Unit Two   

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                           A heated discussion about whether men are braver
                  than women is settled in a rather unexpected way.

                      THE DINNER PARTY

                                                            Mona Gardner

            I first  heard    this  tale in  India, where it   is  told as  if  true--though   any
       naturalist  would know  it  couldn't be.  Later  someone told me  that  the story 
       appeared in a  magazine shortly  before  the First  World War. That  magazine 
      story, and  the  person who wrote it,  I have never been able to track down.
5          The  country is  India. A  colonial  official and  his wife  are  giving  a  large 
     dinner   party.  They  are  seated  with  their  guests - officers  and   their  wives,
     and  a   visiting   American   naturalist - in  their  spacious  dining   room, which 
     has a  bare  marble  floor,  open  rafters  and  wide  glass  doors opening onto a 
     veranda.
10        A  spirited  discussion  springs  up between  a  young  girl   who  says  that 
     women    have  outgrown   the   jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse  era 
     and a major who says that they haven't.
          "A woman's reaction in any crisis, " the major says, "is to screaizi. 
      And  while a man may  feel  like it, he  has that  ounce  more  of  control  than a 
15  woman has. And that last ounce is what really counts. "
            The   American.  does  not  join  in  the  argument   but  watches  the  other 
      guests.  As he looks,  he  sees a  strange  expression  come over the face of the 
      hostess.  She  is  staring   straight  ahead,  her   muscles   contracting   slightly. 
      She  motions  to  the   native  boy  standing   behind   her  chair  and   whispers 
20  something   to   him. The boy's   eyes   widen:   he   quickly   leaves  the  room.
             Of  the  guests,  none except  the  American   notices  this or sees the  boy 
     place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors.
           The American  comes to with  a  start. In India,  miik  in a bowl means only 
     one  thing--bait  for a  snake.  He  realizes there  must be  a  cobra  in  the room.
25  He  looks   up   at  the  rafters-the   likeliest   place -put   they  are  bare.  Three 
     cotners  of the  room are  empty  and  in the  fourth  the   servants   are  waiting
     to serve the next course. There is only one place left - under the table.
           His first  impulse is  to  jump  back  and  warn  the  others,   but  he  knows 
30  the commotion  would  frighten  the  cobra into  striking   He   speaks  quickly, 
      the     tone   of   his   voice    so   commanding   that   it    silences    everyone
          "I want  to  know   just  what  control  everyone   at  this rable has.  I  will 
      count three   hundred - that's  five  minutes - and not one  of   you is  to  move 
      a muscle. Those who move will forfeit 50 rupees. Ready!"
35       The  20  people  sit like  stone  images  while  he  counts.  He  is saying "…
   two  hundred  and eighty…" when, out of  the  corner of  his eye,  he  sees  the 
     cobra emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Screams ring out  as  he  jumps 
     to slam the veranda doors safely shut. 
          "You  were  right, Major!   " the  host  exclaims. "  A man  has  just  shown 
40 us an example of perfect self--control. "
          "Just  a  minute, "the American  says, turning to his hostess.  "Mrs.  Wynnes,
    how did you know that cobra was in the room?"
          A  faint  smile  lights  up the woman's  face as  she  replies:"Because  it was 
    crawling across my foot. "

                               New Words

heated a.                                   witli strong, excited, and often angry feelings 
                                                      热烈的; 激烈的 
unexpected a.                            not expected 意外的
naturalist/  n.                              one who makes a special study of plants or ani- 	
                                                     mals outdoors 博物学家（尤指直接观察动植物者）
shortly ad.                                 soon ; (in) a little time 不久, 马上
colonial /  a.                               of or related to a colony or colonies 殖民地的
spacious /  a.                              big; having much space 广阔的；宽敞的  
dining room n.                           餐厅
bare / a.                                     not covered ( with a carpet ) ; empty 不铺地毯 	
                               的;赤裸的;光秃的
marble / n.                                 大理石
rafter / n.                                   one of the sloping beams that support the roof   椽 
onto prep.                                  to a position or point on 到…之上; 向…之上
veranda / n.                                阳台
spirited/ a.                                  full of spirit; lively 
outgrow (outgrew,outgrown )      leave behind,as one grows older or more mature
   vt.	                                          长大得使…不再适用 ; 成长得不再要
mouse /n.                                   鼠
era / n.                                       时代；年代 
major / n.                                   少校
crisis / (pl.crises )n.                    time of difficulty, danger, etc. 危机     
ounce /  n.                                 盎司；少量
argument /  n.                            discussion by persons who disagree; dispute 
                                                     争论 ; 辩论
hostess /  n.                               女主人
muscle /  n.                                肌肉 
contract / vi.                               become shorter or smaller 收缩
  contraction n.                              
slightly /  ad.                               a little 稍微地
  slight a. 	                                             
motion /  vi.                                give a signal by moving the hend or head 打手	
                                 势;点(或摇)头示意
widen v.                                      make or become wider 
bait /  n.                                      food used to attract fish,animals,or birds so 	
                                                        that they may be caught 诱饵
cobra /  n.                                   poisonous snake found in India and Africa. 眼镜
                                  蛇
likely /  a.                                    probable 可能的
impulse /  n.                                sudden wish to do sth 冲动
commotion /  n.                           noisy confusion or excitement 混乱; 骚动
tone /  n.                                     quality of voice or music 语气 ; 音调
commanding /  a.                        suthoritative 威严的 
forfeit /  vt.                                 suffer the loss of ( sth. ) as a punishment 
                                                      (作为惩罚而)失去
rupee /  n.                                   monetary unit of India, Pakistan, etc. 卢比 
image /  n.                                  statue 雕像
emerge /  vi.                                come or appear (from somewhere)
   emergence n.                                    
slam /  vt.                                   shut loudly and with force 砰地关上
host /  n.                                     man who receives guests 男主人
faint a.                                        weak, indistinct 微弱的 ; 不明显的 
crawl /  vi.                                  move slowly by pulling the body along the 	
                                                  ground 爬行'

                          Phrases & Expressions

track down            find or discover by hunting or searching 追捕到; 追查到
be seated               sit down 
spring up               begin suddenly; grow up quickly 突然开始;迅速生长
at the sight of         on seeing 一看见 
feel like                  have a liking for; wish for 想要 
come to                 regain consciousness 苏醒 
make for                move towards 走向 
ring out                 sound loudly and clearly 突然响起 
light up                  make or become bright with light or color 照亮 ; 变亮

                            roper Names

Mona Gardner /                  莫娜·加德纳
India /                                印度
Wynnes /                           温兹（姓氏）