2024年3月18日发(作者：菅浩漫)
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新视野三版 读写 B2 U4 Text A
College sweethearts
1 I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature than
we, their parents, when we were college sweethearts. Linda, who's 21, had a
boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she would marry, but they're not
together anymore. Melissa, who's 19, hasn't had a steady boyfriend yet. My
daughters wonder when they will meet "The One", their great love. They think their
father and I had a classic fairy-tale romance heading for marriage from the outset.
Perhaps, they're right but it didn't seem so at the time. In a way, love just
happens when you least expect it. Who would have thought that
Butch and I would end up getting married to each other? He became my boyfriend
because of my shallow agenda: I wanted a cute boyfriend!
2 We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria. That fateful
night, I was merely curious, but for him I think it was love at first sight. "You
have beautiful eyes", he said as he gazed at my face. He kept staring at me all night
long. I really wasn't that interested for two reasons. First, he looked like he was a
really wild boy, maybe even dangerous. Second, although he was very cute, he
seemed a little weird.
3 Riding on his bicycle, he'd ride past my dorm as if "by accident" and pretend
to be surprised to see me. I liked the attention but was
cautious about his wild, dynamic personality. He had a charming
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way with words which would charm any girl. Fear came over me when I
started to fall in love. His exciting "bad boy image" was just too tempting
to resist. What was it that attracted me? I always had an excellent
reputation. My concentration was solely on my studies to get superior grades.
But for what? College is supposed
to be a time of great learning and also some fun. I had nearly achieved a great
education, and graduation was just one semester away. But I hadn't had any fun;
my life was stale with no component of fun! I needed a just any
had to be cute. My goal that semester
became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find.
4 I worried what he'd think of me. True, we lived in a time when a dramatic shift
in sexual attitudes was taking place, but I was a traditional girl
who wasn't ready for
the new ways that seemed common
on campus. Butch looked superb! I was not immune to his
personality, but I was scared. The night when he announced to the world
that I was his girlfriend, I went along
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with him. And then I suddenly thought: "Oh my gosh! Am I his girlfriend? How
did that happen?" Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said, "I'm going to
marry you one day and I will be a lawyer. You will see."
5 I was laughing inside and said to myself, "I'd never marry this guy. He's a rebel
without a good future. He's my boyfriend because I hate my boring
student life. I just want to have fun."
6 Sure enough, the following month, I found out he had failed
all his
courses. Consequently, he was going to be expelled from the university. To my
disgust, he seemed resigned to his fate. I knew there was hope, so I led him to the
college secretary for reconsideration.
7
"You are going to graduate with a BA in political
science
from UPenn and proceed to the College of Law," I told him, lodging an appeal
on his behalf, which was approved. Butch was granted reconsideration. And, once
we became steadies, he coordinated his studies and social life, passing
all of his classes. He eventually studied law.
8 Despite Butch's somewhat wild character, at his core, he is always a perfect
gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for , he'd sometimes
take the liberty of displaying his love by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of
my astonished friends who watched and disapproved. But the truth is we had a pure
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and responsible relationship for seven full years. Sitting by the palm trees, hand in
hand, we would listen to romantic songs, watch the sunset,
and weave dreams of being together with children of our own, forever.
9 Two years passed in a blur. One day, Butch took me by
surprise as
he knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses! Filled with
deep emotion, I confessed my love for him, "How roooomaaaantic!!" Then my brain
woke up from fantasy land. I cried out, "Good heavens. No! We're too young to tie
the knot. We haven't even graduated from college yet!" I really loved him but
was pessimistic about our chances for success.
10 We married five years later.
11 Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky
roads of hardship and on smooth easy-going highways. It is a
long, romantic, sometimes crazy, love story that sums up a 29-year long
honeymoon together
as a
couple who are still madly in love with each other.
Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a mature love
and rich life.
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Language Points:
1 I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature
than we, their parents, when we were college sweethearts. (Para. 1)
Meaning beyond words: Married to her college sweetheart, the author now is
happy with her family and two grown daughters.
Note:
College sweethearts
refer to someone with whom one is in love and by
whom one
is loved at college;
sweetheart is
equivalent to
lover
,
darling
,
beloved
, or
dear
.
For example:
Well done, sweetheart, we are all so proud of you. 做得好，宝贝，我们以你为
荣。
My husband is the greatest guy in the world; he was my college sweetheart.
我丈夫是世 界上最棒的，大学时他就是我的恋人。
He tries to locate his former sweetheart Melina from whom he has heard
nothing for a very long time. 他在努力寻找他以前的恋人梅利娜，他已经很久没有她的
消息了。
2 Linda, who’s 21, had a boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she
would marry, but they’re not together anymore. Melissa, who’s 19, hasn’t
had a steady boyfriend yet. My daughters wonder when they will meet “The
One”, their great love.(Para. 1)
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Meaning beyond words: Her two daughters are at the age of just dating, but
they seem
to be very mature wondering when they will meet their true love.
