首页
登录
职称英语
Dumb and Dumber, one of the modern classics of American comedy, tells the st
Dumb and Dumber, one of the modern classics of American comedy, tells the st
游客
2023-12-05
56
管理
问题
Dumb and Dumber, one of the modern classics of American comedy, tells the story of an affable idiot, Lloyd Christmas, who falls in love with a classy beauty, Mary Swanson. In one scene he asks her the chances of "a guy like you and a girl like me" ending up together. The answer is "Not good". "Not good like one out of a hundred?" asks Lloyd. "More like one out of a million," Mary replies. Lloyd pauses for a moment, then shoots back, "So you’re telling me there’s a chance?"
That is the American spirit. Americans have traditionally been much more optimistic than Europeans, and happier too. They believe that people determine their own destinies rather than being the mere playthings of fate. They also believe that their children will have a better life than they do.
This helps to explain the dynamism of the American economy. Americans regard failure — even bankruptcy — as a stone in the road rather than a damning verdict. It also helps to explain the appeal of the American experiment. "The American, by nature, is optimistic," JFK once said. "He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly." Europeans ask, "Why?" Americans ask, "Why not?"
But the past five years have produced a dramatic souring in the country’s mood. Three-quarters of Americans now think that the country is "on the wrong track". The number of people who are hostile to trade and immigration has risen sharply, as has the number who think that America should engage less in world affairs. Trust in government is half what it was in 2001. Both the president and Congress have bargain-basement approval ratings. And people are increasingly pessimistic about the future. Barely a third thinks that their children will be better off than they themselves are. The reason why the man with the message of hope, Barack Obama, and the man who hails from Hope, Mike Huckabee, are doing so well is that people think hope is in short supply.
There are good reasons for this pessimism. People are tired of the Bush administration, with its partisanship and incompetence. The Iraq war has shattered America’s image of itself as a mighty but good-hearted giant. Iraq means chaos and Abu Ghraib rather than the triumphant export of democracy.
The war may be going better of late, but the majority of Americans still think that it was not worth the fighting, and the bad news about the economy is burying the good news about the "surge". Americans are accustomed to thinking of their houses as pots of gold (and pots of gold that can be remortgaged when you need a bit of extra cash). The gold is now turning into lead.
This is creating a bull market in pessimism. The likes of Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs have transformed themselves into cable stars by ranting about cultural decay and "broken borders". Patrick Buchanan’s latest book is called Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology and Greed are Tearing America Apart. "We are on a path to national suicide," he says. America is not just "coming apart", but also "decomposing".
There is certainly no shortage of bad news. But coming apart? Decomposing? The current issue of Commentary — a magazine hardly noted for its sunny disposition — contains an excellent article, Crime, Drugs, Welfare and Other Good News by Peter Wehner (a former senior White House aide) and Yuval Levin, which shows why Mr. Buchanan is talking through his hat. [br] The phrase "talking through his hat" (Last line in the last paragraph) most probably means
选项
A、talking with the hat in hand.
B、talking in a showy way.
C、talking nonsense.
D、talking without hesitation.
答案
C
解析
语义理解题。文章最后一段的两个问句But coming apart?Decomposing?是理解该短语的关键,其隐含的信息是对上一段意思的转折,并且评论Mr.Buchanan的文章的题目是Crime,Drugs,Welfare and OtherGood News,由Good News可看出,Peter Wehner和Yuval Levin认为Mr. Buchanan“一派胡言”,故选[C]。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3247970.html
相关试题推荐
______isJohnSteinbeck’smasterpiece.A、AnAmericanTragedyB、TheAdventuresof
______markstheturningpointofAmericanCivilWar.A、TheHomesteadActB、Battl
The"firstAmericans"areA、theAborigines.B、theMaori.C、theIndians.D、theEsk
InAmericanliteraryhistory,______isthefirstblackfemalepoetwhopublishe
______isthefirstAmericanblackwriterwhowinsNobelPrizeofLiterature.A、A
AllthefollowingAmericanwritershaveacquiredNobelPrizeofLiteratureEXCEP
______winsfourPulitzerPrizesandiscalledtheAmerican"unofficialpoetlau
______wasoneofthefoundersofmodernscienceandmaterialism.A、FrancisBacon
[originaltext]TheAmericanVicePresidentDickCheneyhassaidheacceptsful
[originaltext]TheAmericanVicePresidentDickCheneyhassaidheacceptsful
随机试题
[originaltext]W:Goodevening.I’mgoingtotalkwithAndrewWright.Heisana
SevenWaystoSavetheWorldA)Forgettheoldideathat
男性,45岁,因高热,咳大量脓臭痰伴咯血住院,X线胸片诊断右肺上叶肺脓肿,先后应
属于微囊的制备方法的是A.乙醚注入法B.逆相蒸发法C.超声波分散法D.溶剂一非溶
责任保险中独立的、适用范围最为广泛的保险类别是()。 A.公众责任保险
计算机网络按使用范围划分为: A.广域网和局域网B.专用网和公用网 C.低
按照企业专职安全管理人员数量的规定,( )。A.出租车客运企业按每50辆营运车、
下列可能导致工程质量缺陷的因素中,属于违背基本建设程序的是()。A.未按有关施工
工程概况有()。A.施工条件 B.合同特殊要求 C.工程施工的特点
以下设备装置属于液压提升器的是()。A.液压泵站 B.上、下锚具 C.地锚
最新回复
(
0
)