新視野大學英語讀寫教程第一冊unit2-a A Busy Weekday Morning

Unit 2

Section A

Pre-reading Activities

First Listening
You are about to read an early morning exchange between a daughter and her parents.

Second Listening
Discuss the following questions after the second listening.
1. What are some of the things you think the daughter and her parents might have different ideas about?
2. How can the older and the younger generation have real communication with and understand each other?

A Busy Weekday Morning

The radio clicked on. Rock music blasted forth. Like a shot, the music woke Sandy. She looked at the clock; it was 6:15 A.M. Sandy sang along with the words as she lay listening to her favorite radio station.
"Sandy," shouted her father. "Sandy, turn that music off!" Steve Finch burst into her room. "Why do you have to listen to such horrible stuff? It's the same thing over and over. I'm not sure it is really music though it does have rhythm. Hmmm. No, it isn't really music. It's weird. It is definitely horrible stuff."
"I like that music, Dad; it's my favorite group — Green Waves. Listen for a minute; I'm sure you'll like it. It has a really powerful message. Didn't you ever listen to music like this when you were a youngster?" Sandy reached for the radio to turn it up louder.
"No, no, don't do that. I can't stand it. The music I listened to had a message, too, but the words were clear and the musicians didn't use such offensive language. Turn that radio down so your mother and I can't hear it. I'm sure that music is hurting your ears as well as your brain. Now, would you please hurry up and turn it off? Get ready for school or you'll be late!"
Sandy walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. At first, the water felt cold. It helped her wake up. Then, as the water got hotter, she thought, "This shower feels great and in here I can be alone and sing. No one disturbs me in here." She grabbed the soap and washed thoroughly, including her hair. If she stayed in the shower too long, her mom or dad usually banged on the door to rush her so she grabbed a towel and dried off.
After her shower, Sandy brushed her hair, put on her old, green T-shirt and some jeans and wrapped her sweater around her shoulders. Then she put on her makeup, grabbed her books and went to the kitchen.
She looked at the clock again; it was late. As usual, she didn't know what to have for breakfast, so she grabbed a glass of milk and ate a piece of toast while standing by the sink. Just then, her mother, Jane, entered the kitchen.
"Sandy, why don't you sit down and eat your breakfast? It isn't healthy to eat standing up."
"I know. Mom, but I'm already late for school. I don't have time to sit down and eat."
"Did you finish your homework, dear?"
"Yes."
"Do you have your instrument?"
"Uh-huh."
"And your lunch?"
"Yah."
"Did you brush your teeth?"
"Mom, I haven't finished eating breakfast yet. I'll brush my teeth when I'm done."
"You should brush your teeth when you wake up and then brush them again after breakfast. Sandy, why are you wearing that old T-shirt? It's disgusting. I know you have some nice blouses in your closet."
"Mom, please stop."
"Stop what, dear?"
"Stop bugging me."
"Sandy, are you wearing eye-liner?"
"Yes, Mom, I've been wearing eye-liner for months. Isn't it pretty? It's called French Lilac Blue. I just love it." Sandy pretended not to notice that her mother was a little annoyed.
"Sandy Finch, you're too young to wear that much makeup. Please go upstairs and wash it off."
"Mom, I'm fifteen. I'm old enough to wear makeup. Believe me, all the girls at school wear makeup. Some have tattoos and pierced ears, and noses and tongues, too. Mom, I don't have time to talk about this now — I'm late. I've got to go. See you later." Sandy kissed her mother quickly on the cheek, picked up her books, and bolted out of the house.
As she ran to catch the school bus, Sandy thought of her older brother Bill who was away at college. He phoned her often so they could talk and share their problems, but she hadn't heard from him for a while. She missed him. Since Bill had gone to college, her mother bugged Sandy much more than before, and she was arguing with her mother a lot more than usual, too.

