今天小编为广大
TPO4托福听力Lecture2原文文本
Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a literature class.
Professor: All right, so let me close today’s class with some thoughts to keep in mind while you are doing tonight’s assignment. You will be reading one of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s best-known essays ‘Self-Reliance’ and comparing it with his poems and other works. I think this essay has the potentialto be quite meaningful for all of you as young people who probably wonder about things like truth and where your lives are going - all sorts of profound questions.
Knowing something about Emerson’s philosophies will help you when you read ‘Self-Reliance’. And basically, one of the main beliefs that he had was about truth. Not that it’s something that we can be taught, Emerson says it’s found within ourselves. So this truth, the idea that it’s in each one of us, is one of the first points that you’ll see Emerson making in this essay. It’s a bit abstract but he’s very into…uh… into each person believing his or her own thought, believing in yourself, the thought or conviction that’s true for you.
But actually, he ties that in with a sort of ‘universal truth’ – something that everyone knows but doesn’t realize they know. Most of us aren’t in touch with ourselves in a way, so we just aren’t capable of recognizing profound truth. It takes geniuses, people like, say, Shakespeare, who’re unique because when they have a glimpse of this truth, this universal truth, they pay attention to it and express it and don’t just dismiss it like most people do. So Emerson is really into each individual believing in and trusting him or herself.
You’ll see that he writes about, well, first, conformity. He criticizes that people of his time for abandoning their own minds and their own wills for the sake of conformity and consistency. They try to fit in with the rest of the world even though it’s at odds with their beliefs and their identities. Therefore, it’s best to be a non-conformist – to do your own thing, not worrying about what other people think. That’s an important point. He really drives this argument home throughout the essay.
When you are reading, I want you to think about that and why that kind of thought would be relevant to the readers of his time. Remember this is 1838, ‘Self-Reliance’ was a novel idea at the time and the United State’s citizens were less secure about themselves as individuals and as Americans.
The country as a whole was trying to define itself. Emerson wanted to give people something to really think about, help them find their own way and what it meant to be who they were. So that’s something that I think is definitely as relevant today as it was then, probably, um, especially among young adults like yourselves, you know, uh, college being a time to sort of really think about who you are and where you’re going.
Now we already said that Emerson really emphasizes non-conformity, right? As a way to sort of not lose your own self and identity in the world, to have your own truth and not be afraid to listen to it. Well, he takes this a step further. Not conforming also means, uh, not conforming with yourself or your past.
What does that mean? Well, if you’ve always been a certain way or done a certain thing, but it’s not working for you any more, or you’re not content, Emerson says that it’d be foolish to be consistenteven with our own past. “Focus on the future,” he says, “That's what matters more. Inconsistency is good.”
He talks about a ship’s voyage and this is one of the most famous bits of the essay - how the best voyage is made up of zigzag lines. Up close, it seems a little all over the place, but from farther away, the true path shows and in the end it justifies all the turns along the way. So, don’t worry if you are not sure where you’re headed or what your long-term goals are.
Stay true to yourself and it’ll make sense in the end. I mean, I can attest to that. Before I was a literature professor, I was an accountant. Before that, I was a newspaper reporter. My life is taking some pretty interesting turns and here I am, very happy with my experiences and where they’ve brought me. If you rely on yourself and trust your own talents, your own interest, don’t worry, your path will make sense in the end.
TPO4托福听力Lecture2题目文本
Question 1 of 6
What is the main purpose of the lecture?
A. To point out similarities n Emerson’s essays and poems.
B. To prepare the students to read an essay by Emerson.
C. To compare Emerson’s concept of universal truth to that of other authors.
D. To show the influence of early United States society on Emerson’s writing.
Question 2 of 6
On what basis did Emerson criticize the people of his time?
A. They refused to recognize universal truths.
B. They did not recognize the genius of certain authors.
C. Their convictions were not well-defined.
D. They were too interested in conformity.
Question 3 of 6
What does Emerson say about the past?
A. It should guide a person’s present actions.
B. It must be examined closely.
C. It is less important than the future.
D. It lacks both clarity and universal truth.
Question 4 of 6
What point does the professor make when he mentions a ship’s path?
A. It is easy for people to lose sight of their true path.
B. Most people are not capable of deciding which path is best for them.
C. The path a person takes can only be seen clearly after the destination has been reached.
D. A person should establish a goal before deciding which path to take.
Question 5 of 6
What does the professor imply about himself when he recounts some life experiences he had before becoming a literature professor?Click on 2 answers
A. He did not consider the consequences of his decisions.
B. He did not plan to become a literature professor.
C. He has always tried to act consistently.
D. He has trusted in himself and his decisions.
Question 6 of 6
Why does the professor say this?
A. To suggest that United States citizens have not changed much over time.
B. To encourage the class to find more information about this time period.
C. To explain why Emerson’s essay has lost some relevance.
D. To provide background for the concept he is explaining.
TPO4托福听力Lecture2答案解析
Question 1 of 6
正确答案：B
题目解析：Pro说的这整段的目的就是为了帮助学生们doing tonight‘s assignment提供一些信息。虽然提到了comparing it with his poems and other works. 但并不是C选项中的compare Emerson’s concept of universal truth to that of other authors.并没有说到其他author。
Question2 of 6
正确答案：D
题目解析：从pro的话中Emerson所批判的是与他同时代人的conformity and consistency,B与事实不符But actually, he ties that in with a sort of “universal truth” – something that everyone knows but doesn’t realize they know
Question 3 of 6
正确答案：C
题目解析：Pro说了一组有关Emerson将past 与future进行的对比，Focus on the future,反推，完全体现出了他对past的态度。因此选C
Question 4 of 6
正确答案：C
题目解析：可得出要达到终点都需要经过无数蜿蜒小路。the true path shows and in the end it justifies all the turns along the way. 因此选C。
Question 5 of 6
正确答案：BD
题目解析：那么Pro以自己例子体现出很多时候要到最后才知道自己的目标是否适合自己。且一开始他从未打算过做pro而最后他十分的happy。因此选BD。
Question 6 of 6
正确答案：D
题目解析：Pro提及当时的时代特征就是为了为学生补充背景知识便于他们理解。因此是D。
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