大学综英Unit-3阅读难点详解.doc

Detailed Reading
Ⅰ. Difficult Sentences
1. (Title) “Father Knows Better”
1. What does “Father knows better.” mean?
(=“Father knows better.” or “Father, you know better than that.” literally means Father was wise enough not to do something. Actually it does not have this meaning. It means Father was not wise when he meddled with his children’s affairs.)

2. How many times does this sentence occur in the text? What can you infer from the sentence?
(=This sentence occurs six times in the text. The children said it satirically to show their disapproval of Father’s meddling with their affairs. )

2. (LL.39~40) “I’m sure he’s a good worker but a typical teenager, if you know what I mean.”
1. What did Father mean by saying this?
(=Father was proud of his son as he thought his son would work well, but he was a little worried that his son was a boy and he might make some mistakes in his work.)

2. What was the manager’s response?
(=As a young man, the manager didn’t understand a father’s feeling, and showed no interests.)

3. (LL.42~43) “And I assure you that if there are any subjects that need to be addressed, Sean and I will have a man-to-man talk.”
1. What is a man-to-man talk?
(=A talk that takes place between two men, especially two men who need to discuss a serious personal matter.)

2. Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=你放心，要是有什么问题需要解决的话，我和肖恩会开诚布公地谈一谈的。)

4. (LL.60~61) “If that sort of thing happened only once in a while, it wouldn’t be so bad. Overall, I wouldn’t want to trade my dad for anyone else’s.”
What can you infer from the sentence?
(=Father was always meddling with his children’s affairs, and the children disliked it. However, the children loved Father and if he interfered with their affairs only once in a while, they could bear it. )

5. (LL.91~92) “Through clenched teeth, the words are in a monotone and evenly spaced.”
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=咬紧牙，一字一顿地说。)

6. (L.134) “Why back in my day– ”
1. Paraphrase the sentence.
(=Well, when I was young, we didn’t behave like that.)

2. What does the sentence imply?
(=It implies a gap between the young generation and the older generation.)

7. (L.138) “Get this over with, more likely.”
1. What is the correct order of this sentence?
(=It is more likely to get this over with. )

2. Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=还不如说，是把这份罪受完算了。)

8. (LL.166~168) “And it’s not just one of us who’ve felt the heavy hand of interference. Oh, no, all three of us live in constant dread knowing that at any time disaster can strike…”
Translate the sentence into Chinese.
(=不止我一个人深受他横加干预之苦。哦，绝非我一个人。我们兄妹三个整天提心吊胆，知道倒霉的是随时可能来临…)

Ⅱ. Words and Expressions
1. (Title) know better: behave in a more sensible and acceptable way
* He is old enough to know better.

* 他很明事理，不至于以貌取人。
(=He knows better than to judge by appearances.)

Pattern:
know better than sb.
know better than to do sth.

2. (L.3) location: n. a place or position

* This is a suitable location for a camp.

* 目击者向警察指出事故的确切地点。
(=Witnesses showed the police the exact location of the accident.)

3. (L.10) embarrass: vt. make (sb.) feel awkward or ashamed

* It embarrassed him that he had to give a talk in front of a lot of people.

* I don’t like making speeches in public. It’s so embarrassing.

* I was really embarrassed when I couldn’t answer the teacher’s question.

4. (L.16) dumb: adj.
1) foolish
* That was a dumb thing to do.

* He was so dumb that he left his keys at home again.

2) unable to speak
* The terrible news struck us all dumb.

* 他生来不能说话，但是他设法找到一个好工作。
(=He was born dumb, but he has still managed to get a good job.)

5. (L.18) in unison: acting in the same way at the same time

* All the babies cried in unison.

* 国际社会准备一致反对恐怖主义。
(=The international community is ready to work in unison against terrorism.)

6. (L.20) consist of: be made up of

* The city of New York consists of five boroughs.

* The committee consists of scientists and engineers.

Collocation:
consist in 等于；在于

CF: consist, compose, comprise & constitute
这几个词都是动词，都有“组成”的意思。

consist 是个不及物动词，与介词of一起连用，不可用于被动语态。consist的主语表示事物的整体，of后的宾语表示事物的组成部分。例如：
* Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. 水由氢和氧组成。
* North America consists of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 北美洲包括美国、加拿大和墨西哥。

compose的主语表示事物的组成部分，宾语表示事物的整体。但在被动语态中正好相反。例如：
* The United States, Canada, and Mexico compose North America. 美国、加拿大和墨西哥合起来构成北美洲
* Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen. 水由氢和氧组成。

Comprise用作及物动词，有两种用法：传统规则认为其主语应当为事物的整体，宾语应当为事物的组成部分，词义为“由……组成，由……构成”；另一种趋势是用comprise表达“组成，构成”的意思，此时其主语为事物的组成部分，宾语为事物的整体。
* North America comprises the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 北美洲包括美国、加拿大和墨西哥。
* Ten stories comprise the book. 十个故事组成了这本书。

constitute的主语表示事物的组成部分，宾语表示事物的整体。例如：
* The United States, Canada, and Mexico constitute North America. 美国、加拿大和墨西哥合起来构成北美洲。
* Seven days constitute a week. 七天为一周。

7. (L.57) fade: vi.
1) lose color or brightness
* The wallpaper has faded.

