英语CET-4阅读（一）

（本文内容为个人笔记分享）

[CET-4] Level

Pandemic forces one in 10 headmasters to retire [CET-4]

疫情迫使十分之一的校长离职

One in ten headmaster will end their careers next year due to the stress caused by coronavirus despite feeling financially unable to step back from work.

十分之一的校长明年将会因为冠状病毒而结束他们的职业生涯，尽管他们从经济上感觉到无法从工作中退出。

• headmaster 和 headteacher ：都可指校长；headmaster尤指私立学校的校长，而headteacher常指中小学的校长
• due to ：由于
• caused by ：由……造成
• despite ：尽管
• financially ：经济上地
• step back from sth ：从sth中退出

Uncertain working conditions during the pandemic have prompted a retirement rush according to research seen by Telegraph Money from Wesleyan, a specialist financial adviser.

根据卫斯理安的《每日电讯》(Telegraph Money)的研究显示，流行病期间不确定的工作条件导致了一波退休潮。

• pandemic ：大流行病
• prompt ：导致；促使
• retirement rush ：退休潮
• adviser ：动词advise的派生词，顾问

More than a fifth of school leaders in England sped up retirement plans in the past 12 months as a direct consequence of Covid-19. However, more than a quarter of the most experienced teaching staff and a fifth of headteachers said they were not confident about how financially prepared they were to end their careers.

英国过去的12个月中，2019冠状病毒的直接后果就是超过五分之一的学校领导者加速了退休的计划。然而，超过四分之一的最有经验的教职工和五分之一的校长表示他们对结束职业生涯的经济准备没有信心。

• a fifth ：五分之一
• sped up ：加速；speed过去式过去分词都是sped
• as a direct consequence of …… ：……的直接后果
• a quarter of ：四分之一
• be confident about sth. ：对……有信心
• how financially prepared they were ：他们经济上的准备程度

The sudden spike in retirements will leave the sector struggling for experienced leaders. A lack of work-life balance was the main reason for early retirement, as well as heavy workload. Seven in ten of those who had changed their plans also said stress had been a factor in the decision.

退休人数的突然增加将使该行业难以找到有经验的领导者。缺少工作和生活之间的平衡是提前退休和繁重工作的主要原因。改变计划的那些人中的七成人也说压力也是做出决定的一个因素。

• spike ：尖峰；（折线统计图中的尖峰）The spikes in the broken line chart represent a sudden increase in a number. （broken line chart ：折线统计图）
• The sudden spike in sth：某事的突然增长
• leave …… doing ：留下……正在做；可以理解为某件事情导致一个正在进行的后果
• sector ：部门
• struggle for sth ：争夺某事；争取某事；为某事奋斗
• factor ：因素，fact事实派生词
• decision ：决定，decide的派生词，decide to do sth. 决定做某事 = make a decision to do sth. = make up one’s mind to do sth.

Simon Rake of Wesleyan, a financial adviser, said : “Considering the stresses teachers have faced it’s not surprising many are reconsidering retirement.”

卫斯理安的一个经济顾问Simon Rake说 ：“考虑到老师们面对的压力，他们许多重新考虑退职并不奇怪。“

“Some will find themselves between a rock and a hard place — deciding whether to risk retiring earlier without understanding how they will access the money they need, or continuing to work in conditions that are taking a toll on their mental health.”

他们当中一些人发现自己深陷困境（他们当中一些人发现自己被一块岩石压在硬地上 & 他们当中一些人发现自己正处在一个岩石和硬地之间），决定着是否在没有弄明白如何获得自己需要的钱冒险提前辞职，或者继续工作在正在给他们的精神健康带来灾难性的毁坏的条件下。

• risk sth ：冒险某事，一个动词不能做主语或宾语，只有名词可以做主语或宾语，所以 冒险做某事 采用动名词形式，这里risk retiring 冒险辞职，即 risk doing sth 冒险做某事。
• toll ：n. 伤亡人数;(道路、桥梁的)通行费;(战争、灾难等造成的)毁坏;(缓慢而有规律的)钟声
  v. (缓慢而有规律地)敲(钟);(尤指)鸣(丧钟)

Mr Rake said it was “worrying” so many teachers felt the need to speed up retirement despite not feeling financially ready.

Rake先生说这是“令人担忧的”，太多的老师觉得需要加速退休，尽管感觉经济上并无准备。

Kate Parsons, 56, who ran a service supporting children with mental health difficulties, said she has been pushed to retire this July. She said the “unmanageable” stress was making her physically ill and led her to call time on her career.

