A-red-lignt-for-scofflaws[1].doc

Unit Twelve

A Red Light for Scofflaws

Frank Trippett

About the Author
Frank Trippett: (1926 - ) now senior editor of Time magazine, has had a lifelong career in journalism. He has served as a writer and editor at such national publications as Look and Newsweek and is the author of three books: The States United They Fall (1967), The First Horseman (1974), and Child Ellen (1975). The text first appeared in Time, in which the author takes a wider view of what happens when individuals bend small laws for their own convenience.

Language Points

1. Nothing is more … than …
Outwardly they are in comparative degree, but inwardly they are in supreme degree. And other similar patterns:
Nothing could be more obvious than the evidence supporting Riesman.
To my mind nothing is more horrible than being all alone in the world.
No one is so foolish as to believe that anything happens by chance.
Scarcely any part of the world affords so great a variety in so small an area as our own island.
Now there is no greater pleasure than to go to bed in the evening and know that the washing up is being done by the machine.
No creature has received more praise and abuse than the common garden snail.
2. duck out (of)
to try to avoid (a difficulty or unpleasant responsibility)
You can’t duck out now, you made a solemn promise.
No parent can duck out of his duty to his children.
It’s unlawful to try to duck out of paying taxes.
3. add up to
to mean or suggest
This conversation add up to a difference of opinion between us.
He made a number of criticisms, but they didn’t add up to much. (没有多大价值)
4. wane
to grow gradually smaller or less after being full or complete; to loose power, wealth or influence
The Roman Empire rapidly wane in power in the 5th century.
Summer wanes as autumn approaches.
5. not to mention
not to say; not to speak of, etc.
1) Innocent drivers and pedestrians pay .a repetitious price in frustration, inconvenience and outrage, not to mention a justified sense of moral peril.
2) He cannot afford the ordinary comforts of life, not to speak of luxuries.
3) We are too busy to take a long vacation this year, not to mention the fact that we can’t afford it.
4) As a matter of fact, all great discoverers worthy of the name have at one time or another been regarded as dreamers, not to say mad.
6. cannot help being harmed …
“cannot help + doing”; “cannot but + do”, or “cannot help but”: cannot fail to; be compel or obliged to,
1) The red-light runner, however, shows no respect whatever for the social rules, and society cannot help being harmed by any repetitious and brazen display of contempt for the fundamentals of order.
2) I cannot but feel thankful that it formed such a material part of my education.
3) I cannot help forming some opinion of a man’s character from his dress.
4) We cannot help but believe in the youth who is always trying to improve himself.
5) The little child was so beautiful, kind and good, that no one who saw her could help being attracted by her.
7. for all
in spite of
1) He is still poor for all he has worked.
2) For all his wealth, he was lonely and unhappy.
8. stereotypical
of a fixed pattern to represent a type of person or event
1) She believes that she is not a good mother because she is not a stereotypical women who spends all her time with the children.
2) She has a stereotypical view of teachers believing that they are all as unfair as hers were when she was a girl.
9. skirt
to avoid (a question, subject, difficulty etc.)
The speech was disappointing; it skirted all the main questions.
10. take from
remove
1) The police overpowered the gunman and took his gun from him.
2) No government should be allowed to take their rights from the native people.