2) disappear slowly
* The sound of thunder faded away into the distance.

* 随着天气越来越冷，他早锻炼的热情逐渐消失了。
(=Her enthusiasm for early-morning exercises faded as the weather was getting colder and colder.)

Collocation:
fade away 逐渐消失
fade out 逐渐消失；淡出

8. (L.61) overall:
1. adv. in general
* Overall, prices are still rising.

* Overall, I like her, despite her faults.

2. adj. including everything; total (only before noun)

* The overall length of the fish is 3 feet 5 inches.

9. (L.61) trade for: exchange (sth.) for (sth. else)
* They traded their clothes for food.

* 农民用农产品换工具和钱.
(=The farmers traded farm produce for tools and money.)

10. (L.73) keep in suspense: delay telling (sb.) what they are eager to know
* We’ve been kept in suspense waiting for the examination results.

* 观众的悬念一直持续到剧终。
(=The audience is kept in suspense to the very end of the play.)

Collocation:
break the suspense 消除悬念
hold sb. in suspense 使某人处于悬念之中
be in suspense over 对…悬疑不安

11. (L.76) interrupt: v. stop (sb.) from continuing what they are saying or doing
* Stop interrupt me. I’m trying to talk to your mother.

* My daughter kept interrupting me when I spoke.

12. (L.79) bet:
1. vi. be sure

* I bet it will snow tomorrow.

* I bet she was late for the meeting on purpose.

2. v. risk (money) on the result of a future event
* I bet you 5$ that they will win the next election.

* I bet on the wrong horse. It lost the race.

13. (L.81) distract: vt. take (sb.’s attention) away from sth. esp. for a short time
* Don’t distract me from working.

* She was distracted by the noise outside.

* 玩电脑游戏有时让他写作业分心。
(=Playing computer games sometimes distracts him from his homework.)

Pattern:
distract sb./sth.
distract sb./sth. from

14. (L.116) glorious: adj. wonderful

* Look at the glorious colors on the sky.

* It seems a pity to be indoors on such a glorious day.

15. (L.117) hand down: give or leave to people who are younger or come later

* The gold watch has been handed down from my grandfather.

* 她有一些珠宝，是从她祖母那儿传下来的。
(=She had some jewelry, which had been handed down from her grandmother.)

Collocation:
hand in 上交；交给
hand on 传递；依次传下去
hand out 分给；分发
hand over 交出；移交

16. (L.122) at any rate: whatever may happen; in any case
* At any rate, I’m going back home.

* At any rate, you survived the car accident.

Collocation:
birth rate 出生率
first-rate 一流的
at this / that rate 这样/那样的话；照这样/那样的情形
rate of exchange 汇率

CF: speed, rate & pace
这几个词都是名词，都有“速度”的意思。

speed一般指单位时间内所运动的距离。例如：
* He drove at a speed of 70 miles per hour. 他以每小时七十英里的速度行驶。
* We can’t go any faster. We’re already at top speed. 我们不能再快了。我们已经全速前进了。

rate指比率、率，如速度、出生率、入学率等。指速度时可与speed换用。例如：
* She can read at the rate of 100 words a minute. 她每分钟能阅读100个单词。
* He must pay at the rate of 10 percent. 他必须按照百分之十的比率付款。

pace主要指行走、跑步等的步速，也可指生活、生长、进展等方面的速度、进度等。例如：
* If you advance one pace, I will shoot you. 你再向前走一步，我就开枪了。
* The work progressed at a slow pace. 工作进展很慢。

17. (L.123) community: n. the people living in one place, district, or country, considered as a whole

* The job of a policeman is to serve the community.

* College students have learned a lot in community service.

18. (L.125) narrow down: make (a list of things) smaller
* The answer to the question was narrowed down to two choices.

* 一百多位申请者将会被减少成仅仅五位候选人。
(=Over a hundred applicants will be narrowed down to a short list of five candidates.)

Pattern:
narrow down to

19. (L.129) exhaust: vt.
1) make (sb.) very tired, either physically or mentally
* What an exhausting day!

