Just over a year ago, I foolishly locked up my bicycle outside my office, but forgot to remove the pannier. When I returned the pannier had been stolen. Inside it were about ten of the little red notebooks I take everywhere for jotting down ideas for articles, short stories, TV shows and the like.
When I lost my notebooks, I was devastated: all the ideas I'd had over the past two years were contained within their pages. I could remember only a few of them, but had the impression that those I couldn't recall were truly brilliant. Those little books were crammed with the plots of award-winning novels and scripts for radio comedy shows that were only two-thirds as bad as the ones on at the moment.
That's not all, though. In my reminiscence, my lost notebooks contained sketches for many innovative and incredible machines. In one book there was a design for a device that could turn sea water into apple cider; in another, plan for an automatic dog; in a third, sketches for a pair of waterproof shoes with television screens built into the toes. Now all of these plans are lost to humanity.
I found my notebooks again. It turns out they weren't in the bike pannier at all, but in a bag in my spare room, where I found six months after supposedly losing them. And when I flipped through their pages, ready to run to the patent office in the morning, I discovered they were completely full of rubbish.
Discovering the notebooks really shook me up. I had firmly come to believe they were brimming with brilliant, inventive stuff － and yet clearly they weren't. I had deluded myself. After surveying my nonsense, I found that this halo effect always attaches itself to things that seem irretrievably lost. Don't we all have a sneaking feeling that the weather was sunnier, TV shows funnier and cake-shop buns bonnier in the not-very-distant past.
All this would not matter much except that it is a powerful element in reactionary thought, this belief in a better yesterday. After all, racism often stems from a delusion that things have deteriorated since "they" came. What a boon to society it would be if people could visit the past and see that it wasn't the paradise they imagine but simply the present with different hats.
Sadly, time travel is impossible.
Until now, that is. Because I've suddenly remembered I left a leather jacket in an Indonesian restaurant a couples of years ago, and I'm absolutely certain that in the inside pocket there was a sketch I'd made.
- By "only two-thirds as bad as the ones on at the moment" the author means ________
- better than B. as bad as C. worse than D. as good as
- As soon as the author read the lost notebooks, he________
- reported the fact B. found it valueless
- registered the inventions D. was very excited
- Which of the following would the author most probably agree with
- Yesterday is better. B. Yesterday is no better than today.
- Self-delusion sometimes is necessary. D. Things today have deteriorated.
核心词汇注释
pannier n．箩，筐，背篓，撑 裙，(自行车的)挂篮
devastate vt．毁坏
cider n．苹果酒
patent n．专利权，执照，专利品。办特许的，专利的：显著的；明白的；新奇的
vt．取得．．．．的专利权
brim n．(杯，碗等的)边，边缘， (河)边
vt．注满，使满溢 vi．满溢
delude vt．迷惑，蛊惑
irretrievable adj．不能挽回的，不能复原的
delusion n．错觉
deteriorate v．(使)恶化
boon n．恩惠，实惠，福利
长难句剖析
Inside it were about ten of the little red notebooks I take everywhere for jotting down ideas for articles, short stories, TV shows and the like.