3 They think their father and I had a classic fairy tale romance heading for
marriage from the outset. (Para. 1)
Meaning beyond words: Her daughters consider their parents’ marriage a
typical conventional romance because they think it aimed at marriage from the
very beginning.
Usage note: classic, classical
1 classic 用作形容词表示“经典的；精彩的；一流的”。例如：
Death on the Nile is one of the classic works of Agatha Christie. 《尼罗河上的
惨案》是阿 加莎·克里斯蒂的经典作品之一。
口语中也会用到 classic 这个词。当你看到一场精彩的演出时，就可以说“That’s
classic!”来 表达赞美。
classic 用作形容词也表示“典型的；标准的”。例如：
London is the classic example of the scattered city. 伦敦是标准分散型的城市。
This statement was a classic illustration of British politeness. 这项陈述是对英国
礼貌的一 个典型说明。
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classic 也可用作名词，表示“文学名著；经典作品；杰作”。例如：
We have all the standard classics of Hayao Miyazaki at home. 我们家有宫崎骏
的所有的
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经典作品。
2 classical 不能用作名词，只能用作形容词，表示“古典的；经典的”。例如：
I spend a lot of time reading and listening to classical music. 我花了很多时间阅
读和聆听 古典音乐。
Classical music is music written by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.
像莫扎特 和贝多芬所创作的音乐称为古典音乐。
莫扎特和贝多芬所创作的音乐属于古典音乐(classical music), 但这些古典音乐经久不
衰， 有永久的意义和价值，所以这些音乐也可称为经典的音乐（classic music）。反之，
在前面 有一例中说可口可乐瓶子的设计是精彩的，一流的，所以是经典（classic）之作，
但很明显
可口可乐瓶子的设计不是古典的 （classical）设计。所以，经典的（classic）作品不
一定 就是古典的（classical）作品。
Note: Classic fairy-tale romance is used to describe a romance blessed with
unusual happiness. Colloquially, a fairy tale can also refer to any story extremely
unlikely to be true.
4 Perhaps, they’re right but it didn’t seem so at the time. (Para. 1)
Meaning: My daughters’ perception may be right, yet our romance back then
was actually not like what they have assumed.
5 In a way, love just happens when you least expect it. Who would have
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thought that Butch and I would end up getting married to each other? He
became my boyfriend because of my shallow agenda: I wanted a cute
boyfriend! (Para. 1) Meaning: Love comes your way when you don’t really
expect it. No one thought that
Butch and I would finally get married. He became my boyfriend simply because
I would like to fulfill my shallow wish: to have an attractive boyfriend in college.
Meaning beyond words: Here is the suspense of the story – the author gives
a broad
hint that she will tell us how she and her husband got married at last.
6 We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria. That
fateful night, I was merely curious, but for him I think it was love at first sight.
(Para. 2)
Meaning: At the school dining hall that important night, we were introduced
to each other through my roommate. I met Butch just out of curiosity, but he
seemed to fall in love with
me as soon as he saw me.
7 “You have beautiful eyes,” he said as he gazed at my face. (Para. 2)
Meaning beyond words: The author was obviously attractive to Butch since he
tried to please her by praising her eyes.
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8 He kept staring at me all night long. (Para. 2)
Note: Both
gaze at
and
stare at
mean “looking at something fixedly for a long
time
because of being attracted, surprised, or thinking, etc.”.
Stare at
usually has
the additional meaning of “with eyes widely open”. Also, it usually implies “with
great attention”;
gaze
at
usually implies “in a dreamy and unaware state of mind”.
9 I really wasn’t that interested for two reasons. First, he looked like he
was a really wild boy, maybe even dangerous. Second, although he was very
cute, he seemed a little weird. (Para. 2)
Meaning beyond words: She wasn’t interested in him because she got the
impression
that he was wild and strange, which illustrates that she didn’t know much
about him at the beginning. Therefore, it’s not true that their romance was
heading for marriage from the start.
10 Riding on his bicycle, he’d ride past my dorm as if “by accident” and
pretend to
be surprised to see me. I liked the attention but was cautious about his
wild, dynamic personality. (Para. 3)
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Meaning beyond words: She understood his little trick: trying to see her by
manufacturing excuses. Though she was happy to be the focus of his attention,
she was also very alert to his wild and dynamic personality.
11 He had a charming way with words which would charm any girl. (Para. 3)
Meaning: He knew how to please and attract girls because what he said was
always pleasant to their ears.
12 Fear came over me when I started to fall in love. His exciting “bad boy
image”
was just too tempting to resist. What was it that attracted me?(Para. 3)
Meaning: I was in an awkward position: I started to fall in love with him, but I
was also afraid of that. His bad boy image was too attractive to resist, but at the
same time it was somewhat fearful. So, what exactly was it in him that attracted me?
