs 2-4

Words and Expressions

3. gracious

:

adj.

1)behaving in a pleasant, polite, calm way

e.g.

The losing team were gracious in defeat.

He was most gracious to everyone, smiling and thanking them.

2) characterized by kindness and warm courtesy especially of a king to his subjects

e.g.

The queen was gracious enough to invite us.

女王亲切地邀请了我们。

He is gracious to his inferiors.

他待下级和蔼可亲。

Synonyms:

courteous, nice

4. priceless:

adj.

describing an object which has such a high value, especially because it is rare,

that the price of it cannot be calculated

e.g.

In its spacious halls are displayed over 8,000 priceless relics.

在它宽敞的大厅里，展出了

8000

多件珍贵文物。

Her one priceless asset is her unflappability.

她有一点是非常难能可贵的，就是她遇事冷静。

Synonym:

precious

Comparison:

priceless, precious

priceless:

refering to something that is worth a lot of money or cannot be calculated in monetary

terms

precious

: emphasizing the fact that something is valuable, rare and important, and should not be

wasted, lost or used badly

e.g.

Pandas are precious creatures.

熊猫是珍贵的动物。

You should make good use of every precious minute to study.

你应很好利用宝贵的每一分钟去学习。

Her knowledge and experience would make her a priceless (= extremely useful) asset to the

team.

她的知识和经历对于整个团队来说是无价之宝。

5. panache:

n.

a stylish, original and very confident way of doing things that makes people

admire you

e.g.

The orchestra played with great panache.

交响乐团的演奏十分优雅动听。

Synonyms:

dash, style, elegance

Sentences:

1.

...we can’t be truly stylish without good manners …

(Paragraph2)

Paraphrase

:

If

we

do

not

have

polite

ways

of

treating

other

people

and

behaving

in

pubic,

we

can’t be truly fashionable and attractive.

Translation

:

没有良好的习惯，我们不可能真正成为时尚的人。

2.

…I think of

good manners as a sort of hidden beauty secret.

(Paragraph3)

Paraphrase

:

I

think

of

good

manners

as

a

sort

of

hidden

beauty

secret

whose

nature

can’t

be

understood and explained.

Question

:

What will good manners lead us to be?

Good manners will lead us to be beautiful and attractive figures.

3.

…

but it adds priceless panache to your image

…

(Paragraph4)

Paraphrase

:

but

a

kind,

gracious

manner

makes

you

look

much

more

stylish,

charming

and

admirable, contributing invaluably to your image.

Paragraphs 5-10

Words and Expressions

6.

wonders:

n.

objects that cause a feeling of great surprise and admiration

Collocation

:

do wonders for

:If you say that a person or thing does wonders, you mean that they have a very

good effect on something.

e.g.

Regular physical exercises will do wonders for your health.

Synonyms:

miracle, marvel, phenomenon

Derivation

:

wonderful

adj.

7. compliment

vt.

to praise or express admiration for someone

Collocation

:

compliment sb. on sth.

e.g.

I must compliment you on your handling of a very difficult situation.

Synonym:

praise, applaud, flatter

Derivations:

complimentary:

adj

. praising or expressing admiration for someone

compliment:

n

.

Comparison:

compliment, complement

compliment:

praise somebody for something

complement

: make something else seem better or more attractive when combining with it