outofstep课文翻译Word版

Unit 3Out of StepBill Bryson1 After living in England for 20 years, my wife and I decided to move back tothe United States. We wanted to live in a town small enough that we couldwalk to the business district, and settled on Hanover, N.H., a typical NewEngland town—pleasant, sedate and compact. It has a broad central greensurrounded by the venerable buildings of Dartmouth College, anold-fashioned Main Street and leafy residential neighborhoods. 2 It is, inshort, an agreeable, easy place to go about one’ s business on foot, and ye far as I can tell, virtually no one does.3 Nearly every day, I walk to the post office or library or bookstore, andsometimes, if I am feeling particu larly debonair, I stop at Rosey Jekes Caféa cappuccino. Occasionally, in the evenings, my wife and I stroll up to theNugget Theatre for a movie or to Murphy’ s on the Green for a beer, Iwouldn’ t dream of going to any of these places by car. People ha ve gottenused to my eccentric behavior, but in the early days acquaintances wouldoften pull up to the curb and ask if I wanted a ride.4“ I’ m going your way,” they would insist when I politely declined.no bother.”5“ Honestly, I enjoy walking.”6“ Well, if you’ re sure,” they would say and depart reluctantly, even guiltily, asif leaving the scene of an accident without giving their name.7 In the United States we have become so habituated to using the car foreverything that it doesn r to’ust toccuunfurl our legs and see what thoselower limbs can do. We have reached an age where college students expectto drive between classes, where parents will drive three blocks to pick up theirchildren from a friend’ s house, where the lettertakescarrierhis van up anddown every driveway on a street.8 We will go through the most extraordinary contortions to save ourselvesfrom walking. Sometimes it’ s almost ludicrous. The other day I was waiting tobring home one of my children from a piano lesson when a car stoppedoutside a post office, and a man about my age popped out and dashed inside.He was in the post office for about three or four minutes, and then came out,got in the car and drove exactly 16 feet (I had nothing better to do, so I pacedit off) to the general store6 next door.9 And the thing is, this man looked really fit. I’ m sure he jogs extrava distances and plays squash and does all kinds of healthful things, but I amjust as sure that he drives toeach of these undertakings.10 An acquaintance of ours was complaining the other day about thedifficulty of finding a place to park outside the local gymnasium. She goesthere several times a week to walk on a treadmill. The gymnasium is, at most,a six-minute walk from her front door.11 I asked her why she didn’ t walk to the gym and do six minutes less on the treadmill. 12 She looked at me as if I were tragically simple-minded and said,“ But I have a program for the treadmill. It records my distance and speed andcalorie burn rate, and I can adjust it for degree of difficulty.”13 I confess it had not occurred to me how thoughtlessly deficient nature isin this regard.14 According to a concerned and faintly horrified 1997 editorial in the BostonGlobe, the United States spent less than one percent of its transportationbudget on facilities for pedestrians. Actually, I’ m surprised it was that Go to almost any suburb developed in the last 30 years, and you will not finda sidewalk anywhere. Often you won’ t find a single pedestrianrossing. c15 I had this brought home to me one summer when we were driving acrossMaine and stopped for coffee in one of those endless zones of shoppingmalls, motels, gas stations and fast-food places. I noticed there was abookstore across the street, so I decided to skip coffee and head over.16 Although the bookshop was no more than 70 or 80 feet away, I discoveredthat there was no way to cross on foot without dodging over six lanes ofswiftly moving traffic. In the end, I had to get in our car and drive across.17 At the time, it seemed ridiculous and exasperating, but afterward I realizedthat I was possibly the only person ever to have entertained the notion of negotiating that intersection on foot.18 The fact is, we not only don’ t walk anywhereoreinthisanymcountry, we won ’ t walk anywhere, and woe to anyone who tries to make us, as the city of Laconia, N.H., discovered. In the early 1970s, Laconia spent millions on a comprehensive urban renewal project, which included building a pedestrianmall to make shopping more pleasant. Esthetically it was a triumph—urban planners came from all over to coo and take photos--but commercially it wasa disaster. Forced to walk one whole block from a parking garage, shoppers abandoned downtown Laconia for suburban malls.19 In 1994 Laconia dug up its pretty paving blocks, took away the tubs of geraniums and decorative trees, and brought back the cars. Now people canpark right in front of the stores again, and downtown Laconia thrives anew.20 And if that isn’ t sad. I don’ t know what is.不合拍比尔·布里森1．在英格兰住了 20 年之后，我和妻子决定搬回美国。

• What kind of town does the author live?
(P1) ...pleasant, sedate and compact... (P1) It has a broad central green surrounded by venerable
building... (P2) It is, in short, an agreeable, easy place to go about
Tr: 从下个月起对于醉酒驾驶又有新的限制。
There will be new curbs on drunk-driving from next month. 2) (vt.) control or limit 抑制；限制
Tr: 营养不良会抑制一个小孩身心的健康发展。
Poor nutrition can curb a child's healthy development both physically and mentally.
eccentric:
1) (adj.) unconventional and strange 反常的；古怪的
Tr: 据说 那个孤独一生的老人有些古怪的习惯。
The old man , who lived alone all his life, was said to
have some eccentric habits.
paraphrase:
In general, it is a small pleasant place where one can go to deal with one's business on foot. But as far as I know, although the town is small, nobody go about on foot.

asculine force.
Text Analysis Structural Analysis
“Out of Step” is an exposition that presents the absurdity of the Americans’ dependence on cars. The Americans, being so accustomed to using cars, have almost forgotten the existence of their legs. Wherever they go, they go in their cars. As a result, pedestrian facilities are neglected in city planning or rejected by the inhabitants.
Audiovisual Supplement Cultural Information
3. Like Granny in Jan and Dean’s 1964 song “The Little Old Lady from Pasadena,” we can’t keep our foot off the accelerator.
Unit 3 Out of Step
Audiovisual Supplement Cultural Information
Watch the movie clip and answer the following questions.
1. Where is the engine of the 911? In the back of the car.
Audiovisual Supplement Cultural Information

Detailed Reading
16
Although the bookshop was no more than 70 or 80 feet away, I discovered that there was no way to cross on foot without dodging over six lanes of swiftly moving traffic. In the end, I had to get in our car and drive across. 17 At the time, it seemed ridiculous and exasperating, but afterward I realized that I was possibly the only person ever to have entertained the notion of negotiating that intersection on foot.
Detailed Reading
8 We will go through the most extraordinary contortions to save ourselves from walking. Sometimes it’s almost ludicrous. The other day I was waiting to bring home one of my children from a piano lesson when a car stopped outside a post office, and a man about my age popped out and dashed inside. He was in the post office for about three or four minutes, and then came out, got in the car and drove exactly 16 feet (I had nothing better to do, so I paced it off) to the general store next door.