《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》07 The Rules of Game

　　Unit 7
The Rules of Game
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 masculine 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 tuning² 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 fro 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 serious. 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, sustaining love, enlivening passion in a partnership⁶" that is room 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 romance 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 obsessed⁸ 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 tuning   

n.调谐，调整，调音v.调音( tune的现在分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• They are tuning up a plane on the flight line. 他们正在机场的飞机跑道上调试一架飞机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The orchestra are tuning up. 管弦乐队在定弦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

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 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

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 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。