crude

a. in a natural or raw state; unrefined

surge

vi. rise or swell with great force

hunger

vi. have a strong desire or craving

disbelieve

vt. refuse to believe

novel

n. a long story about fictitious people and events

lug

vt. pull along or carry with effort; drag

golf

n. a game played by hitting a small, hard ball with one of a set of clubs around an outdoor course into a series of holes in as few strokes as possible 高尔夫球

mythical

a. not real; imaginary

myth

n. a story that expresses the beliefs and values of a people 神话

revive

vt. bring back to life or consciousness

vivid

a. active, lively

naturalism

n. the showing in art, and literature, of the world and people scientifically and exactly as they are 自然主义

mood

n. the way sb. feels at a certain time 心境，情绪

ream

n. 480 or 500 sheets of paper of the same size and quality 令

sufficiently

ad. in a sufficient manner or to a sufficient degree

sufficient

a. as much as is needed; enough

ignorance

n. the condition of being ignorant; lack of knowledge

jim crow

discriminating against negroes; for blacks only

phrases & expressions

aside from

except for; in addition to

on earth

of all possible things; ever (use. used for emphasis after words that ask question)

call down

summon; evoke (sth. upon sb.)

out of the question

not worth considering; impossible

fit into

belong to; be appropriate to

refer to

mention; allude to

address oneself to

give one's full attention to; tackle

on errands

making a short trip to do or get sth. for sb.

slip up

make a mistake

be clear of

be a safe distance away from; free from

call up

call on the telephone

under one's breath

in a whisper

right off

at once; immediately

be through

have reached the end of; be finished with; be done with

run across

find or meet by chance

look up

search for, hunt information about in a dictionary

surge up

rise up in a wave

hunger up

rise up in a wave

nothing less than

nothing short of

beyond one's reach

not capable of being had or got to

proper names

richard wright

理查德.赖特

memphis

孟菲斯

commercial appeal

《商业呼声报》

h.l. mencken

h.l. 门肯

don

唐

a book of prefaces

《序言集》

prejudices

《偏见》

sinclair lewis

辛克莱.刘易斯

main street

《大街》

gerald

杰拉尔德

george f. babbitt

乔治.f.巴比特

dreiser

德莱塞

jennie gerhardt

珍尼.格哈特

sister carrie

《嘉莉妹妹》

unit five

text

if modern life is so wonderful, why do we feel so unhappy? in the following article, the author suggests that though living standards have improved, we, rather than feeling content, never become completely satisfied with what we have achieved. this is because we always find ourselves with new and higher expectations. to meet these expectations and solve the new problems that arise, new strategies should be adopted.

how could anything that

feels so bad be so good?

richard e. farson

maybe it is time to adopt a new strategy in trying to figure out why life today is so difficult, and what can be done about it. assume that not only are things often not what they seem, they may be just the opposite of what they seem. when it comes to human affairs, everything is paradoxical.

people are discontented these days, for example, not because things are worse than ever, but because things are better than ever. take marriage. in california there are about six divorces for every ten marriages -- even higher in some of the better communities. one must admit that a good deal of discontent is reflected in those statistics. but the explanation so frequently offered -- that the institution of marriage is in a state of collapse -- simply does not hold. marriage has never been more popular and desirable than is it now; so appealing in fact, that even those who are in the process of divorce can scarcely wait for the law to allow them to marry again.

the problem is that people have never before entered marriage with the high expectations they now hold. throughout history, the family has been a vital unit for survival, starting as a defense system for physical survival, and gradually becoming a unit for economic survival. now, of course, the family has become a physical and economic liability rather than an asset. having met, as a society, the basic survival and security needs, people simply don't need each other anymore to fight indians or spin yarn -- or wash dishes or repair electrical plugs for that matter. the bonds of marriage and family life are no longer functional, but affectional. people used to come to love each other because they needed each other. now it's just the other way around. they need each other because they