Pitythehistoriansof

adeletedageTextBTextanalysis1.Askmostpeoplehowtheybegintheirworkingday,andtheywilltellyoutheystartitintheire-mailinbox.Lyingthere,theyhope,inthatdeliciousboldtype,heavywithpromise,willbealonglistofvitalmessages:juicygossip;notesofaffectionfromscatteredfriends;jokestocirculate;perhapsevennoticeoftheoddbusinessdecisionortwofromthebosswhichwillenablethemtogetonwiththeday.Textanalysis2Increasingly,weliveinourinboxes.Hereareourbusinessandhomecontacts,ourfriendships,ourlovelifeandourjoboffers,ourbankstatementsandourhobbies,ourshoppingandourholidays.E-mailisasintimateorasimpersonalatoolasyourequireittobe;ashotorascoldasyouwant;meaningyouhaveatyourfingertipstheabilitytoflirt,sack,bully,gossip,researchorcommunicateformallywithalargeteamofsubordinates.Andtodosoinnanoseconds.3E-mailisalsoaddictive,andtherefore,likealladdictions,bothadelightandatyranny.Why,inthecourseofwritingthefirstthreeparagraphshere,Ihaveclickedmysendandreceivebuttonthreetimes.Howsad.4Nopingofanticipation.Nothing.Nobodylovesme.YetIopenthissameinboxwiththeheavinessanddreadofabulimicwhenIreturnfromholiday,andmustoverdoseon300ofthethings.5Soit’suseful;essential,even.Itfacilitatescommunication,shrinkstheworldandsavestheofficesecretaryahugeamountofwork.Butthewholeconceptofe-mailisatragedy,foritisanephemeralthing,asymbolofourshort-termismandourdisregardofhistory,transferringourrecordsfromthetangibletotheintangible.

Textanalysis6It’snotthatI’matechnophobe(well,notreally),butIrecognizee-mailforwhatitis:asymbolofacivilizationwhichisturningitsbackonmeasuredthoughtandpermanence;whichlivesintheinstantthrillofthehere-and-now-and-gone-forever.Instantgratificationinanageofinformationoverload;notimetosavouranything.7Whoneedsarecordofthepast?Indeed,whocaresafigaboutthepast?We,andourthoughts,areasdispensableasthedeletebuttonwehitwithsuchferociousregularity.Andthere’snogoingback.Onecannotundeletewhatislostforever,norreclaimthemyriadofimportant,intimatenuggetsofcommunicationwhichwouldhaveshonelikejewelsinthefuture.Textanalysis8TheNationalLibraryofScotland,belatedly,iscreatinganarchiveofblogs,journalsande-mailswrittenbyleadingScots.Curatorswillharvestwebsitesandinboxesforthingsofculturalsignificance,describingitasa"digitalrepository"containingwhatwillcometoberegardedasthemanuscriptsofthe21stcentury.Textanalysis9Itallsoundsveryadmirable:thee-mailsofJ.K.Rowling,IanRankinandAlasdairGraycapturedforposterity.(J.K.’se-mailstoherinvestmentmanagerwouldbethebestreadofall.Exceptthosearepreciselytheonesthatwillneverbekeptandneverbeseen.)IhopeI’mwrong,butitiseasytobeskepticalabout(a)thearchive’slongevityand(b)itsabilitytominetheimportantstuff.Asanybiographerknows,thebestsourceofaperson’ssoularenottheletterstheykeepforposterity,butthosetheyneverintendedtobeseenagain:thecasualopinion,thethrowawayjibe,theexpressionofintense,hiddenlove.