Note:
Tempting
is a present participle of the verb
tempt
, used as an adjective
to describe
the effect that something has on someone’s feelings. For example, if you find
something tempting/charming/disgusting/frightening, it means it
tempts/charms/disgusts/frightens
you. In English there are a group of words describing an effect that something
has on your feelings and ideas. For example:
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a tempting job offer 一个诱人的工作机会
an alarming increase in racial hostility 种族仇视的惊人增长
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a welcoming smile 热情的微笑
a surprising number of 数量惊人的
13 I always had an excellent reputation. My concentration was solely on my
studies
to get superior grades. But for what? (Para. 3)
Meaning: I was an outstanding student who only concentrated on studies in
order to get excellent grades. But so what? Shouldn’t a good student also have
fun?
14 College is supposed to be a time of great learning and also some fun. I
had
nearly achieved a great education, and graduation was just one semester
away. But
I hadn’t had any fun; my life was stale with no component of fun! I
needed a boyfriend. (Para. 3)
Meaning: College is definitely a nice place for education but should have some
fun as well. Throughout my years at college, I had devoted all my time to study but
hadn’t had
any fun yet. Now that I was graduating, I wanted to have a boyfriend to enrich
my college life.
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15 Not just any boyfriend. He had to be cute. My goal that semester
became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find. (Para. 3)
Meaning: The one I wanted to date was not just an ordinary boy; he had to be
handsome, pleasant and attractive. My ambition for that semester, therefore, was
to find the cutest boyfriend at college.
16 I worried what he’d think of me. (Para. 4)
Meaning beyond words: Her concern about how Butch would look at her
shows that she was becoming more interested in him and cared about his real
thinking.
17 True, we lived in a time when a dramatic shift in sexual attitudes was
taking place, but I was a traditional girl who wasn’t ready for the new ways
that seemed common on campus. (Para. 4)
Meaning: It is true that we lived in an era when sexual attitudes were changing
dramatically, but since I was traditional, I wasn’t ready for the new sexual practice
seemingly common on campus.
18 Butch looked superb! I was not immune to his personality, but I was
scared.
(Para. 4)
Meaning: Butch looked extremely wonderful. I was surely influenced by his
personality, but I felt scared.
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19 The night when he announced to the world that I was his girlfriend, I
went along
with him. (Para. 4)
Meaning: That night when my boyfriend announced publicly I was his girlfriend,
I did not have any objection.
Meaning beyond words: She has apparently changed her perception of Butch,
from
being merely curious about him at first to becoming cautious about his wild,
dynamic personality later; from being fearful of failing to resist his “bad boy
image” to approving of being his girlfriend.
20 And then I suddenly thought: “Oh my gosh! Am I his girlfriend? How
did that happen?” (Para. 4)
Meaning beyond words: All of a sudden, she realized that she had made a
mistake because she was not really ready to have a boyfriend yet.
Note: “Gosh”, as an interjection, is used to express surprise. For example:
Gosh, I didn’t expect to see you here! 天哪，我没想到在这里见到你！
Gosh, it’s so cold. 天哪，太冷了！
Gosh, there’s a lot of noise. 天哪，这儿真吵。
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21 Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said, “I’m going to
marry you one day and I will be a lawyer. You will see.” (Para. 4)
Meaning: Then he quietly said sweet words in my ear and said that he would
marry me and I could eventually see him become a lawyer.
22 I was laughing inside and said to myself, “I’d never marry this guy.
He’s a rebel without a good future. He’s my boyfriend because I hate my
boring student life. I
just want to have fun.” (Para. 5)
Meaning: Though I agreed to be his girlfriend, from my heart, he was just a
rebellious boy without a bright future. Therefore, I was not very serious about our
relationship. To me, the only purpose to date him was to get away from my boring
student life.
23 Sure enough, the following month, I found out he had failed all his
courses. (Para.
6)
Meaning: Just as I had expected, he didn’t pass any of his courses.
24 Consequently, he was going to be expelled from the university. (Para. 6)
Meaning: As a consequence, the university was going to dismiss him from the
school.
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25 To my disgust, he seemed resigned to his fate. I knew there was hope, so
I led
him to the college secretary for reconsideration. (Para. 6)
Meaning: What upset me was that he seemed to accept his fate. As I knew
there was still
a hope, I took him to the college secretary to see whether the decision could be
changed.
26 “You are going to graduate with a BA in political science from UPenn
and
proceed to the College of Law,” I told him, lodging an appeal on his behalf,
which was approved. (Para. 7)
Meaning beyond words: What she did for her boyfriend indicated their
relationship had come to a new stage. Besides encouraging him to consult with the
college secretary and submitting the appeal on his behalf, she also planned for his
future career. She told him
he had to continue his studies at law school.