经营着一家为带有精神健康困难的孩子提供支持的服务机构的56岁的Kate Parsons说她已经被迫将在今年七月退休。她说无法管理的压力正在让她身体不适，并导致她放弃职业生涯。

• who ran a service supporting children with mental health difficulties ：非限制性定语从句，修饰Kate Parsons
• lead sb to do sth：引导某人做某事
• call time on sth. ：停止某事

The 56-year-old, who lives alone, said she will retire four years early and accept the reduced pension, despite at first being unsure if she could afford it. Ms Parsons has downsized her home to free up cash to see her through.

这位独自居住的56岁老人说，她将提前4年退休并且接受消减的退休金，尽管一开始她并不确定是否可以担负得起这些。Parsons 女士缩小了她的房子来腾出现金来帮助她度过难关。

• pension ：退休金；养老金；抚恤金
• downsize ：v. 缩小规模
• free up ：使解脱出来;使空出来;免（税）的;开放，放开（市场、经济或制度）
• see sb through ：帮助某人度过难关

She said : “I couldn’t manage the demand even before the pandemic as there were too many referrals coming in. But it has become really challenging during lockdowns. It was horrendous.”

她说：“我甚至在流行病之前都不能管理需求，因为有太多的转诊过来。但是在封锁期间已经变得更加具有挑战。真是太可怕了。

• demand ：n. 需要;所需之物;(尤指困难、使人劳累、令人烦恼等的)要求;(顾客的)需求
  v. 需要;强烈要求
• referral ：n. 介绍；指引；受指点者；被介绍者；转诊病人；参照
• lockdown ：n. 活动(或行动)限制；封锁
• horrendous ：adj. 可怕的;骇人的;令人震惊的;讨厌得难以容忍的
• as there were too many referrals coming in ：这里的as表示原因
  • 英语中表示原因的连词conj有：because，for，as，since

A number of changes to the pension system has created uncertainty for teachers. Independent schools have begun withdrawing teachers from the state-backed Teacher’s Pension Scheme, replacing it with a much less generous option, and have faced strike action over the changes.

退休金制度的变化对于教师而言创造了更多的不确定性。独立学校已经开始从国家支持的教师养老金计划中撤出教师，取而代之的是一个那么不慷慨的选择，并因这些变化而面临罢工行动。

• state-backed ：state国家，backed支持，国家在背后支持的
• scheme ：计划；方案；体系；体制，与模式schema辨别
• strike ：罢工，strike action over the changes ：针对这些变化采取罢工行动

The majority of public schools that were part of the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme have had to increase payments by 48pc, at the Treasury’s request, but many found the changes unaffordable.

在财政部的要求下，作为教师养老金计划一部分的大多数公立学校不得不将支付额增加48%，但许多公立学校发现这些改变是负担不起的。

• majority ：n. 大部分;大多数;(获胜的)票数;多数票;超出其余各方票数总和的票数
• be part of sth ：是某事的一部分
• 48pc ：48 percent ：48%
• treasury ：财政部

The number of withdrawals doubled between April and September 2020 and 98 private schools transferred out of the TPS, according to a freedom of information request submitted to the Department for Education by Wesleyan.

根据卫斯理安向教育部提交的信息自由请求，2020年4月到9月，退学人数翻了一番，98所私立学校从TPS转出。

• withdrawals ：n. 撤回;撤走;收回;取回;不再参加;退出(组织);(从银行账户中)提款，取款
• transfer out of …… ：转出……
• submitted to the Department for Education by Wesleyan ：动词的别动语态作定语从句修饰request请求
  • submitted by ：被卫斯理安提交的 to the Department for Education ：提交给教育部的 request 请求，freedom of information request ：自由信息请求
• department ：n. 部门;部;系;处;司;局;(医院的)科

In March 2021, Kevin Courtney of the National Education Union, the trade union, said the Government’s cuts to public service schemes had “gone too far”.

2021年3月，全国教育工会的Kevin Courtney说，政府削减公共服务计划已经“过头了”。

• the trade union ：工会
• go too far ：v. 走得太远，做的过火;出圈儿

The average pension paid by the TPS has fallen since 1999 from ￡13,679 a year to ￡12,337 today.