Word Study

1. abound v. to exist in large number or great quantity
abound in / abound with: to have in large fronts or great quantity
1) Scofflaws abound in amazing variety.
2) The land abounds in springs and streams of water.
3) The jungle abounds with snakes.
4) The book abounds in printing mistakes.
2. exempt adj. freed from a duty, service, payment, etc.
exempt v. to make someone or something exempt
1) Bicyclists often ride as though two-wheeled vehicles are exempt from all traffic laws.
2) His bad health exempted him from military service.
3) A number of MPs supported a motion to exempt certain industries from the provisions of the Bill.
4) Persons over sixty are exempt from jury services.
5) Nobody should be exempt from doing some of the unpleasant jobs in the running of the camp.
3. plague v. to cause continual discomfort, suffering, or trouble to;
to make rather angry, esp. by some repeated action plague n. quick-spreading, quick-killing disease; a widespread and harmful mass or number; a continually troublesome person or thing
1) That a plague that child is!
2) You’ve been plaguing me with silly questions all day!
3) On the 14th century the plague killed one-third of the population of Europe.
4) At this time of year university admissions are plagued with inquiries from anxious applicants.
4. pose v. to set; bring into being; to state often for consideration pose as to; pretend to be pose for cause (some difficulty) for sb.
1) She was employed by the art school to pose for student artists.
2) The thief got into the house by posing as a television repairman.
3) The continuing increase in population numbers poses some awkward questions for the government.
4) His reluctance to cooperate poses a problem.
5) He posed as a rich man though he owed more than he owned.
5. prohibit v. to forbid by law or rules; to prevent, or make impossible
prohibition n.
prohibitive adj.
1) The law prohibits occupancy by more than 250 persons.
2) He threw himself in front of the door and prohibited us from leaving.
3) The government has put a prohibitive tax on foreign goods.
4) The prohibition against smoking on school grounds is strictly enforced.
5) Family finances prohibited his going to college.
6. take to: to be pleased by or attracted to; begin to do sth. as a regular habit
1) The dog seldom takes to strangers.
2) His manner was so taking that I took to him at once.
3) After a few years he abandoned journalism and took to writing novels.
4) I’m sorry to hear that he has taken to drink.
5) Recently I have taken to getting up earlier in the morning.