Note: Besides a noun, “proceed to” can also be followed by a verb phrase.
For example: Having said how much she liked my idea, she then proceeded to make
critical comments
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about it. 说完她是多么喜欢我的点子，她接着就提出了批评性的意见。
27 Butch was granted reconsideration. And, once we became steadies, he
coordinated his studies and social life, passing all of his classes. He eventually
studied law. (Para. 7)
Meaning beyond words: Here we see the turning point of the relationship
between the two. Her suggestions did work well with Butch since he was granted
reconsideration. As
soon as they became steady lovers, Butch balanced his studies and social life
and passed every course. Finally, he studied law as had been planned.
Note:
Steady
can also be used as a noun, as is in the text. It’s an old-fashioned
American
way to describe a boyfriend or girlfriend that someone has been having a
romantic relationship with.
28 Despite Butch’s somewhat wild character, at his core, he is always a
perfect gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for that. (Para. 8)
Meaning: In spite of Butch’s a little wild character, he was always a perfect
gentleman in essence, for which he should be given recognition.
29 True, he’d sometimes take the liberty of displaying his love by planting
a kiss on
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my lips right in front of my astonished friends who watched and
disapproved. (Para.
8)
Meaning: Without my permission, sometimes he would press a kiss on my lips
to show his love in front of my friends, who were astonished and resented what he
did.
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Note: “Plant a kiss” is a figurative use of the word
plant
, which means an
intimate and
publicly demonstrative kiss showing his love to all who are watching.
30 But the truth is we had a pure and responsible relationship for seven full
years. Sitting by the palm trees, hand in hand, we would listen to romantic
songs, watch
the sunset, and weave dreams of being together with children of our own,
forever.
(Para. 8)
Meaning beyond words: Butch showed much respect for her conservative
perception of love. For seven years, they just enjoyed their romance in a traditional
way.
31 Two years passed in a blur. One day, Butch took me by surprise as he
knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses! (Para. 9)
Meaning: Two years passed so quickly that I didn’t really remember
everything clearly. One day, I was startled when Butch, holding a dozen red roses,
knelt down to propose marriage.
Note: propose to sb. = propose marriage to sb.
32 Filled with deep emotion, I confessed my love for him, “How
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roooomaaaantic!!”
(Para. 9)
Meaning: I admitted my love for him with deep affection. It was super
romantic!
Meaning beyond words: She was so happy and thrilled to accept Butch’s
marriage proposal that she said the word
romantic
in a slow and exaggerated way.
Note: In informal writing, people would emphasize something in a similar way.
For
example:
Thank you soooooo much! 真是太太太感谢您了！
33 Then my brain woke up from fantasy land. I cried out, “Good heavens.
No! We’re
too young to
tie the knot
. We haven’t even graduated from college yet!”
I really loved him but was pessimistic about our chances for success.(Para. 9)
Meaning beyond words: All of a sudden, she woke up from the romantic
scene. Though she already accepted love from Butch and confessed her love for
him, she was not sure whether they would get married and have a happy ending as
they were still college students.
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Note: It isn’t clear whether this expression
tie the knot
derives from an actual
knot used in
marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity.
Knots have
a place in many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges. Actual
knots have
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certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time. The word
knot
,
although not in the phrase
tie the knot
, has been associated with marriage since at
least the 13th century.
34 We married five years later. (Para 10)
Meaning beyond words: Though she was pessimistic about their chance for
success of love, she accepted Butch’s proposal. They got married five years later,
which illustrates their deep and true love for each other.
35 Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky roads of
hardship and on smooth easy-going highways. (Para. 11)
Meaning: Our devoted and faithful love guided us both in times of happiness
and also in times of hardship.
Note: The word
rocky
comes from the noun
rock
combining with
-y
. A rocky
road refers to
a road full of rocks, uneven or not flat. Words of this group include:
muddy
,
stony
,
grassy
,
snowy
,
rainy
, etc.
36 It is a long, romantic, sometimes crazy, love story that sums up a 29-
year long honeymoon together as a couple who are still madly in love with
each other. (Para.
11)
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Meaning beyond words: She felt very proud of her long-lasting romantic,
sometimes
even crazy love, which was just like a 29-year long honeymoon for her and her
husband.
37 Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a
mature love and rich life. (Para. 11)
Meaning beyond words: Completely beyond her expectation, love came to
her as she started with a casual date but ended up growing into a mature love and
rich life.
Note: We usually use
commence doing sth
. or
commence with sth
. Also, in the
US, the
official college/university graduation ceremony is called “commencement”.
The word refers to the completion of one’s education and the beginning of
one’s new adult life.
Note: The phrase “bloomed into a mature love and rich life” in the text is
used figuratively,
meaning their love was just like blossoms on a tree.
