1. If you were asked to list………， you would……… 虚拟语气，表示与当前情况的假设。
If I had enough money， I would buy that car.
2. If next you were……， who somehow seem bigger than life， you might come up with an entire different list.
Bigger/larger than life： 超群的；夸大的
His sadness was bigger than life.他伤心极了。
come up with： bring forward with提出；想出
Some new issues were come up at the meeting.在这个会上提出了一些新问题
3. You might， in fact， name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour， rather than their achievements…。
be celebrated for： 因——而受到颂扬、赞美
Most doctors and nurses were celebrated for their bravery in the battle against SARS.大多数医务人员由于在抗击“非典”战役中的勇敢表现而受到了人们的赞扬。
rather than： instead of 不是——（而是）
He was criticized by the teacher for his absence from class rather than his failure in the exam.他因缺课而受到了老师的批评，而不是因为他这次考试的失败。
4.And you would not be alone， because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their “Most Admired”……
be not alone in thinking/believing： others agree with you在——方面别人也有同感
We''re not alone in believing that Xiao Jiang is the best person for the job.
我们相信小江是这项任务的最佳人选，别人也有同感。
Dr. Applebaum is not alone in thinking that television gives children a false sense of reality.
不光是阿普尔鲍姆博士认为电视节目给孩子们展现的是虚假的现状。
The French are not alone in finding American movies breaking into their film market.
不只是法国人才发现美国电影打入自己的市场。
Professors are disappointed about what has happened in the presidential election， and they are not alone in that.
教授们对总统选举中所发生的一切感到失望，同感者大有人在。
shape：form or take shape， give signs of future development
Our plan is shaping well.我们的计划进展顺利。
Shape history（the course or events） 决定历史的进程（事件的发展）Great men can shape history but they can''t make history.伟人可以决定历史的进程，但他们不能创造历史。
5.By definition， heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by uncommon courage achievements， and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit of others…
…heroes and heroines are people who are different from other people because of their unusual courage， achievements and the sacrifices they make in the interests of others.
by definition： by defining通过定义，界定
By definition， heroes are those who are distinguished by their accomplishment.根据定义，英雄以其所取得的成就而出名。
be distinguished （ from ）…by： to be noticeably different from or better than others of the same type because of an unusual quality以——而著称；有别于；不同于
Xiao Yang is distinguished from other young men by his unusual maturity.
小杨的老练程度超过了其他年轻人。
The little girl is distinguished from other four-year-olds by her excellent memory.
这小女孩的记忆力超出岁孩子了水平。
The zebra is distinguished from the horse by the lines on its body.
斑马列因其身上的条纹而不同于马。
Chinese people are distinguished by their diligence and courage.中国人民以勤劳勇敢而著称。
Cf .distinguish between…/ sth. from sth. eles： to notice or understand the difference between…/ to tell one thing from another.区别
Colour-blind people find it hard to distinguish between red and green.色盲的人很难分清红、绿两色。
City people often can''t distinguish young wheat from weeds.城里人往往分不清麦苗和野草。
The twin sisters are so much alike that sometimes even their father can''t distinguish one from the other.
这对双胞胎姐妹长得太像了，有时她们的父亲都分辨不出谁是姐姐谁是妹妹。
distinguished guests 贵宾
for the benefit of：for one''s benefit： for the profit of：为——，为——的利益
The money is to be used for the benefit of the poor in the rural area.这笔钱要用来帮助农村地区的穷人。
for the benefit of the people/country为了人民/国家利益
6.… they are people against whom we measure others.
…they''ve become a sort of standard； we judge others by what they do and what they are.他们是我们评价别人的标准。
measure sth. against … ： to judge the value of sb./sth. using sth. else as a standard； to compare sth. with a certain standard：对照——来评价——
Our production costs are high， when they are measured against the world''s advanced level.
对照世界先进水平，我们的生产成本过高。
Your performance is poor when measured against the success of the other sales personnel.
与其他销售人员的业绩相比，你的业绩相当差。
7. Yet, some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by， where the very ideal of heroism is something beyond us ——an artifact of the past.
