1. If you were asked to list………， you would……… 虛擬語(yǔ)氣，表示與當(dāng)前情況的假設(shè)。
If I had enough money， I would buy that car.
2. If next you were……， who somehow seem bigger than life， you might come up with an entire different list.
Bigger/larger than life： 超群的；夸大的
His sadness was bigger than life.他傷心極了。
come up with： bring forward with提出；想出
Some new issues were come up at the meeting.在這個(gè)會(huì)上提出了一些新問(wèn)題
3. You might， in fact， name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour， rather than their achievements…。
be celebrated for： 因——而受到頌揚(yáng)、贊美
Most doctors and nurses were celebrated for their bravery in the battle against SARS.大多數(shù)醫(yī)務(wù)人員由于在抗擊“非典”戰(zhàn)役中的勇敢表現(xiàn)而受到了人們的贊揚(yáng)。
rather than： instead of 不是——（而是）
He was criticized by the teacher for his absence from class rather than his failure in the exam.他因缺課而受到了老師的批評(píng)，而不是因?yàn)樗@次考試的失敗。
4.And you would not be alone， because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their “Most Admired”……
be not alone in thinking/believing： others agree with you在——方面別人也有同感
We're not alone in believing that Xiao Jiang is the best person for the job.
我們相信小江是這項(xiàng)任務(wù)的佳人選，別人也有同感。
Dr. Applebaum is not alone in thinking that television gives children a false sense of reality.
不光是阿普爾鮑姆博士認(rèn)為電視節(jié)目給孩子們展現(xiàn)的是虛假的現(xiàn)狀。
The French are not alone in finding American movies breaking into their film market.
不只是法國(guó)人才發(fā)現(xiàn)美國(guó)電影打入自己的市場(chǎng)。
Professors are disappointed about what has happened in the presidential election， and they are not alone in that.
教授們對(duì)總統(tǒng)選舉中所發(fā)生的一切感到失望，同感者大有人在。
shape：form or take shape， give signs of future development
Our plan is shaping well.我們的計(jì)劃進(jìn)展順利。
Shape history（the course or events） 決定歷史的進(jìn)程（事件的發(fā)展）Great men can shape history but they can't make history.偉人可以決定歷史的進(jìn)程，但他們不能創(chuàng)造歷史。
5.By definition， heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage achievements， and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others…
…h(huán)eroes and heroines are people who are different from other people because of their unusual courage， achievements and the sacrifices they make in the interests of others.
by definition： by defining通過(guò)定義，界定
By definition， heroes are those who are distinguished by their accomplishment.根據(jù)定義，英雄以其所取得的成就而出名。
be distinguished （ from ）…by： to be noticeably different from or better than others of the same type because of an unusual quality以——而著稱；有別于；不同于
Xiao Yang is distinguished from other young men by his unusual maturity.
小楊的老練程度超過(guò)了其他年輕人。
The little girl is distinguished from other four-year-olds by her excellent memory.
這小女孩的記憶力超出歲孩子了水平。
The zebra is distinguished from the horse by the lines on its body.
斑馬列因其身上的條紋而不同于馬。
Chinese people are distinguished by their diligence and courage.中國(guó)人民以勤勞勇敢而著稱。
Cf .distinguish between…/ sth. from sth. eles： to notice or understand the difference between…/ to tell one thing from another.區(qū)別
Colour-blind people find it hard to distinguish between red and green. 色盲的人很難分清紅、綠兩色。
City people often can't distinguish young wheat from weeds. 城里人往往分不清麥苗和野草。
The twin sisters are so much alike that sometimes even their father can't distinguish one from the other.
這對(duì)雙胞胎姐妹長(zhǎng)得太像了，有時(shí)她們的父親都分辨不出誰(shuí)是姐姐誰(shuí)是妹妹。
distinguished guests 貴賓
for the benefit of：for one's benefit： for the profit of：為——，為——的利益
The money is to be used for the benefit of the poor in the rural area.這筆錢要用來(lái)幫助農(nóng)村地區(qū)的窮人。
for the benefit of the people/country為了人民/國(guó)家利益
6.… they are people against whom we measure others.
…they've become a sort of standard； we judge others by what they do and what they are.他們是我們?cè)u(píng)價(jià)別人的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
measure sth. against … ： to judge the value of sb./sth. using sth. else as a standard； to compare sth. with a certain standard：對(duì)照——來(lái)評(píng)價(jià)——
Our production costs are high， when they are measured against the world's advanced level.
