2018 英语一 Text 4｜美国邮政：需要的不只是创可贴
主旨
美国邮政持续亏损，连续十年入不敷出，还背着巨额未备资金的员工医疗和退休负债，濒临破产 → 根本原因：技术变革永久削减了主打业务一类邮件的需求，监管结构又不给管理层灵活调整的空间 → 各路利益集团向国会施压维护现状，改革立法屡屡失败，邮政只能推迟现代化来付账 → 如今各方就一项法案达成一致：靠每封信涨价 1 美分、把退休人员转入联邦医保来省钱，解决了预付退休医疗的老问题 → 但这只是维持不倒的最低限度，不是全面改革：人力成本占 80% 的集体谈判没动，取消周六投递也被利益集团扼杀 → 共识只说明议员怕短期崩溃带来政治尴尬，而不是真想改造邮政。
原文：2018 Text 4 · 话题：经济 / 公共事业 · 答案：36 B｜37 A｜38 A｜39 C｜40 D
一、核心词
| 词 | 本文义 | 原文搭配 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| bleed v. | 流血 → 持续亏损 | continues to bleed red ink | blood 血 → bleed |
| fiscal adj. | 财政的 | for fiscal 2016 | fiscal year 财政年度 |
| exceed v. | 超过 | the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue | ex- 出 + ceed 走 → 走出界 |
| expense n. | 支出 | the 10th straight year its expenses have exceeded revenue | expend 花费 |
| liability n. | 负债 | in unfunded liabilities | liable 负有责任的 |
| formerly adv. | 以前 | this formerly stable federal institution | former 以前的 |
| federal adj. | 联邦的 | this formerly stable federal institution | |
| brink n. | 边缘 | at the brink of bankruptcy | |
| bankruptcy n. | 破产 | at the brink of bankruptcy | bank 钱庄 + rupt 断 → 钱庄断了 |
| permanently adv. | 永久地 | permanently decreased demand for its bread-and-butter product | per- 始终 + man 停留 |
| regulatory adj. | 监管的 | a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility | regulate 监管 |
| flexibility n. | 灵活性 | a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility | flex 弯曲 → 可弯的 |
| union n. | 工会 | ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers | uni 一 → 联合 |
| exert v. | 施加 | exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer | |
| ultimate adj. | 最终的 | exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer | ultim 最后 |
| overseer n. | 监管者 | exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer | oversee 监督 |
| status quo n. | 现状 | aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected | 拉丁语”现有的状态” |
| legislation n. | 立法 | repeated attempts at reform legislation | legis 法 + lat 带 |
| defer v. | 推迟 | except by deferring vital modernization | de- 离开 + fer 带 |
| vital adj. | 至关重要的 | except by deferring vital modernization | vit 生命 |
| retiree n. | 退休人员 | shifting postal retirees into Medicare | retire + -ee 被……的人 |
| offset v. | 抵消 | would largely offset the financial burden | off + set |
| burden n. | 负担 | would largely offset the financial burden | |
| long-standing adj. | 长期存在的 | a long-standing complaint by the USPS and its unions | |
| afloat adj. | 维持运转的 | to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform | a- + float 漂浮 → 浮在水面 |
| comprehensive adj. | 全面的 | to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform | com- + prehend 抓住 → 全抓住 |
| omission n. | 疏漏 | a major omission | omit 遗漏 |
| personnel n. | 全体人员 | personnel accounts for 80 percent of the agency’s costs | 易混 personal 个人的 |
| eliminate v. | 取消 | eliminating Saturday letter delivery | e- 出 + limin 门槛 → 赶出门 |
| consensus n. | 共识 | The emerging consensus around the bill | con- + sens 感觉 |
| legislator n. | 立法者 | legislators are getting frightened | |
| embarrassing adj. | 令人尴尬的 | a politically embarrassing short-term collapse |
二、搭配与写作迁移
| 原文表达 | 含义 | 写作迁移 |
|---|---|---|
| bleed red ink | 持续亏损 | 阅读表达；作文用 suffer heavy losses |
| report a net loss of | 报告净亏损 | |
| expenses exceed revenue | 入不敷出 | |
| find oneself at the brink of | 发现自己濒临…… | on the brink of collapse / extinction |
| be in a squeeze between A and B | 夹在 A 和 B 之间 | |
| bread-and-butter product | 主打产品 | bread-and-butter issues 民生问题 |
| deny sb the flexibility to do | 不给某人……的灵活空间 | |
| adjust A to the new reality | 使 A 适应新现实 | adapt to the new reality |
| range from A to B | 从 A 到 B 不等 | |
| exert pressure on | 对……施压 | exert pressure on the government |
| insist that … | 坚持要求…… | |
| depend on | 依赖 | |
| repeated attempts at | 屡次尝试…… | repeated attempts at reform |
| pay one’s bills | 付账 | |
| agree on a plan | 就方案达成一致 | |
| among other measures | 以及其他措施 | |
| address a complaint | 解决抱怨 | address public concerns |
| be bound to do | 必然会 | be bound to fail |
| amount to | 等于，相当于 | amount to nothing |
| the bare minimum | 最低限度 | do the bare minimum |
| keep sth afloat | 使……维持下去 | keep a business afloat |
| account for | 占（比例） | account for 80 percent of costs |
| enjoy wide public support | 获得广泛公众支持 | |
| a sign that … | 表明……的迹象 | |
| get serious about | 认真对待 | get serious about climate change |
三、熟词僻义
- red ink n. 赤字，亏损（≠红墨水）：continues to bleed red ink
- straight adj. 连续的（≠直的）：the 10th straight year
- squeeze n. 困境（≠挤压 v.）：in a historic squeeze
- bread-and-butter adj. 主要的，赖以为生的（≠面包黄油）：its bread-and-butter product
- word n. 消息（≠单词）：Now comes word that everyone involved
- House n. 众议院（≠房子）：If it clears the House
- clear v. 通过（≠清除）：If it clears the House
- measure n. 法案（≠测量）：this measure would still have to get through the Senate
- kill v. 否决，扼杀（≠杀死）：seem to have killed it
四、题目与选项词
