Language Point 1
… a few of us in northern New York State … (Para.1)
northern: a. in or from the north 北部的；来自北部的
He lives in northern Australia. 他住在澳大利亚北部。
Language Point 2
… I gave everyone a kilogram of beef and pork sausage. (Para.1)
kilogram (英kilogramme): n. (略作 kg, k., kilo) [C] a measure of weight 公斤
I bought two kilos of potatoes. 我买了两公斤土豆。
Language Point 3
…gave everyone a kilogram of beef and …(Para.1)
beef: n. [U] the meat of a cow 牛肉;
How much does he make on beef every day? 他每天卖牛肉能赚多少钱？
Language Point 4
…a kilogram of beef and pork sausage. (Para.1)
pork: n. [U] the meat of a pig 猪肉;
Children like to eat pork sausages. 孩子们喜欢吃猪肉肠。
Language Point 5
…of beef and pork sausage. (Para.1)
sausage: n. [C;U] meat that is cut into very small pieces and made into a long, thin shape 香肠；腊肠;
They are going to buy some sausage rolls for us. 他们去给我们买香肠卷。
Language Point 6
My mother has welcomed the idea by making candles and cheese balls covered in nuts. (Para.1)
candle: n. [C] a round stick of wax with a piece of string in the middle that;
burns to give light 蜡烛;
She lighted a candle and then blew it out. 她先点燃了蜡烛，然后又把它吹灭了。
Language Point 7
…the idea by making candles and cheese balls …(Para.1)
cheese: n. [C;U] soft or firm solid food made from milk 干酪；乳酪;
Cheese is made from the milk of cows, sheep or goats. 干酪是由牛奶、绵羊奶或山羊奶制成的。
Language Point 8
…making candles and cheese balls covered in nuts. (Para.1)
nut: n. [C] a dry fruit 果仁；坚果;
We’ll be out all day, so bring some nut cakes with you. 我们要在外面一整天，你带些果仁蛋糕吧。
Nuts fell down when we shook the tree. 我们一摇树，坚果就落了下来。
Language Point 9
The $100 figure was a way to explain to children … (Para.2)
figure: n. [C];
1) a written sign of number 数字;
Shall I write the numbers in words or figures? 要我将数目用文字写出来，还是写阿拉伯数字？
2) a person (that you cannot see very clearly) 人影
I saw a tall figure outside the window, but I couldn’t make out who it was. 我看见窗外有个高大的身影，但认不出是谁。
Language Point 10
…they would not be getting the total aggregate of everything on their Christmas list. (Para.2)
aggregate: n. [C;U] a total 总数；合计;
The football team had a low goal aggregate last season. 这支足球队上个赛季的总进球数很少。
Language Point 11
So far, our daughter, Sophie, does fine at Christmas. (Para.2)
Meaning: So far, the idea has worked well with our daughter, Sophie, at Christmas.;
so far: until now; up to now 直至现在
So far the weather has been good, but it might change. 到现在为止，天气都很好，但也许会有变化。
Language Point 12
The Christmas dinner with a big smoked ham is exciting. (Para.2)
ham: n. [U] meat from a pig’s back leg that has been smoked 火腿;
We waited for half an hour until a waiter finally brought us ham and eggs. 我们等了半个小时才有服务员给我们端来了火腿和蛋。
Language Point 13
This holiday idea may sound small. (Para.3)
Meaning: This holiday idea may not sound important.
Language Point 14
… it is pretty extreme. (Para.3)
Meaning: … it is quite unusual.extreme: a.
