新概念一直被视为英语学习的经典教材，为了让同学们能够更加全面完善的学习新概念英语第三册，新东方网英语频道将帮助同学们一起总结知识点。

New Year resolutions 新年的决心

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 favourites 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 exercises 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.

新年是下决心的时候，至少在大多数人的心里会编排出一份“应做什么”和“不应做什么”的令人生畏的单子。相同的决心以单调的规律年复一年地出现。我们决心每天早晨起得早些;吃得少些;多花点时间与孩子们一起做游戏;做大量的家务;对不喜欢的人友善一些;小心驾车;每天都要带着狗散步;等等。以往的经验告诉我们有些事是办不到的。如果我们烟瘾大，戒不掉，那是因为屡戒屡败，失去信心。我们大多数人想自我完善却遭到失败，这是因为我们的规划过于宏大，而又根本没有时间去实施。我们还犯有一个根本性的错误，即把我们的决心向大家宣布。这样一旦滑回到那些老习惯上去，我们在别人的眼里会显得更加难堪。我深知这些问题，于是，今年我对自己的计划要严加保密，只给自己定下两项适中的任务;每天早上锻炼身体，每天晚上多看点书。新年除夕举办的一次通宵晚会，使我理直气壮地在新年头一天免去了这两项任务。不过，新年第二天，我全力以赴地照着去做了。

New words and expressions 生词与短语

resolution

n. 决心

mentally

adv. 内心里

compile

v. 编辑，编制

formidable

adj. 令人畏惧的

recur

v. 再发生，又出现

regularity

n. 规律性

accomplishment

n. 成就

attainment

n. 达到

inveterate

adj. 根深蒂固的

self-improvement

n. 自我完善

scheme

n. 简单的计划，方案

ambitious

adj. 雄心勃勃的

pitfall

n. 意外的困难，易犯的错误

modest

adj. 要求不过分的

assiduously

adv. 刻苦地

self-discipline

n. 自我约束

frame

n. 躯体

betray

v. 暴露，显露

troop

v. 成群结队地走动

unsettle

v. 使不安

taunt

n. 嘲笑，奚落人的话

jibe

n. 嘲弄，挖苦新概念英语第二册1

good-humouredly

adv. 和气地，心情好地

wane

v. 逐渐变小，变弱

hypnotize

v. 使欲睡，使蒙胧

undoing

n. 祸根，毁灭的原因

screen

n. 电视机屏幕

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