参考译文

对违反法律者亮红灯

弗兰克·特立皮德

[1] 法律和秩序是美国历史上持续时间最长的、也可能是政治上的最热门的话题。然而，显然令人烦恼的是，数以百万计的美国人尽管从没有认为自己会违反法律，更不用说会成为罪犯了，却正在越来越随便地对待那些专为保护与造福他们的社会所制定的法规。当然现今确实有些时候似乎无视法律代表了未来的潮流。哈佛大学的社会学家大卫·莱斯曼怀疑，大多数美国人喜欢犯那种他们认为是无关紧要的玩忽职守的错误。莱斯曼说，美国社会的伦理道德已经处于这样的危险之中：即，“如果你遵纪守法，你就是个傻瓜”。
[2] 支持莱斯曼观点的证据是再明显不过的。违法乱纪者屡见不鲜、无奇不有，达到了惊人的程度。墙上的乱涂乱画把公共场所的外观糟塌得不堪人目。骑自行车的人横冲直闯，似乎两个车轮的交通工具可以不受任何交通法规的束缚。乱丢垃圾的人把他们的生活区域变成了垃圾场。正如以前的法令未能扫除危害公园的满身酒气的流氓阿飞一样，广泛宣传的法规也未能消除公共场所的高分贝便携式收音机。吸烟成瘾的人们对“不准吸烟”的告示牌熟视无睹。衣冠楚楚的吸大麻的人再也不像从前那样躲开公众的视线偷偷摸摸地传递带大麻的香烟了。在中上层人士中毫无顾忌地使用可卡因已成为令人烦恼的丑闻。而且，(好家伙，人数真不少啊!)还有随意横穿马路的人呢。
[3] 违法行为的危害差别极大。在人行道上随地吐痰当然令人厌恶，但是很明显，比起那些违法地在未经许可的地区掩埋危险化学废料的公司对他人造成的危害要小得多。忽视防火安全法规的房主对人生命的危害当然要比在地铁逃票的人大得多。然而，最直接和最引人注目的违法行为恰恰就是最常见的一种社会现象。首当其冲者就是美国的司机们。今天，他们无法无天的行为给公众造成了极大的灾难。其危害既有日常多见的造成城市街道堵塞的并排违章停车，也有司机酒后开车造成的每年死亡大约25,000人，伤残至少650,000人。那么高速公路上的违章超速行驶呢？最新调查显示，在一些州际公路上83%的司机现在根本无视联邦法定的每小时55英里的时速限制。
[4] 所有违章行为中最厚颜无耻的要数闯红灯了。在波士顿，人们对这种停止通行的信号的藐视已经到了这样的程度，以至在当地人中竟然流传着这种笑话：一名出租汽车司机居然坚持说，红灯信号仅仅起装饰作用。禁止通行的红灯控制交通的效力在各地都在削弱。在洛杉矾，闯红灯似乎已经成为最常见的违反交通法规的行为。在纽约，过十字路口就像俄国轮盘赌一样。警察局长罗伯特·杰·麦克盖尔承认，“现在人们在红灯面前是否停下来是50%对50%的抛硬币的概率。”同时，他自己属下的警察们也大都对这种违章行为熟视无睹。
[5] 闯红灯一直被认为是微不足道的小错，所以这可能是个人的小事。但是当这种违章行为成为习惯性的、广泛的和没完没了的时候，那么所涉及的问题就远远不仅是一个交通管理的问题了。这种对道路基本交通法规的无视极大地危害了社会风气。无辜的司机和行人们一而再、再而三地为所遭受的挫折、不便和伤害而付出很大代价，更不用说他们无法摆脱不安全感了。闯红灯之所以成为重大问题，就是因为这种现象比比皆是。如果说虚伪是邪恶向美德呈献的赞美，那么偷偷摸摸就是违法者向法律和秩序的威力所表示的衷心的敬意了。然而，闯红灯的人却连这点对社会法规的起码的尊重也没有，而这种一再厚颜无耻地蔑视秩序的基本准则不能不极大地危害社会。
[6] 这种无视法律的风气无处不在。所以当有些学校发现，孩子们人学时经常连最起码的集体生活规则都不懂时，就不足为奇了(有些学校的确是这样认为)。尽管无视法律的人各种各样，但是他们都是社会基本道德败坏症候的一种表现——一个人失去了为了他人的利益而约束自己的能力。
[7] 美国人习惯于认为，固定形式的暴力犯罪是对法律和秩序的主要威胁。然而，却正是出于普通的遵纪守法的公民设法钻法律的空子
才真正动摇了美国法律的基础。主要例子：禁酒令。唐纳德·巴·契德斯在《上下马车》一书中回忆道：“违法事实上是不痛苦的，甚至都没有令人不舒服的感觉，反而以一种柔和的、完全安全的方式令人欢喜。”人们终于废除了禁酒令，不仅是因为酒的问题，而且因为违法行为严重地损害了政府的威信和合法地位。具有讽刺意味的是，不管今天这种无视法律的风气源于何处，它却受到各级政府官员的无可奈何的鼓励。警察未能强制实行某些法律仅仅是问题的表面，他们只不过是从他们为之服务的官员和选民那里接受命令。更糟糕的是，大多数的州立法机构在公众遵守联邦法律规定的车速不得超过每小时55英里的规定时却帮了倒忙，其中一些州甚至擅自规定超速仅处以很少的罚款以使大事化小。更高一级的华盛顿政府则用反对(而不是支持)某些已成为法律条文的取消种族隔离的规定的办法，来实现其取消民权法律的效力的愿望，这真是令人啼笑皆非。据《荒原》杂志报导，环保组织以相当正当的理由指责当局破坏环境保护法，因为它未能推行该法规，或是虽然推行但却故意怂恿人们违反法规。这解释为：最高一级的违法行为。
[8] 无视法律之风最令人不安之处在于它的极端传染性。只有最愚蠢的社会才会坐视不管、任其蔓延。

