大学英语课文原文

Unit1_passage :My brother, Jimmy, did not get enough oxygen during a difficult delivery, leaving him with brain damage, and two years later I was born. Since then, my life revolved around my brother's. Accompanying my growing up was always "go out and play and take your brother with you". I couldn't go anywhere without him, so I urged the neighborhood kids to come to my house for some out-of-control kid-centered fun.My mother taught Jimmy practical things like how to brush his teeth or put on a belt. My father, a saint, simply held the house together with his patience and understanding. I was in charge outside where I administered justice by tracking down the parents of the kids who picked on my brother, and telling on them.My father and Jimmy were inseparable. They ate breakfast together and on weekdays drove off to the navy shipping center every morning where they both worked—Jimmy unloaded color-coded boxes. At night after dinner, they would talk and play games late into the evening. They even whistled the same tunes.So when my father died of a heart attack in 1991, Jimmy was a wreck, beneath his careful disguise. He was simply in disbelief. Usually very agreeable, he now quit speaking altogether and no amount of words could penetrate the vacant expression he wore on his face. I hired someone to live with him and drive him to work, but no matter how much I tried to make things stay the same, even Jimmy grasped that the world he'd known was gone. One day I asked, "You miss Dad, don't you?" His lips quivered and then he asked, "What do you think, Margaret? He was my best friend." Our tears began to flow.My mother died of lung cancer six months later and I alone was left to look after Jimmy.He didn't adjust to going to work without my father right away, so he came and lived with me in New York City for a while. He went wherever I went and seemed to adjust pretty well. Still, Jimmy longed to live in my parents' house and work at his old job and I pledged to help him return. Eventually, I was able to work it out. He has lived there for 11 years now with many different caretakers and blossomed on his own. He has become essential to the neighborhood. When you have any mail to be picked up or your dog needs walking, he is your man.My mother was right, of course: It was possible to have a home with room for both his limitations and my ambitions. In fact, caring for someone who loves as deeply and appreciates my efforts as much as Jimmy does has enriched my life more than anything else ever could have.This hit home a few days after the September 11th disaster on Jimmy's 57th birthday. I had a party for him in my home in New York, but none of our family could join us because travel was difficult and they were still reckoning with the sheer terror the disaster had brought. I called on my faithful friends to help make it a merry and festive occasion, ignoring the fact that most of them were emotionally drained and exhausted. Instead of the customary "No gifts, please", I shouted, "Gifts! Please!"My friends—people Jimmy had come to know over the years—brought the ideal presents: country music CDs, a sweatshirt, one leather belt with "J-I-M-M-Y" on it, a knitted wool hat and a cowboy costume. The evening led up to the gifts and then the chocolate cake from his favorite bakery, and of course the ceremony wasn't complete without the singing.A thousand times Jimmy asked, "Is it time for the cake yet?" After dinner and the gifts Jimmy could no longer be restrained. He anxiously waited for the candles to be lit and then blew them out with one long breath as we all sang "Happy Birthday". Jimmy wasn't satisfied with our effort, though. He jumped up on the chair and stood erect pointing both index fingers into the air to conduct us and yelled, "One... more... time!" We sang with all of the energy left in our souls and when we were finished he put both his thumbs up and shouted, "That was super!"We had wanted to let him know that no matter how difficult things got in the world, there would always be people who cared about him. We ended up reminding ourselves instead. For Jimmy, the love with which we sang was a welcome bonus, but mostly he had just wanted to see everyone else happy again.Just as my father's death had changed Jimmy's world overnight, September 11th changed our lives; the world we'd known was gone. But, as we sang for Jimmy and held each other tight afterward praying for peace around the world, we were reminded that the constant love and support of our friends and family would get us through whatever life might present. The simplicity with which Jimmy had reconciled everything for us should not have been surprising. There had never been any limitations to what Jimmy's love could accomplish.

Robert Emmons, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of California, has long been interested in the role gratitude plays in physical and emotional well-being.

罗伯特·埃蒙斯博士是加州大学心理学教授，长期以来一直对感恩在身心健康中的作用感兴趣。

Along with psychology professor Michael McCullough of the University of Miami, Emmons took three groups of volunteers and randomly assigned them to focus on one of three things each week: hassles, things for which they were grateful,and ordinary life events.

艾蒙斯和迈阿密大学的心理学教授迈克尔麦卡洛（Michael McCullough）一起，随机抽取了三组志愿者，让他们每周专注于三件事中的一件：争吵、他们感激的事情和日常生活事件。

The first group concentrated on everything that went wrong or was irritating to them, such as "the jerk who cut me off on the highway.”The second group homed in on situations they felt.

第一组专注于所有出错或让他们恼火的事情，比如“在高速公路上把我截住的那个混蛋”。第二组专注于他们感觉到的情况。

enhanced their lives, as in“My boyfriend is so kind and caring - I’ m lucky to have him.” And the third group recalled recent everyday events， as in“I went shoe shopping.”

增强了他们的生活，如“我的男朋友是如此的善良和关心-我很幸运有他。”和第三组回忆最近的日常事件。

The results: The people who focused on gratitude were just flat-out happier. They saw their lives in favorable terms.

如“我去鞋结果是：那些专注于感恩的人非常开心。他们以良好的态度看待自己的生活。

They reported fewer negative physical symptoms such as headaches or colds, and they were active in ways that were good for them. They spent almost an hour and a half more per week exercising than those who focused on hassles. Plain and simple, those who were grateful had a higher quality of life.

他们报告较少的负面身体症状，如头痛或感冒，他们积极的方式，对他们有好处。他们每周花在运动上的时间几乎比那些只关注争论的人多出一个半小时。简单明了，感恩的人生活质量更高。

这部分内容主要考察的是让步状语从句的知识点：

由这一个复合连词引导的让步状语从句旨在说明正反两方面的可能性都不会影响主句的意向或结果，所以它的语气是比较强烈的，从而也更加坚定了主句的内容。例如：You'll have to attend the ceremony whether you're free or busy.不管你忙不忙，都要参加这个典礼。

even if 引导的从句是往往是假设性的，相当于汉语的“即使”“纵然”“就算”“哪怕”。如：They’ll stand by you even if you don’t succeed.即使你不成功，他们也会支持你。

even though 引导的从句内容往往是真实的，主要用于引出不利于主句情况的信息，相当于汉语的“尽管”“虽然”。如：He went out even though it was raining.尽管在下雨，他还是出去了。

当引导引导让步状语从句时，两者相同，可以互换（what=the thing， whatever = anyting），但当引导名词性从句（主语从句，宾语从句，表语从句和同位语从句）时则只能用whatever（whoever，whichever，whenever，etc）。