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P1

①When I decided to quit my full time employment it never occurred to me that I might become a part of a new international trend. ②A lateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress prompted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming “I wanted to spend more time with my family”.

①当我决定辞去自己的全职工作时，我从未想到自己可能会成为国际新潮流的一分子。②一次平级的人事调动伤害了我的自尊心，并且阻碍了我事业的发展，这促使我离开了自己相对引人注目的工作，然而我却如一位失势的政府大臣那样，宣称“我想花更多的时间陪伴家人”，以此来掩盖离职的原因。

词汇突破

occur to sb (想法或主意)被想到，被想起

lateral /ˈlætərəl/ adj (职位、工作、关系等)平级的，同级的

prompt /prɒmpt/ v [T] 促使；促发

high profile 引人注目的(位置或名声)

in the manner of sb/sth 体现某人/某物所特有的风格

disgraced /dɪsˈgreɪst/ adj 丢脸的；蒙羞的；失势的

cover /ˈkʌvə(r)/ v [T] 掩饰；掩盖

句式分析

② A lateral move【主语】 that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress【定语从句】 prompted【谓语】 me【宾语1】 to abandon my relatively high profile career【宾语补足语】 although【连词】, in the manner of a disgraced government minister【方式状语】, I【主语2】 covered【谓语2】 my exit【宾语2】 by claiming “I wanted to spend more time with my family”【方式状语】.

▷本句主干为A lateral move...prompted me to abandon my...career although, ...I covered my exit...。关系代词that引导定语从句that hurt...progress修饰A lateral move，该定语从句包含两个并列谓语部分hurt my pride和blocked my professional progress。although为转折连词，连接两个分句。两个介宾结构in the manner of a disgraced government minister和by claiming “I wanted to spend more time with my family”均为方式状语，用来修饰说明后一分句的谓语部分cover my exit。引号中的部分作claiming的直接引语。

P2

①Curiously, some two-and-a-half years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term “downshifting” has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality. ②I have been transformed from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of “have it all”, preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages of She magazine, into a woman who is happy to settle for a bit of everything.

①奇怪的是，在约两年半的时间并完成了两部小说后，我这种被美国人称之为“低速生活”的尝试使我那老掉牙的借口变成了绝对的现实。②我已经从一个狂热拥护“拥有一切”这种生活哲学(这是在过去七年中琳达·凯尔西在《她》杂志中一直宣扬的生活方式)的人变成了一个容易满足的人。

词汇突破

term /tɜːm/ v [T] 把……称做；把……叫做

downshifting /ˈdaʊnʃɪftɪŋ/ n [U] 换工作，改变生活方式(原指开车时调到低速档，在此指改变生活方式，由此虽然工资变低、责任变小，但生活会更满足快乐)

advocate /ˈædvəkət/ n [C] 拥护者；提倡者；主张者 /ˈædvəkeɪt/ v [T] 主张；拥护；鼓吹

philosophy /fəˈlɒsəfi/ n [C] 人生观；处事哲学

preach /priːtʃ/ v [T] 宣扬；鼓吹

settle for sth (无奈地)接受；(勉强)认可

句式分析

② I【主语】 have been transformed【谓语】 from a passionate advocate of the philosophy of “have it all”【主语补足语】, preached by Linda Kelsey for the past seven years in the pages of She magazine【后置定语】, into a woman【主语补足语】 who is happy to settle for a bit of everything【定语从句】.

▷本句的主干为I have been transformed...from...和into...引导的介宾结构均作主语补足语，其中passionate和of the philosophy of “have it all”为定语修饰advocate；preached by...in the pages of She magazine为过去分词短语作后置定语，修饰the philosophy of “have it all”。a woman后为who引导的定语从句，对其进行修饰说明。

P3

①I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting” brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status. ②Nothing could persuade me to return to the kind of life Kelsey used to advocate and I once enjoyed: 12-hour working days, pressured deadlines, the fearful strain of office politics and the limitations of being a parent on “quality time”.

①我发现，放弃“为生活打拼”的信条转向“低速生活”，会带来远比经济成功和社会地位更为丰厚的回报（凯尔西因不堪不断增加的压力辞去了《她》杂志编辑的职务——这件事曾被广泛报道），此后，她或许会与我有同样的发现。②没有什么能说服我回到凯尔西过去倡导的、我自己也曾享受的那种生活：一天工作12个小时，压得人喘不过气来的截止期限，紧张而可怕的办公室政治，以及对父母享受“亲子时间”的种种限制。

词汇突破

editorship /ˈedɪtəʃɪp/ n [U] (报纸、杂志的)编辑职位，编辑任职期

build-up /ˈbɪld ʌp/ n [C] 增长；加强；集结

doctrine /ˈdɒktrɪn/ n [C,U] 教义；信条

juggle /ˈdʒʌgl/ v [I,T] (尤指吃力地)同时应付(几份工作、多项活动等)

alternative /ɔːlˈtɜːnətɪv/ adj 可替代的；另外的；两者择一的

deadline /ˈdedlaɪn/ n [C] 最终期限；截止日期

strain /streɪn/ n [C,U] 焦虑；紧张

quality time 宝贵时光(通常指与子女共度的时光，一起做些愉快的事来保持密切的关系)

句式分析

① I【主语1】 have discovered【谓语1】, as【连词】 perhaps【副词】 Kelsey【主语2】 will【谓语2】 after her much-publicized resignation from the editorship of She after a build-up of stress【状语】, that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting” brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status【宾语从句】.