Textanalysis10Fore-mails,magnifythateffectazilliontimes.Treasuretrovesofinformallettersfromfamouspeoplestillturnup,decadesaftertheywerewritten.E-mailswillneverdoso.Textmessages,anothervitalsourceofinformation,haveevenlesschanceofsurviving.11Historiansandbiographersofthefamous,Ifear,faceaveryleanfutureinadigitalage.Butyoudon’thavetobefamous,orseektoresearchthefamous,tofeelasenseofloss,ofavoidopeningup.Weleavenofootprintsnow.Textanalysis12Overalifetime,mostofuskeeplettersandcardsfromfriendsandfamily,apreciousrepositoryoflove,wisdomandmemories.IeveninheritedaletterwrittenonashipbyabravefemalecousinemigratingtoVanDiemen’sLand,asTasmaniawasknown,fromNorthernIrelandin1783-spideryinkontwosidesofpaperthinnerthantissuethatsomehowtravelledsafelybackaroundtheglobe.13Butallthiswillgo:thehandwritingwhichgivesitsownseparatecluestoanageandanindividual;thetypeofpaper;theartoftheenvelope,thetearstainsandthesmelloflong-forgottenexperiences.14Oh,hitthedeletekeyandstopbeingsuchahas-been.scatter['sk?t?(r)] v.散播，分散，消散Thefarmerswerescatteringseedonthefields.農(nóng)夫把種子撒在田里。Smallvillagesscatteratthefootofthemountain.村莊零零落落地散布在山腳下。Thebirdsscatteredatthesoundofthegun.鳥群一聽到槍聲就四處飛散了。odd[?d] adj.奇數(shù)的；古怪的；零散的1,3,5and7areoddnumbers.1,3,5和7是奇數(shù)。Ontheway,onecanwatchpinesinallkindsofoddshapes.一路上,人們可以觀賞到各種各樣形態(tài)怪異的松樹。Hedoesoddjobsformefromtimetotime.他有時給我干點(diǎn)零活。enable[?'ne?bl]vt.使能夠；使可能Adog'searsenableittoheartheleastsound.狗的耳朵使它能聽到極細(xì)微的聲音。Theconferencewillenablegreaterinternationalco-operation. 這次會議能進(jìn)一步促進(jìn)國際間的合作。Thispassenablesmetotravelhalf-priceontrains.我用這張通行證可以半價乘火車旅行。Airplanesenablepeopletotravelgreatdistancesrapidly.飛機(jī)使人們能夠很快地作遠(yuǎn)距離旅行。atyourfingertipsadv.在附近(精通)（≈handy,nearby)Sometimeshappinessisjustsoclose,atyourfingertips.幸福，就在離自己很近的地方，觸手可及。Withthelatestschedulesatyourfingertips,youcanplanyourtriparoundtheworldatyourownpace.以最新的航班資料在您的指尖,您能自如地安排環(huán)游世界的行程。bully['b?li]n.欺凌弱小者vt.恐嚇；威脅；欺負(fù)Thelittlegirlstooduptoabully.小女孩勇敢地對付暴徒。Thelittleboywasbulliedbytheolderboysatschool. 這個小男孩在學(xué)校受到大孩子的欺負(fù)。Theboybulliedthesmallgirlintogivinghimallhermoney.那男孩威逼那個小女孩把所有的錢都給他。subordinate[s?'b??d?n?t]adj.下級的；次要的n.屬下；附屬物vt.使服從；把...放在次要Sheworksinthesubordinatehospitalofouruniverstiy.她在我們學(xué)校的附屬醫(yī)院工作。Youmustsubordinateyourprivateinterests. 你必須將個人利益放在次要地位。Hesubordinatedhiswishestothegeneralgoodofthegroup.他使自己的愿望服從于集體的利益。Synonyms:affliate,attachnanosecond['n?n??sek?nd] n.納秒；極短的時間納秒，時間單位。