全新版大学英语综合教程第二册学习笔记（原文及全文翻译）——6A - I‘M Going To Buy The Brooklyn Bridge（我要买下布鲁克林桥）

Unit 6A - I'M Going To Buy The Brooklyn Bridge

How do some women manage to combine a full-time job with family responsibilities and still find time for doing other things? Adrienne Popper longs to be like them, but wonders whether it is an impossible dream.

I'M GOING TO BUY THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE

Not long ago I received an alumni bulletin from my college. It included a brief item about a former classmate: "Kate L. teaches part-time at the University of Oklahoma and is assistant principal at County High School. In her spare time she is finishing her doctoral dissertation and the final drafts of two books, and she still has time for tennis and horse riding with her daughters." Four words in that description undid me: in her spare time. A friend said that if I believed everything in the report, she had a bridge in Brooklyn she'd like to sell me.

My friend's joke hit home. What an idiot I'd been! I resolved to stop thinking about Kate's incredible accomplishments and to be suitably skeptical of such stories in the future.

But like a dieter who devours a whole box of cookies in a moment of weakness, I found my resolve slipping occasionally. In weak moments I'd comb the pages of newspapers and magazines and consume success stories by the pound. My favorite superwomen included a politician's daughter who cared for her two-year-old and a newborn while finishing law school and managing a company; a practicing pediatrician with ten children other own; and a television anchorwoman, mother of two preschoolers, who was studying for a master's degree.

One day, however, I actually met a superwoman face to face. Just before Christmas last year, my work took me to the office of a woman executive of a national corporation. Like her supersisters, she has a husband, two small children and, according to reports, a spotless apartment. Her life runs as precisely as a Swiss watch. Since my own schedule rarely succeeds, her accomplishments fill me with equal amounts of wonder and guilt.

On a shelf behind her desk that day were at least a hundred jars of strawberry jam, gaily tied with red-checked ribbons. The executive and her children had made the jam and decorated the jars, which she planned to distribute to her staff and visiting clients.

When, I wondered aloud, had she found the time to complete such an impressive holiday project? I should have known better than to ask. The answer had a familiar ring: in her spare time.

On the train ride home I sat with a jar of strawberry jam in my lap. It reproached me the entire trip. Other women, it seemed to say, are movers and shakers — not only during office hours, but in their spare time as well. What, it asked, do you accomplish in your spare time?

I would like to report that I am using my extra moments to complete postdoctoral studies in physics, to develop new theories of tonal harmony for piano and horn, and to bake cakes and play baseball with my sons. The truth of the matter is, however, that I am by nature completely unable to get my act together. No matter how carefully I plan my time, the plan always goes wrong.

If I create schedules of military precision in which several afternoon hours are given over to the writing of the Great American Novel, the school nurse is sure to phone at exactly the moment I put pencil to paper. One of my children will have developed a strange illness that requires him to spend the remainder of the day in bed, calling me at frequent intervals to bring soup, juice, and tea.

Other days, every item on my schedule will take three times the number of minutes set aside. The cleaner will misplace my clothes. My order won't be ready at the butcher shop as promised. The woman ahead of me in the supermarket line will pay for her groceries with a check drawn on a Martian bank, and only the manager (who has just left for lunch) can OK the matter. "They also serve who only stand and wait," wrote the poet John Milton, but he forgot to add that they don't get to be superwomen that way.

Racing the clock every day is such an exhausting effort that when I actually have a few free moments, I tend to collapse. Mostly I sink into a chair and stare into space while I imagine how lovely life would be if only I possessed the organizational skills and the energy of my superheroines. In fact, I waste a good deal of my spare time just worrying about what other women are accomplishing in theirs. Sometimes I think that these modern fairy tales create as many problems for women as the old stories that had us biding our time for the day our prince would come.

Yet superwomen tales continue to charm me. Despite my friend's warning against being taken in, despite everything I've learned, I find that I'm not only willing, but positively eager to buy that bridge she mentioned. Why? I suppose it has something to do with the appeal of an optimistic approach to life — and the fact that extraordinary deeds have been accomplished by determined individuals who refused to believe that "you can't" was the final word on their dreams.

Men have generally been assured that achieving their heart's desires would be a piece of cake. Women, of course, have always believed that we can't have our cake and eat it too — the old low-dream diet. Perhaps becoming a superwoman is an impossible dream for me, but life without that kind of fantasy is as unappealing as a diet with no treats.

