New Year resolutions

原文

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 favorites 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 exercise 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 out either of these new resolutions on the first day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.

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 exercises 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 formwork Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to 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!

译文

新年是一个立志的时候。至少在精神上，我们大多数人都能拟出一份令人生畏的“要做”和“不该做”的清单。这些老一套的愿望年复一年地重复出现，单调得令人生厌。我们决心每天早早起床，少吃些东西，多花时间和孩子们玩耍，料理家中的琐碎杂事，对不喜欢的人和颜悦色，小心开车，每天带狗出去散步。过去的经验告诉我们，有些成就确实是难以企及的。如果我们仍然是老烟枪，那仅仅是因为我们屡屡经历过失败带来的挫败感。我们大多数人在自我完善的努力中失败，原因在于我们的计划过于雄心勃勃，而且从未有时间去实施。我们还犯了一个根本性的错误：把决心告诉每一个人，以致当我们又滑回到那些坏习惯中时，看起来更加可笑。意识到这些陷阱，今年我试图把我的决心保密。我只限于两个谦虚的目标：每天早晨做身体锻炼和晚上多读点书。除夕之夜的通宵派对为我在元旦那天不执行这两个新决心提供了绝好的借口，但第二天，我便专心致志地开始执行了。

每天的锻炼只持续十一分钟，我计划在清晨大家还没起床时做这些事。要比平时早十一分钟爬下床，需要相当的自律。不过，我还是设法偷偷溜进起居室坚持了两天，才被发现。在地毯上蹦蹦跳跳，把身体扭曲成各种不舒服的姿势后，我精疲力竭地坐到早餐桌旁。这件事泄露了我的秘密。第二天早上，全家人鱼贯而入观看这出“表演”。这真叫人尴尬，但我好脾性地挡住了家人的嘲笑和挖苦，不久大家就习惯了这个主意。然而，我的热情渐渐消退。我花在锻炼上的时间慢慢减少。十一分钟一点点缩减到零。到了一月十日，我又回到了原点。我辩解说，如果早晨少花时间折腾自己，我就能在下班回家后保持头脑清醒来阅读。抵抗着电视的催眠作用，我在房间里坐了几个晚上，两眼死盯着书本。然而，有一晚，我感到寒冷而孤独，便下楼坐在电视机前假装阅读。这成了我的致命弱点，因为我很快又回到了老毛病——在屏幕前打盹。我还没有放弃多读些书的决心。事实上，我刚买了一本题为《如何一分钟读一千字》的书。或许它能解决我的问题，但我就是没有时间读它！

词汇表

resolutions

名词

英:/ˌrɛzəˈluːʃənz/

美:/ˌrɛzəˈluːʃənz/

定义

1. 决心 - Firm decisions to do or not do something, often made at the start of a new year.

例子: I make New Year's resolutions every January to improve my habits.

例子: Her resolutions include eating healthier and exercising daily.

近义词

determinations: 强调更强烈的意志力和承诺，通常用于正式语境，而 resolutions 更常见于个人或年度目标。

commitments: 侧重于对某事的长期责任，区别在于 resolutions 可能更临时性，而 commitments 更具约束力。

pledges: 常用于正式或公共承诺，如政治誓言，相比之下 resolutions 更私人化。

反义词:

indecisions, hesitations, abandonments

用法

常用于新年或个人发展语境中，常见搭配如 'make resolutions' 或 'break resolutions'，文化背景中，新年 resolutions 是西方传统。

形式:

复数: resolutions, 动词形式: resolve (动词，意思是下决心)

深入解析：关键句型 "to do [something] and to do [something]"

定义

这个句型是一种使用并列不定式短语的结构，常用于表达多个目标、计划或意图。基本结构为：to [verb]（不定式）+ and（并列连词）+ to [verb]（另一个不定式）。例如，在文章中出现为 "to do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening"。根据权威教材如《新概念英语》或《剑桥英语语法》，这个句型强调动词不定式 to [verb] 的并列形式，用于列出相似的动作或目标，突出个人决心或计划的核心含义。它本质上是一个非谓语动词结构，帮助连接多个动作，使句子更简洁流畅。