TPS支付的平均退休金，从1999年的13679英镑每年跌到了今天的12337英镑每年。

Is ‘cyber cat petting’ spiritual opium? Chinese student’s thesis stirs online debate [CET-4]

“网猫抚摸”是精神鸦片吗？中国学生的论文引发了网上辩论

• cyber ：adj. 电脑(网络)的
• spiritual ：adj. 精神的;心灵的;宗教的
  n. 灵歌(宗教歌曲，最初为美国黑人奴隶所唱)
• opium ：n. 鸦片
• debate ：n. (在公共集会上或议会里就某问题进行的、常以表决结束的)辩论;(各自发表不同意见的)争论，讨论
  v. (尤指正式)讨论;仔细考虑;思考;盘算

A postgraduate student majoring in communication has caused a stir on social media because of her creative thesis topic — “cyber cat petting”, a trending phenomenon among Chinese youths.

一位主修传播学的研究生，因为她的一篇开创性的主题为“网猫抚摸”的论文，而在社交媒体上引起了一场轰动，这是一种在中国年轻人中流行的现象。

• thesis ：n. 论文;毕业论文;学位论文;命题;论题
• trend ：n. 趋势;趋向;倾向;动态;动向
  vi. 倾向;趋势
• phenomenon ：n. 现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物)

Also known as “raising cloud cats,” the phenomenon refers to “addictive behaviors” such as watching videos and looking at pictures of cute cats on the Internet in a bid to make up for the loss of not having a cat in real life.

也被称为“养云猫”，这种现象是指，为了弥补在现实生活种无法拥有一个猫而看可爱猫的视频和图片的“成瘾行为”。

• addictive ：adj. 上瘾的;使人入迷的
• in a bid to ：为了…

For many cat lovers, owning a cat is an absolute dream that may be difficult to fulfill. Therefore, the option of “raising cloud cats”, has taken social media by storm with the group of devotees naming themselves “cat sniffers”.

对于多数爱猫者，拥有一只猫绝对是一个难以实现的梦。除此之外，“养云猫”的口号在社交媒体上掀起了一阵风暴，一群崇拜者称自己为“猫嗅探者”。

• devotee ：n. (狂热的)崇拜者，爱好者;虔诚的宗教信徒
• sniffer ：n. 嗅探器，以鼻吸毒者

A student surnamed Wang, a “cat sniffer” herself, aimed to find out the ultimate reason behind these behaviors, calling “cyber cat petting” the “spiritual opium” in her 62-page thesis for her course at Zhejiang University in eastern China.

一个姓王的学生（她自己是一个名“猫嗅探者”）旨在找出这些行为背后的终极原因，她在中国东部浙江大学的课程论文中将“云吸猫”称为“精神鸦片”。

• surname ：[ˈsɜːrneɪm] n. 姓
  vt. 给…加姓
• ultimate ：[ˈʌltɪmət] adj. 最后的;最终的;终极的;极端的;最好(或坏、伟大、重要等)的;根本的;基本的;基础性的
  n. 最好(或先进、伟大等)的事物;极品;精华
• spiritual ：adj. 精神的;心灵的;宗教的
  n. 灵歌(宗教歌曲，最初为美国黑人奴隶所唱)
• opium ：n. 鸦片
• thesis ：n. 论文;毕业论文;学位论文;命题;论题

Many netizens doubted whether “cyber cat petting” was a proper topic for a postgraduate thesis.

一些网民质疑“云吸猫”是否为一个合适的研究生论文题目。

• netizen ： n. 网民；网虫；网迷

“I think it is an insteresting issue that deserves to be written about. My research looks into a kind of sub-culture that reflects the changing of times,” Wang said in responding to the doubts, reported Wenhui Newspaper.

据《文汇报》道，王同学回应质疑说：“我认为这是一个有趣的问题以至于它值得被写出来。我的调查着眼于一种反映时代变迁的亚文化”。

• deserve ：v. 值得;应得;应受
• look into ：考察;调查;研究;着眼于
• sub-culture ：亚文化

“Why can’t the thesis focus on issues that are close to people’s daily lives? ‘Cyber cat petting’ does reflect young people’s psychological state,” commented a user@Shaoniantingyu on Weibo, China’s Twitter-equivalent.

中国的一个类似于推特名叫微博的平台上，用户Shaoniantingyu评论说：”论文问什么不能聚焦于那些亲近人们生活的问题上呢？’云吸猫‘确实反映了年轻人的心理状态“。

• psychological ：adj. 心灵的;心理的;精神上的;心理学的;关于心理学的
• equivalent ：adj. 相等的;(价值、数量、意义、重要性等)相同的
  n. 相等的东西;等量;对应词

At the end of her thesis, Wang came up with the conclusion that the trend of “raising cyber cat” reflected Chinese young people’s spiritual emptiness, which is linked to the country’s growing number of “empty nest youth,” the term used to describe single or unmarried people who live alone in big cities.