I know the idea of admiring a heroine is considered silly today; we working women are too sophisticated for that. Yet the superwomen I read about are my heroines. When my faith in myself falters, it is they who urge me on, whispering, "Go for it, lady!"

One of these days I plan to phone my former classmate Kate and shout "Well done!" into the receiver. I hope she won't be modest about her achievements. Perhaps she will have completed her dissertation and her two books and moved on to some new work that's exciting or dangerous or both. I'd like to hear all about it.

After that I'm going to phone the friend who laughed at me for believing all the stories I hear. Then I'll tell her a story: the tale of a woman who bought her own version of that bridge in Brooklyn and found that it was a wise investment after all.

参考译文——我要买下布鲁克林桥

有些妇女何以能既做一份全职工作又能兼顾家庭的责任，并仍有余暇做其他事情？艾德丽安·波珀渴望能像她们一样，但又怀疑这会不会是一个根本无法实现的梦想。

我要买下布鲁克林桥

艾德丽安·波珀

不久前，我收到母校一份校友简报。里面有一条是关于一个老同学的消息：“凯特·L在俄克拉荷马大学兼职任教，并任县高中校长助理。她正在利用业余时间完成博士论文以及两本著作的最后定稿，同时她仍有时间与女儿们一起打网球、骑马。”这条短讯中有四个字令我心神不安：业余时间。有位朋友说，要是我对这一报道里的一切都信以为真，那她在布鲁克林还有一座桥要出售给我呢。

朋友的打趣一针见血。我多蠢啊！于是我打定主意，不再去想凯特那些不可思议的成就，以后看到类似报道也不要轻易相信。

可是，就像节食者一时软弱竟把整盒饼干吃个精光一样，我发现自己的决心也有动摇之时。每当不坚定时，我就在报刊上到处搜寻，贪婪地阅读一篇又一篇的成功故事。我最喜欢的女强人有：一位政治家的女儿，她在照料一个两岁幼儿与一个新生儿的同时读完了法学院，同时还经营着一家公司；一位开业儿科医师， 她自己有十个子女；还有一位电视主持人，她是两个学龄前儿童的母亲，还在攻读硕士学位。

然而，有一天我真的与一位女强人面对面相逢。去年圣诞节前，我因工作需要来到一家全国性公司女总裁的办公室。如同其他女强人一样，她有丈夫，两个孩子，还有一处据说是纤尘不染的公寓。她的生活安排得如瑞士表一般精确。由于我本人的计划安排很少成功，她的成就既令我惊讶不已，又使我深感内疚。

那天，她办公桌后面的架子上放置了至少一百罐草莓酱，上面扎着鲜艳的红格缎带。这些果酱是总裁和她的孩子们一起制作的，罐子也是他们一起装饰的，她准备把果酱送给员工及来访的客户。

我不由得惊问，她从哪儿抽出时间完成如此令人钦佩的假日工程？我真不该多此一问。答案听上去相当熟悉：业余时间。

坐火车回家途中，我把那罐草莓酱放在膝头。这罐草莓酱一路上都在责备我。它似乎在说，别的女人不仅在上班之时干得出人头地，而且在工作之余也大有作为。而你，它责问道，在业余时间都做了点什么呢？

我很想回答说，我在业余时间从事博士后物理学研究，在研究钢琴与号的声调和谐方面的新理论，在烘烤蛋糕，在跟儿子一起打棒球。然而，实际情形是，我生性就根本做不到事事有条不紊。不论怎么仔细安排时间，我的计划总是出问题。

如果我制定像作战计划那样精确的时间表，将下午若干小时用于写作一部伟大的美国小说，那么幼儿园的保育员肯定会在我刚刚提笔的那一瞬间打来电话。我的一个孩子得了一种怪病需要整天卧床休息，还不停地让我端汤倒茶送果汁。

别的日子里，我时间表上的每一件事的耗时都超出原计划的三倍。洗衣工不知把我的衣服塞到什么地方去了。肉铺没有把我的订货按时准备好。在超市里，排在我前面的那位女士开出一张“火星银行”的支票为其食品杂货付款，只有经理（他刚出去吃午饭）才能决定可否接受。“站着等候的人们也在效劳，”诗人约翰·弥尔顿写道，但他却忘了补充一句，她们这样站着等候成不了女强人。