對(duì)照世界先進(jìn)水平，我們的生產(chǎn)成本過(guò)高。
Your performance is poor when measured against the success of the other sales personnel.
與其他銷售人員的業(yè)績(jī)相比，你的業(yè)績(jī)相當(dāng)差。
7. Yet, some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by， where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us ——an artifact of the past.
Yet， some people say that we are living in a new age .In this age heroes and heroines are rare， and heroism is only something people admire but do not practice. Heroic and noble conduct is a thing of the past.可是，有人說(shuō)，我們的時(shí)代是很難出現(xiàn)真正英雄的時(shí)代，英雄主義這一概念本身我們就難以理解——它已經(jīng)成為歷史。
come by 找到，遇到
How did you come by this second-hand book？你是怎樣找到這本舊書的。
heroism is something beyond us： we have no idea what heroism is我們不知道英雄行為是何物
an artifact of the past歷史文物，這個(gè)短語(yǔ)是對(duì)：heroism的補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明。
Be beyond sb.：為某人所不能理解；對(duì)某人來(lái)說(shuō)太難
與beyond搭配的詞有：
beyond power越權(quán) beyond belief不可相信 beyond understanding無(wú)法理解 beyond control無(wú)法控制 beyond doubt毫無(wú)疑問(wèn) beyond imagination難以想象 beyond one's means難以承受
beyond description難以描述
8.Consequently， bereft of cultural heroes， we have latched onto cultural icons…
As a result， when we no long have national heroes to admire and worship， we have become crazy about cultural icons…因此，缺少了民族英雄，我們就迷上了通俗文化偶像。
Consequently：As a result因此，于是
bereft of：失去；缺少bereft（bereave的過(guò)去式、過(guò)去分詞）
The boy is bereft of hope.這孩子失去了希望。
latch onto/on to sb./sth.：（informal） to become very interested in sb./sth.，often finding them so useful that we don't want to let them go
對(duì)某人或某事產(chǎn)生極大的興趣，往往不愿意放棄（這里作者的意思是：人們開始迷上了文化偶像之后，就一發(fā)不可收拾，對(duì)他們的崇拜愈來(lái)愈狂熱。）
9.… who are simply famous for being famous.
…who are well-known just because they are frequently seen in public， so that a lot of people know them or know about them （not because they possess unusually fine qualities or because they have made great contributions to society）。僅僅因?yàn)橛忻擅娜恕?BR> be famous for：be known for
10. They are people who manage to transcend celebrity， who are legendary， who somehow manage to become mythic.——Cultural icons make themselves more famous than celebrities； they inspire great admiration； and to a certain degree， they become important people. 他們超越了名流，成為傳奇式人物，甚至在某種程度上已是神話式的人物。
注意：此句此句用三個(gè)由Who引導(dǎo)出的并列的定語(yǔ)從句來(lái)修飾 people，界定“文化偶像”的三個(gè)特點(diǎn)：比名流名氣更大，受到崇拜，成為重要人物。
11. In part，their lives have the quality of a story.——Part of the reason is that their lives are unusual， full of ups and downs like people in legends or myths. 部分的原因是由于他們的生平帶有傳奇故事的色彩。
In part： partly； to a certain extent 在一定程度上，部分地
He failed in the exams in part because he was careless.他沒(méi)通過(guò)考試在一定程度上是由于他粗心。
12.Good looks certainly help.漂亮的長(zhǎng)相當(dāng)然有用。
Attractive appearance is surely very useful in the making of an icon.