一秒的10億分之一，即1秒=10的9次方納秒。常用作內(nèi)存讀寫速度的單位，其前面數(shù)字越小表示速度越快。1納秒等于十億分之一秒（10^(-9)秒）1納秒=1000皮秒1,000納秒=1微秒1,000,000納秒=1毫秒1,000,000,000納秒=1秒tyranny['t?r?ni][P]暴虐；殘暴；專橫theuseofcruelorunjustpowertoruleapersonorcountry[U]暴政；苛政governmentbyacruelrulerwithcompletepowere.g.Theylivedunderneathacrushingtyranny. 他們生活在難以忍受的暴政下。Revolutionisafrequentoutgrowthoftyranny.革命是暴政促成的常有結(jié)果。coursen.課程；講座；過程；路線；一道(菜)e.g.Shetookacourseinphilosophy.她選讀了一門哲學(xué)課程。Warshaveinfluencedthecourseofhistory. 戰(zhàn)爭一直影響著歷史的進(jìn)程。Owingtobadweathertheplanehadtochangeitscourse.由于天氣惡劣,飛機(jī)不得不更改航線。Wehada3-coursedinner.Themaincoursewaschicken.我們吃了一頓有三道菜的飯,主菜是雞。anticipation[?n?t?s?'pe??n] n.預(yù)期；預(yù)料；期待，希望IpulledintotheTowneHouseMotelwithlittleanticipation.我將到湯家汽車旅館沒有預(yù)期。Inanticipationofbadweathertheytakeplentyofwarmclothes.他們預(yù)料到會變天而帶了很多厚衣服。bulimic[bju'l?mik] n.貪食癥；食欲過剩ThereaderfeelsomesympathyforGalen,whosesufferingturnshimintoabulimic.讀者對Galen表示些許同情，因?yàn)樗脑庥鲎屗蔀橐粋€貪食癥患者。dose[d??s] n.劑量；一劑；一服vt.給...服藥Takeadoseofthiscoughsyrupthreetimesaday.每天服三次這種止咳糖漿,每次一劑量。Intheaccident,theworkersreceivedaheavydoseofradiation.在那次事故中,工人受到大劑量的輻射。likeadoseofsalts快速而輕易地veryquicklyandeasilyHegetsthroughhispaylikeadoseofsalts. 一發(fā)工資,他就很快花個精光。facilitate[f?'s?l?te?t] vt.促進(jìn)；幫助；使...容易Tractorsfacilitatefarming. 拖拉機(jī)使耕作便利。Thenewundergroundrailwaywillfacilitatethejourneytoallpartsofthecity.新的地下鐵路將為去城市各處提供方便。ThenewsystemfacilitatespronouncingChinesecharacters. 這種新方法有助于漢字的發(fā)音。ephemeral[?'fem?r?l]adj.短暫的；朝生暮死的Mostnewspapersareofephemeralinterest.多數(shù)報(bào)紙只能引起讀者短暫的注意。Suchnovelscameforwardtoenjoyephemeralpopularityonly.這樣的小說只是曇花一現(xiàn)的東西而已。disregardvt.不顧；忽視n.漠視；不理會Wecannotdisregardhiscominglatetoworksooften.對他上班經(jīng)常遲到,我們不能不管。Theofficialhasshownatotaldisregardfortheneedsofthepoor.這個官員對窮人的需求表現(xiàn)出完全漠視的態(tài)度。regardless:adj.不顧的；不注意的adv.不顧e.g.Hecrushedthebloomwithregardlesstread.他毫不在意一腳踐踏了鮮花。Theydecoratedthehouseregardlessofcost.他們不惜工本裝修這棟房子。fign.[植]無花果,無花果樹；無價值的東西；少許Thefigtreewitheredaway.那無花果樹枯干了。Idonotcareafigforhisopinion.我毫不在乎他的意見。Shewouldn'tgiveafigforherneighbors'gossip.對鄰居們的閑言碎語她絲毫不放在心上。dispensable[d?'spens?bl] adj.不是必要的；可有可無的Herepentshavingcompensatedthedispensablepesionforfearofpenalty.他后悔因害怕處罰而補(bǔ)償了不必要的養(yǎng)老金。Theylookedonmusicandartlessonsasdispensable.他們認(rèn)為音樂課和美術(shù)課是可有可無的。antonym：indispensablee.g.Air,foodandwaterareindispensabletolife.空氣，食物，水皆為生命不可缺者。ferocious[f?'r????s] adj.殘忍的；兇猛的Theoncomingforceofthetyphoonwasferocious.這次臺風(fēng)來勢兇猛。Icouldcatchtheglareoftheirferociouseyes.我連它們那殘忍的眼睛中的灼灼目光都看清楚了。