Words: 694

NEW WORDS

weekday
n. any day except Sunday and Saturday 工作日（星期六、日以外的日子）

click
vi. make a short, sharp sound 發(fā)出“嘟”、“咔嗒”等輕微響聲
n. a short, sharp sound 咔嗒聲

blast
v. 1. make a sudden, loud sound 發(fā)出猛烈響聲
2. break up by explosion 爆破
3. attack with explosives 以炸藥攻擊

forth
ad. out; forward 出來；向前

horrible
a. shocking, frightening; unpleasant 可怕的；令人不悅的

stuff
n. matter; material 東西；材料

rhythm
n. regular repeated pattern of sounds or movements 節(jié)奏; 韻律

▲weird
a. strange; unusual 古怪的；離奇的

definitely
ad. certainly; with no doubt 當然；無疑地

powerful
a. 1. full of force 有力的，強壯的
2. having a strong effect 功效大的

youngster
n. a young person 青少年；青年

musician
n. a person who is able in music 音樂師

offensive
a. 1. very unpleasant 極討厭的，令人作嘔的
2. for attacking 攻擊性的

disturb
vt. 1. interrupt, trouble or bother 打擾，妨礙
2. make sb. worry or unhappy 使……不安，使……煩惱

grab
vt. take suddenly and roughly 抓取，攫取

thorough
a. 1. complete in every way 徹底的
2. careful about details 認真的

thoroughly
ad. completely; carefully徹底地；仔細地

bang
v. (cause to) hit hard and with loud noises （使）撞擊；（使）猛擊, 使勁敲

towel
n. a piece of cloth for drying things 毛巾

■T-shirt
n. an informal, cotton article of clothing 圓領衫

jeans
n. strong cotton trousers 牛仔褲

wrap
vt. cover in material folded over 包，裹

sweater
n. (woolen) clothing for the top part of the body （羊）毛衣

■makeup
n. paint, powder, etc., worn on the face 化妝品

toast
n. bread made brown by heating 烤面包

instrument
n. 1. an object for producing musical sounds 樂器
2. a tool 工具

■yah
interj. (informal/slang) yes 用于表示討厭、嘲笑、無耐心等發(fā)出的驚嘆語

disgust
vt. cause not to like 使厭惡，使反感

disgusting
a. very unpleasant 令人厭惡的，令人作嘔的

blouse
n. woman's shirt 女襯衫

▲closet
n. a box built into the wall to store things 壁柜

▲bug
vt. (informal/slang) bother; annoy; trouble 令人生氣；使人煩；糾纏

■eye-liner
n. dark make-up lines around the lashes or the pencil for making lines around the eyes or in the eye-brows 眼線筆（液）

annoy
n. make a little angry 使生氣；使惱怒

■tattoo
n. patterns made by putting paint into the skin 紋身

pierce
v. make a hole in 穿洞；刺穿，刺破

bolt
vi. suddenly start to run or break away 沖出去，逃跑
vt. 閂，拴住

PHRASES AND EXPRESSIONS

blast forth
(sounds) come out suddenly （聲音）突然響起來

along with
in company with; together with 一道

turn off
stop; change to off 關

burst into
1. enter hurriedly, often with force 匆匆進入
2. start suddenly 突然爆發(fā)

over and over
again and again; regularly 一次次

reach for
move one's hand so as to touch or hold sth. 伸手去抓

turn up
increase the volume/size of (sound, flame, etc.) 增大（聲音、火焰等）

turn down
reduce (sound, flame, etc.) usually by moving a switch 減小（聲音、火焰等）

as well as
and; in addition to 和，以及，還有

turn on
change to on, cause to flow or operate 開，打開

as usual
as is common; as has happened before 與往常一樣

that much
(informal) so much; to such a degree 那么……

bolt out
leave in a sudden or unexpected hurry 匆匆離開

PROPER NAMES

Sandy
桑迪（女子名）

Steve Finch
史蒂夫·芬奇（男子名）

Green Waves
綠浪（作者為故事杜撰的名字）

Jane
簡（女子名）

French Lilac Blue
法國紫藍（眼線筆）