听播客学英语 235 大胆的走

 　　Do you remember Star Trek¹? Star Trek was a science-fiction TV series which began in the 1960s. Later there were 10 Star Trek films. In Star Trek, the characters explore the galaxy² and discover new worlds. They defend civilisation³ from aliens who wish to destroy it. (Star Trek was of course an allegory for the United States and its view of the world!)

　　In recent years, the number of people watching the Star Trek TV series has fallen, and the company which made them has decided⁴ that it will not make any more. This is sad news for thousands of Star Trek fans throughout the world.

　　But is Star Trek dead? Some fans are determined⁵ that Star Trek will never die. A group of fans in Dundee in Scotland are making their own Star Trek film. They have built a film set of the inside of a space ship. They have made their own costumes.They have filmed outside scenes in the highlands of Scotland. There they faced problems such as the rain (it rains a lot in Scotland), and sheep which wandered onto the set going baaah. Most of the filming is now complete, and the film should be available for free download from the internet later this year. You can visit the film’s website (details on the podcast website) to see still pictures and video clips from the film. It looks great.

　　In Star Trek, Captain Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise set out “to boldly go where no man has gone before”. This phrase has become famous. But many people say that it is not good English. “To go” is an infinitive⁶, and it is generally best to keep the two parts of the infinitive (“to” and”go”) together and not to “split the infinitive” (that is, to put another word in the middle.) It is better to say “to go boldly where no man has gone before”. But other people, and all Star Trek fans, say that this is boring and pedantic⁷ and that there is nothing wrong with “to boldly go..”. I think that there are bigger problems in the world than split English infinitives⁸.

1 trek   

vi.作长途艰辛的旅行；n.长途艰苦的旅行

参考例句：

• We often go pony-trek in the summer.夏季我们经常骑马旅行。
• It took us the whole day to trek across the rocky terrain.我们花了一整天的时间艰难地穿过那片遍布岩石的地带。

2 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

3 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 infinitive   

n.不定词；adj.不定词的

参考例句：

• The use of the split infinitive is now generally acceptable.分裂不定式的用法现在已被广泛接受。
• Modal verbs generally take the bare infinitive.情态动词通常用不带to的不定式。

7 pedantic   

adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的

参考例句：

• He is learned,but neither stuffy nor pedantic.他很博学，但既不妄自尊大也不卖弄学问。
• Reading in a pedantic way may turn you into a bookworm or a bookcase,and has long been opposed.读死书会变成书呆子，甚至于成为书橱，早有人反对过了。

8 infinitives   

n.（动词）不定式( infinitive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her litmus test for good breeding is whether you split infinitives. 她测试别人是否具有良好教养的标准是看对方是否在不定式的动词前加修饰副词。 来自互联网
• Nouns, adjectives and infinitives can be used as objective complements. 名词，形容词及不定式可用作补语。 来自互联网