通过阅读学词汇CET-6（29） |
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Unit twenty-nine
On Custom
Custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great moment. The inner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy1 of investigation2, but custom, we have a way of thinking, is behaviour at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed3 behaviour more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions, no matter how aberrant4. Yet that is a rather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief, and the very great varieties it any manifest.
No man ever looks at the world with pristine5 eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical6 probings he cannot go behind these stereotypes8; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behaviour of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of this mother tongue over against those words of this own baby talk that taken up into the vernacular9 of this family. When one seriously studies the social orders that have had the opportunity to develop autonomously11, the figure becomes no more than an exact and matter-of-fact observation. The life history of the individual is first and foremost an accommodation to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behaviour. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities. Every child that is born into his group will share them with him, and no child born into one on the opposite side of the globe can ever achieve the thousandth part. There is no social problem it is more incumbent12 upon us to understand than this of
the role of custom. Until we are intelligent as to its laws and varieties, the main complicating13 facts of human life must remain unintelligible14.
commonplace a.普通的,平庸的 n.寻常的事物,平庸的东西
[联想词] commonwealth16 n. 1.英联邦 2.联邦,联合体
customary a.习惯上的,合乎习俗的
aberrant a.偏离正路的,偏离常规的
trivial a.琐碎的,不重要的
[联想词] trifle n.琐事,小事,无价值的东西 vi.嘲笑,轻视
petty a.1.小的,琐碎的,不重要的 2.气量小的,心狭窄的
predominant a.占主导地位的,显著的
manifest a.明显的,显然的,明了的 vt. 1.显示,表明,证明 2.使显现,使显露
pristine a.1.太古的,原始的 2.本来的,原来的
[联想词] virginal a.1.处女的, 忠贞的 2.纯洁的,没有被玷污的
virgin17 n.处女,未婚女子 a.1.处女的,贞洁的 2.纯洁的,未玷污的 3.未开发的,未经使用的
probe v.1.探索,查究,调查 2.用探针(或控测器)探查,探测 n.1.探针,探测器 2.探索,调查
[联想词] grope vi. 1.暗中摸,摸索 2.探索,搜寻 vt.摸索(道路等)
query18 n.问题,疑问,询问 v.1.对…表示疑问 2.问,询问
quest n.寻求,搜索,追求
stereotype7 n.陈规,老套,固定的模式(或形象) vt.对…形成固定的看法
stereo a.立体声的 n.立体声,立体声装置
vernacular n.1.本国语 2.本国语词汇,方言词汇
foremost a.首要的,最佳的
[联想词] cardinal19 n.1.红衣主教 2.基数词 a.最重要的,基本的
accommodate vt. 1.容纳 2.向…提供住处(或膳宿) 3.使适应,顺应
accommodation n. 1.住处,膳宿 2.适应,顺应
autonomous10 a.1.自治的 2.独立自主的
autonomy n.1.自治,自治权 2.人身自由,自主权
incumbent a.1.有责任的, 有义务的 2.现任的,在职的
intelligible15 a.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的
[联想词] coherent a.1.条理清楚的,连贯的 2.一致的,协调的
点击  收听单词发音
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1
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 |
参考例句： |
- I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
- There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
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2
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 |
参考例句： |
- In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
- He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。
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3
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 |
参考例句： |
- He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
- A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
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4
aberrant
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| adj.畸变的，异常的，脱离常轨的 |
参考例句： |
- His aberrant behavior at the party shocked everyone.他在晚会上的异常举止令所有人感到震惊！
- I saw that the insects and spiders were displaying the same kind of aberrant behavior.我看到昆虫和蜘蛛正在表现出相同反常的行为。
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5
pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 |
参考例句： |
- He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
- He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。
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6
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 |
参考例句： |
- The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
- She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。
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7
stereotype
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| n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框 |
参考例句： |
- He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
- There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。
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8
stereotypes
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| n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 ) |
参考例句： |
- Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
- It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
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9
vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 |
参考例句： |
- The house is built in a vernacular style.这房子按当地的风格建筑。
- The traditional Chinese vernacular architecture is an epitome of Chinese traditional culture.中国传统民居建筑可谓中国传统文化的缩影。
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10
autonomous
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| adj.自治的；独立的 |
参考例句： |
- They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
- This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。
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11
autonomously
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| adv. 自律地，自治地 |
参考例句： |
- To learn autonomously in the network environment is totally new to students. 基于网络环境下的自主学习对学生来说，是一种全新的学习方式。
- The QC-RS can operate autonomously or by remote control. QC-RS能实现自动操作或通过遥控来操作。
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12
incumbent
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| adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的 |
参考例句： |
- He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
- It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。
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13
complicating
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| 使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 ) |
参考例句： |
- High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
- In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。
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14
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 |
参考例句： |
- If a computer is given unintelligible data, it returns unintelligible results.如果计算机得到的是难以理解的数据，它给出的也将是难以理解的结果。
- The terms were unintelligible to ordinary folk.这些术语一般人是不懂的。
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15
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 |
参考例句： |
- This report would be intelligible only to an expert in computing.只有计算机运算专家才能看懂这份报告。
- His argument was barely intelligible.他的论点不易理解。
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16
commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 |
参考例句： |
- He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
- Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。
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17
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 |
参考例句： |
- Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
- There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。
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18
query
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| n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑 |
参考例句： |
- I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
- They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。
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19
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 |
参考例句： |
- This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
- The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。
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