Introduce the story: Today we'll talk about New Year resolutions.
Step 1: Intensive reading.
Try to answer the question below while you’re reading:
Question: What marked the end of the writer's New Year resolutions?
Vocabulary:
resolution (title) n. 决心
mentally adv. 内心里
compile v. 编辑，编制
formidable adj. 令人畏惧的
recur v. 再发生，又出现
regularity n. 规律性
accomplishment n. 成就
attainment n. 达到
inveterate adj. 根深蒂固的
self-improvement n. 自我完善
scheme n. 简单的计划，方案
ambitious adj. 雄心勃勃的
pitfall n. 意外的困难，易犯的错误
modest adj. 要求不过分的
assiduously adv. 刻苦地
self-discipline n. 自我约束
frame n. 躯体
betray v. 暴露，显露
troop v. 成群结队地走动
unsettle v. 使不安
taunt n. 嘲笑，奚落人的话
jibe n. 嘲弄，挖苦
good-humouredly adv. 和气地，心情好地
wane v. 逐渐变小，变弱
diminish v. 减少，缩小
hypnotize v. 使欲睡，使蒙眬
undoing n. 祸根，毁灭的原因
screen n. 电视机屏幕
Passage:
The New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least, most of us could compile formidable lists of ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts’. The same old favourites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity. We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat less, find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the house, be nice to people we don't like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk every day. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment. If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure. Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions: to do physical exercises every morning and to read more of an evening. An all-night party on New Year's Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying on either of these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.
新年是下决心的时候，至少在大多数人的心里会编排出一份“应做什么”和“不应做什么” 的令人生畏的单子。相同的决心以单调的规律年复一年地出现。我们决心每天早晨起得早些；吃得少些；多花点时间与孩子们一起做游戏；做大量的家务；对不喜欢的人友善一些；小心驾车；每天都要带着狗散步；等等。以往的经验告诉我们有些事是办不到的。如果我们烟瘾大，戒不掉，那是因为屡戒屡败，失去了信心。我们大多数人想自我完善却遭到失败，这是因为我们的规划过于宏大，而又根本没有时间去实施。我们还犯有一个根本性的错误，即把我们的决心向大家宣布。这样一旦滑回到那些坏的老习惯上去，我们在别人眼里会显得更加难堪。我深知这些问题，于是，今年我对自己的计划要严加保密，只给自己定下两项适中的任务：每天早上锻炼身体，每天晚上多看点书。新年除夕举办的一次通宵晚会，使我理直气壮地在新年头一天免去了这两项任务。不过，新年第二天，我全力以赴地照着去做了。
Notes:
1 dos and don'ts，要做的事和不要做的事。
2 year in year out，年复一年。
3 a thousand and one，许许多多。
4 beyond attainment，做不到的、达不到的。
5 carry out，实行，照办、执行。
6 slip back into our bad old ways，滑回到那些坏的老习惯上去。
7 keep …to oneself，作“将……秘而这宣”，“保密”讲。
8 of an evening = in the evenings。
9 apply oneself to，全力以赴地干。
The daily exercises lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the morning before anyone had got up. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable. Nevertheless, I managed to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was this that betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the performance. That was really unsettling, but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the family good-humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, my enthusiasm waned. The time I spent at exercise gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero. By January 10th, I was back to where I had started from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in the morning, I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home from work. Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to a book. One night, however, feeling cold and lonely, I went downstairs and sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my old bad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven't given up my resolution to do more reading. In fact, I have just bought a book entitled How to Read a Thousand Words a Minute. Perhaps it will solve my problem, but I just haven't had time to read it!
早锻炼一共只有 11 分钟，我打算在别人起床之前进行。这就要求我比平日早 11分钟把自己从床上拽起来，这种自我约束是很艰苦的。不过开头两天我还是成功地蹑手蹑脚地来到楼下起居室，被谁也没发现。我在地毯上跳过来蹦过去，扭曲身子，摆出各种姿势，弄得浑身不舒服，然后坐到桌边吃早饭，一副筋疲力尽的样子。正是这副模样泄露了我的秘密。第二天早晨全家人结队来到起居室看我表演。这真叫人不好意思，但我心平气和地顶住了全家人的嘲笑和奚落。不久，大家对我习以为常了，而这时我的热情却减退了。我花在锻炼上的时间逐渐减少，慢慢地从 11 分钟减到了零。到了 1 月 10 日，我恢复了原来的作息时间。我辩解说，早晨少耗费精力锻炼，晚上下班回家看书时头脑更清醒些。有几天晚上，我极力摆脱了电视的诱惑，坐在自己房间里，两眼盯在书上。可是，有一天夜里，我感到又冷又孤单，便来到楼下坐在电视机前假装看书。这下我可完了，因为不一会儿，我就恢复了以前的坏习惯，在屏幕前打起瞌睡来。但我还没有放弃多看些书的决心。事实上，我刚买来一本叫《一分钟读一千字的诀窍》的书。也许这本书能解决我的问题，但我一直还没时间去看这本书！
Notes:
10 It was this that betrayed me.这是强调句型，被强调的部分this 指 sat down…in an exhausted condition。
11 fend off，挡回，避开。
12 doze off，打瞌睡。
50.2【阅读理解】New Year resolutions
Step 2: Comprehension questions.