reclaim[r?'kle?m] v.收回；回收；糾正；開墾Youmaybeentitledtoreclaimsomeofthetaxyoupaidlastyear.你或許有權(quán)要求退回去年你交付的部分稅金。Societyreclaimscriminalsbyteachingthemskills.社會通過教罪犯技能來改造他們。Thelibraryreclaimedthebookheborrowedayearago.圖書館要求他歸還一年前借去的那本書。claimn.要求，索賠vt要求，聲稱claimforcompensation索賠Everycitizenmayclaimtheprotectionofthelaw.每個公民都可以要求收到法律的保護(hù)。myriad['m?ri?d]adj.無數(shù)的n.極大數(shù)量Myriadstarsaretwinklinginthenightsky.無數(shù)的星星在夜空中閃爍著。Amyriadofmosquitofromtheswampinvadeourvillageeverytwilight.每天黃昏無數(shù)蚊蟲從沼澤地飛來侵襲我們的村子。Ihadthreeweekstomakeamyriadofarrangements.我花了3個星期做大量準(zhǔn)備工作。nugget['n?ɡ?t]n.金屬塊；有價值的小東西Theterroristsoutthereuseeverynuggetofinformationtohelpdeveloptheirmasterplan.那些恐怖主義分子是在利用一切重要情報(bào)幫助實(shí)現(xiàn)他們的總計(jì)劃。belatedly[b?'le?t?dl?]adv.遲來地Shareholdersarebelatedlyhappytotradehigherreturnsonequityforareducedchanceofbeingwipedout.股東雖然較遲才意識到，但也樂意放棄股票的高收益以降低“傾家蕩產(chǎn)”的可能性。Belatedly,thebosssignedthecontract,hopingtotriple

thebilateraltradeinthenextdecade.雖然延誤,老板還是簽了合同，希望在未來十年中使雙方貿(mào)易擴(kuò)大三倍。archive['ɑ?ka?v]n.檔案；檔案館vt.存檔IdecidedIwouldgototheArchivethenextdayandlookuptheappropriateissue.我決定第二天去檔案館查找對應(yīng)的問題。Oneormorefilesinthearchivearedamaged.存檔中的一個或多個文件已損壞。repository[r?'p?z?tri] n.儲藏室，倉庫；知識庫，智囊團(tuán)Mydiaryistherepositoryofallmyhopesandplans.我在日記中記載著我的一切希望和計(jì)劃。Myfatherisarepositoryofinterestingfacts.我父親有說不完的趣事。Thereisnocomparablerepositoryofourtradition.那是我們無與倫比的傳統(tǒng)智慧寶庫。posterity[p?'ster?ti] n.不可數(shù)名詞.后裔；子孫；后代.英語含義：Youcanrefertoeveryonewhowillbealiveinthefutureasposterity.Aphotographerrecordedthesceneonvideoforposterity...攝影師用攝像機(jī)為后代記錄下了這個場景.Washemakingthesenotesforthebenefitofposterity?他寫下這些筆記是為讓后人受益嗎?Hisposterityreversedtheverdict.他的后代為他翻案了。Comparison:descendant,offspringdescendant1.可數(shù)名詞.后代;后裔;子孫.英語含義：Someone'sdescendantsarethepeopleinlatergenerationswhoarerelatedtothem.TheyaredescendantsoftheoriginalEnglishandScottishsettlers.他們是最初的英格蘭和蘇格蘭定居者的后代.2.可數(shù)名詞.派生物;衍生物;后代產(chǎn)物.英語含義：Somethingmodernwhichdevelopedfromanolderthingcanbecalledadescendantofit.Hisdesignwasadescendantofa1956device...他的設(shè)計(jì)是從一個1956年的裝置衍生而來的.Theyarethedescendantsofplantsimportedbytheearlysettlers.它們是早期移民帶來的一些植物的后代.offspring可數(shù)名詞.孩子；子女；后代；（動物的）崽.英語含義：Youcanrefertoaperson'schildrenortoananimal'syoungastheiroffspring.Eleanorwasnowlessanxiousaboutheroffspringthanshehadoncebeen.