每天与时间赛跑令人精疲力竭，等我果真有了一些余暇，往往累得都要垮了。我大多瘫倒在椅子里，呆呆地凝视着前方，想象着要是自己拥有那些超级女英雄的组织才能与旺盛精力，生活该会是多么美妙。事实上，我白白浪费了许多闲暇时光不无忧愁地去想着别的女人在业余时间会成就什么事情。有时我想，这些现代神话故事给女人带来的问题并不少于那些害得我们终日等待王子前来相救的古老故事。

但女强人的故事仍然令我心醉神迷。尽管朋友提醒我不要上当，尽管我也长了不少见识，我还是发现自己不仅愿意，而且还真的渴望买下她说的那座桥。为什么？我想这是因为乐观的生活态度深深地吸引着我 —— 还有，那些就是不肯相信自己的梦想“不能”实现的意志坚定的人确实成就了非凡的业绩。

男人一般确信，实现自己的心愿不费吹灰之力。女人嘛，当然总是相信鱼与熊掌不能兼得 —— 人们反复灌输的不要好高骛远那一套。我或许无望成为女强人，但如果没有这种梦想，生活就变得平淡无味，就如同日常饮食中缺了美味佳肴一般。

我知道如今人们认为英雄崇拜是一种愚蠢的想法，我们职业女性业已成熟，不再干这种傻事。然而我所读到的女强人就是我的英雄。当我对自己失去信心时，正是她们激励我向前进，轻轻对我说：“去争取啊，女士！”

我准备近日给老同学凯特打电话，对着话筒大叫一声“干得好！”我希望她对自己的成就不要谦虚。也许她已经完成了博士论文和两本著作，开始着手某项颇为刺激，或颇具危险，甚或两者兼有的新工作。我愿意听她讲述这一切。随后我要给那个嘲笑我轻信自己听到的成功故事的朋友打电话。我要给她讲一个故事：一个女人的故事，她买下了她自己演绎的布鲁克林的那座大桥，并发现这是一项明智的投资。

New Words and Expressions:

alumnus (pl alumni)

n. (esp. AmE) a (male) former student of a school, college or university （男）校友

bulletin

n. 简报，通讯；会刊；公告

item

n. a single piece of news; a single article or unit on a list or among a set 一则（消息）；一条，一项，一件

doctoral

a. 博士的

dissertation

n. （博士）学位论文，专题论文

draft

n. a rough outline or version草稿

undo (undid, undone)

vt. disturb or upset greatly; untie, open 使烦恼，使不安；松开，解开

hit/strike home

(of remarks ,etc.) have the intended effect （言语等）击中要害

idiot

n. (colloq) a fool

incredible

a. that cannot be believed 难以置信的

skeptical

a. (in the habit of) doubting that sth. is true, right, etc. 持怀疑态度的，怀疑的

dieter

n. a person who eats less food or only certain kinds of food 节食者；忌食某些食物的人

devour

vt. eat (sth.) quickly and in large quantities 狼吞虎咽地吃

cookie

n. (AmE) biscuit 饼干

occasionally

ad. happening sometimes but not very often 偶尔地，间或

occasional a.

consume

v. eat or drink; use up 吃；喝；耗尽；消费

superwoman

n. a woman having more than ordinary human powers and abilities 具有非凡才能的女性，女强人

politician

n. 政治家；政客

care for

take care of; like or love 照料；喜欢，喜爱

pediatrician

n. 儿科医生

anchorwoman (pl anchorwomen)

n. （广播、电视节目的）女主持人

anchor

n. 锚

corporation

n. 公司

spotless

a. absolutely clean 十分清洁的

Swiss

a., n. 瑞士的，瑞士人（的）

rarely

ad. not happening often 很少，难得

guilt

n. the feelings produced by belief that one has done wrong; the fact of having broken the law 内疚；有罪

guilty

a. 感到内疚的，感到惭愧的；有罪的

strawberry

n. 草莓

gaily

a. in a cheerful manner 鲜艳地；快乐地

red-checked

a. 有红格子图案的

ribbon

n. 丝带，缎带，装饰带

decorate

vt. add (sth.) in order to make a thing more attractive to look at 装饰

client

n. a person who buys goods or service 顾客，客户

lap

n. （人坐着时）大腿的上方，膝上；（旅程的）一段

v. （波浪）拍打

reproach

vt. criticize (sb.) for failing to do sth. 责备

movers and shakers

people who have power and a lot of influence 有权有势的人们

theory

n. 理论

tonal

a. 音调的，声调的

harmony

n. 和谐；协调；一致

baseball

n. 棒球

by nature

生性

get one's act together

(infml) organize oneself and one's activities so that one does things in an effective way 将自己的各事安排得有条不紊

