Language Point 1
Seams were strengthened with metal pins to make them hold, a technology borrowed from the construction of horse blankets. (Para.1)
Meaning: Sewing pieces of cloth together along their margins, plus metal pins to make the trousers more durable than usual, which is a way borrowed from making horse blankets.
seam: n. a line of stitches joining two pieces of cloth, leather, etc.
The pants came apart at the seams. 裤子的缝口处开线了。
Language Point 2
..."the gown worn by a fashionable lady in attendance contained 1,100 yards of material not including lace and other ornaments". (Para.2)
Meaning: A fashionable lady who served in the queen court wore the gown made of 1,100 yards of cloth not including the decorations such as lace and other ornaments.
gown: n.
1) a long, usu. formal dress for a woman
On her wedding day, the bride wore a white gown, and 140 wedding guests danced to music until the small hours of the morning. 在婚礼的那天，新娘穿着一件白色长礼服，140位参加婚礼的客人伴着音乐翩翩起舞直到凌晨时分。
2) a long loose garment worn in hospital, esp. by surgeons in operating rooms
Doctors in hospital wear white gowns over their daily clothing. 医院里的医生在他们平常穿的衣服外边罩一件白大褂。
attendance: n. the act of going with or being with sb.
There will be doctors in attendence on the top athletes during the Olympic Games.在奥运会期间将会有医生照料这些顶级运动员。
The chairman always has two bodyguards in close attendence. 主席有两名保镖时刻在左右保卫。
ornament: n. a small attractive object used for decoration or for sth./sb. more beautiful
The rich woman's room is crowded with ornaments. 这位贵妇人的房间中摆满了装饰品。
That pot is an ornament; we don't use it. 那个锅是个装饰品，我们不用它做饭。
Language Point 3
American women of wealth were also wrapped in an abundance of cloth. (Para.2)
wrap in: cover, envelope, or surround
I wrapped my head in a scarf. 我用头巾裹住我的头。
The docks at this seaport are covered with thousands of new cars, many wrapped in plastic for a foreign voyage. 港口的码头上停着数千辆新汽车，许多车包着塑料布准备出口。
abundance: n. great or plentiful amount
Carpets are available in abundance. 地毯货源充足。
The tree yields an abundance of fruit. 这棵树结果甚多。
Language Point 4
While makers of jeans worried over how many men could be fitted into a given amount of cloth, for women of wealth the concern was with how many yards of cloth could be attractively arranged upon a given individual. (Para.2)
Meaning: Makers of jeans, with a given amount of material, tried hard to save cloth in order to make as many jeans as possible for hard-laboring men. Whereas rich ladies did not care how much cloth they would use for their dresses as long as they could look beautiful in these dresses.
fit into:(cause to) take the right space or time in sth.; (cause to) be suitable for sth.
This is a new station with four tracks and three platforms that would, for the first time, allow all 10 cars of a train to fit into the station. 新站有4个车道和3个站台，首次可以停靠有10节车厢的火车。
If you gain any more weight, you won't be able to fit into these clothes. 如果你的体重再增加的话，这些衣服就不适合你穿了。
Language Point 5
The fashionable rich could not imagine themselves wearing the vulgar canvas pants ...(Para.2)
vulgar: a. lacking in taste, delicacy, or refinement dressed in cheap and vulgar finery 穿着廉价而俗气的华丽服装
The villa is full of expensive but very vulgar furniture.别墅里放满了价格昂贵却十分庸俗的家具。
Language Point 6
Neither could working-class people reasonably imagine themselves in the costumes of wealth and power. (Para.2)
costume: n. a style or fashion of dress, esp. that of a particular place, time or class
Her national costume showed which country she came from. 她穿的民族服装表明了她是从哪个国家来的。
In many regions of the world, people wear traditional costumes at festivals or holidays. 在世界许多地区，人们在过节时穿传统服装。
Language Point 7
The only fashion link between them — subtle at best — was the stern top hat of wealthy capitalists, a coal-black cylinder symbolizing the factory chimney pipes that brought profit to one, hardship to the other. (Para.2)
Meaning: Between jeans and dresses of wealth was the link of the rich bosses' black high hats, which symbolized the factory chimney pipes that brought profit to capitalists and hardship to laborers.
subtle: a. so slight as to be difficult to detect or analyze
The twins have a subtle distinction. 这对双胞胎长得几乎一模一样。
He is sending subtle signals that he dislikes it. 他正暗示他不喜欢这个。
at best: used to emphasize that sth. is not very good, pleasant, etc. even if you consider it in the best way
No more than 40 people at best attended. 顶多有40人参加。
The plane has a top speed of 20 miles per hour at best. 这种飞机最高时速为每小时20英里。
Language Point 8
Blue jeans only signified labor and sweat. (Para.2)
Meaning: Blue jeans just meant hard life to its wearer.