help： to improve a situation or to make sth .happen起作用
Wisdom， not strength helps in the matter. 在這方面智慧起作用，力量無(wú)濟(jì)無(wú)事。
To be young and single definitely help when you're looking for a job 年輕又單身在找工作時(shí)是有得的條件。
Material incentives alone won't help （ to ） increase production. 光憑物質(zhì)刺激無(wú)助于提高生產(chǎn)。
13.So does a special indefinable charisma， with the help of the media.——
A particular great charm that is hard to define also proves useful. The media help to impress people with it.在媒體的抄作下某種難以描述的、特殊的個(gè)人魅力也起作用。
這是個(gè)倒裝句， A special indefinable charisma 是主語(yǔ)，does 是謂語(yǔ)，代表helps，介詞短語(yǔ) with the help of the media作狀語(yǔ)。
14. But nothing becomes an icon more than a tragic and early death然而悲劇性地過(guò)早離開這個(gè)世界，卻是造成偶像重要的因素。
become： 適合；與——相稱
Purple becomes her.紫色很適合她
Don't be rude， it doesn't become you.別動(dòng)粗，這同你的身份不相稱。
more than： Nothing could satisfy him more than money.沒(méi)有比錢更能滿足他的東西了。
15. Being Somebody《當(dāng)名人》
somebody ： an important person名人；重要人物
It is said that his father is somebody in the show business. 據(jù)說(shuō)他的父親是演藝界的大腕人物。
He spoke as if he was somebody in the department. 他說(shuō)話的樣子好像他是系里了不起的人物似的。
Cf. something： a thing or a person that thought to be important or worth noting有見地；有道理；了不起
There's something in what the boy says. 那男孩子的話還真有道理。
Christy has learned to write with his left foot. It's really something. 克里斯蒂學(xué)會(huì)用左腳寫字了，真了不起。
You've done it， Chris. You're really something. 克里斯，你成功了。你可真了不起。
17. Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day.
Today we still see or feel what they achieved in the past.
18.Today's celebrities， however， often do not become known for any enduring achievement.——But， today， people often do not become famous because they've achieved something （ a great book， an invention， a discovery， a way of thinking， etc. ） that will last or influence people for a long time.然而，當(dāng)今的名人往往并不是由于他們所取得的成就而聞名。
Be/become known for： to be/become famous because of
Suzhou is known for its beautiful gardens. 蘇州因其美麗的園林而聞名。
He became known for a book he wrote when he was 17. 他因17歲時(shí)寫的一本書而出名。
Cf. be known as： to be called， regarded as， looked upon as以——而著稱
In China， Suzhou and Hangzhou are known as “paradises on earth” 在中國(guó)，蘇州和杭州被稱為“人間天堂”。
The girl has an unusually large vocabulary and is known as a “walking dictionary”。
那女孩知道的詞真多，被稱為“活字典”。
Singapore is known as a garden city.新加坡以花園城而聞名。
If I had enough money， I would buy that car.
2. If next you were……， who somehow seem bigger than life， you might come up with an entire different list.
Bigger/larger than life： 超群的；夸大的
His sadness was bigger than life.他傷心極了。
come up with： bring forward with提出；想出
Some new issues were come up at the meeting.在這個(gè)會(huì)上提出了一些新問(wèn)題
3. You might， in fact， name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour， rather than their achievements…。
be celebrated for： 因——而受到頌揚(yáng)、贊美
Most doctors and nurses were celebrated for their bravery in the battle against SARS.大多數(shù)醫(yī)務(wù)人員由于在抗擊“非典”戰(zhàn)役中的勇敢表現(xiàn)而受到了人們的贊揚(yáng)。
rather than： instead of 不是——（而是）
He was criticized by the teacher for his absence from class rather than his failure in the exam.他因缺課而受到了老師的批評(píng)，而不是因?yàn)樗@次考試的失敗。
4.And you would not be alone， because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their “Most Admired”……
be not alone in thinking/believing： others agree with you在——方面別人也有同感
We're not alone in believing that Xiao Jiang is the best person for the job.
我們相信小江是這項(xiàng)任務(wù)的佳人選，別人也有同感。
Dr. Applebaum is not alone in thinking that television gives children a false sense of reality.
不光是阿普爾鮑姆博士認(rèn)為電視節(jié)目給孩子們展現(xiàn)的是虛假的現(xiàn)狀。
The French are not alone in finding American movies breaking into their film market.
不只是法國(guó)人才發(fā)現(xiàn)美國(guó)電影打入自己的市場(chǎng)。
Professors are disappointed about what has happened in the presidential election， and they are not alone in that.
