The modern city

In the organization of industrial life the influence of the factory upon the physiological and mental state of the workers has been completely neglected. Modern industry is based on the conception of the maximum production at lowest cost, in order that an individual or a group of individuals may earn as much money as possible. It has expanded without any idea of the true nature of the human beings who run the machines, and without giving any consideration to the effects produced on the individuals and on their descendants by the artificial mode of existence imposed by the factory. The great cities have been built with no regard for us. The shape and dimensions of the skyscrapers depend entirely on the necessity of obtaining the maximum income per square foot of ground, and of offering to the tenants offices and apartments that please them. This caused the construction of gigantic buildings where too large masses of human beings are crowded together. Civilized men like such a way of living. While they enjoy the comfort and *banal* luxury of their dwelling, they do not realize that they are deprived of the necessities of life. The modern city consists of monstrous edifices and of dark, narrow streets full of petrol fumes, coal dust, and toxic gases, torn by the noise of the taxi-cabs, lorries and buses, and thronged ceaselessly by great crowds. Obviously, it has no been planned for the good of its inhabitants.

xxx is based on the conception of yyy
zzz, in order that xxx
without any idea of the xxx
without giving any consideration to xxx
depend entirely on
this caused xxx
banal / bəˈnɑːl, -ˈnæl / If you describe something as banal, you do not like it because you think it is so ordinary that it is not at all effective or interesting. 平庸乏味的
monstrous / ˈmɒnstrəs / If you describe an unpleasant thing as monstrous, you mean that it is extremely large in size or extent. (令人不悦的事物) 巨大的
edifice / ˈɛdɪfɪs / An edifice is a large and impressive building. 大厦
fume / fjuːm / Fumes are the unpleasant and often unhealthy smoke and gases that are produced by fires or by things such as chemicals, fuel, or cooking. (难闻且常有害的) 烟气
lorry / ˈlɒrɪ / A lorry is a large vehicle that is used to transport goods by road. 卡车
throng / θrɒŋ / When people throng somewhere, they go there in great numbers. (人群) 涌向
ceaselessly 不停地
the good of xxx

A man-made disease

In the early days of the settlement of Australia, enterprising settlers unwisely introduced the European rabbit. This rabbit had no natural enemies in the Antipodes, so that it multiplied with that promiscuous abandon characteristic of rabbits. It overran a whole continent. It caused devastation by burrowing and by devouring the herbage which might have maintained millions of sheep and cattle. Scientists discovered that this particular variety of rabbit (and apparently no other animal) was susceptible to a fatal virus disease, myxomatosis. By infecting animals and letting them loose in the burrows, local epidemics of this disease could be created. Later it was found that there was a type of mosquito which acted as the carrier of this disease and passed it on to the rabbits. So while the rest of the world was trying to get rid of mosquitoes, Australia was encouraging this one. It effectively spread the disease all over the continent and drastically reduced the rabbit population. lt later became apparent that rabbits were developing a degree of resistance to this disease, so that the rabbit population was unlikely to be completely exterminated. There were hopes, however, that the problem of the rabbit would become manageable.

Ironically, Europe, which had bequeathed the rabbit as a pest to Australia acquired this man-made disease as a pestilence. A French physician decided to get rid of the wild rabbits on his own estate and introduced myxomatosis. It did not, however, remain within the confines of his estate. It spread through France where wild rabbits are not generally regarded as a pest but as a sport and a useful food supply, and it spread to Britain where wild rabbits are regarded as a pest but where domesticated rabbits, equally susceptible to the disease, are the basis of a profitable fur industry. The question became one of whether Man could control the disease he had invented.

it overran xx 蔓延
enterprising / ˈɛntəˌpraɪzɪŋ / An enterprising person is willing to try out new, unusual ways of doing or achieving something. 有开拓精神的; 有创新精神的
settler / ˈsɛtlə, ˈsɛtəl- / Settlers are people who go to live in a new country. 移民者
promiscuous / prəˈmɪskjʊəs / Someone who is promiscuous has sex with many different people. 淫乱的
burrow / ˈbʌrəʊ / If an animal burrows into the ground or into a surface, it moves through it by making a tunnel or hole. 掘地洞
exterminate / ɪkˈstɜːmɪˌneɪt / To exterminate a group of people or animals means to kill all of them. 消灭
herbage / ˈhɜːbɪdʒ / 草本的总称
xxx discovered that xxx
later it was found that xxx
it effectively 动词 xxxx
it is unlikely to xxx
Ironically / aɪˈrɒnɪkəlɪ / You use ironically to draw attention to a situation that is odd or amusing because it involves a contrast. 具有讽刺意味的是
bequeath / bɪˈkwiːð / If you bequeath your money or property to someone, you legally state that they should have it when you die. 遗赠
pestilence / ˈpɛstɪləns / Pestilence is any disease that spreads quickly and kills large numbers of people. 瘟疫
physician / fɪˈzɪʃən / A physician is a medical doctor. 内科医生
domesticate / dəˈmɛstɪˌkeɪt / When people domesticate wild animals or plants, they bring them under control and use them to produce food or as pets. 驯养; 引种驯化