Tea and the Industrial Revolution
site: Tea and the Industrial Revolution
Alan Macfarlane, professor of anthropological science at King’s College, Cambridge has, like other historians, spent decades wrestling with the enigma of the Industrial Revolution.
enigma /əˈnɪɡ.mə/ noun. 迷; 难以捉摸的人
an affluent middle-class willing to buy mass-produced objects
affluent /ˈæf.lu.ənt/ adjective. 富裕的
While this was the case for England, other nations, such as Japan, the Netherlands and France also met some of these criteria but were not industrialising.
criterion /kraɪˈtɪr.i.ən/ noun. 标准
criteria /-ˈtɪr.i.ə / (plural)
The antiseptic properties of tannin, the active ingredient in tea, and of hops in beer – plus the fact that both are made with boiled water – allowed urban communities to flourish at close quarters without succumbing to water-borne diseases such as dysentery.
antiseptic /ˌæn.t̬iˈsep.tɪk/ noun. 抗菌剂
- antibacterial /ˌæn.t̬i.bækˈtɪr.i.əl/ adjective. 抗菌的
ingredient /ɪnˈɡriː.di.ənt/ noun. 原材料; 因素 +2
succumb /səˈkʌm/ verb. 屈服; 被压垮 +1
dysentery /ˈdɪs.ən.ter.i/ noun. 痢疾
The theory sounds eccentric but once he starts to explain the detective work that went into his deduction, the scepticism gives way to wary admiration.
eccentric /ɪkˈsen.trɪk/ adjective. 古怪的 +1
deduction /dɪˈdʌk.ʃən/ noun. 扣除; 推论
scepticism/skepticism /ˈskep.tɪ.sɪ.zəm/ noun. 怀疑态度
wary /ˈwer.i/ adjective. 警惕的
- weary /ˈwɪr.i/ adjective. 疲惫的
recently wrote a favourable appraisal of his research.
favourable /ˈfeɪ.vɚ.ə.bəl/ adjective. 肯定的; 赞同的
appraisal /əˈpreɪ.zəl/ noun. 评价
The infant mortality rate halved in the space of 20 years, and this happened in both rural areas and cities, and across all classes.
infant /ˈɪn.fənt/ noun. 婴儿; 学童
mortality /mɔːrˈtæl.ə.t̬i/ noun. 生命的有限; 死亡率
halve /hæv/ verb. 对半分
There were improvements in agriculture that wiped out malaria, but these were small gains. Sanitation did not become widespread until the 19th century.
malaria /məˈler.i.ə/ noun. 疟疾
sanitation /ˌsæn.əˈteɪ.ʃən/ noun. 卫生系统
Macfarlane notes that even though 17th-century Japan had large cities, high literacy rates, even a futures market, it had turned its back on the essence of any work-based revolution by giving up labour-saving devices such as animals, afraid that they would put people out of work.
literacy /ˈlɪt̬.ɚ.ə.si/ noun. 读写能力
futures market 期货市场
essence /ˈes.əns/ noun. 本质 +1
Gifted children and learning
site: Gifted children and learning
For example, a very close positive relationship was found when children’s IQ scores were compared with their home educational provision.
provision /prəˈvɪʒ.ən/ noun. 供给
There appears to be a qualitative difference in the way the intellectually highly able think, compared with more average-ability or older pupils, for whom external regulation by the teacher often compensates for lack of internal regulation.
qualitative /ˈkwɑː.lə.teɪ.t̬ɪv/ adjective. 性质的
intellectually /ˌɪn.t̬əlˈek.tʃu.ə.li/ adverb. 理智地
compensate /ˈkɑːm.pən.seɪt/ verb. 赔偿; 补偿 + 1
Overviewing research on the thinking process of highly able children, put the instructor’s problem succinctly.
succinctly /səkˈsɪŋkt.li/ adverb. 简要地
- succinct /səkˈsɪŋkt/ adjective. 简明的
Conversely, teachers who have a tendency to ‘overdirect’ can diminish their gifted pupils’ learning autonomy.
conversely /kənˈvɝːs.li/ adverb. 相反地
diminish /dɪˈmɪn.ɪʃ/ verb. 减少 attenuate +1
autonomy /ɑːˈtɑː.nə.mi/ noun. 自主
- Demonstrators demanded immediate autonomy for their region.
- The universities want to preserve their autonomy from central government.
Although ‘spoon-feeding’ can produce extremely high examination results, these are not always followed by equally impressive life successes.
Such practices have been found to be particularly useful for bright children from deprived areas.
deprive /dɪˈpraɪv/ verb. 剥夺
- a deprived area 贫困地区
Positive emotions facilitate the creative aspects of earning and negative emotions inhibit it.
facilitate /fəˈsɪl.ə.teɪt/ verb. 促进; 加快 +1
Museums of fine art and their public
site: Museums of fine art and their public
The fact that people go to the Louvre museum in Paris to see the original painting Mona Lisa when they can see a reproduction anywhere leads us to question some assumptions about the role of museums of fine art in today’s world
The fact that ... leads us to question some assumptions about ... in today’s world
However, if Mona Lisa was a famous novel, few people would bother to go to a museum to read the writer’s actual manuscript rather than a printed reproduction.
manuscript /ˈmæn.jə.skrɪpt/ noun. 手抄本
In addition, it could be argued that the practice of interpreting or ‘reading’ each medium follows different conventions.
interpret /ɪnˈtɜː.prɪt/ verb. 解释; 理解 +1
it could be argued that 可以说…
Yet it has always been possible to make very accurate facsimiles of pretty well any fine art work.
facsimile /fækˈsɪm.əl.i/ noun. 摹本; 复制品
Evidently, nothing the viewer thinks about the work is going to alter that value, and so today’s viewer is deterred from trying to extend that spontaneous, immediate, self-reliant kind of reading which would originally have met the work.
evidently /ˈev.ə.dənt.li/ adverb. 明显地
- evident /ˈev.ə.dənt/ adjective. 明显的
alter /ˈɑːl.tɚ/ verb. 改变 +1
deter /dɪˈtɝː/ verb. 威慑; 防止
spontaneous /spɑːnˈteɪ.ni.əs/ adjective. 主动的; 自发的; 自然的
Consequently, the dominant critical approach becomes that of the art historian, a specialised academic approach devoted to ‘discovering the meaning’ of art within the cultural context of its time.
consequently /ˈkɑːn.sə.kwənt.li/ adverb. 因此
dominant /ˈdɑː.mə.nənt/ adjective. 首要的