The Human Machine人类机器
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XIII SUCCESS AND FAILURE

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 I am sadly aware that these brief chapters will be apt to convey, especially to the trustful and enthusiastic reader, a false impression; the impression of simplicity1; and that when experience has roughly corrected this impression, the said reader, unless he is most solemnly warned, may abandon the entire enterprise in a fit of disgust, and for ever afterwards maintain a cynical2 and impolite attitude towards all theories of controlling the human machine. Now, the enterprise is not a simple one. It is based on one simple principle—the conscious discipline of the brain by selected habits of thought—but it is just about as complicated as anything well could be. Advanced golf is child's play compared to it. The man who briefly3 says to himself: 'I will get up at 8, and from 8.30 to 9 I will examine and control my brain, and so my life will at once be instantly improved out of recognition'—that man is destined4 to unpleasant surprises. Progress will be slow. Progress may appear to be quite rapid at first, and then a period of futility5 may set in, and the would-be vanquisher6 of his brain may suffer a series of the most deadly defeats. And in his pessimism7 he may imagine that all his pains have gone for nothing, and that the unserious loungers in exhibition gardens and readers of novels in parlours are in the right of it after all. He may even feel rather ashamed of himself for having been, as he thinks, taken in by specious8 promises, like the purchaser of a quack9 medicine.
 
The conviction that great effort has been made and no progress achieved is the chief of the dangers that affront

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1 simplicity Vryyv     
n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯
参考例句：
  • She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
  • The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。
2 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的
参考例句：
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
3 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地，简短地
参考例句：
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
4 destined Dunznz     
adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的
参考例句：
  • It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
  • The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。
5 futility IznyJ     
n.无用
参考例句：
  • She could see the utter futility of trying to protest. 她明白抗议是完全无用的。
  • The sheer futility of it all exasperates her. 它毫无用处，这让她很生气。
6 vanquisher 9af4c443422044f6a548c74b998e3171     
征服者，胜利者
参考例句：
  • Petty assignments often signal the end of a Vanquisher's career. 琐碎的任务常常代表着征服者职业生涯的结束。 来自互联网
  • Gate of the Vanquisher of all Evil Spells, Hearken and Open! 一切邪咒征服者之门，聆听并开启！ 来自互联网
7 pessimism r3XzM     
n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者
参考例句：
  • He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
  • There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。
8 specious qv3wk     
adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地
参考例句：
  • Such talk is actually specious and groundless.这些话实际上毫无根据，似是而非的。
  • It is unlikely that the Duke was convinced by such specious arguments.公爵不太可能相信这种似是而非的论点。
9 quack f0JzI     
n.庸医；江湖医生；冒充内行的人；骗子
参考例句：
  • He describes himself as a doctor,but I feel he is a quack.他自称是医生，可是我感觉他是个江湖骗子。
  • The quack was stormed with questions.江湖骗子受到了猛烈的质问。
10 affront pKvy6     
n./v.侮辱，触怒
参考例句：
  • Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。
  • This remark caused affront to many people.这句话得罪了不少人。
11 positively vPTxw     
adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实
参考例句：
  • She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
  • The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。
12 mere rC1xE     
adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过
参考例句：
  • That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
  • It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
13 fatigue PhVzV     
n.疲劳，劳累
参考例句：
  • The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
  • I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。
14 impartial eykyR     
adj.(in,to)公正的，无偏见的
参考例句：
  • He gave an impartial view of the state of affairs in Ireland.他对爱尔兰的事态发表了公正的看法。
  • Careers officers offer impartial advice to all pupils.就业指导员向所有学生提供公正无私的建议。
15 kernel f3wxW     
n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心
参考例句：
  • The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
  • The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。
16 recesses 617c7fa11fa356bfdf4893777e4e8e62     
n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭
参考例句：
  • I could see the inmost recesses. 我能看见最深处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I had continually pushed my doubts to the darker recesses of my mind. 我一直把怀疑深深地隐藏在心中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物
参考例句：
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
18 remarkable 8Vbx6     
adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的
参考例句：
  • She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
  • These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
19 misery G10yi     
n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦
参考例句：
  • Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
  • He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。
20 tedium ngkyn     
n.单调；烦闷
参考例句：
  • We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
  • In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。
21 mighty YDWxl     
adj.强有力的；巨大的
参考例句：
  • A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
  • The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。
22 languish K9Mze     
vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎
参考例句：
  • Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
  • New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。
23 sanely vjOzCS     
ad.神志清楚地
参考例句：
  • This homogenization simplifies and uncomplicated the world enough to model It'sanely. 这种均质化的处理方式，简化了世界，足以能够稳妥地为它建模。
  • She is behaving rather sanely these days even though we know she is schizophrenic. 尽管我们知道她有精神分裂症，但那些天她的举止还算清醒。
24 nourishment Ovvyi     
n.食物，营养品；营养情况
参考例句：
  • Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
  • He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。
25 sincerity zyZwY     
n.真诚，诚意；真实
参考例句：
  • His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。
  • He tried hard to satisfy me of his sincerity.他竭力让我了解他的诚意。
26 confession 8Ygye     
n.自白，供认，承认
参考例句：
  • Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
  • The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。
27 discourses 5f353940861db5b673bff4bcdf91ce55     
论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语
参考例句：
  • It is said that his discourses were very soul-moving. 据说他的讲道词是很能动人心灵的。
  • I am not able to repeat the excellent discourses of this extraordinary man. 这位异人的高超言论我是无法重述的。
28 witty GMmz0     
adj.机智的，风趣的
参考例句：
  • Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
  • He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。
29 morbidity OEBxK     
n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率
参考例句：
  • MC's also significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. 肥大细胞同样也能显著降低蜜蜂毒液诱发疾病的发病率和死亡率。 来自互联网
  • The result shows that incidence of myopia morbidity is 44.84%. 结果表明：近视眼的发病率为44.84%。 来自互联网
30 masticated 3f9f901d351f29d4621cc507c48a1375     
v.咀嚼( masticate的过去式和过去分词 )；粉碎，磨烂
参考例句：
31 conserve vYRyP     
vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭
参考例句：
  • He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
  • Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！
32 astounding QyKzns     
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)
参考例句：
  • There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
  • The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
33 doctrines 640cf8a59933d263237ff3d9e5a0f12e     
n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明
参考例句：
  • To modern eyes, such doctrines appear harsh, even cruel. 从现代的角度看，这样的教义显得苛刻，甚至残酷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
34 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法，待人态度
参考例句：
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
35 appreciable KNWz7     
adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的
参考例句：
  • There is no appreciable distinction between the twins.在这对孪生子之间看不出有什么明显的差别。
  • We bought an appreciable piece of property.我们买下的资产有增值的潜力。
36 profane l1NzQ     
adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污
参考例句：
  • He doesn't dare to profane the name of God.他不敢亵渎上帝之名。
  • His profane language annoyed us.他亵渎的言语激怒了我们。

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