Advanced English (II),Unit 7 Libido for the Ugly,About this Essay,Libido for the Ugly is a piece of subjective, impressionistic or emotional description, which conveys the sensation, emotions and impressions. The writer describes what he sees, hears, smells, feels or tastes, and paints a verbal picture of New York.,About the Author ①,The author of this essay is Henry Louis Mencken, who was the first American to be widely read as a critic. He is well-known for his bombastic style and acid tongue. He does not just satire, nor does he only disclose the ugliness of places like New York, he also attacks the whole American race—a race that loves ugliness for its own sake.,About the Author ②,According to H. L. Mencken, the American race hates beauty as it hates truth. In his essay, he chooses the strongest words to virtually abuse the American race. Mencken uses a lot of hyperboles(夸张法)to exaggerate and also makes abundant use of sarcasm(讽刺), ridicule(嘲笑)and irony(反话)to taunt(辱骂, 嘲弄)and jeer(嘲笑, 讥讽).,About the Author ③,Menckens deliberately uses the word libido, a psychological term meaning “a strong desire standing for a momentary impulse for something, namely ugliness, the purpose of which is to create the impression that his description and analysis will have some scientific foundation. To be continued,About the Author ④,In Menckens’ eyes, the love of ugliness in America is a pathological (病理) problem. He compares other towns and villages in America and in Europe with the aim to emphasize the ugliness of Westmoreland County, which is the ugliest place on earth, and the United States as a whole is uglier than Europe.,Unit 7,Libido for the ugly Detailed explanations,Libido for the Ugly,The strong urge to love things ugly.Libido: a special term used in psychoanalysis meaning a strong desire. 【心理】“利比多”(弗洛伊德心理分析学说中的精神动力),On a winter day some years ago, coming out of Pittsburgh on one of the expresses of Pennsylvania Railroad, I rolled eastward for an hour through the coal and steel town of Westmoreland County.,One day in winter: This phrase is used when the exact date is forgotten, or when the writer or speaker does not wish to mention the exact date.To be continued,On a winter day some years ago, coming out of Pittsburgh on one of the expresses of Pennsylvania Railroad, I rolled eastward for an hour through the coal and steel town of Westmoreland County.,Pittsburgh: a city in Southwest Pennsylvania, which is one of the most important industrial cities of America and a center of rail and river transportation. It is termed as the Steel City or Smoky City. It also produces natural gas, oil and limestone as well as iron and steel. To be continued,On a winter day some years ago, coming out of Pittsburgh on one of the expresses of Pennsylvania Railroad, I rolled eastward for an hour through the coal and steel town of Westmoreland County.,Express: A fast, direct train, making few stops.直达快车Roll: to travel in a wheeled vehicle, here referring to an express train.To be continued,,Train sets made up of motorized carriages；D-prefaced trains；D-prefaced streamlined trainsets；D-prefaced trainsets；D-prefaced trainsets with motorized cars。
On a winter day some years ago, coming out of Pittsburgh on one of the expresses of Pennsylvania Railroad, I rolled eastward for an hour through the coal and steel town of Westmoreland County.,A county in Southwest Pennsylvania, which is a mining and manufacturing region.The whole sentence means “One day in winter some years ago, I started out from Pittsburgh and traveled through the coal and steel towns of Westmoreland County in a fast railroad train.,It was familiar ground; boy and man, I had been through it often before.,It was familiar ground: I was familiar with this place.Boy and man: when I was a boy and a grown-up manI had been through it often before: I had often traveled through this region.,But somehow I had never sensed its appalling desolation.,Sense: (1) a feeling that is hard to describe exactly; (2) a feeling that something exists but without direct proof; (of machine) discover, detect (检测，感应)To be continued,But somehow I had never sensed its appalling desolation.,Appall: to shock deeply 使不寒而栗Appalling: causing fear, shockingDesolation: noun form for desolate.Desolate: referring to a place being sad and without people in it; lonely, uninhibited, solitary, deserted荒凉的，荒芜的。
wretched, very sad 忧伤的Usually in passive voice when used as a verbTo be continued,But somehow I had never sensed its appalling desolation.,Solitary ① habitually alone especially by choice惯于独居的，孤僻的 ② in a lonely place, remote偏僻的，人烟稀少的 ③ alone without companions （文）孤独的，孤 零零的Appalling desolation: both appalled and desolate or wretched,Here was the very heart of industrial America,Very: used as an adj. to show emphasisHeart: the central part, center, here used as metaphor, comparing the area with the human organIndustrial America: American industryHere is one of the important regions where American manufacturing businesses are concentrated.,。