military

a. 军事的，军队的

novel

n. 小说

put pencil/pen to paper

start to write 开始动笔写

remainder

n. the remaining time, people or things 剩下的时间（人或物）

at intervals

每隔…时间（或距离）；不时

aside

ad. on or to one side 在一边；向一边

set aside

put (time or money) away for a special purpose 留出

supermarket

n. 超级市场

Martian

a., n. (supposed inhabitant) of the planet Mars 火星的；（假想的）火星人

race the clock

do sth. quickly in order to finish it in the available time 争分夺秒地工作

possess

vt. (fml) have or own 拥有

organizational

a. of organizing and arranging things 有关组织方面的

fairy

n. 仙人，小精灵

fairy tale

神话故事

bide

vt. (old use, now used chiefly in the following phrase) wait for 等待

bide one's time

wait patiently for a chance 等待良机

prince

n. 王子；亲王

charm

v. attract; give pleasure to 吸引；迷人

n. pleasing quality; attractiveness 魅力；吸引力

take in

cheat 欺骗

despite

prep. in spite of 尽管；不顾

positively

ad. (infml) extremely, absolutely 极其，非常

positive

a. certain, sure; helpful or constructive 确信的；有益的，建设性的

have sth./little/much to do with 与…有关（几乎无关，很有关系）

achieve/have one's heart's desire 得到心中渴望的东西

a piece of cake

sth. that is very easy to do 不费吹灰之力的事

heroine

n. a woman whom people admire for her courage or achievements 女英雄

sophisticated

a. 世故的；老练的；复杂的；尖端的

falter

vi. become weak; hesitate 变弱；犹豫

move on to

stop doing one thing and begin dealing with the next 更换（工作，话题等）

investment

n. putting money in sth. 投资

Proper Names

Brooklyn

布鲁克林（美国纽约市西南部的一区）

Adrienne Popper

艾德丽安·波珀

Oklahoma

（美国）俄克拉荷马州

John Milton

约翰·弥尔顿（ — ，英国著名诗人，主要作品有长诗《失乐园》、《复乐园》以及诗剧《力士参孙》等）

Language sense Enhancement:

1. Read aloud paragraphs - and learn them by heart.

2. Read aloud the following poem:

I Look At Myself In The Mirror

Jacki

I look at myself in the mirror,

and what do I really see?

A woman of forty-seven,

or the true essence of me?

I can see me in my twenties,

the mother of children galore,

and there is me in my thirties,

scarred by the loss that I bore.

And there is me in my forties,

older now, tolerant and wise

marked by love and affection,

and bags under my eyes.

So yes that's me in the mirror,

me, as the person I am,

and if I'm no more than an image,

none of it matters a dam!

3. Read the following quotations. Learn them by heart if you can. You might need to look up new words in a dictionary.

One is not born a woman, one becomes one.

—— Simon de Beauvoir

女人不是天生的，是变得的。——西蒙娜·德·波伏娃

There is no female mind. The brain is not an organ of sex. As well speak of a female liver.

—— Charlotte Perkins Gilman

没有什么女性思维，大脑不是性器官，正如没有女性肝脏一样。——夏洛特·珀金斯·吉尔蒙

What is a woman I assure you, I do not know.... I do not believe that anybody can know until she has expressed herself in all the arts and professions open to human skill.

—— Virqinia Woolf

什么是妇女？我向你们保证我不知道，我相信没人知道。只有妇女在人类所有艺术和专业领域中表达自己的情感后，她们才知道什么是妇女。——艾德琳·弗吉尼亚·伍尔芙

Men always want to be a woman's first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: what they like is to be a man's last romance.

—— Oscar Wilde

男人经常希望自己是女人初恋的对象，女人则希望成为男人最后的罗曼史。——奥斯卡·王尔德

. Read the following humorous story for fun. You might need to look up new words in a dictionary.

My wife and her Friend Karen were talking about their labor-saving devices as they pulled into our driveway. Karen said, "I love my new garage-door opener." "I love mine too," my wife replied, and honked the horn three times. That was the signal for me to come out and open the garage.

参考资料：

1. 全新版大学英语综合教程第二册 Unit6:Women Half the Sky_大学教材听力 - 可可英语
2. https://www.wendangwang.com/doc/90e6cf6db40654adf7dd5c70/45