Translation
A.
最新研究表明：4%以上的美国人一旦开始赌博就很难洗手不干。结果是，职业丢失，婚姻破裂，财产耗尽。理查德·罗森塔尔教授预言，赌博将会成为“90年代人们成瘾君子的嗜好”。 罗森塔尔说：“彩券已经改变了社会公众对于赌博的概念，人们改变了对它的看法”。传统的价值观念在社会上淡薄了，人们的思想处于混乱之中，赌博消除了含糊之处。要么你赢，要么你输，当场即见分晓。电视节目大肆宣扬使人立即感到满足、立即占有财富、立即取得物质成就的方法，在这种思想熏染下成长起来的一代人看来，赌博无疑是一种自然发泄情感的途径。罗森塔尔说：“使我最为惊讶的是，这些人对他们的生活有一种无能为力的感觉。在他们的成长过程中，总觉得自己不会有所作为，所以就去追求魔术般的手段而大获全胜，赢得惊人的成功。”
B.
1. Nothing is more important for the student who loves literature than to become intimately acquainted with great critics.
2. She could not help sympathizing with every little helpless thing; her heart was always touched by a bird or beast that had been hurt.
3. He had lived in the East countries so long that he got out of English ways.
4. If there is plenty of traffic, the railway is able to make transportation very economical, not to speak of its regularity, ease, and rapidity.
5. The young men of promise broke not only all the promise he had made to himself and others, but, what was worse than all, the heart of his aged father also.
6. Less than 80 years ago, the old Locomotive Act restricted speeds to 2 m. p. h. in towns. By 1903 the development of the car industry had made it necessary to raise the limit to 20 m.p.h. For 5 years motorists were free to drive at whatever speeds they liked. Speeding is now the most common motoring offence in Britain. The main controversy surrounding speeding laws is the extent of their safety value. The Ministry of Transport reduce accidents. In America, however, it has even been suggested that the present speed limits should be abolished completely.

V. writing
Suggested passage:

To Solve the Problem of Traffic Safety

Every year, tens of thousands of people are killed on the road. Although the percentage of accidents is not as large as that in some other countries, people fear that with the increasing number of vehicles coming on to the roads each year the total number of accidents will also continue to grow.
One of the measures is to improve the existing roads and build new ones. However, the standards of road safety will not be improved by this only. What is more important is the attitude of the road users toward traffic safety. That is why the Government devotes time and resources to producing propaganda in support of the “safety first” campaign. Motorists and cyclists are two important factors. Nowadays, cyclists, who usually disregard traffic regulations, run rampant in big cities. Only by observing the traffic rules to the full can we keep the accident rate down. In short, for the happiness of yourself and others, please pay more attention to traffic regulations.

Key to the Exercises

I. Comprehension
1.A 2.A 3.C 4.A 5.D 6.C 7.D 8.D 9.0 10. B
II. Vocabulary
1.D 2.B 3.C 4.A 5.B 6.C 7.D 8.D 9.A 10.D
11.C 12.A 13.D 14.A 15.B 16.A 17.B 18.A 19.B 20.A
III. Cloze
1.D 2.A 3.B 4.C 5.A 6.B 7.C 8.A 9.D 10.A
11.D 12.C 13.A 14.C 15A

Exercise B

I. 1. condensers 2. contractor 3. affirmative 4. competitive 5. conversion
6. consultative 7. conviction 8. combustion 9. completion 10. concentration
11. commonplace 12. co-operative 13. comprehensive 14. commodity 15. chamber, chamber

II. 1. (get) to, at (best) 2. in (compensation) 3. (absent) from 4. (in collaboration) with
5. (called) for 6. (serve) as, (auxiliary) to 7. (coincided) on 8. (puts ... ) on
9. (connections) among 10. (credited) with, (jump) onto, at (his age)
11. (burst) out, like 12. (dry) off 13. (call) in 14. (come) about 15. (drove) out
16. (clean myself) up, (covered) in (oil) 17. (went) on (strike), (closed) up 18. (a matter) of
19. (in connection) with 20. (guidance) for, in ( ... affairs) 21. (response) to
22. (transfer) of, from (Britain), to (the United States), in (the currency market).

III.
1. N
2. on (his burial) -- at (his burial)
3. (to use cannon) for -- (to use cannon) against
4. N
5. John does so -- so does John
6. disable -- corrupt
7. N
8. (in accordance) to -- (in accordance) with
9. to (acknowledgment) -- in (acknowledgment)
10. hostile -- cordial
11. N
12. At (signing) -- By (signing)
13. to amuse -- to amusement
14. given – conceding / giving
15. N
Supplementary Reading

1.D 2.A 3.B 4.C 5.C 6.A 7.D 8.B 9.A 10.C