考研英语历年真题阅读要点之2004-Text 4（一）

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　　得阅读者得考研英语，得真题者得整个考研。就考研英语真题试卷而言，阅读部分最重要；就考研复习而言，真题是最宝贵的资料。文都教育考研英语老师继续为大家梳理考研英语历年真题阅读文章中涉及的要点，包括词汇、短语、长难句以及简单的阅读方法。接下来看一下2004年考研英语真题阅读Text 4，这篇文章主要探讨了如今的美国人不重视知识追求。
　　Americans today don’t place a very high value on intellect. Our heroes are athletes, entertainers, and entrepreneurs, not scholars. Even our schools are where we send our children to get a practical education -- not to pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. Symptoms of pervasive anti-intellectualism in our schools aren’t difficult to find.
　　place a very high value on“高度重视”；intellect“知识”；athlete“运动员”；entertainer“演艺人员”；entrepreneur“企业家”；scholar“学者”；practical education“实用教育”；for the sake of“为了”；pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge“为了知识而追求知识”，也就是“纯粹追求知识”；symptom“征兆”；pervasive“普遍的”；anti-intellectualism“反对知识主义”；not difficult可以直接理解为easy。
　　“Schools have always been in a society where practical is more important than intellectual,” ... “Schools could be a counterbalance.” ... traces the roots of anti-intellectualism in our schools, concluding they are anything but a counterbalance to the American distaste for intellectual pursuits.
　　where引导定语从句，修饰限定society；practical“实际的，实用性的”，名词形式practice“实践”；counterbalance“平衡力”；trace the roots of“追溯...的根源”；conclude“总结”，重点关注结论处；anything but“绝不，远非”；distaste“厌恶”；intellectual pursuit“知识追求”，in pursuit of“寻求，追求”。
　　But they could and should be. Encouraging kids to reject the life of the mind leaves them vulnerable to exploitation and control. Without the ability to think critically, to defend their ideas and understand the ideas of others, they cannot fully participate in our democracy... “We will become a second-rate country. We will have a less civil society.”
　　they指的是schools；reject“拒绝，排斥”；life of the mind“精神生活”；leave“使得”；be vulnerable to“易受...的伤害”，vulnerable也可以表示“脆弱的”；exploitation“利用”，也可以表示“剥削，开采”；think critically“批判性地思考”；defend“保卫”；participate in“参与”；democracy“民主”，形容词形式democratic；second-rate“二流的”。We will have a less civil society.“社会文明度将会下降。”
　　以上就是文都教育考研英语老师为大家梳理的2004年考研英语真题阅读Text 4前三段的要点。“知己知彼，百战不殆。”想要攻克考研英语，首先应该对其有一定的了解。如何了解，当然就是从真题入手。与其在浩如烟海的资料中徘徊，不知所措，甚至打消积极性，不如直接关注真题。因此，各位同学，行动起来吧！
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