trial高级英语.doc

56. Gone was the fierce fervor … a prairie fire:
1) inverted sentence for emphasis
2) fierce fervor: ardent, extreme intensity of emotion
3) political arena: field of politics; arena is a place usually where contests are held
4) swept … like a prairie fire: moved quickly with the speed of a fire in a large flat grassland; a prairie fire is a simile; it is perhaps referring to the speech tours Bryan took in the election campaigns, making fiery speeches, overwhelming his opponents and rallying people under his banner
5) Despite his eloquence, he was not as forceful and persuasive as he used to be.
57. The crowd seemed to feel … as he should have:
1) their champion: their spokesman; champion usually means winner in a competition
2) scorch: parch; wither; burn; it is used metaphorically
3) oratory: skill or eloquence in public speaking
4) scorched the infidels with the hot breath of his oratory: images of heat and fire bring to mind the 16th century burning of infidels at the stake, but this time not burning with firewood but with caustic attacks, with heated condemnation
5) hot breath of his oratory: vivid image of his breath coming out heatedly as he spoke
58. pop up: jump up
59. who has the right to speak for the Bible:
1) the right to: qualified to
2) speak for: uphold, defend, speak on behalf of
3) who is qualified to defend the Bible
60. Mr. Bryan … to politics
1) Although Mr. Bryan was emotional and enthusiastic, he has been devoted to God and religion less than many other people because he has channelized most of his energy to politics, not religion
2) Malone here is making a highly ironical statement, hinting that Bryan is more a politician than a defender of God.
61. Bryan sipped from a jug of water as Malone’s voice grew in volume:
1) sip: drink, taking only a little at a time into the front of the mouth
2) volume: (degree of) fullness or loudness of sound
3) grow in volume: grow louder
62. He appealed … between science and religion:
1) appeal (for): make a strong request (for help, support, mercy etc.)
2) calling for a duel to the death: demanding that a life or death struggle be fought
3) duel: preplanned combat with deadly weapons between two people In Middle Ages, an insult would be sufficient cause for a duel. People dueled to defend their honor. It is used metaphorically here.
4) Malone, while a Catholic, was also a liberal. His view was that people should be allowed to think all sorts of things. Science and religion could coexist and there needn’t be a deadly combat (as Bryan was waging) to prove one right and the other wrong.
63. roar: bellow; give a deep loud continuing sound, like the sound of a lion
64. We are not afraid of it: it refers to the truth
65. The truth is eternal … to support it:
1) eternal: going on for ever; it refers to what has no beginning or end
2) immortal: living for ever; it applies to what cannot or will never die
3) agency: (usu. sing.) the power or force which causes a result; influence; means; instrumentality
4) The truth is everlasting and unchanging regardless of human activities. It does not need any human effort to support it.
66. When Malone finished … surpassed that for Bryan:
1) momentary: lasting for a very short time
2) hush: stillness; quiet, silence esp. a peaceful one
3) break into: begin suddenly
4) storm of applause: loud, noisy applause, like a thunder storm; storm is used metaphorically
5) When Malone finished it was silent for only a very brief time and then there was an outburst of applause, greater than Bryan had received.
6) Note the contrast between hush and storm. This is like a summer storm when the sky blackens and there is quiet before the storm breaks.
67. But although Malone … to testify for the defence:
1) oratorical duel: fight in words, in speeches
2) rule against: decide against; even in a jury trial the judge decides on matters of procedure like this
3) Even though Malone’s speech defending intellectual freedom was better received than Bryan’s, the judge still would not allow the scientists to speak on behalf of John Scopes.
4) Note: problem with the sentence: We haven’t been told that allowing the scientists to testify was Malone’s objective in what he said. This idea springs from nowhere. The author must have assumed too much.

8. When the court adjourned … with strangers:
1) adjourn: close or suspend a meeting, usually to be resumed at another time
2) swarm:
n. a large number of insects esp. bees, usually in motion
v. move or emerge in a swarm
3) When the court session finished (not the end of the trial) the people left the courtroom and found the area around the court full of people from other places (out-of-towners).
69. Hawkers cried their wares on every corner:
1) hawker a person who peddles goods in the streets by shouting
2) cry: hawkers often shout out what they are selling and exaggerate the value to attract customers
3) ware: (usu. in pl.) any piece or kind of goods that a store, merchant, peddler, etc. has to sell
4) This sentence shows how all sorts of people are trying to take advantage of the trial. It takes the reader back to the circus atmosphere.
