unit9-car-culture

Unit9Cars---ParadiseFoundandparadiseLost---byMariluKnodeXi’ancityin1970sModerncityofXi’anLead-inSincetheemergenceofcarsontheearth,theworldlandscapehavetotallychanged.Andpeople’sliveshavetherebychanged,too.Whileenjoyingthemanybenefitsbroughtaboutbycars,peoplegraduallyfindthatthey’reatthesametimesufferingalot.Then,QuestionsDiscussion1)Whatbenefitshavecarsbroughttopeople’slives?2)Whataretheproblemscarshavecreatedforpeople?3)Allinall,wouldyouownacar?Whyorwhynot?Question1:Whatbenefitshavecarsbroughttopeople’slives?Havingacarmeansnomoretravelingtoworkoncrowdedbusesorsubwaytrains,andyoucandropoffthechildrenatschoolontheway.Havingacarallowsyoutomovearoundfreelyandthusmakesyourlifemoreconvenient.Youcangotoalmostanyplacesatanytime.Thisalsomeansyoumayenjoymorefreedomandmayhavemorecontroloveryourtime.Travelinginyourowncar,youfeelcozy,especiallyinbadweather.Inwinter,youjuststaywarm;inhotsummer,theair-conditionersendsoutcoolbreeze;inrainydays,youremaindry.Soacarcanbeakindofshelterwhichprotectsyoufromcoldness,hotsunorheavyrain.Havingacarmeansyoucanenjoytheweekendsandholidaysbetter,becauseyoucangotoplaceswheretheregularbusesandtrainsdonotgo,andsoyoucanfindaquietscenicspotwithnocrowds.Question2:Whataretheproblemscarshavecreatedforpeople?Itisnotcheaptorunacar,asthepricesofgasoline,maintenanceandrepairsareconstantlyrising,nottomentionthepricesyouhavetopayforalicense,insurancecoverageandtickets.Itissaidthatwhenyoufillupthetanks,youemptyyourwallet.Asaresult,youhavetoworklonghourstoaffordthehighcostofcartravel.Owningacarmaycauseworryandstress.Withtheincreaseincarownershipinrecentyears,youmayfinditexhaustingtodriveinrushhour,tobestuckintrafficjams,todrivearoundandaroundlookingforaparkingspace,ortowaitinlonglinesatfillingstations.Allthesecanbeatoughchallengetoyourpatienceandoftenmakethecarjourneymoreofanightmarethananicedream.Itmaybringabouthealthproblems.Tosomeextent,yourbodywilldeterioratewhensittinginthecarforalongtimewithoutmovinganinch.Whenhavingacar,youmayquicklybecomedependentonit,andthusbedeprivedofchanceofexercise.Carsdischargegreatamountofcarbondioxidewhichseriouslypollutestheair,affectspeople’shealthandacceleratesglobalwarming.Morecarsmayleadtomoreaccidents.It’sreportedthatabout120thousandspeoplediedfromcaraccidentslastyearinChina.Increasingnumberofcarsareguzzlingtheearth’slimitedresourcesoffossilfuels.Theresultingglobalgasolinecrisisandthehuntforfossilfuelsareheighteninginternationaltensions.Question3:Allinall,wouldyouownacar?Whyorwhynot?PartI(Para.1)OverviewPartII(Para.2-10)DetailedAnalysisPartIII(Para.11)OutlookCarsPartI(Para.1):OverviewPartII(Para.2-10)PartIII(Para.11)CarsCarshavebroughtusgreatfreedom,buthavesimultaneouslyposeddangerstoourfuture.PartIII(Para.10-14)CarsTheroleofcarshavechangedfromtheinitialengineofeconomicdevelopmentandpeople’sconvenientlifetothenowdriverofenvironmentaldegradationandinternationaltensions.Correspondingly,theculturalobservationoncarsbytheworldartistshavealsochangedfromcelebrationtocriticism.PartI(Para.1)PartII(Para.2–Para.10):DetailedAnalysisCarsPartIII(Para.11):OutlookWithpeople’seffortstoreducecars’negativeimpact,theculturalcritiqueoncarsbyartistswillsurelytakeanewdirection.PartI(Para.1)PartII(Para.2-10)(1)Thecarisoneofthetwentiethcentury’smostpersistentsymbolsoffreedom,amodern-dayPegasustakinghumansonaheadlongrushintothefuture.(para.1—line1)1)persistent:remaininginthesamestateforanindefinitelylongtime;enduring持久的2)headlong:atdangerousspeed;uncontrollablyfast;rash;impetuous飞快的；鲁莽的；轻率的3)PegasusAwingeddivinehorseinGreekmythology.CapturedbytheGreekheroBellerophon,Pegasushelpedtheheroaccomplishmanydangerousdeeds,includingslaughteringthemonsterChimera,conqueringtheneighboringtribesandfightingtheAmazons.3)PegasusHowever,infaceofthetremendousvictory,hisridersoonbecamesoarrogantastoaskPegasustotakehimtoMountOlympusandvisitthegods,whichaggravatedZeus.3)PegasusZeussentagadflytostingPegasus.Theherowasthrownandcrippled.PegasuswasthentransformedintotheconstellationPegasusandwasplacedintheskyandsocouldneverreturntoearth.(1)Thecarisoneofthetwentiethcentury’smostpersistentsymbolsoffreedom,amodern-dayPegasustakinghumansonaheadlongrushintothefuture.(para.1—line1)4)Paraphrase:Inthe20thcentury,carhasalwaysbeenasymboloffreedom.However,justliketheflyinghorsePegasus,today’scarhasbeentakingushumansgoingintothefuturewithoutconsideringthenegativeresultswemayhave.5)Translation:在二十一世纪，汽车一直以来都是自由的象征之一。但是，它就像当代的佩贾索斯（天马），带着人类飞速却又轻率地冲向未来。(2)Undereverysilverlining,however,therelurksadarkcloud.(para.1—line4)1)lurk:tolieinwait;toexistunobserved潜伏；潜藏2)Everycloudhaveasilverlining.每朵乌云背后都有阳光。黑暗中常有一线曙光。天阴总有天晴时。天无绝人之路。守得云开见月明。山穷水尽疑无路，柳暗花明又一村！塞翁失马，焉知非福。(2)Undereverysilverlining,however,therelurksadarkcloud.(para.1—line4)3)Paraphrase:However,everyadvantagemayalsohaveadisadvantagebehindit.4)Translation:然而，凡事有利就有弊。(3)Asitefortheprojectionofdreamsanddesires,theautomobilehasservedasartisticmusesincethelatenineteenthcentury.(para.7—line1)1)musethesourceofanartist’sinspiration缪斯；艺术家的创作灵