教授們對(duì)總統(tǒng)選舉中所發(fā)生的一切感到失望，同感者大有人在。
shape：form or take shape， give signs of future development
Our plan is shaping well.我們的計(jì)劃進(jìn)展順利。
Shape history（the course or events） 決定歷史的進(jìn)程（事件的發(fā)展）Great men can shape history but they can't make history.偉人可以決定歷史的進(jìn)程，但他們不能創(chuàng)造歷史。
5.By definition， heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage achievements， and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others…
…h(huán)eroes and heroines are people who are different from other people because of their unusual courage， achievements and the sacrifices they make in the interests of others.
by definition： by defining通過(guò)定義，界定
By definition， heroes are those who are distinguished by their accomplishment.根據(jù)定義，英雄以其所取得的成就而出名。
be distinguished （ from ）…by： to be noticeably different from or better than others of the same type because of an unusual quality以——而著稱；有別于；不同于
Xiao Yang is distinguished from other young men by his unusual maturity.
小楊的老練程度超過(guò)了其他年輕人。
The little girl is distinguished from other four-year-olds by her excellent memory.
這小女孩的記憶力超出歲孩子了水平。
The zebra is distinguished from the horse by the lines on its body.
斑馬列因其身上的條紋而不同于馬。
Chinese people are distinguished by their diligence and courage.中國(guó)人民以勤勞勇敢而著稱。
Cf .distinguish between…/ sth. from sth. eles： to notice or understand the difference between…/ to tell one thing from another.區(qū)別
Colour-blind people find it hard to distinguish between red and green. 色盲的人很難分清紅、綠兩色。
City people often can't distinguish young wheat from weeds. 城里人往往分不清麥苗和野草。
The twin sisters are so much alike that sometimes even their father can't distinguish one from the other.
這對(duì)雙胞胎姐妹長(zhǎng)得太像了，有時(shí)她們的父親都分辨不出誰(shuí)是姐姐誰(shuí)是妹妹。
distinguished guests 貴賓
for the benefit of：for one's benefit： for the profit of：為——，為——的利益
The money is to be used for the benefit of the poor in the rural area.這筆錢要用來(lái)幫助農(nóng)村地區(qū)的窮人。
for the benefit of the people/country為了人民/國(guó)家利益
6.… they are people against whom we measure others.
…they've become a sort of standard； we judge others by what they do and what they are.他們是我們?cè)u(píng)價(jià)別人的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
measure sth. against … ： to judge the value of sb./sth. using sth. else as a standard； to compare sth. with a certain standard：對(duì)照——來(lái)評(píng)價(jià)——
Our production costs are high， when they are measured against the world's advanced level.
對(duì)照世界先進(jìn)水平，我們的生產(chǎn)成本過(guò)高。
Your performance is poor when measured against the success of the other sales personnel.
與其他銷售人員的業(yè)績(jī)相比，你的業(yè)績(jī)相當(dāng)差。
7. Yet, some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by， where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us ——an artifact of the past.
Yet， some people say that we are living in a new age .In this age heroes and heroines are rare， and heroism is only something people admire but do not practice. Heroic and noble conduct is a thing of the past.可是，有人說(shuō)，我們的時(shí)代是很難出現(xiàn)真正英雄的時(shí)代，英雄主義這一概念本身我們就難以理解——它已經(jīng)成為歷史。
come by 找到，遇到
How did you come by this second-hand book？你是怎樣找到這本舊書的。
heroism is something beyond us： we have no idea what heroism is我們不知道英雄行為是何物
an artifact of the past歷史文物，這個(gè)短語(yǔ)是對(duì)：heroism的補(bǔ)充說(shuō)明。
Be beyond sb.：為某人所不能理解；對(duì)某人來(lái)說(shuō)太難
與beyond搭配的詞有：
beyond power越權(quán) beyond belief不可相信 beyond understanding無(wú)法理解 beyond control無(wú)法控制 beyond doubt毫無(wú)疑問(wèn) beyond imagination難以想象 beyond one's means難以承受
beyond description難以描述
8.Consequently， bereft of cultural heroes， we have latched onto cultural icons…
As a result， when we no long have national heroes to admire and worship， we have become crazy about cultural icons…因此，缺少了民族英雄，我們就迷上了通俗文化偶像。
Consequently：As a result因此，于是
bereft of：失去；缺少bereft（bereave的過(guò)去式、過(guò)去分詞）
The boy is bereft of hope.這孩子失去了希望。
latch onto/on to sb./sth.：（informal） to become very interested in sb./sth.，often finding them so useful that we don't want to let them go
對(duì)某人或某事產(chǎn)生極大的興趣，往往不愿意放棄（這里作者的意思是：人們開始迷上了文化偶像之后，就一發(fā)不可收拾，對(duì)他們的崇拜愈來(lái)愈狂熱。）
9.… who are simply famous for being famous.
