PART 1:words & phrase
1.原句:One sunny Sunday in Chicago, several former classmates gathered for lunch, having attended their high school reunion the night before.
reunion/riːˈjuːniən/n.[countable]a social meeting of people whohave not met for a long time, especially people who wereat school or collegetogether聚会
eg. a high-school reunion /afamily reunion
[uncountable]when people arebrought together againaftera period of being separated团圆
reunion with eg. Joseph’s eventual reunion with his brother
2.原句:there lived four little characters who ran through a maze looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.
character/ˈkærəktər/n.人物、角色PERSON[countable]
ALL SOMEBODY’S QUALITIES[countable usually singular]the particular combination of qualitiesthat makes someone a particular type of person性格
eg.He has a cheerful but quietcharacter.
QUALITIES OF SOMETHING[singular, uncountable]the particularcombination of featureand qualitiesthat makes a thing or placedifferent fromall others 特性SYN nature
eg.The whole character of the school has changed.
解析:
temper:指从感情方面体现出来,决定处理问题或应付形势的方式的性格或性情,这种性情可以是暂时的也可以长久的。
character:指对个性或人格所作出的客观评价,常常与道德有关。
nature:指天生的、不可改变性格。
personality:主要指一个人稳定的心理特征。
disposition:书面用词,指人的主要爱好或思想、精神方面的重要习性、气质。也可指短暂的情绪。
complexion:指由思维方式、态度和情绪所决定的本质特征。
3.原句:The mice, Sniff and Scurry, used the simple trial-and-error method of finding cheese.
trial-and-error:if you do something bytrialand error, you testmany different methods of doing something in order to find thebestn.试错法,反复试验法
by/throughtrial and error
eg. He learned everything just by trial and error.
4.原句:Hem and Haw, had very complex brains with beliefs and emotions. That made life in the maze more complicated and challenging.
complex与complicated
这两个形容词意义相近,但略有不同。Complex着重内部组成成分数量之多,complicated则不重数量,而主要强调各个组成部分之间错综复杂的互动关系(如“牵一发而动全身”)。【例如】The problems of poverty are complicated.贫穷的问题是错综复杂的。/The mechanism of jet engines is complex.喷气引擎的构造是复杂的。
5.原句:Although their abilities were some times clouded by the way they looked at things.
clouded(v.)If you saythat somethingcloudsyour view of a situation,you mean that it makes youunable to understandthe situation orjudgeit properly.蒙蔽
eg. Perhaps anger had clouded his vision, perhaps his judgment had been faulty.
PART 2:Grammar
PART 3: Summary
First, the author leads to the story by a man who gathers with his classmates. They settle into an interesting conversation with unexpected changes. Most of them have tried to change, but useless. They did not know a good way to handle them. Then the man tells them the story that changes the way he looks at change-Who Moved My Cheese. The mice, Sniff and Scurry, and the two Littlepeople, Hem and Haw, to search for cheese. With their own ways, they all find cheese. The mice use the simple trial-and-error method of finding cheese. However, the two Littlepeople rely on their complex brain to develop more sophisticated methods of finding Cheese.
PART 4: Thoughts
Everyone was trying to cope with the unexpected changes that were happening to them in recent years. And most admitted that they did not know a good way to handle them.
记得我高中还是大学就买过这本书的中文版,后来搬家时丢了,真是后悔。现在重新看却有不同的感悟,这是经典,书中提到的情况其实现在的许多人也正面临着。关于改变,有些人想通过知识改变自己的命运,有些人想通过工作改善自己的生活,但真谈到行动时,大多数人却望而却步,因为害怕未知,害怕变的更糟,但不去做又有谁会知道结果如何呢!就像学习群,本来很担心自己不会做、做不好,但没想到加入后却又意外收获,正如《PEAK》中提到的,首先我们要走出自己的舒适区,然后通过刻意练习锻炼,不断复制,失败,反馈,再尝试。You can do it.