[结构分析]本句是一个完全倒装句。主语是about．．．the like，系动词是were，表语是inside it.在主语中还有一个定语从句I take everywhere for．．．the like，作notebook的后置定语。
[参考译文]挂篮中有大约十几本我随身携带的红色小笔记本，是用来记录我对文章、短故事、电视秀等的想法。
Those little books were crammed with the plots of award-winning novels and scripts for radio comedy shows that were only two-thirds as bad as the ones on at the moment．
[结构分析]本句中，that．．．moment是修饰radio comedy的定语从句。
[参考译文]这些小本子里写满了许多得奖小说的情节和比当时正在上演的那些要稍好一点的广播喜剧剧本。
What a boon to society it would be if people could visit the past and see that it wasn't the paradise they imagine but simply the present with different hats．
[结构分析]本句是一个感叹句。主干是What a boon to society it would be…。 if 引导的 是条件状语从句，这个条件状语用的是虚拟语气，表示和现实情况相反。
[参考译文]如果人们可以拜访过去，看看过去并不是他们想象中的天堂，而仅仅是戴着不同帽子的现实，那对社会来说是一种多大的恩惠啊。
全文参考译文
就在一年前，我做了件蠢事，我把自行车锁在办公室外面，而忘了拿下挂包。当我回来时挂包已经被偷走了。挂包牛有大约十几本我随身携带的红色小笔记本，上面记录了我对文章、短故事、电视秀等的想法。
丢失笔记本后，我一下子蒙了。我两年以来所拥有的想法都包含在笔记本中。我只能记起很少的一点，但是我却认为那些不能回忆起来的东西才是真正的闪光点。这些小本子里写满了许多得奖小说的情节和比当时正在上演的那些要稍好一点的广播喜剧剧本。这还不算完，在我的回忆中，我丢失的笔记本中包括了许多创新的、令人难以置信的机器草图。在一个本子中，有一个可以将海水变成苹果酒的机器设计，在另一个本里是自动狗的计划，第三个里有一张脚趾头嵌入电视机屏幕的防水鞋的草图。现在，所有的这些计划都丢失在茫茫人海之中了。
我再一次找到了我的笔记本。好像是它们根本没有在自行车篮里，而是在我休息室的小背包里。在我认为丢失了6个月后我从那里找到了它。而当我翻看笔记本准备一大早就跑到专利局去时，我发现它们完全是一堆垃圾。
发现笔记本让我震惊。我曾经坚定地认为它们是充满智慧的、创造性的素材，但显然不是。我感到迷惑。
看完我的废话之后，我发现这种晕轮效应总是伴随着一些看起来一去不复返的东西而出现。我们不是都有一种内心的感觉——没多久以前，天气更好，电视秀更有趣，蛋糕店的圆面包更圆吗
相信过去更好除了在复古思想中是一种强大因素外，在其他方面都不要紧。毕竟，种族主义经常孳生于一种错觉，即自从“他们”来了以后，所有的事情都变糟了。如果人们可以拜访过去，看看过去并不是他们想象中的天堂，而仅仅是戴着不同帽子的现实，那对社会来说是一种多大的恩惠啊。
不幸的是，时间旅行是不可能的。至少到现在为止是不可能的。因为我猛然记起来几年前我曾经把一件皮茄克丢在了印度尼西亚的饭店里，而且我完全肯定在里面的口袋里有一幅我画的草图。
题目答案与解析
1． 作者用“only two-thirds as bad as the ones on at the moment”这句话的意思是什么 [答案]A
A．更好。 B．一样糟糕。 C．更糟糕。 D．一样好。
[解析]本题可参照文章的第2段。从中可知，作者在丢失了笔记本之后感到非常可惜，而且认为自己丢失的都是精华，所以题干前面提到的笔记本里记载的广播剧剧本应该是比现在上演的要好，而且题干直译的话就是：只是正在上演的那些剧目的2／3糟，也就是说过去记载的要稍好一点。因此A项为正确答案。
2．作者一阅读失而复得的笔记本就_________。 [答案]B
A．公布了事实 B．发现它没有价值 C．注册了发明 D．非常兴奋
[解析]本题的依据是第4段的最后一句话when l flipped through their pages，ready to run to the patent office in the morning，I discovered they were completely full of rubbish，从中可知B项为正确答案。
3． 作者最有可能赞同下面哪种观点 [答案]B
A．昨天更好。 B．昨天不比今天好。
C．自己产生的错觉有时是必要的。 D．现在的情况已经恶化了。
[解析]本题可参照文章的最后4段。作者对于自己在丢失笔记本后和重新找到后出现的思想变化进行了分析，从作者的分析中我们可以看出，他已经意识到人类对过去的、丢失的东西特别珍爱，而且与现有的东西比，人们总认为过去的和丢失的好，那么从文章倒数第3段的第1句话：相信过去更好除了在复古思想中是一种强大因素外，在其他方面都不要紧。从中可知作者并不赞同这一观点，因此B项为正确答案。