1) very usual; unlikely to be accepted by most people 极端的；偏激的;
He has extreme opinions on almost everything. 他差不多对所有的事物都抱有偏激的看法。
2) of the greatest or strongest possibility 极大的；极度的;
You must take extreme care when driving at night. 晚上开车要非常小心。
extreme: n. [C] sth. that is completely different from sth. else 极端不同的事物;
Alex used to be very shy but now she’s gone to the opposite extreme. 以前亚历克斯很害羞，现在却走到了另一极端。
Language Point 15
Christmas, it turns out, is the basis of the nation’s economy. (Para.3)
turn out: be found to be; in the end 结果(是)；最后（是）;
The house that they have promised us turned out to be a tiny flat. 他们答应给我们的房子原来只是一个小公寓。
Language Point 16
And so it upsets people when you ask whether we should be showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
Meaning: And so it makes people unhappy when you ask whether we should spend so much money on so many expensive presents.
Language Point 17
…whether we should be showering one another … (Para.3)
shower: v. cause a great number of very small things to fall on sb. or sth.; pour大量洒落；倾注;
The water pipe(水管) burst, showering us with water. 水管爆裂，溅了我们一身水。
He was showered with praise for his excellent work. 他的出色工作赢得了众人的交口称赞。
shower: n. [C] a way of washing the body by standing under running water 淋浴
He just took a shower. 他刚刚冲了个澡。
Language Point 18
… showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
silk: n. [U] thin smooth cloth that is made from threads produced by silkworms 丝绸
I like to wear silk shirts in summer. 夏天我喜欢穿丝绸衬衣。
Language Point 19
… showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
tie: n. [C] a long thin piece of cloth that one wears round one’s neck with a shirt 领带;
Today he is wearing a nice suit(西装) with a beautiful tie. 今天他西装笔挺，还系了条漂亮的领带。
tie: vt. hold sb. or sth. with a rope or string 绑；系;
Kay tied her hair back with a handkerchief. 凯将头发拢到脑后用一条手帕系好。
Language Point 20
…showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
silver: n. [U] 银;
All I’ve got is a $10 note and about a pound in silver. 我所有的钱就只是一张10美元的钞票和大约一英镑的银币。
She has meals with a silver spoon. 她用银质调羹吃饭。
That’s a nice ring. Is it silver? 这个戒指不错。是银的吗？
Language Point 21
…showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
soup: n. [C;U] liquid food made by cooking meat, vegetable 汤
In the store, there is a good selection(挑选) of packet(袋) soups. 商店里有很多可供挑选的袋装汤料。
Language Point 22
… showering one another with silk ties and silver soup bowls. (Para.3)
bowl: n. [C] a deep round dish 碗；钵;
She took some sugar from the sugar bowl. 她从糖碗里拿了些糖。
Language Point 23
… writing to the newspapers made it clear to us … (Para.4)
make it clear: speak so that there can be no doubt about what one means 说清楚;
I’ve made it clear to you that you can’t go to that dance party. 我已经跟你讲得明明白白了，你不能去参加那个舞会。
Language Point 24
…One said that it would do too much damage to business.… (Para.4)
Meaning: The $100 campaign would have bad influence on business.
Language Point 25
… would do too much damage to businesses. (Para.4)
do damage to: do harm to 损害;
The heavy rain did serious damage to the crops. 大雨使农作物严重受损。
Language Point 26
… we would destroy many a gift shop. (Para.5)
many a: a large number of 许多；很多
Many a good climber has met his death on this mountain. 许多优秀登山者都在这座山上丧生了。
Note: many a 和单数名词连用，用作主语时，动词用单数。
Language Point 27
If we threw less expensive office parties, restaurants would suffer — as would people who sell flowers, and those who sell wine and beer, and so on down the ladder. (Para.5)
Meaning: If we gave less expensive office parties, restaurants would make less money and the same thing would happen to many small businesses.