signify: vt. represent; mean
The patient shakes his hand to signify his intent. 这个病人摆摆手表明自己的意图。
I smiled a smile that was meant to signify interest in this excursion. 我笑了笑，意思是说我对这次远足感兴趣。
Language Point 9
Humble beginnings became increasingly obscure within the unfolding of popular culture. (Para.3)
Meaning: In the process of popular culture merging into the mainstream, the humble background of blue jeans faded away and its position in the fashion world became more and more established.
obscure: a. not easily or clearly seen or understood; indistinct
His reasons remain obscure. 他的理由不清楚。
The story got about over the years that his lectures were very obscure. 这个说法已经传开几年了，说他的讲座很难听懂。
unfold: v.
1) (cause to) become clear, more fully known, etc.
The landscape unfolded before me. 风景逐渐展现在我眼前。
The story unfolds as the play goes on. 戏演下去，故事情节逐渐展开了。
2) open and spread out (sth. folded)
Spring flowers unfolded everywhere. 春天花儿四处绽放。
Sam unfolded the paper and looked at it dumbly. 萨姆展开了这张纸，默默地看着。
Language Point 10
... and blue jeans became conspicuous within the landscape of the American media. (Para.3)
conspicuous: a. attracting attention; easy to notice
She's always conspicuous because of her bright clothes and queer hair style. 因为她衣着鲜艳,发型古怪,所以总是惹人注目。
They were conspicuous by their absence in the meeting yesterday. 他们缺席昨天的会议，这引起了别人的注意。
Language Point 11
On the screen these pants teased the imaginations of city folk, who longed for a simpler and less corrupt life. (Para.3)
Meaning: On TV and other media, jeans attracted city folk, who wanted to lead a pure and simplified life.
Language Point 12
While laborers would continue to wear them at work, now the well-off might put on a pair at home or in the garden — an escape from the discipline of the business world. (Para.3)
Meaning: Laborers would go on wearing jeans at work, and rich people might wear jeans when they are at home or in the garden, a means to escape from the formal way of life of the business world.
Language Point 13
In the 1950s, blue jeans became a statement by those who wished to boycott the values of a consumer-based society that was concerned only with acquisition. (Para.4)
boycott: vt. refuse to buy or use sth., or take part in sth. as a way of protesting.
Many workers boycotted the meeting to protest against the unfair treatment they received. 许多工人抵制会议来抗议他们所受到的不公正待遇。
The famous hostess called on her audience to boycott imported beef in a TV talk-show. 那位著名的女主持人在一个电视访谈节目上呼吁观众抵制进口牛肉。
Language Point 14
... the positive images of American consumer society were under siege. (Para.4)
under siege: being criticized, attacked, or threatened
With the theatre now under financial siege, these are the only shows now possible to make ends meet. 剧院资金短缺，只有这些演出才能维持收支平衡。
The film has been under siege from the media since it was shown to the public. 这部影片自对公众放映以来遭到了媒体的批评。
Language Point 15
These images found an eager audience among those for whom gray suits and formal dresses had been elevated as ideals of the age. (Para.4)
Meaning: These images of anti-traditional jeans got enthusiastic supporters among people who used to regard gray suits and formal dresses as ideals of the age.
Language Point 16
Even some among the middle class slipped into jeans for a sleepy afternoon on the porch. (Para.4)
Meaning: Even some of the middle class people liked to spend a sleepy afternoon on the platform at the entrance to their building in jeans.
slip into: put on (a coat, one's shoes, etc.) smoothly, easily, and quietly
She slipped into her nightdress. 她迅速穿上睡衣。
Wait here while I slip into something warmer. 你在这儿等一等，我穿上件暖和的衣服。
porch: n. a covered platform, usu. having a separate roof, at an entrance to a building
I happened to find the letter on the back porch of the bungalow. 我碰巧在平房的后门廊发现了这封信。
New apartments were spacious and often had balconies, porches, or other amenities. 新寓所很宽阔，而且一般都有阳台、门廊或其他康乐设施。
Language Point 17
By the mid-sixties, blue jeans were an essential part of the wardrobe of those with a commitment to social struggle. (Para.5)
Meaning: By the mid-sixties, blue jeans became the most common clothes for those who were devoted to social movements for equal rights or democracy.
