英語四級必讀美文20：選擇安家之地什么最重要

What's Most Important in Choosing Where to Live.

選擇安家之地什么最重要

Where we choose to live can have a huge impact 00 our juggle. Living in an unfriendly neighborhood, or one where residents move often, can make it harder to find child-care help or other support. On the other hand, settling in a peaceful rural hamlet may seem like a great way to calibrate your juggle-until you realize you can't make a living relying on the slow dial-up Internet access available there.

選擇住在哪里，可能會對我們生活的天平產(chǎn)生巨大的影響。住在鄰里關(guān)系不太好的社區(qū)，或者居民經(jīng)常搬家的社區(qū)，你會很難找到托兒服務(wù)或者其他幫助。另一方面，安頓在一片寧靜的鄉(xiāng)間小村，看上去或許是一種很好的平衡的辦法，直到你終于意識到，你根本無法依賴那里慢吞吞的上網(wǎng)速度而長期生活下去。

A recent survey tackled the question of what bonds us to the places we live, and its findings suggest the quality of our juggle is a more influential factor than economists might think. (1) Given a choice, most people don't care as much about the local economy as they do about the social offerings, physical beauty and openness of a locale, says a recently released survey of about 14,000 people in 26 communities by Gallup and the Knight Foundation.

最近的一份調(diào)查正是希望揭示到底是哪些因素促使我們選擇安家之地，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)，生活質(zhì)量是一個比經(jīng)濟學(xué)家想象的可能還要更具影響的因素。(1)這份由蓋洛普和Knight Foundation聯(lián)合對26個社區(qū)的大約14000人進行的調(diào)查顯示，如果有選擇，大多數(shù)人更加關(guān)心這個地點的社會服務(wù)、自然環(huán)境以及開闊程度，而不是當(dāng)?shù)亟?jīng)濟如何。

Those intangibles-how warm, welcoming and fun a community seems to be-are apparently why people living in Miami tend to like it even more than they did last year. Residents of Minneapolis-St. Paul had an above-average regard for their town even "B.F.-Before Favre" joined the Vikings, this article reports. (2) Even in hard-pressed Detroit, citizens are liking life a little more than recent years，perhaps because of better parks, green spaces and recreational opportunities, marked by Investments in bike paths.

這些無形的因素一一氣候溫暖、鄰里友好、生活有趣的社區(qū)環(huán)境，顯然是住在邁阿密的居民為何比去年更喜歡住在這里的原因。根據(jù)這項調(diào)查，即便橄欖球明星Favre加入本城的維京人隊之前，明尼阿波利斯一圣保羅的居民對自己居住地的評價也高于平均水平。 (2)就算是壓力很大的底特律，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用瘳F(xiàn)在也比近年來更加熱愛生活，也許原因在于美化的公園、綠色的空間以及豐富多彩的娛樂設(shè)施，其標(biāo)志則是對自行車車道的大力投資。

In my case, living in the Pacific Northwest is a trade off. My town of Portland offers wonderful outdoor-sports access, edgy culture and natural beauty. However，as one who has worked in journalism and publishing all my life, I find many of my career contacts are a continent away, in New York.

我自己呢，選擇住在西北太平洋地區(qū)則代表一種生活的取舍。我所在的波特蘭有極好的戶外運動設(shè)施，先鋒派的文化，還有優(yōu)美的自然環(huán)境。不過，對于一生都在新聞和出版界工作的我，我發(fā)現(xiàn)跟我事業(yè)有關(guān)的諸多聯(lián)系人都遠(yuǎn)在大陸彼岸的紐約。

Juggle readers, you have commented in the past on regiona1 differences in the juggle. (3) Dressing everyone, including srnal1 kids, for frigid weather cornp1icates the daily routine. And the quirky amenities some of you have cited in your comments-such as the feral pigs and ducks wandering in parts of Hawaii-can lighten one's mood and outlook.

必須做出取舍的讀者們，你們在過去已經(jīng)對地域的不同發(fā)表過很多評論。 (3)給包括幼兒在內(nèi)的所有家人添衣御寒已成了每天的功課。而你們中的一些人在自己的評論中提到的稀奇古怪的好玩事兒一一如在夏威夷部分地區(qū)晃蕩的野豬和鴨子，則會點亮人們的心情和希望。

四級句型講解

1. Given a choice, most people don't care as much about the local economy as they do about the social offerings, physical beauty and openness of a locale, says a recently released survey of about 14,000 people in 26 communities by Gallup and the Knight Foundation.

本句是一個復(fù)合句，says前面的成分充當(dāng)says的賓語。of about 14000 people...Foundation介詞短語作后置定語，修飾survey。 given a choice過去分詞短語作條件狀語。

語法重點：賓語從句，介詞短語作定語，分詞短語作狀語

2. Even in hard-pressed Detroit, citizens are liking life a little more than in recent years, perhaps because of better parks, green spaces and recreational opportunities， marked by investments in bike paths

本句是一個簡單句，句子主干是citizens are liking life a little more than in recent year so even in hard-pressed Detroit介詞短語作地點狀語。 because of...opportunities介詞短語作原因狀語。 marked by...paths. 過去分詞短語作后置定語，修飾opportunities。

語法重點：介詞短語作狀語，分詞短語作定語

3. Dressing everyone, including small kids, for frigid weather complicates the daily routine.

本句是一個簡單句，句子主干為dressing everyone complicates the daily routine，其中 dressing everyone是動名詞短語作主語，including small kids現(xiàn)在分詞短語作后置定語，修飾everyone. for frigid weather 介詞短語作目的狀語。

語法重點：動名詞短語作主語，分詞短語作定語，介詞短語作狀語