Carrie arrived in Chicago with almost nothing but ambition and the belief that the big city held possibilities her small hometown could never offer, regardless of what claiming them might cost.
2Reading· 오늘의 본문
We · Yevgeny Zamyatin · 1924
Carrie stepped off the train, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and excitement. The noise of Chicago was overwhelming—a symphony of clattering wagons and shouting newsboys. She had left her quiet hometown behind, carrying only a small suitcase and big dreams. The city's energy was a powerful lure, promising glamour, excitement, and a life far from the ordinary. She felt small among the towering buildings, but her ambition burned brightly. Carrie believed, with all her heart, that here she could become someone important. She was ready to chase the city's诱惑, regardless of the risks or the loneliness she might face.
B2 · 128 wordsavg 25.6 w/s
Carrie's arrival in Chicago epitomizes the archetypal rural-urban migration, driven by an ambition that is both naive and potent. Dreiser presents the city not merely as a setting, but as an active, seductive force—a glittering labyrinth of possibility that stands in stark contrast to the stifling limitations of her provincial origins. Her belief that the metropolis holds transformative opportunities, regardless of the moral or personal cost of claiming them, is the engine of the narrative. This initial moment captures the central tension between aspiration and vulnerability. The city's诱惑 is multifaceted: it promises reinvention and spectacle, yet its vastness and anonymity threaten to consume the individual. Carrie, armed with nothing but her desire, steps into this arena, her story poised to explore whether the urban dream delivers liberation or merely a more complex form of entrapment. What makes Sister Carrie endure as a work of literature is precisely this refusal to offer easy consolation — it demands that readers sit with the discomfort of a world that does not resolve neatly, and find their own position within it.
C1 · 170 wordsavg 34.0 w/s
3Vocabulary· 핵심 어휘 & 연습
ambition
야망, 포부
Carrie's ambition was her only real possession when she arrived.
possibilities
가능성들
The city shimmered with endless possibilities for a new life.
regardless
~에 상관없이
She was determined to succeed, regardless of the hardships.
claiming
(권리 등을) 주장하거나 차지함
The cost of claiming her place in the city was higher than she imagined.
offer
제공하다
Her small hometown could never offer the excitement she craved.
Activity 1 · 빈칸 채우기5 questions
1. Every hour of D-503's life was carefully ____ by the Table of Hours.
2. The ____ of privacy did not exist in the One State.
3. Individual names were ____ and replaced with numbers.
4. The glass walls guaranteed there was no ____ for citizens.
5. The State was ____ declared to represent perfect happiness.