1 What is a time for resolutions? (The New Year)
2 How could most of us compile a list of ‘dos’ and ‘don'ts’? (Mentally.)
3 Do the same old favourites recur year in year out? (Yes, they do.)
4 What kinds of things do we resolve to do? (Get up earlier, eat less, find more time to play with the children, do jobs around the house, drive carefully, be nice to people we don't like, take the dog for a walk every day.)
5 Why do most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement? (Because our schemes are too ambitious.)
6 What fundamental error do many of us make? (We announce our resolutions to everybody.)
7 How do we look when we slip back into our old ways? (Foolish.)
8 What did the writer resolve to do this year? (Do physical exercise every morning and read more in the evening.)
9 How long did his daily exercises last? (Exactly eleven minutes.)
10 When did he propose to do them? (Early in the morning.)
11 How long did he manage to do his exercises before anyone found him out? (Two days.)
12 What condition was he in when he sat down to breakfast? (Exhausted.)
13 Who trooped in the next morning to watch the performance? (The whole family.)
14 When did he finally give up exercising? (On January 10th.)
15 Why did he sit in his room for a few evenings? (To read [and to resist the hypnotizing effect of television].)
16 Why did he go downstairs one evening? (He was feeling cold and lonely.)
17 What did he pretend to do? (Read.)
18 He soon got back into an old bad habit. What was that? (The habit of dozing off in front of the screen.)
19 Has he given up his resolution to do more reading? (No, he hasn't.)
20 Which book has he just bought? (How To Read a Thousand Words a Minute.)
50.3【拓展写作】New Year resolutions
Step 3: Composition
Write a composition in about 300 words on the following:
• Write an account of resolutions you have made in the past and failed to keep.
Key to composition
Plan and ideas for composition
Title: Broken resolutions
Introduction: New Year resolutions—made to be broken? — some people serious —most know they won't succeed —so ridiculous resolutions
Development: Last time made list of resolutions—five years ago—always do college work on time — keep room tidy—have nothing to do with girls in nearby college— write home once a week — wash clothes regularly — have haircut once a month — Impossible!—girlfriend helped—eventually gave up in despair
Conclusion: Don't make New Year resolutions any more — little point—why break habits—years to establish
Composition
Are New Year resolutions made to be broken? I think so. Some people are serious about them of course, but most know that they won't succeed in keeping them. That's probably why they make resolutions such as ‘I must be polite to Aunt Harriet' when they only see Aunt Harriet twice a year! — or ‘I must cut down on my smoking’ when they only ever have a cigarette after a family lunch on Sundays! Such resolutions, then, are not only ridiculous, but hardly resolutions at all!
The last time I ever made a list of resolutions was five years ago. I remember now that I resolved always to do my college work on time, to keep my room tidy, to have nothing to do with the girls in the nearby girls’ college, to write home at least once a week, to wash my dirty clothes regularly and to have a haircut once a month. What was I thinking of?! For most college students such resolutions would be impossible and of course they were for me!
I kept three of the resolutions for a week, and a girlfriend from the nearby girls' college helped me to keep two more (the ones about keeping my room tidy and washing my dirty clothes regularly!) for another week. After that, I gave up in despair. Instead, I resolved just to try to be just a little bit more tidy and a little more thoughtful, generally.
I don't bother to make New Year resolutions any more since I have proved to myself and others that I can't keep them. There seems to be little point in breaking habits which have taken years to establish.
(279 words)
课外练习：
1 In making his New Year resolutions, the writer ________.
(a) decided against choosing any of his old favourites
(b) did not tell his family of them in case they announced them in public
(c) was careful to choose two which he thought were within his scope
(d) underestimated the time it would take him to get up in the mornings
2 The family realized what one of his resolutions was when they ________.
(a) noticed how tired he looked when he came to breakfast
(b) heard him jumping about on the carpet in the living room
(c) came down earlier than usual and saw him doing his exercises
(d) saw him reading instead of looking at television
3 The Writer's efforts to read more have so far failed because
(a) he is not able to read quickly enough in the time he has available
(b) he enjoys watching television more than he does reading
(c) his room is too cold for comfort and he misses his family
(d) he has not been able to resist the hypnotic effects of television
4 Past experiences has taught us that we ________ certain accomplishments.
(a) never attain
(b) would never attain
(c) are never attaining
(d) will never attain
5 -we look even more foolish than we when we slip back into our old ways.
(a) would
(b) should
(c) need
(d) ought
6 I jumped about on the carpet and uncomfortable positions that I sat down exhausted.
(a) so twisted me into
(b) so twisted myself into
(c) twisted myself into such
(d) twisted me into such
7 I argued that ________ less time exhausting myself, I would…
(a) to spend
(b) by spending
(c) my spending
(d) to have spent
8 This year attempted to keep my resolutions
(a) private
(b) personal
(c) intimate
(d) solitary
9 ________ managed to creep down into the living room...
(a) Meanwhile
(b) Little by little
(c) Just the same
(d) By all means
10 The whole family ________ to watch the performance.
(a) gathered round
(b) marched by
(c) flocked in
(d) joined in
11 My enthusiasm for my new resolutions soon ________.
(a) faded
(b) evaporated
(c) ran out
(d) fell out
12 I soon ________ into my old habit of dozing off...
(a) returned
(b) slipped back
(c) went back
(d) took again
答案：1c 2a 3d 4b 5b 6c 7b 8a 9c 10c 11b 12b