Language Point 28
…beer, and so on down the ladder. (Para.5)
ladder: n. [C] a piece of equipment that is used for climbing up sth. 阶梯；楼梯
She tried to climb the ladder of success in society. 她努力攀登社会的成功阶梯。
Language Point 29
… and Christmas might as well be it. (Para.5)
Note: might as well 用以表示在别无选择的情况下，只好让某事发生。
I might as well tell you the truth — you’ll find out anyway. 我还是把真相告诉你吧，反正早晚你都会知道的。
Language Point 30
Christmas had become an environmental disgrace ... (Para.6)
Meaning: Christmas shopping had done too much damage to our environment …;
Language Point 31
…all that paper used to cover gifts and all those batteries. (Para.6)
battery: n. [C] sth. that gives electricity 电池；电瓶
You put batteries inside radios to make them work. 你在收音机里面装进电池就能用了。
The car won’t start because the battery has gone flat. 汽车发动不起来，因为电瓶没电了。
Language Point 32
And fighting to create a proper Christmas drives poor families into money problems. (Para.6)
drive into: force sb. into an unpleasant condition 逼迫
That noise is driving me into a nervous breakdown(崩溃). 那噪音逼得我要精神崩溃了。
Language Point 33
… winter temperatures can go below zero … (Para.6)
below zero: less than 0°C 低于零摄氏度，零下
The temperature is likely to fall to five below zero. 气温可能会跌到零下5摄氏度。
Language Point 34
… January finds many people cutting back on heating … (Para.6)
cut back on sth.: reduce sth. 减少;
They cut back on production during the power cuts. 他们在停电期间缩减生产。
Language Point 35
…cutting back on heating, freezing in their houses so …(Para.6)
freeze: v.;
1) feel extremely cold 受冻
The mountain climbers were lost in the snow, and nearly froze to death. 登山者在雪中迷了路，几乎冻死。
2) become hard because it is so cold 结冰
The cold has frozen the earth solid. 严寒把泥土都冻硬了。
Language Point 36
…they can save money to pay off their Christmas bills. (Para.6)
pay off:
1) pay all the money 偿还；还清
Mr. Bill was paid off just before he quit the job. 在辞去工作之前，比尔先生得到了他所有的工资。
When the building was completed, he paid off the construction workers. 房子建成后，他付清了建筑工人的工钱。
2) be successful 获得成功
Our plan certainly paid off; it was a great idea. 我们的计划肯定会获得成功，这是个了不起的主意。
Language Point 37
…they can save money to pay off their Christmasbills. (Para.6)
bill: n. [C] a piece of paper that shows how much money you owe for goods or services 账单
She pays all bills for the family every month. 她每月支付家里所有的账单。
Language Point 38
Our chief reason became that we wanted more joy. (Para.7)
chief: a. most important; main 首要的；主要的
One of the chief reasons for his decision was money. 他作出这个决定的一个主要原因是为了钱。
Language Point 39
We felt cheated by the Christmases we were having — so rushed, so busy and so full of advertising that we couldn’t relax and enjoy the holiday season. (Para.7)
Meaning: We felt cheated when we looked back on how we celebrated Christmas every year; we were so hurried, so busy and having so many advertisements that we couldn’t rest and have a good time at Christmas.
Language Point 40
…we couldn’t relax and enjoy the holiday season. (Para.7)
relax: v. become less active and worried 放松；轻松;
A hot bath will relax you after a hard day’s work. 一天的辛劳之后，洗个热水澡会让你觉得轻松舒畅。
Language Point 41
You may have already bought a ton of stuff. (Para.8)
ton: n. [C] a measure of weight (重量单位) 吨;
Steel production fell last week by 1,800 tons. 钢铁产量上星期下降了1,800吨。
Language Point 42
In fact, turning the focus of Christmas back to Christ is a long and patient effort.(Para.8)
Meaning: In fact, it will take a long time and continuous effort to persuade people to celebrate Christmas in a simple and traditional way.
Language Point 43
In fact, turning the focus of Christmas back to Christ is a long and patient effort. (Para.8)
focus: n. [C] a center of attention or interest 集中点；中心;
She always wants to be the focus of attention. 她总想成为大家注意的焦点。
Language Point 44
But to judge from our family’s holidays … (Para.8)
judge from: form or give an opinion about 判断；考虑
Judging from what you say, he ought to succeed. 根据你所说的来看，他应当会成功。
