第三十八讲

                    My Father
                  By David Suzuki
    Text Study
    Para. 1 In my last year of high school in London, Ont., some kids asked me to run for student-council president. I was a “brain” and, in the ’50s, being a brain was like having leprosy. I didn’t play basketball or football, and I wasn’t part of the in crowd. So I turned down the suggestion.

    David Suzuki
    大卫·铃木教授（1936—）是世界著名环境保护学家，曾在英属哥伦比亚大学（University of British Columbia）任教40年，获得多种奖项，出版了30多部关于环保的著作。作者还曾多年主持加拿大广播公司家喻户晓的科普节目《事物的本性》（The Nature of Things ）。

    Para. 1 我在安大略省伦敦市读中学的最后一年，一些同学建议我参加学生会主席的竞选。当时我学习成绩很好，而在50 年代，成绩好的人就像麻风病人一样不受欢迎。我既不打篮球也不踢足球，和时髦毫不沾边。所以，我没采纳他们的建议。

    1. I was a “brain” and, in the'50s, being a brain was like having leprosy. I didn't play basketball or football, and I wasn't part of the in crowd. (Para. 1)

    当时我学习成绩很好，而在50年代，成绩好的人就像麻风病人一样不受欢迎。我既不打篮球也不踢足球，和时髦毫不沾边。

    1) a brain: 头脑聪明的人
    e.g.
    a. All the best scientific brains in the field are working on this project.
    该领域所有的科技精英都在为这个项目工作。
    b. She is one of the brains in our class.
    她是我们班聪明的学生之一。
    2) the ’50s: the 1950s，20世纪50年代
    3) the in crowd: 时髦人群
    in: adj. 时髦的，受欢迎的
    e.g.
    a. Purple is the in color this spring.
    紫色是今年春天的流行色。
    b. Fashions come and go quickly. Short skirts are in again.
    时尚变化迅速。短裙又时髦起来了。

    turn down
    拒绝某人、建议或忠告
    e.g.
    a. We politely turned down the invitation.
    我们有礼貌地拒绝了邀请。
    b. He turned down my offer of help.
    他拒绝了我提供的帮助。
    c. He asked her to marry him but she turned him down.
    他向她求婚，但被她拒绝了。