2024年3月18日发(作者：菅浩漫)
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新视野三版 读写 B2 U4 Text A
College sweethearts
1 I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature than
we, their parents, when we were college sweethearts. Linda, who's 21, had a
boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she would marry, but they're not
together anymore. Melissa, who's 19, hasn't had a steady boyfriend yet. My
daughters wonder when they will meet "The One", their great love. They think their
father and I had a classic fairy-tale romance heading for marriage from the outset.
Perhaps, they're right but it didn't seem so at the time. In a way, love just
happens when you least expect it. Who would have thought that
Butch and I would end up getting married to each other? He became my boyfriend
because of my shallow agenda: I wanted a cute boyfriend!
2 We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria. That fateful
night, I was merely curious, but for him I think it was love at first sight. "You
have beautiful eyes", he said as he gazed at my face. He kept staring at me all night
long. I really wasn't that interested for two reasons. First, he looked like he was a
really wild boy, maybe even dangerous. Second, although he was very cute, he
seemed a little weird.
3 Riding on his bicycle, he'd ride past my dorm as if "by accident" and pretend
to be surprised to see me. I liked the attention but was
cautious about his wild, dynamic personality. He had a charming
学习必备 欢迎下载
way with words which would charm any girl. Fear came over me when I
started to fall in love. His exciting "bad boy image" was just too tempting
to resist. What was it that attracted me? I always had an excellent
reputation. My concentration was solely on my studies to get superior grades.
But for what? College is supposed
to be a time of great learning and also some fun. I had nearly achieved a great
education, and graduation was just one semester away. But I hadn't had any fun;
my life was stale with no component of fun! I needed a just any
had to be cute. My goal that semester
became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find.
4 I worried what he'd think of me. True, we lived in a time when a dramatic shift
in sexual attitudes was taking place, but I was a traditional girl
who wasn't ready for
the new ways that seemed common
on campus. Butch looked superb! I was not immune to his
personality, but I was scared. The night when he announced to the world
that I was his girlfriend, I went along
学习必备 欢迎下载
with him. And then I suddenly thought: "Oh my gosh! Am I his girlfriend? How
did that happen?" Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said, "I'm going to
marry you one day and I will be a lawyer. You will see."
5 I was laughing inside and said to myself, "I'd never marry this guy. He's a rebel
without a good future. He's my boyfriend because I hate my boring
student life. I just want to have fun."
6 Sure enough, the following month, I found out he had failed
all his
courses. Consequently, he was going to be expelled from the university. To my
disgust, he seemed resigned to his fate. I knew there was hope, so I led him to the
college secretary for reconsideration.
7
"You are going to graduate with a BA in political
science
from UPenn and proceed to the College of Law," I told him, lodging an appeal
on his behalf, which was approved. Butch was granted reconsideration. And, once
we became steadies, he coordinated his studies and social life, passing
all of his classes. He eventually studied law.
8 Despite Butch's somewhat wild character, at his core, he is always a perfect
gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for , he'd sometimes
take the liberty of displaying his love by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of
my astonished friends who watched and disapproved. But the truth is we had a pure
学习必备 欢迎下载
and responsible relationship for seven full years. Sitting by the palm trees, hand in
hand, we would listen to romantic songs, watch the sunset,
and weave dreams of being together with children of our own, forever.
9 Two years passed in a blur. One day, Butch took me by
surprise as
he knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses! Filled with
deep emotion, I confessed my love for him, "How roooomaaaantic!!" Then my brain
woke up from fantasy land. I cried out, "Good heavens. No! We're too young to tie
the knot. We haven't even graduated from college yet!" I really loved him but
was pessimistic about our chances for success.
10 We married five years later.
11 Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky
roads of hardship and on smooth easy-going highways. It is a
long, romantic, sometimes crazy, love story that sums up a 29-year long
honeymoon together
as a
couple who are still madly in love with each other.
Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a mature love
and rich life.
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Language Points:
1 I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature
than we, their parents, when we were college sweethearts. (Para. 1)
Meaning beyond words: Married to her college sweetheart, the author now is
happy with her family and two grown daughters.
Note:
College sweethearts
refer to someone with whom one is in love and by
whom one
is loved at college;
sweetheart is
equivalent to
lover
,
darling
,
beloved
, or
dear
.
For example:
Well done, sweetheart, we are all so proud of you. 做得好，宝贝，我们以你为
荣。
My husband is the greatest guy in the world; he was my college sweetheart.
我丈夫是世 界上最棒的，大学时他就是我的恋人。
He tries to locate his former sweetheart Melina from whom he has heard
nothing for a very long time. 他在努力寻找他以前的恋人梅利娜，他已经很久没有她的
消息了。
2 Linda, who’s 21, had a boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she
would marry, but they’re not together anymore. Melissa, who’s 19, hasn’t
had a steady boyfriend yet. My daughters wonder when they will meet “The
One”, their great love.(Para. 1)
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Meaning beyond words: Her two daughters are at the age of just dating, but
they seem
to be very mature wondering when they will meet their true love.