在她论文的末尾，王同学得出结论，“养云猫”的趋势反映了中国年轻人精神空虚，这与中国越来越多的“空巢青年”有关。空巢青年指的是在大城市独居的单身或未婚人士。

• term ：术语

China’s “cat economy” has been booming in recent years due to the Internet-driven craze for cats on social media. According to the white paper on Chinese pet industry in 2018, the domestic pet(dog and cat) consumer market has hit 170.8 billion yuan(about 24 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 27 percent.

中国的“猫经济”近年来由于网络在社交媒体上的疯狂驱使下呈现爆炸式增长。根据中国2018年猫产业白皮书显示，驯化宠物消费市场已经达到1708亿元（约240亿美元），同比增长27%。

The number of urban dogs and cats in the country has reached 91.49 million, in which the number of dogs and cats in cities and towns has reached 56.48 million.

全国城市的猫狗数量已经达到了9149万只，其中城镇猫狗数量达到5648万只。

urban ：adj. 城市的;都市的;城镇的

Virtual idol takeover [CET-4]

虚拟偶像接管 【四级】

Liu Yen has taken Douyin by storm. As of Nov 17, the virtual idol, who debuted on the social media platform on Oct 31, had only released two short videos but attracted over 5 million followers.

柳夜熙攻占了抖音。截至11月17日，这个于10月31日首次在社交媒体上亮相的虚拟偶像，只发布了两个短视频就吸引了超过5百万的粉丝。

• debut ：n. (演员、运动员)首次亮相;初次登台(或上场)
  v. 初次表演;初次登台
• release ：vt. 释放;放出;放走;放开;松开;使自由移动(或飞翔、降落等);发泄;宣泄
  n. 释放;获释;公开;发行;发布;新发行的东西;(尤指)新激光唱片，新电影

Different from other virtual idols, Liu is defined as a “virtual beauty vlogger”. In her first video, Liu is doing makeup with an eye brush while dressed in a traditional Chinese costume. When she turns around, the onlookers are terrified, except one boy. Then Liu slightly brushes the boy’s eyes, allowing him to see the fantasy world in her own eyes.

不同于其他虚拟偶像，柳夜熙被定义为“虚拟美女视频博主”。在她的第一个视频中，刘夜熙身穿中国的传统服装，正在用一把眼刷化妆。当她转过身来，围观的人都很害怕，但唯独一个小男孩不怕。然后柳夜熙轻轻刷了几下男孩的双眼，让他能够看到她自己眼中的虚幻世界。

• idol ：n. 偶像;受到热爱和崇拜的人(或物);神像
• vlog ：微录；视频日志；视频博客
• vlogger ：视频博主
• makeup ：n. 化妆品;天性;性格;组成;构成
• do makeup ：化妆
• costume ：n. 服装;(某地或某历史时期的)装束;(戏剧或电影的)戏装
  v. 给(某人)穿上特殊服装
• turn around ：转身；扭转；转动；调转方向；转向；（使）复苏；（使）好转；改变（问题、句子或想法）表达方式；（尤指为指责别人或捍卫自己）话锋突转
• onlooker ：nc. 旁观者
• fantasy ：n. 幻想;想象;想象产物;幻想作品
  v. 幻想

The internet users marveled at its storyline, science-fiction elements and special visual effects with cyberpunk style. Liang Zikang, the CEO of the production team, told China Newsweek that the team spent two months making the video.

网络用户对它的故事线大为赞叹，科幻小说元素和带有赛博朋克风格的特殊视觉效果。制作团队的首席执行官梁子康告诉《中国新闻周刊》，该团队花了两个月来制作视频。

• marvel ：n. 令人惊异的人(或事);奇迹;不平凡的成果;成就
  v. 感到惊奇;大为赞叹
• marvel at sth ：惊叹于某事
• storyline ：n. 故事情节;(小说、戏剧、电影等的)本事
• science-fiction ：科幻;科幻小说;科幻片;科学幻想
• element ：n. 要素;基本部分;典型部分;少量;有点;有些;(大团体或社会中的)一组，一群，一伙;元素（如金、氧、碳）;（尤指恶劣的）天气;（学科的）基本原理，基础，纲要;（尤指动物的）自然环境，适宜的环境;电热元件
• visual ：adj. 视力的;视觉的
  n. 视觉资料(指说明性的图片、影片等)
• cyberpunk ：n. 赛博鬅克，数字鬅克(以技术和电脑控制的虚构未来世界为背景的小说)
• spend +金钱数额或时间+ (in) doing sth ：花了多少钱或时间做某事

Liu’s instant popularity online further reflects that the virtual idol industry in China has been booming. There are over 32400 virtual idols that have opened accounts on video-sharing platform Bilibili in the past year, seeing a year-on-year rise of 40 percent, Chen Rui, the CEO of Bilibili, said in a speech.

