10. 大人只懂得数字（讲解）

节目文稿

Fortunately, however, for the reputation of Asteroid B-612, a Turkish dictator made a law that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.

If I have told you these details about the asteroid, and made a note of its number for you, it is on account of the grown-ups and their ways. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.

If you were to say to the grown-ups: "I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof," they would not be able to get any idea of that house at all. You would have to say to them: "I saw a house that cost $20,000." Then they would exclaim: "Oh, what a pretty house that is!"

语言点

- reputation：n. 名声
- subject：n. 国民，臣民
- dress：v. 给……穿衣服；例：to get dressed 穿好衣服；例：a woman dressed in black 一个穿黑衣服的女人
- impressive：adj. 令人印象深刻的
- elegance：n. 优雅
- to make a note of sth.：记下某事物；例：I’ll make a note of that. 我记住了（以后注意）。
- on account of：由于……；例：Don’t cancel your trip on my account. 你们别因为我而取消旅游。
- essential：adj. 必要的，本质的
- weigh：v. 有……重；例：How much do you weigh? 你体重多少？
- figure：n. 数字；例：a six-figure salary 六位数的薪水；n. 身材；例：to have a good figure 身材好
- rosy：adj. 玫瑰色的，红润的
- geranium：n. 天竺葵
- dove：n. 鸽子
- exclaim：v. 呼喊；exclamation point: 感叹号

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