3 They think their father and I had a classic fairy tale romance heading for
marriage from the outset. (Para. 1)
Meaning beyond words: Her daughters consider their parents’ marriage a
typical conventional romance because they think it aimed at marriage from the
very beginning.
Usage note: classic, classical
1 classic 用作形容词表示“经典的；精彩的；一流的”。例如：
Death on the Nile is one of the classic works of Agatha Christie. 《尼罗河上的
惨案》是阿 加莎·克里斯蒂的经典作品之一。
口语中也会用到 classic 这个词。当你看到一场精彩的演出时，就可以说“That’s
classic!”来 表达赞美。
classic 用作形容词也表示“典型的；标准的”。例如：
London is the classic example of the scattered city. 伦敦是标准分散型的城市。
This statement was a classic illustration of British politeness. 这项陈述是对英国
礼貌的一 个典型说明。
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classic 也可用作名词，表示“文学名著；经典作品；杰作”。例如：
We have all the standard classics of Hayao Miyazaki at home. 我们家有宫崎骏
的所有的
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经典作品。
2 classical 不能用作名词，只能用作形容词，表示“古典的；经典的”。例如：
I spend a lot of time reading and listening to classical music. 我花了很多时间阅
读和聆听 古典音乐。
Classical music is music written by composers such as Mozart and Beethoven.
像莫扎特 和贝多芬所创作的音乐称为古典音乐。
莫扎特和贝多芬所创作的音乐属于古典音乐(classical music), 但这些古典音乐经久不
衰， 有永久的意义和价值，所以这些音乐也可称为经典的音乐（classic music）。反之，
在前面 有一例中说可口可乐瓶子的设计是精彩的，一流的，所以是经典（classic）之作，
但很明显
可口可乐瓶子的设计不是古典的 （classical）设计。所以，经典的（classic）作品不
一定 就是古典的（classical）作品。
Note: Classic fairy-tale romance is used to describe a romance blessed with
unusual happiness. Colloquially, a fairy tale can also refer to any story extremely
unlikely to be true.
4 Perhaps, they’re right but it didn’t seem so at the time. (Para. 1)
Meaning: My daughters’ perception may be right, yet our romance back then
was actually not like what they have assumed.
5 In a way, love just happens when you least expect it. Who would have
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thought that Butch and I would end up getting married to each other? He
became my boyfriend because of my shallow agenda: I wanted a cute
boyfriend! (Para. 1) Meaning: Love comes your way when you don’t really
expect it. No one thought that
Butch and I would finally get married. He became my boyfriend simply because
I would like to fulfill my shallow wish: to have an attractive boyfriend in college.
Meaning beyond words: Here is the suspense of the story – the author gives
a broad
hint that she will tell us how she and her husband got married at last.
6 We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria. That
fateful night, I was merely curious, but for him I think it was love at first sight.
(Para. 2)
Meaning: At the school dining hall that important night, we were introduced
to each other through my roommate. I met Butch just out of curiosity, but he
seemed to fall in love with
me as soon as he saw me.
7 “You have beautiful eyes,” he said as he gazed at my face. (Para. 2)
Meaning beyond words: The author was obviously attractive to Butch since he
tried to please her by praising her eyes.
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8 He kept staring at me all night long. (Para. 2)
Note: Both
gaze at
and
stare at
mean “looking at something fixedly for a long
time
because of being attracted, surprised, or thinking, etc.”.
Stare at
usually has
the additional meaning of “with eyes widely open”. Also, it usually implies “with
great attention”;
gaze
at
usually implies “in a dreamy and unaware state of mind”.
9 I really wasn’t that interested for two reasons. First, he looked like he
was a really wild boy, maybe even dangerous. Second, although he was very
cute, he seemed a little weird. (Para. 2)
Meaning beyond words: She wasn’t interested in him because she got the
impression
that he was wild and strange, which illustrates that she didn’t know much
about him at the beginning. Therefore, it’s not true that their romance was
heading for marriage from the start.
10 Riding on his bicycle, he’d ride past my dorm as if “by accident” and
pretend to
be surprised to see me. I liked the attention but was cautious about his
wild, dynamic personality. (Para. 3)
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Meaning beyond words: She understood his little trick: trying to see her by
manufacturing excuses. Though she was happy to be the focus of his attention,
she was also very alert to his wild and dynamic personality.
11 He had a charming way with words which would charm any girl. (Para. 3)
Meaning: He knew how to please and attract girls because what he said was
always pleasant to their ears.
12 Fear came over me when I started to fall in love. His exciting “bad boy
image”
was just too tempting to resist. What was it that attracted me?(Para. 3)
Meaning: I was in an awkward position: I started to fall in love with him, but I
was also afraid of that. His bad boy image was too attractive to resist, but at the
same time it was somewhat fearful. So, what exactly was it in him that attracted me?