70. One shop announced … Everything-to-Wear Store:
1) one shop announced: it means announced in its sign; the sign on one shop said
2) Everything-to-Wear store: clothing store, outdated phrase
3) DARWIN IS RIGHT—INSIDE: This is a pun. The author plays on the different meanings of the words. Darwin and right Darwin can refer to the English naturalist or to the shop owner, while right can mean correct or directly. So when one pauses before the dash, the sign means Darwin (the naturalist) is correct; when you read out the whole sign in a breath, it means the shop owner is directly inside.
71. entrepreneur: a person who organizes and manages a business undertaking, assuming the risk for the sake of the profit; the word often has the sense of enterprising, meaning imaginative in ambitious way for private economic gain
73. Spectators paid … be related:
1) ponder: spend time in considering carefully; ponder implies a weighing mentally and suggests careful consideration of a matter from all sides
2) People had to pay in order to have a look at the ape and to consider carefully whether apes and humans could have a common ancestry.
3) This remark is made in a sarcastic tone.
74. The poor brute … afraid it might be true:
1) brute: (often derogatory) an animal, esp. a large one
2) poor brute: unfortunate animal
3) cower: crouch or huddle up, as from fear; shrink in fear
4) The reporter wrote in an assumingly sympathetic way for the ape but the intention was to ridicule the foolishness of the fundamentalists. Even the ape shrank in fear when it realized that it might share the same ancestry with those irrational human beings.
75. sulphurous: violently emotional; heated; fiery
76. dispatch; a message sent to a newspaper by one of its writers
77. in his pants: without shirt because of the heat
78. run (someone) out of: (informal) force (someone) to leave (a place)
79. citizenry: citizens (residents of a city or town)
80. yokels: (humorous or derogatory) naïve, gullible, narrow-minded small town or country people; hicks, bumpkins
81. collapse under the weight of the throng:
1) give away as a result of so many people sitting on it
82. resume: begin again; here it means the next session started
83. squat: crouch so as to sit on the heels with the knees bent and the weight resting on the balls of the feet
84. perch: rest, stand or sit on some elevated place, usually referring to birds
85. gawk: look at something in a foolish way
86. Because of … interpreted literally:
1) wording: the words used; the words chosen to express something and the phrases they form
2) position: stand, attitude toward or opinion on a subject
3) interpret: understand the likely meaning of (something)
4) literal: following or representing the exact words of the original; word-for -word
5) The law was written in such a way that the prosecution had to base its case on a literal explanation of the words in the Bible
87. Now Darrow … for the defence:
1) spring: present suddenly, unexpectedly; produce as a surprise
2) trump card: in some card games, a certain suit is declared trump,
e.g., as outranking all other suits; the winning card; an important advantage
3) spring his trump card: use suddenly that which is most advantageous to his cause in order to improve his position
90. startle: imply a shock of surprise or fright of a kind that often causes one to literally jump or shrink
92. His reputation … throughout the world:
1) authority: a person whose knowledge is dependable, good and respected
2) Scripture: the Bible
3) recognize: acknowledge the authority of; admit (something or someone) as having the right to be the stated thing
4) People all over the world admitted that he was an expert on the Bible.
5) This is an exaggeration meant to ridicule Bryan and to put him in a disadvantageous position.
93. Bryan was suspicious … the challenge:
1) suspicious (of): not trusting; showing or expressing distrust
2) wily: clever in tricks, esp. for getting something one wants; crafty; sly; (wily implies the deceiving of others by subtle, cunning pretences, usually unscrupulous regarding the means to one’s end)
3) challenge: a call to engage in contest or fight
4) Bryan suspected that Darrow had some tricks up his sleeves, but it was impossible for him not to accept the call to fight.
94. campaign: undertake a series of activities to attain some political, social, business or military objective
95. passage: the enactment of a law by a legislature
96. Resolutely … to repel his enemies:
1) resolutely: with determination, firmness of decision
2) stride: walk with long steps in a vigorous manner
3) the stand: the witness stand
4) palm fan: 芭蕉扇
5) repel: drive back by or as if by force (Note: One can repel or repulse an enemy but one can only repulse an offer of friendship.)