埃莉諾現(xiàn)在不像以往那樣為孩子憂心了.J.K.RowlingaBritishnovelist,theauthoroftheHarryPotterfantasyseries.《哈利·波特與魔法石》《哈利·波特與密室》《哈利·波特與阿茲卡班囚徒》《哈利·波特與火焰杯》《哈利·波特與鳳凰社》《哈利·波特與混血王子》《哈利·波特與死亡圣器》...thePhilosopher'sStoneAmversion:...theSorcerer'sStone...theChamberofSecrets...thePrisonerofAzkaban...theGobletofFire...theOrderofPhoenix...theHalf-BloodPrince...theDeathlyHallowsrecentworkofJ.K.RowlingFantasticBeastsandWheretoFindThem《神奇動物在哪里》EddieRedmayneIanRankinaScottishcrimewriterWorks:InspectorRebusseries:LetitBleedBlack&BlueTheHangingGardenAlasdairGrayaScottishwriterandartisthisworkscombineelementsofrealism,fantasy,andsciencefiction.Works:LanarkLeanTalesSomethingLeatherprecisely[pr?'sa?sli]adv.精確地Itwaspreciselylikethepointofapin.精確地說它不過象個針尖那么大。Thatanswerspreciselytoourneed.那恰好符合我們的需要。skeptical['skept?k?l] adj.懷疑的Heisskepticalabouteverything.他對于一切事都持懷疑的態(tài)度。Theleaderhadthegiftofbeingabletoinfuseenthusiasmintothemostskepticalmemberofthegroup.那位領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人很有天賦，能使團(tuán)體中最持懷疑態(tài)度的人都充滿熱情。longevity[l?n'd?ev?ti] n.長壽；壽命Properrestandenoughsleepcontributetolongevity.適當(dāng)?shù)男菹⒑妥銐虻乃哂幸嬗陂L壽。Thewormshavealongevityofabouttwoyears.蠕蟲的壽命大概是兩年。Wordfamily:long:adj.length:n.長度；時間長短；距離magnify['m?ɡn?fa?]v.放大；夸大Thisphotographwon'tprobablymagnifywell. 這張照片放大出來很可能效果不好。Atelescopemagnifiestheimageofanythingthatonelooksatthroughit. 望遠(yuǎn)鏡能把人們通過它看到的任何東西的圖像放大。Hetriedtomagnifythepartheplayedinthebattle.他試圖夸大他在戰(zhàn)斗中發(fā)揮的作用zillion['z?lj?n]n.無限大的數(shù)目；無法計(jì)算的大數(shù)目It'sbeenazillionyearssinceI'veseenher.我已經(jīng)有很多年沒見過她了。Comparison:millionbilliontrillionn.百萬n.十億n.萬億;兆;[英]百萬兆;大量trove[tr??v]n.被發(fā)現(xiàn)的東西；收藏的東西HeassembledarichtroveofChineseporcelain.他收集了一批中國瓷器。Thegalleryisatreasuretroveofmedievalart.這個畫廊是中世紀(jì)藝術(shù)的寶庫。Theregionremainsatroveofbiodiversity.這個區(qū)域是生物多樣性的寶庫。void[v??d] adj.空的；無效的；缺乏的n.真空；空白；空虛Acontractsignedbyachildisvoid. 未成年兒童簽署的合同不具有法律效力。Thetowniscompletelyvoidofinterestforvisitors.游客對該鎮(zhèn)完全不感興趣。Herhusband'sdeathleftapainfulvoidinherlife.丈夫的死給她的人生留下了痛苦和寂寞。Birdsvanishedintothevoid. 鳥兒消失得無影無蹤。emigrate['em?ɡre?t] v.移居；移民I'llemigratetothewesternwoods.我要移居到西部的叢林里去。He'sdecidedtoemigrateandstartanewlifeinAmerica.他決定移居美國，開始新的生活。Comparison:immigrate,emigrate&migrateimmigrate和emigrate意思相反，一個是移進(jìn)，一個是移出，而migrate可以說是immigrate和emigrate的上義詞。immigrate:移居入境toenterandsettleinacountryorregiontowhichoneisnotnative.ThepromiseofprosperityintheU