▷本句的主干结构为I have discovered, as... Kelsey will (discover)...that...。as为连词，意为“如同，正如”，为了使句子更简洁，as从句中省略了谓语discover。that直至句末为主句的宾语从句，在该从句中，主语部分为动名词结构abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting”，谓语为brings，with it为伴随状语，宾语部分为far greater rewards，其后than financial success and social status为后置定语。

P4

①In America, the move away from juggling to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle is a well-established trend. ②Downshifting—also known in America as “voluntary simplicity”—has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anti-consumerism. ③There are a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books for people who want to simplify their lives; there are newsletters, such as The Tightwad Gazette, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap; there are even support groups for those who want to achieve the mid-’90s equivalent of dropping out.

①在美国，摆脱忙碌而过一种更简单的、不那么物质的生活已成为一种公认的趋势。②具有讽刺意味的是，低速生活——在美国也称为“自愿简单”——甚至已经孕育了一个新领域，即所谓的“反消费主义”。③对于那些想简化自己生活的人，市面上有很多畅销的关于低速生活的自助书籍；还有一些诸如《守财奴报》之类的时事通讯，给几十万美国人提供包罗万象的实用小建议——从重复利用塑料保鲜膜到自制肥皂；甚至还有后援团来帮助那些想过90年代中期那种脱离传统社会生活的人。

词汇突破

materialistic /məˌtɪəriəˈlɪstɪk/ adj 实利主义的；物质主义的(含贬义)

well-established adj 已建立起地位的；已得到确认的

voluntary /ˈvɒləntri/ adj 自愿的；自动的；主动的

simplicity /sɪmˈplɪsəti/ n [U] 简单；简朴

breed /briːd/ v [T] 产生；引起

anti-consumerism n [U] 反消费主义(为保护环境而反对消费的主张)

newsletter /ˈnjuːzletə(r)/ n [C] (定期发给组织成员的)简报，通讯

tightwad /ˈtaɪtwɒd/ n [C] 吝啬鬼；守财奴

gazette /gəˈzet/ n [C] 报；报纸(现主要用于一些报刊名称中)

cling-film /ˈklɪŋ fɪlm/ n [U] (尤指包装食物的)透明薄膜，塑料保鲜膜

equivalent /ɪˈkwɪvələnt/ n [C] 相等物；等值物；对应物

drop out 逃避现实；脱离传统社会

句式分析

③ There are【there be结构1】 a number of best-selling downshifting self-help books【主语1】 for people【状语】 who want to simplify their lives【定语从句】; there are【there be结构2】 newsletters【主语2】, such as The Tightwad Gazette【同位语】, that give hundreds of thousands of Americans useful tips on anything from recycling their cling-film to making their own soap【定语从句】; there are【there be结构3】 even support groups【主语3】 for those【状语】 who want to achieve the mid-’90s equivalent of dropping out【定语从句】.

▷本句由三个并列的there be结构分句构成。第一个分句的主干为There are...books...，who want to simplify their lives为定语从句修饰其前的people。第二个分句的主干为there are newsletters...，such as The Tightwad Gazette为同位语用来举例说明，其后为that引导的定语从句，用来修饰说明newsletters。第三个分句的主干为there are...support groups...，who引导的定语从句修饰说明其前的those。

P5

①While in America the trend started as a reaction to the economic decline—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late ’80s—and is still linked to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance, we have different reasons for seeking to simplify our lives.

①虽然在美国，这种趋势起初只是对经济衰退作出的一种反应——那是80年代末期由于企业缩减规模而引起大规模裁员之后——而且现在仍然与提倡节俭的政治政策有关；但是在英国，至少在我所认识的那些中产阶级低速生活者当中，追求简单生活的原因则各不相同。

词汇突破

redundancy /rɪˈdʌndənsi/ n [C,U] 解雇；裁员

downsize /ˈdaʊnsaɪz/ v [I,T] 紧缩(编制)；裁员

acquaintance /əˈkweɪntəns/ n [C] 相识的人；熟人

seek to do sth 试图做某事

句式分析

① While【连词】 in America【状语】 the trend【主语1】 started【谓语1】 as a reaction to the economic decline【状语】—after the mass redundancies caused by downsizing in the late ’80s【插入语】—and【连词】 is still linked【谓语1】 to the politics of thrift, in Britain, at least among the middle-class downshifters of my acquaintance【状语】, we【主语2】 have【谓语2】 different reasons【宾语】 for seeking to simplify our lives【后置定语】.

▷本句的主干为While...the trend started...and is... linked..., we have... reasons...。while为转折连词，引导让步状语从句。在该从句中主语为the trend，两个并列的谓语部分为started as a reaction to the economic decline和is linked to the politics of thrift。破折号之间的部分作插入语，在插入语部分中，过去分词结构caused by downsizing作后置定语，修饰the mass redundancies。

P6

①For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the ‘80s, downshifting in the mid-’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.

①对于我们这一代在整个80年代被激励着为生活努力打拼的女性来说，90年代中期的低速生活与其说是为了追求神话般的美好生活——种植自己的有机蔬菜，并且冒险自己变成蔬菜——不如说是因为认识到了自身的局限。

词汇突破

urge sb to do sth 竭力劝告、敦促、催促某人做某事

mythical /ˈmɪθɪkl/ adj 神话的；神话里的

organic /ɔːˈgænɪk/ adj 不用化肥(农药)生产的；有机的

risk /rɪsk/ v [T] 冒险做……

recognition /ˌrekəgˈnɪʃn/ n [U] 认识；承认