Note:
Tempting
is a present participle of the verb
tempt
, used as an adjective
to describe
the effect that something has on someone’s feelings. For example, if you find
something tempting/charming/disgusting/frightening, it means it
tempts/charms/disgusts/frightens
you. In English there are a group of words describing an effect that something
has on your feelings and ideas. For example:
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a tempting job offer 一个诱人的工作机会
an alarming increase in racial hostility 种族仇视的惊人增长
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a welcoming smile 热情的微笑
a surprising number of 数量惊人的
13 I always had an excellent reputation. My concentration was solely on my
studies
to get superior grades. But for what? (Para. 3)
Meaning: I was an outstanding student who only concentrated on studies in
order to get excellent grades. But so what? Shouldn’t a good student also have
fun?
14 College is supposed to be a time of great learning and also some fun. I
had
nearly achieved a great education, and graduation was just one semester
away. But
I hadn’t had any fun; my life was stale with no component of fun! I
needed a boyfriend. (Para. 3)
Meaning: College is definitely a nice place for education but should have some
fun as well. Throughout my years at college, I had devoted all my time to study but
hadn’t had
any fun yet. Now that I was graduating, I wanted to have a boyfriend to enrich
my college life.
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15 Not just any boyfriend. He had to be cute. My goal that semester
became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find. (Para. 3)
Meaning: The one I wanted to date was not just an ordinary boy; he had to be
handsome, pleasant and attractive. My ambition for that semester, therefore, was
to find the cutest boyfriend at college.
16 I worried what he’d think of me. (Para. 4)
Meaning beyond words: Her concern about how Butch would look at her
shows that she was becoming more interested in him and cared about his real
thinking.
17 True, we lived in a time when a dramatic shift in sexual attitudes was
taking place, but I was a traditional girl who wasn’t ready for the new ways
that seemed common on campus. (Para. 4)
Meaning: It is true that we lived in an era when sexual attitudes were changing
dramatically, but since I was traditional, I wasn’t ready for the new sexual practice
seemingly common on campus.
18 Butch looked superb! I was not immune to his personality, but I was
scared.
(Para. 4)
Meaning: Butch looked extremely wonderful. I was surely influenced by his
personality, but I felt scared.
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19 The night when he announced to the world that I was his girlfriend, I
went along
with him. (Para. 4)
Meaning: That night when my boyfriend announced publicly I was his girlfriend,
I did not have any objection.
Meaning beyond words: She has apparently changed her perception of Butch,
from
being merely curious about him at first to becoming cautious about his wild,
dynamic personality later; from being fearful of failing to resist his “bad boy
image” to approving of being his girlfriend.
20 And then I suddenly thought: “Oh my gosh! Am I his girlfriend? How
did that happen?” (Para. 4)
Meaning beyond words: All of a sudden, she realized that she had made a
mistake because she was not really ready to have a boyfriend yet.
Note: “Gosh”, as an interjection, is used to express surprise. For example:
Gosh, I didn’t expect to see you here! 天哪，我没想到在这里见到你！
Gosh, it’s so cold. 天哪，太冷了！
Gosh, there’s a lot of noise. 天哪，这儿真吵。
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21 Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said, “I’m going to
marry you one day and I will be a lawyer. You will see.” (Para. 4)
Meaning: Then he quietly said sweet words in my ear and said that he would
marry me and I could eventually see him become a lawyer.
22 I was laughing inside and said to myself, “I’d never marry this guy.
He’s a rebel without a good future. He’s my boyfriend because I hate my
boring student life. I
just want to have fun.” (Para. 5)
Meaning: Though I agreed to be his girlfriend, from my heart, he was just a
rebellious boy without a bright future. Therefore, I was not very serious about our
relationship. To me, the only purpose to date him was to get away from my boring
student life.
23 Sure enough, the following month, I found out he had failed all his
courses. (Para.
6)
Meaning: Just as I had expected, he didn’t pass any of his courses.
24 Consequently, he was going to be expelled from the university. (Para. 6)
Meaning: As a consequence, the university was going to dismiss him from the
school.
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25 To my disgust, he seemed resigned to his fate. I knew there was hope, so
I led
him to the college secretary for reconsideration. (Para. 6)
Meaning: What upset me was that he seemed to accept his fate. As I knew
there was still
a hope, I took him to the college secretary to see whether the decision could be
changed.
26 “You are going to graduate with a BA in political science from UPenn
and
proceed to the College of Law,” I told him, lodging an appeal on his behalf,
which was approved. (Para. 7)
Meaning beyond words: What she did for her boyfriend indicated their
relationship had come to a new stage. Besides encouraging him to consult with the
college secretary and submitting the appeal on his behalf, she also planned for his
future career. She told him
he had to continue his studies at law school.
