第十八讲

   Section II Maintaining a Sharp Eye
   Passage I Different Attitudes to Gift Giving

   Text Explanation
   Para.1
   People’s attitudes towards gift giving may vary from country to country, even though the desire to convey a feeling of friendship is often universal. Here is an example to illustrate the differences.
   Language Points:
   Explanation of Difficult Sentences
   even though the desire to…
   Analysis: even though is a conjunction, leading a concessive clause, so that a contrast is made between vary from country to country and universal.
   Translation: 尽管希望借礼物传达友谊的愿望差不多是全球共有的，但人们对送礼这一问题的态度则可能因国度而异。
   Example: The way people greet each other may vary from nation to nation, even
though the purpose of greetings is quite the same.
   即使是出于相同的目的，每个国家打招呼的方式也各异。
   2. Important Words
   1) attitude: n. manner, way of feeling or thinking 态度，看法
   e.g. Your attitude towards life is too passive. 你对生活的态度过于消极。
   2) vary：v. be, become, cause to be different 不同，变化，有差异
   e.g. Life habits vary from person to person. 生活习惯引人而异。
   3)convey：v. make known ideas, views, feelings, etc. to other people 传达, 转达
   e.g. It’s difficult for me to convey my feelings in a foreign language.
很难用外语表达我的感受。
   4) universal：a. belonging to all, affecting all共同的，一致的
   e.g. The pleasure of learning is universal. 学习有着共同的乐趣。
   5) illustrate v. explain through examples, pictures, etc. 说明，解释
   e.g. This chart is used to illustrate all the changes.这个表格是用来说明所有变化的。