Yet， some people say that we are living in a new age .In this age heroes and heroines are rare， and heroism is only something people admire but do not practice. Heroic and noble conduct is a thing of the past.可是，有人说，我们的时代是很难出现真正英雄的时代，英雄主义这一概念本身我们就难以理解——它已经成为历史。
come by 找到，遇到
How did you come by this second-hand book？你是怎样找到这本旧书的。
heroism is something beyond us： we have no idea what heroism is我们不知道英雄行为是何物
an artifact of the past历史文物，这个短语是对：heroism的补充说明。
Be beyond sb.：为某人所不能理解；对某人来说太难
与beyond搭配的词有：
beyond power越权beyond belief不可相信beyond understanding无法理解beyond control无法控制beyond doubt毫无疑问beyond imagination难以想象beyond one''s means难以承受
beyond description难以描述
8.Consequently， bereft of cultural heroes， we have latched onto cultural icons…
As a result， when we no long have national heroes to admire and worship， we have become crazy about cultural icons…因此，缺少了民族英雄，我们就迷上了通俗文化偶像。
Consequently：As a result因此，于是
bereft of：失去；缺少bereft（bereave的过去式、过去分词）
The boy is bereft of hope.这孩子失去了希望。
latch onto/on to sb./sth.：（informal） to become very interested in sb./sth.，often finding them so useful that we don''t want to let them go
对某人或某事产生极大的兴趣，往往不愿意放弃（这里作者的意思是：人们开始迷上了文化偶像之后，就一发不可收拾，对他们的崇拜愈来愈狂热。）
9.… who are simply famous for being famous.
…who are well-known just because they are frequently seen in public， so that a lot of people know them or know about them （not because they possess unusually fine qualities or because they have made great contributions to society）。仅仅因为有名而成名的人。
be famous for：be known for
10. They are people who manage to transcend celebrity， who are legendary， who somehow manage to become mythic.——Cultural icons make themselves more famous than celebrities； they inspire great admiration； and to a certain degree， they become important people. 他们超越了名流，成为传奇式人物，甚至在某种程度上已是神话式的人物。
注意：此句此句用三个由Who引导出的并列的定语从句来修饰 people，界定“文化偶像”的三个特点：比名流名气更大，受到崇拜，成为重要人物。
11. In part，their lives have the quality of a story.——Part of the reason is that their lives are unusual， full of ups and downs like people in legends or myths. 部分的原因是由于他们的生平带有传奇故事的色彩。
In part： partly； to a certain extent 在一定程度上，部分地
He failed in the exams in part because he was careless.他没通过考试在一定程度上是由于他粗心。
12.Good looks certainly help.漂亮的长相当然有用。
Attractive appearance is surely very useful in the making of an icon.
help： to improve a situation or to make sth .happen起作用
Wisdom， not strength helps in the matter.在这方面智慧起作用，力量无济无事。
To be young and single definitely help when you''re looking for a job年轻又单身在找工作时是有得的条件。
Material incentives alone won''t help （ to ） increase production.光凭物质刺激无助于提高生产。
13.So does a special indefinable charisma， with the help of the media.——
A particular great charm that is hard to define also proves useful. The media help to impress people with it.在媒体的抄作下某种难以描述的、特殊的个人魅力也起作用。
这是个倒装句， A special indefinable charisma 是主语，does 是谓语，代表helps，介词短语 with the help of the media作状语。
14. But nothing becomes an icon more than a tragic and early death然而悲剧性地过早离开这个世界，却是造成偶像最重要的因素。
become： 适合；与——相称
Purple becomes her.紫色很适合她
Don''t be rude， it doesn''t become you.别动粗，这同你的身份不相称。
more than： Nothing could satisfy him more than money.没有比钱更能满足他的东西了。
15. Being Somebody《当名人》
somebody ： an important person名人；重要人物
It is said that his father is somebody in the show business.据说他的父亲是演艺界的大腕人物。
He spoke as if he was somebody in the department.他说话的样子好像他是系里了不起的人物似的。
Cf. something： a thing or a person that thought to be important or worth noting有见地；有道理；了不起
There''s something in what the boy says.那男孩子的话还真有道理。
Christy has learned to write with his left foot. It''s really something.克里斯蒂学会用左脚写字了，真了不起。
You''ve done it， Chris. You''re really something.克里斯，你成功了。你可真了不起。
17. Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day.
Today we still see or feel what they achieved in the past.
18.Today''s celebrities， however， often do not become known for any enduring achievement.——But， today， people often do not become famous because they''ve achieved something （ a great book， an invention， a discovery， a way of thinking， etc. ） that will last or influence people for a long time.然而，当今的名人往往并不是由于他们所取得的成就而闻名。
Be/become known for： to be/become famous because of
Suzhou is known for its beautiful gardens.苏州因其美丽的园林而闻名。
He became known for a book he wrote when he was 17.他因17岁时写的一本书而出名。
Cf. be known as： to be called， regarded as， looked upon as以——而著称
In China， Suzhou and Hangzhou are known as “paradises on earth”在中国，苏州和杭州被称为“人间天堂”。
The girl has an unusually large vocabulary and is known as a “walking dictionary”。
那女孩知道的词真多，被称为“活字典”。
Singapore is known as a garden city.新加坡以花园城而闻名。