| 词 / 搭配 | 义 | 出处 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| unbalanced adj. | 不平衡的 | Q36 [A] | |
| budget n. | 预算 | Q36 [A] | |
| rigid adj. | 僵化的 | Q36 [B] | |
| withdrawal n. | 撤回 | Q36 [D] | withdraw 撤回 |
| interference n. | 干涉 | Q37 [A] | inter- + fer 带 |
| inadequate adj. | 不足的 | Q37 [B] | in- 不 + adequate 足够的 |
| shrinking adj. | 萎缩的 | Q37 [C] | shrink 缩小 |
| incompetence n. | 无能 | Q37 [D] | in- 不 + competent 能干的 |
| mechanism n. | 机制 | Q38 [C] | |
| discontent n. | 不满 | Q39 [C] | dis- 不 + content 满意的 |
| gratitude n. | 感激 | Q39 [D] | grat 感谢 |
| chronic adj. | 慢性的 | Q40 [C] | chron 时间 → 拖得久 |
| Band-Aid n. | 创可贴 → 权宜之计 | Q40 [D] |
五、同义替换：原文 → 正确项
| 题 | 原文 | 正确项 |
|---|---|---|
| 36 B | a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility | its rigid management |
| 37 A | exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer / except by deferring vital modernization | the interference from interest groups |
| 38 A | shifting postal retirees into Medicare / would largely offset the financial burden of annually pre-funding retiree health care | removing its burden of retiree health care |
| 39 C | It is not, however, a sign that they’re getting serious about transforming the postal system for the 21st century. | discontent |
| 40 D | to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform | The Postal Service Needs More Than a Band-Aid |
六、长难句
① between A and B + 两个 that 定语从句（Q36 出处）
Fundamentally, the USPS is in a historic squeeze between technological change that has permanently decreased demand for its bread-and-butter product, first-class mail, and a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility to adjust its operations to the new reality.
- 主干：the USPS is in a historic squeeze between A and B
- A：technological change that has permanently decreased demand for …（first-class mail 是 product 的同位语）
- B：a regulatory structure that denies management the flexibility to …
- deny sb sth：不给某人某物
- 译：从根本上说，美国邮政正陷入前所未有的两面夹击：一边是技术变革永久削减了其主打产品一类邮件的需求，另一边是监管结构不给管理层灵活调整运营以适应新现实的空间。
② 分词后置定语 + 破折号同位语 + insisting 状语（Q37 出处）
And interest groups ranging from postal unions to greeting-card makers exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer – Congress – insisting that whatever else happens to the Postal Service, aspects of the status quo they depend on get protected.
- 主干：interest groups exert self-interested pressure on the USPS’s ultimate overseer
- ranging from … to …：分词作后置定语修饰 interest groups
- 破折号中间：Congress，是 overseer 的同位语
- insisting that …：伴随状语；that 从句内 whatever 引导让步从句，主句 aspects … get protected；they depend on 修饰 status quo
- 译：从邮政工会到贺卡制造商，各种利益集团都在向邮政的最终监管者国会施加出于私利的压力，坚持无论邮政遭遇什么，它们所依赖的现状都要得到保护。
③ if 条件句 + 破折号引出 where 从句（Q40 出处）
If it clears the House, this measure would still have to get through the Senate – where someone is bound to point out that it amounts to the bare, bare minimum necessary to keep the Postal Service afloat, not comprehensive reform.
- 主干：this measure would still have to get through the Senate
- If it clears the House：条件状语，clear 表”通过”
- where …：非限制性定语从句修饰 the Senate
- necessary to keep … afloat：形容词短语后置修饰 minimum
- 译：即使该法案在众议院获得通过，也还得过参议院这一关，而参议院必然会有人指出，这只是维持邮政不倒所需的最最低限度，而不是全面改革。
七、句型
- There are many reasons A finds itself at the brink of B.（开篇分析原因） 原句：There are many reasons this formerly stable federal institution finds itself at the brink of bankruptcy. 套用：There are many reasons this once popular brand finds itself at the brink of collapse.
- This is why repeated attempts at A have failed, leaving B unable to do C.（因果链） 原句：This is why repeated attempts at reform legislation have failed in recent years, leaving the Postal Service unable to pay its bills except by deferring vital modernization. 套用：This is why repeated attempts at reform have failed, leaving many schools unable to improve.
- A, a major omission considering that …（指出缺失） 原句：There’s no change to collective bargaining at the USPS, a major omission considering that personnel accounts for 80 percent of the agency’s costs. 套用：The plan says nothing about teacher training, a major omission considering that teachers are the key to education.
- That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save …（肯定合理建议） 原句：That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save the USPS 套用：That common-sense change enjoys wide public support and would save a lot of energy.
- A is a sign that … It is not, however, a sign that …（区分表象与实质） 原句：The emerging consensus around the bill is a sign that legislators are getting frightened about a politically embarrassing short-term collapse at the USPS. It is not, however, a sign that they’re getting serious about transforming the postal system for the 21st century. 套用：The new rule is a sign that officials are worried about public anger. It is not, however, a sign that they are serious about solving the problem.