…who are well-known just because they are frequently seen in public， so that a lot of people know them or know about them （not because they possess unusually fine qualities or because they have made great contributions to society）。僅僅因?yàn)橛忻擅娜恕?BR> be famous for：be known for
10. They are people who manage to transcend celebrity， who are legendary， who somehow manage to become mythic.——Cultural icons make themselves more famous than celebrities； they inspire great admiration； and to a certain degree， they become important people. 他們超越了名流，成為傳奇式人物，甚至在某種程度上已是神話式的人物。
注意：此句此句用三個(gè)由Who引導(dǎo)出的并列的定語(yǔ)從句來(lái)修飾 people，界定“文化偶像”的三個(gè)特點(diǎn)：比名流名氣更大，受到崇拜，成為重要人物。
11. In part，their lives have the quality of a story.——Part of the reason is that their lives are unusual， full of ups and downs like people in legends or myths. 部分的原因是由于他們的生平帶有傳奇故事的色彩。
In part： partly； to a certain extent 在一定程度上，部分地
He failed in the exams in part because he was careless.他沒(méi)通過(guò)考試在一定程度上是由于他粗心。
12.Good looks certainly help.漂亮的長(zhǎng)相當(dāng)然有用。
Attractive appearance is surely very useful in the making of an icon.
help： to improve a situation or to make sth .happen起作用
Wisdom， not strength helps in the matter. 在這方面智慧起作用，力量無(wú)濟(jì)無(wú)事。
To be young and single definitely help when you're looking for a job 年輕又單身在找工作時(shí)是有得的條件。
Material incentives alone won't help （ to ） increase production. 光憑物質(zhì)刺激無(wú)助于提高生產(chǎn)。
13.So does a special indefinable charisma， with the help of the media.——
A particular great charm that is hard to define also proves useful. The media help to impress people with it.在媒體的抄作下某種難以描述的、特殊的個(gè)人魅力也起作用。
這是個(gè)倒裝句， A special indefinable charisma 是主語(yǔ)，does 是謂語(yǔ)，代表helps，介詞短語(yǔ) with the help of the media作狀語(yǔ)。
14. But nothing becomes an icon more than a tragic and early death然而悲劇性地過(guò)早離開這個(gè)世界，卻是造成偶像重要的因素。
become： 適合；與——相稱
Purple becomes her.紫色很適合她
Don't be rude， it doesn't become you.別動(dòng)粗，這同你的身份不相稱。
more than： Nothing could satisfy him more than money.沒(méi)有比錢更能滿足他的東西了。
15. Being Somebody《當(dāng)名人》
somebody ： an important person名人；重要人物
It is said that his father is somebody in the show business. 據(jù)說(shuō)他的父親是演藝界的大腕人物。
He spoke as if he was somebody in the department. 他說(shuō)話的樣子好像他是系里了不起的人物似的。
Cf. something： a thing or a person that thought to be important or worth noting有見地；有道理；了不起
There's something in what the boy says. 那男孩子的話還真有道理。
Christy has learned to write with his left foot. It's really something. 克里斯蒂學(xué)會(huì)用左腳寫字了，真了不起。
You've done it， Chris. You're really something. 克里斯，你成功了。你可真了不起。
17. Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day.
Today we still see or feel what they achieved in the past.
18.Today's celebrities， however， often do not become known for any enduring achievement.——But， today， people often do not become famous because they've achieved something （ a great book， an invention， a discovery， a way of thinking， etc. ） that will last or influence people for a long time.然而，當(dāng)今的名人往往并不是由于他們所取得的成就而聞名。
Be/become known for： to be/become famous because of
Suzhou is known for its beautiful gardens. 蘇州因其美麗的園林而聞名。
He became known for a book he wrote when he was 17. 他因17歲時(shí)寫的一本書而出名。
Cf. be known as： to be called， regarded as， looked upon as以——而著稱
In China， Suzhou and Hangzhou are known as “paradises on earth” 在中國(guó)，蘇州和杭州被稱為“人間天堂”。
The girl has an unusually large vocabulary and is known as a “walking dictionary”。
那女孩知道的詞真多，被稱為“活字典”。
Singapore is known as a garden city.新加坡以花園城而聞名。