Note: Besides a noun, “proceed to” can also be followed by a verb phrase.
For example: Having said how much she liked my idea, she then proceeded to make
critical comments
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about it. 说完她是多么喜欢我的点子，她接着就提出了批评性的意见。
27 Butch was granted reconsideration. And, once we became steadies, he
coordinated his studies and social life, passing all of his classes. He eventually
studied law. (Para. 7)
Meaning beyond words: Here we see the turning point of the relationship
between the two. Her suggestions did work well with Butch since he was granted
reconsideration. As
soon as they became steady lovers, Butch balanced his studies and social life
and passed every course. Finally, he studied law as had been planned.
Note:
Steady
can also be used as a noun, as is in the text. It’s an old-fashioned
American
way to describe a boyfriend or girlfriend that someone has been having a
romantic relationship with.
28 Despite Butch’s somewhat wild character, at his core, he is always a
perfect gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for that. (Para. 8)
Meaning: In spite of Butch’s a little wild character, he was always a perfect
gentleman in essence, for which he should be given recognition.
29 True, he’d sometimes take the liberty of displaying his love by planting
a kiss on
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my lips right in front of my astonished friends who watched and
disapproved. (Para.
8)
Meaning: Without my permission, sometimes he would press a kiss on my lips
to show his love in front of my friends, who were astonished and resented what he
did.
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Note: “Plant a kiss” is a figurative use of the word
plant
, which means an
intimate and
publicly demonstrative kiss showing his love to all who are watching.
30 But the truth is we had a pure and responsible relationship for seven full
years. Sitting by the palm trees, hand in hand, we would listen to romantic
songs, watch
the sunset, and weave dreams of being together with children of our own,
forever.
(Para. 8)
Meaning beyond words: Butch showed much respect for her conservative
perception of love. For seven years, they just enjoyed their romance in a traditional
way.
31 Two years passed in a blur. One day, Butch took me by surprise as he
knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses! (Para. 9)
Meaning: Two years passed so quickly that I didn’t really remember
everything clearly. One day, I was startled when Butch, holding a dozen red roses,
knelt down to propose marriage.
Note: propose to sb. = propose marriage to sb.
32 Filled with deep emotion, I confessed my love for him, “How
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roooomaaaantic!!”
(Para. 9)
Meaning: I admitted my love for him with deep affection. It was super
romantic!
Meaning beyond words: She was so happy and thrilled to accept Butch’s
marriage proposal that she said the word
romantic
in a slow and exaggerated way.
Note: In informal writing, people would emphasize something in a similar way.
For
example:
Thank you soooooo much! 真是太太太感谢您了！
33 Then my brain woke up from fantasy land. I cried out, “Good heavens.
No! We’re
too young to
tie the knot
. We haven’t even graduated from college yet!”
I really loved him but was pessimistic about our chances for success.(Para. 9)
Meaning beyond words: All of a sudden, she woke up from the romantic
scene. Though she already accepted love from Butch and confessed her love for
him, she was not sure whether they would get married and have a happy ending as
they were still college students.
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Note: It isn’t clear whether this expression
tie the knot
derives from an actual
knot used in
marriage ceremonies or whether the knot is merely symbolic of a lasting unity.
Knots have
a place in many cultures and usually symbolize unbreakable pledges. Actual
knots have
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certainly been used in marriage ceremonies for some time. The word
knot
,
although not in the phrase
tie the knot
, has been associated with marriage since at
least the 13th century.
34 We married five years later. (Para 10)
Meaning beyond words: Though she was pessimistic about their chance for
success of love, she accepted Butch’s proposal. They got married five years later,
which illustrates their deep and true love for each other.
35 Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky roads of
hardship and on smooth easy-going highways. (Para. 11)
Meaning: Our devoted and faithful love guided us both in times of happiness
and also in times of hardship.
Note: The word
rocky
comes from the noun
rock
combining with
-y
. A rocky
road refers to
a road full of rocks, uneven or not flat. Words of this group include:
muddy
,
stony
,
grassy
,
snowy
,
rainy
, etc.
36 It is a long, romantic, sometimes crazy, love story that sums up a 29-
year long honeymoon together as a couple who are still madly in love with
each other. (Para.
11)
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Meaning beyond words: She felt very proud of her long-lasting romantic,
sometimes
even crazy love, which was just like a 29-year long honeymoon for her and her
husband.
37 Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a
mature love and rich life. (Para. 11)
Meaning beyond words: Completely beyond her expectation, love came to
her as she started with a casual date but ended up growing into a mature love and
rich life.
Note: We usually use
commence doing sth
. or
commence with sth
. Also, in the
US, the
official college/university graduation ceremony is called “commencement”.
The word refers to the completion of one’s education and the beginning of
one’s new adult life.
Note: The phrase “bloomed into a mature love and rich life” in the text is
used figuratively,
meaning their love was just like blossoms on a tree.