unit04 The Rules of Game 游戏规则

unit04 The Rules of Game 游戏规则

Italians love women. Russians love Vodka. What do Americans love? They love rules. There are thousands of books dedicated¹ to the idea that whatever you are doing, you can learn to do it better. And they all seem to come from the United States. In fact, the rules-based self-help book is one of America’s major cultural exports.

These books cover every area of life, from love to work and back again. But they can be divided into two basic kinds. The first takes a masculine² approach, though not all readers are men. It reduces every one of life’s tasks into an engineering problem. Just follow these rules and your performance will improve. This is like turning up the engine on the car to make it go just that little bit faster.

The second kind tells you to change your life on a deeper level. These “feminine” books ask you to search deep inside yourself for the answers to life’s problems. They offer rules you can use to change the state of your heart. Change that, and everything else follows.

How do you change your inner self? California-based self-help guru Deepak Chopra thinks you should teach your molecules³ to vibrate in tune⁴ with the universe. He says that advanced physics proves this idea. Advanced physicists⁵ disagree. But Chopra is seriou. So are the millions of Americans who buy his books.

Most self-help books are more in tune with the visible world. A common technique is to apply ideas from foreign cultures and historical figures to modern situation. The wisdom of the famous Chinese general Sun Zi has been repackaged in several books designed to help modern-day businessmen. And it doesn’t stop there. “Sun Zi’s wisdom is the basis for a step-by-step program for taking charge, gaining a commitment, sustaining⁶ love, enlivening passion in a partnership” that is from the “Art of War for Lovers” by Donald Krause.

Maybe a famous general is the right person to help in the battles of the sexes. But the real leaders are two middle-aged⁷ blonde women. In 1997, Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider published “The Rules: Time-tested Secrets” to win the heart of Mr. Right. Selling over 2 million copies, “The Rules” has become an official guidebook for romance⁸ to women across the western world. It is based on an old saying—“Treat them mean to keep them keen.”

According to “The Rules”, women should never ask for a date and never pay when they go on one. A woman should never phone a man, or see him more than three times a week. “Make Mr. Right obsessed⁹ with you by making yourself unattainable”.

Millions of women gave it a try. Then something happened. In March, 2001, Ellen Fein’s husband announced that he was divorcing her. His reason was abandonment. It seems that Mrs, Fein had spent so much time telling other women how to find potential husbands, she had forgotten about her actual husband.

The public reacted with amusement. It’s always nice to see the experts get things wrong. But there is no sign that people have stopped wanting to be told about how to live their lives. Some rules might not work. But “The Rules” go on forever.

1 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

2 masculine   

adj.男性的，男子的，男子气的

参考例句：

• She has a rather masculine voice.她的声音有点男性化。
• The ceremony is exclusively masculine.典礼上清一色的全是男人。

3 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

6 sustaining   

adj.支持的，持续的v.维持( sustain的现在分词 )；支撑；忍受；长期保持

参考例句：

• You should eat good sustaining food, ie food that gives strength. 你应该吃些能增强体力的食物。 来自辞典例句
• Jephson fixed Clyde with his encouraging and sustaining blue eyes. 杰甫逊用含有鼓励，支持的蓝眼睛盯住克莱德。 来自辞典例句

7 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

8 romance   

n.恋爱关系，浪漫气氛，爱情小说，传奇

参考例句：

• She wrote a romance about an artist's life in Tokyo.她写了一个关于一位艺术家在东京生活的浪漫故事。
• They tried to rekindle the flames of romance.他们试图重燃爱火。

9 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。