柳夜熙在网络上走红的例子深远地影响了中国虚拟偶像行业的大爆发。哔哩哔哩的首席执行官陈睿在一次演讲中说：在过去的一年中，有超过32400个虚拟偶像在视频分享平台哔哩哔哩中开了账号，呈现每年40%的增长速度。

• boom ：n. 繁荣;(贸易和经济活动的)激增;(某种体育运动、音乐等)突然风靡的时期;帆桁;深沉的响声;水栅;吊杆
  v. 激增;轰鸣;轰响;以低沉有力的声音说;迅速发展;繁荣昌盛
• booming ：v. 轰鸣;轰响;以低沉有力的声音说;迅速发展;激增;繁荣昌盛
  adj. 突然兴旺的；大受欢迎的；暴涨的；激增的
  boom的现在分词
• CEO ：总裁；首席执行官 Chief Executive Officer, the person with the highest rank in a business company
• CFO ：首席财务官；财物总监 Chief Finance Officer

“compared with real idols and stars, the virtual ones seem to be more approachable for fans,” Shine News noted. Additionally, these virtual web celebrities won’t have scandals.

Shine News 指出：”和真实的偶像、明星相比，虚拟的偶像对于粉丝而言是更亲近的“。另外，这些网络虚拟名人不会有丑闻。

• approachable ：adj. 和蔼可亲的;易理解的;可接近的;能达到的
• additionally ：adv. 此外；另外；额外地；进一步；更大程度上
• celebrity ：n. 名人；名流；名望；名誉；著名
• scandal ：n. 丑行;使人震惊的丑事;丑闻;关于丑行的传言(或报道);可耻的行为(或态度等);不可原谅的行为(或态度等)

As more young people are fascinated by these virtual figures, their commercial value has been on the rise. Generally, they earn money by endorsements, online concerts, livestreaming and related products. For example, Luo Tianyi, a well-knows virtual singer, cooperated with livestreamer Li Jiaqi to promote goods in 2020.

由于越来越多的年轻人对于虚拟人的着迷，他们的商业价值已经在上升。总体来说，他们通过代言、在线音乐会、直播和相关产品赚钱。例如，2020年，洛天依，一个知名的虚拟歌手，和李佳奇直播流媒体合作，推销商品。

• somebody be fascinated by sth ：某人对某事着迷
• figure ：n. 图形;(代表数量，尤指官方资料中的)数字;数字符号;字码;位数;算术;人物;（远处人的）轮廓;身材;人，动物;（人、动物的）雕像，塑像;（书中的）图，表;花样
  v. 是重要部分;是…的部分;认为，认定(某事将发生或属实);计算(数量或成本)
• virtual figure ：虚拟人物
• figure out ：想出；弄清；理解
• commercial ：adj. 贸易的;商业的;赢利的;以获利为目的的;偏重利润和声望的;商业化的;由广告收入支付的
  n. (电台或电视播放的)广告（advertisement）
• endorsement ：n. 背书;(公开的)赞同，支持，认可;(通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的)宣传，代言;(驾驶执照上的)违章记录
• concert ：n. 音乐会;演奏会
  v. 协商；合订(计划)；协同工作
• livestreaming ：直播
• livestreamer ：直播流媒体
• promote ：vt. 促进;推动;促销;推销;提升;晋升;将（体育运动队）晋级、
• promote goods ：推销商品

Therefore, some people are wondering whether they will replace real humans. “These so-called virtual idols have real human teams to back them up and control them. They are not really virtual,” Ding Daoshi, an independent analyst in the internet sector, told the Global Times. The real virtual idol will come when artificial intelligence achieves a new level of self-learing and self-training and them interacts with others, he added.

除此之外，一些人想要知道他们是否会取代真人。一个独立的网络分析师Ding Daoshi告诉全球时报说：”这些所谓的虚拟偶像，背后有真人团队支撑并控制他们。他们并不是真正意义上的虚拟”。他补充道：真正的虚拟偶像需要等到人工智能实现了一个全新的水平——自我学习和自我训练并与人互动时，才会到来。

• so-called ：所谓的
• back sb up ：支持某人
• analyst ：n. 分析师;分析者;化验员
• interact ：vi. 互动;相互作用;交流;相互影响;沟通;合作
  n. 同“entr’acte”