用法

此句型主要用于描述未来的意图、目标或习惯性计划，常出现在叙述性或自省性语境中，如新年决心文章所示。规则是：每个不定式短语以 to 开头，并用 and 连接，确保并列结构平衡。在语法体系中，它属于动词不定式的扩展形式，链接到并列句和非谓语动词的知识点。例如，它可以与主句结合，如 "I limited myself to [this structure]"，从而形成完整的句子。跨语法点联系：这个句型与条件句或时间状语从句相关，因为它常用于表达假设或结果（如 "If I do this, I will achieve that"）。在实际应用中，它帮助学生从简单句子过渡到复杂表达，增强语言的连贯性。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：遗漏 to 在第二个不定式前，导致句子不完整（如说 "to do exercise and read more" 而非 "to do exercise and to read more"）；或者不正确使用并列连词，将 and 替换为其他词如 but，改变了原意。另一个常见偏误是让并列结构不平衡，例如一个不定式短语过长而另一个过短，影响句子流畅性。纠正建议：学生应练习确保每个不定式前都有 to，并通过朗读检查并列部分的对称性。此外，在正式写作中，避免过度重复相同的结构，以免显得单调；如果动作不相关，考虑使用其他连接方式如分号或独立句子。

练习

一个额外的例子：在新年计划中，你可以说："I plan to exercise every day and to learn a new language online." 这个例子帮助学生应用句型，通过替换 [something] 如 "exercise every day" 和 "learn a new language"，来构建自己的句子。学生可以尝试扩展为完整对话，例如："This year, I want to do that and to achieve my goals." 通过这种练习，学生能更好地掌握如何在日常语境中使用这个句型。

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型源于英语中不定式的灵活性，不定式本身可以作为名词、形容词或副词使用，增强句子的表达力。对比分析：在美式英语中，这种结构更常见于口语中，而英式英语可能更倾向于正式表达。补充信息：掌握此句型后，学生可以联系其他语法如并列句（e.g., "I will do A and B"），逐步构建更复杂的叙述，提升写作和口语技能，总之，它是语言学习中连接简单和高级表达的桥梁。

深入解析：关键句型 "I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself"

定义

这个句型是一种以动词 attempted 后跟不定式短语的结构，用于表达尝试或努力去做某事。基本形式为：Subject（主语，如 I）+ attempted（动词）+ to [verb phrase]（不定式短语）+ object or complement（宾语或补语）。在文章中，它表现为 "I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself"，表示试图隐藏决心。权威教材如《新概念英语》定义这种结构为表示意图或努力的模式，强调 attempted 作为及物动词，其后跟不定式，核心含义是展示行动的尝试性，而非成功。

用法

此句型常用于叙述个人经历、挑战或失败的语境中，规则是：attempted 必须后跟 to + verb，并可以扩展添加宾语或状语，以提供更多细节。在语法体系中，它属于动词 + 不定式的常见搭配，链接到表示尝试的动词（如 try, attempt, manage），帮助学生理解动词的分类和搭配。跨语法点联系：它与条件句（如 "If I attempted..."）或过去时结合，形成更丰富的叙述，例如文章中的自省内容。使用场景包括日记、故事或演讲中，强调努力过程而非结果。

注意事项

学生易犯的错误包括：误用 attempted 的时态，例如将过去式 attempted 错误替换为现在式 attempt，导致时态不一致；或忘记不定式标志 to，说成 "I attempted keep"，使句子 grammatically incorrect。另一个偏误是忽略上下文中的情感表达，如不注意 to myself 的隐含含义（保密）。纠正建议：通过记忆常见动词 + 不定式列表（如 attempt to, try to），并练习改写句子，学生可以避免这些问题。同时，注意在口语中，句子要自然流畅，避免生硬的结构。

练习

一个额外的例子："She attempted to finish the project on time but failed." 这个例子让学生练习替换动词和短语，例如 "He attempted to learn a new skill during the holiday." 通过这个，学生可以构建类似句子，并将其用于个人叙述中，如 "I attempted to wake up early every day."

额外内容

背景知识：这个句型反映了英语中表示努力的词汇演变，源自拉丁语，强调心理或身体上的尝试。对比分析：与中文的 "尝试做某事" 类似，但英语更注重动词的精确搭配。在其他语言如法语中，类似结构也存在，但英语版本更简洁。补充信息：学习此句型有助于学生处理失败主题，如文章所述，提升心理韧性和语言表达的深度。