6) The author depicts Bryan as a soldier going to battle with the palm fan as his weapon. The depiction creates a vivid and ridiculous image in the reader’s mind: the three-time Democratic presidential nominee, the authority on Scripture walked bravely to the witness stand to meet the challenge with a palm fan in his hand. A Don Quixote type of hero.
97. Under Darrow’s quiet questioning … with fervent “Amens”:
1) quiet: calm; not easily excited or disturbed
2) acknowledge: admit
3) punctuate: interrupt periodically
4) defiant: showing no fear or respect
5) defiant reply: answers that show strong resistance, standing up for his beliefs
6) fervent: showing great warmth of feeling; intensely devoted or earnest; (Note: fervent suggests a fiery feeling of enthusiasm, devotion.)
7) The fickle spectators, who were mainly fundamentalists, switched back to Bryan’s side, and took his words as if they were prayers, interrupting frequently with “Amen”.
98. Genesis: 创世纪 first Book of the Old Testament which recounts the creation of the world and claims that God made the world and everything in it in 6 days and rested on the 7th (which is why one day is set aside as a day of rest—Sat. for Jews, Sun. for Christians). It outlines God’s work during each of the 6 days, and says that on the first day there was morning and evening and that God made the sun on the fourth day.
99. “How could …” Darrow enquired:
1) enquire: (American English) inquire
2) Darrow first tricked Bryan into making positive assertions before showing that what he believed was not logically possible. Darrow’s intention was to show how Bryan’s position was.
100. Bryan mopped his bald dome in silence:
1) mop: make dry by rubbing with something dry; mop implies that Bryan was sweating a great deal, not just from the heat, but from embarrassment as well
2) dome: (slang) the human head, esp. when hairless
3) Bryan wiped the sweat off his bald head in silence
101. snigger: sarcastic, somewhat stifled laugh
102. the faithful: the believers, the religious people; this show that even Bryan’s followers were not impressed with his answers at this moment
103. twirl: swing or spin in a circle quickly; Darrow, twirling his spectacles shows his self-confidence.
104. The story of Eve: Adam, first man, made by God, who then decided Adam should have a companion. Therefore, he took a rib from Adam’s side and made Eve. They lived ignorant, blissful, naked, without any thought of a sexual relationship in the Garden of Eden, which was Paradise Heaven) on earth. In the Garden was a Tree of Knowledge with apples. God told them not to eat from the Tree. The Serpent (snake) representing evil, persuaded Eve to have an apple, which she ate and then persuaded Adam to eat too. God punished the snake for luring Eve into evil by condemning it and all snakes after it to crawl on their bellies. Adam and Eve were banished from paradise and condemned to live and die in sorrow and misery.
105. The crowd laughed … in anger:
1) livid: pale with rage
2) This is another description of the reaction of the audience to the new interchange. The crowd, which a few minutes before was sniggering, is now laughing. Bryan, who a few minutes before was sweating in embarrassment, is now pale with rage. He is shaking and his voice is rising (growing in volume or getting higher in pitch; not clear here — possibly both) in anger.
106. “Your honour … to cast slurs on Him …”:
1) your honour: form of address when speaking to a judge
2) slur: unfair damaging remark; any remark or action that harms or is meant to harm someone’s reputation
3) Bryan is attempting to save face, turn the tables on Darrow and win back sympathy from the audience for himself by charging Darrow with being an infidel who is making use of the court to belittle God. Actually whether or not Darrow believed in God was irrelevant.
107. object to: protest against
108. I am examining … on earth believes:
1) examining you on: questioning you about
2) fool ideas: foolish, ridiculous ideas
3) intelligent: the ability to learn or understand from experience or to respond successfully to a new experience
4) no intelligent Christian believes: Thoughtful Christians accept the basic principles of Christianity—e.g. one God, brotherhood, charity —but not the literal truth of the BIBLE AS DO Bryan and the fundamentalists.
110. quell: (poet. and rhetorical) suppress; quiet
111. hubbub: (slang) a mixture of loud noises; a noisy confused mingling of sounds; a great stir
112. forlorn: (lit. or formal) left alone and unhappy; in pitiful condition, nearly helpless
113. My heart … shake Darrow’s hand:
1) go out to: be extended to
2) heart goes out to: (formal) feel sorry for; feel pity or sympathy for
3) old warrior: old fighter; here it means one who has fought for certain ideas
4) Darrow had gotten the best of Bryan, who looked helplessly lost and pitiable as eve