Language Point 18
In the American Deep South, black farmers and grandchildren of slaves still segregated from whites, continued to wear jeans in their mid-nineteenth-century sense; but now they were joined by college students — black and white — in a battle to overturn deeply embedded race hatred. (Para.5)
segregate: v. (from) separate or set apart, esp. from a different social group
It is the government's policy to segregate black people from white. 把黑人和白人隔离开是政府的政策。
The teacher segregated boys from girls. 老师把男孩和女孩分开。
overturn: vt. bring to an end; cause to turn over
The new government overturned a puppet regime. 新政府推翻了傀儡政权。
State and federal courts overturned labor laws that curtailed employment opportunities for women. 州法院和联邦法院废除了限制妇女就业的劳动法规。
embed (also imbed): vt. fix deeply and firmly (in a surrounding mass)
That terrible day will be embedded in the children's memory. 那可怕的一天将深深地留在孩子们的记忆中。
It is a discussion of a concept which is embedded in the philosophical and political traditions of our culture. 讨论是围绕一个概念进行的，它在我国的哲学和政治的文化传统中根深蒂固。
Language Point 19
The clothing of toil came to signify the dignity of struggle. (Para.5)
Meaning: The clothing worn by laborers came to show the decency and power of social struggle.
Language Point 20
... the political significance of dress became increasingly explicit. (Para.7)
explicit: a. fully and clearly expressed; leaving nothing implied
The students got an explicit direction. 学生们得到了明确的指令。
They have made explicit promises not to give military aid to separatists. 他们明确承诺,不给分裂主义者军事援助。
Language Point 21
This was the cloth of action; the cloth of labor became the badge of freedom. (Para.7)
Meaning: This was the cloth for movement; the cloth of labor became the symbol of freedom.
badge: n. sth. that represents a particular quality or type of person
The olive leaf is a badge of peace. 橄榄叶是和平的象征。
Chains are a badge of slavery. 镣铐是奴役的象征。
Language Point 22
... practical roots are incorporated into a new aesthetic. (Para.9)
incorporate: vt. (into) make (sth.) a part of a group or of sth. larger; include
It is much more convenient to incorporate English terms or numbers familiar to readers here.在这里加入读者熟悉的英文术语和数字要方便得多。
She incorporated the letter into her diary. 她把这封信的内容记在日记里了。
Language Point 23
Yet looking at fashions, in and of themselves, reveals situations that often defy understanding. (Para.10)
Meaning: By looking at fashions we often find situations that can hardly be understood.
defy: vt. make impossible or unsuccessful
These things seemingly defy rational explanation.这些事情看上去得不到合理的解释。
His modernist novels defy understanding. 他的现代主义小说令人无法理解。
Language Point 24
Our ability to understand a specific fashion — the current one of jeans, for example — shows us that as we try to make sense of it, our confusion intensifies. (Para.10)
Meaning: Take jeans, for example, as a specific fashion. The harder we try to understand it, the more confused we become.
make sense of: understand the meaning of
It's hard to make sense of the incident. 这个事件很难理解。
Can you make sense of what the teacher is saying? 你能理解老师在说什么吗？
Language Point 25
What events, what developments, what forces proceeded to make fashion a more important concern than function among increasing numbers of people? (Para.11)
Meaning: Why did more and more people pay more attention to the social concern of the fashion than to its function?
Language Point 26
In what ways have fashion and society coincided, particularly in the context of changes in the structure, habits, and economy of the society? (Para.11)
Meaning: How have fashion and society come to agree with one another, particularly in the background of changes in social structure, people's habits and social economy?
coincide: vi. (of ideas, opinions, etc.) be in agreement; agree with one another
The members of the committee do not coincide in opinion. 委员会成员们的意见不统一。
Their hobbies happened to coincide. 他们的爱好恰好一致。
Language Point 27
Exploring the role of fashion within the social and political history of industrial America helps to reveal the parameters and possibilities of American society. (Para.12)
Meaning: Studying the role of fashion within the social and political history of industrial America helps to show the characteristics and possibilities of American society.
parameter: n.
1) (usu. pl.) a characteristic or feature
What are the major parameters of color? 颜色的主要特征是什么？
2) a factor that restricts what is possible or what results
Some quite subtle effects can be produced by adjusting a few parameters. 一些相当细微的效果可以通过调整一些参数表现出来。
The devices will measure cloud properties, the wetness of land surfaces, land and sea temperatures and many other parameters. 这些仪器装置可以测出云层的性质、地表的湿度、陆地和海洋的温度等许多参数。
Language Point 28
The ultimate question is whether the development of images of rebellion into mass-produced fashions has actually resulted in social change. (Para.12)
Meaning: The basic question is whether the development of images of rebellion into mass-produced fashions has actually changed society.