* Four hours’ work almost exhausted her.

2) use up completely
* They have exhausted the supply of oxygen.

* What will we do if we exhaust our reserves of oil?

CF: tired, exhausted & worn out
这几个词都是形容词，都有“累、疲惫”的意思。

tired为常见词，但本身没有指明精力的削减程度。例如：
* He became tired from hours’ reading. 他阅读了几小时，感到疲倦。

exhausted指体力、精力的完全损耗，难以恢复或需要较长时间才可恢复。例如：
* He returned at last, too exhausted to eat anything. 他终于回来了，累得吃不下任何东西。

worn out指过度使用而失去价值或功效。例如：
* He divorced his wife because he was worn out from listening to her constant complaints. 听妻子不停地抱怨而厌烦，他为此和她离婚了。

20. (L.130) repeatedly: adv. again and again
* I repeatedly warn you not to take the job.

* 我们反复要求员工不允许在办公室吸烟。
(=We have repeatedly requested that staff should not be allowed to smoke in the office.)

21. (L.151) swallow: v. cause or allow (esp. food or drink ) to go down the throat; hide or suppress a feeling

* Chew your food properly before swallowing it.

* I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry.

22. (L.155) frank: adj. showing one’s thoughts and feelings openly
* If you want my frank opinion, I don’t think the plan will succeed.

* It is clear that my students have been frank with me.

Pattern:
be frank with sb.
be frank about sth.

23. (L.167) interference: n. unwanted or unnecessary involvement in sth.
* I wanted to do the thing on my own without outside interference.

* 你干涉他的私人事务是没道理的。
(=Your interference in his private affairs is unreasonable.)

Pattern:
interference in sth.
interference with sb.

24. (L.167) constant: adj.
1) without stopping
* He was in constant pain.

* I have had a constant headache for three days.

2) unchanging

* She is my constant companion.

* 产品的价格不是固定的，而是随供求的变化而变化
(=The price of the product is not constant but varies with supply and demand.)

25. (L.172) in charge of: having control (over) or responsibility (for)
* I am in charge of the department.

* He was left in charge of the shop while the manager was away.

Collocation:
take charge of 负责
in one’s charge 由某人照管
on a charge of 以…罪名
bring a charge against sb. 指控某人
face a charge 面临控告

26. (L.181) exceptional: adj. unusual
* All her children are intelligent, but the youngest boy is really exceptional.

* He was an exceptional man with great business talents.

27. (L.184) fill out: complete (a document or form) by supplying required information
* Fill in your name on this check.

* Please fill out the application form and signed it at the bottom.

Collocation:
fill in 填入；填上
fill in for sb. 临时代替
fill up 填满；装满
fill with 用…填满

28. (L.190) proof: n. evidence or facts that are sufficient to establish a thing as true or believable
* I wouldn’t demand proof of honesty from my friend.

* 美国研究人员发现证据证明，不吸烟的人与吸烟的人一起工作也能得癌症。
(=Researchers in America have found proof that non-smokers can develop cancer by working with smokers.)

29. (L.197) junior: adj.
1) younger
* You are my junior.

* Jane is several years junior to her husband.

* Do you want John Brown Senior or John Brown Junior, the father or the son?

Pattern:
be junior to

NB:
Abbrs.: Jr. or jr., used after the name of a person who has the same name as his father, e.g. Tom Brown, Jr.

2) lower in rank than others

* He is a junior officer.

* 他被提升为高级职员之前，做了三年低级职员。
(=He had been a junior clerk for three years before he was promoted to senior clerk.)

After Reading
Ⅰ. Useful Expressions
1. 舞台前方 the edge of the stage
2. 对观众说话 address the audience
3. 到头来让人尴尬 end up embarrassing sb.
4. 当餐厅服务员 wait tables
5. 为某人感到骄傲 be proud of sb.
6. 一致地 in unison
7. 偶尔一次 once in a while
8. 围坐在餐桌旁 be seated around the dinning room table
9. 使产生悬念 keep in suspense
10. 传下来 hand down
11. 无论如何 at any rate
12. 世界和平 global peace
13. 减少；缩小 narrow down
14. 转向某人 turn to sb.
15. 影响；刺激 come over
16. 结束某（一不愉快的）事 get sth. over with
17. 优等生 an honor student
18. 整天提心吊胆 live in constant dread
19. 负责 in charge of
20. 填写 fill out
21. 思路 line of thought
22. 初中 junior high school

Ⅱ. Sentence Translation
1. And it's not just one of us who've felt the heavy hand of interference. Oh, no, all three of us live in constant dread knowing that at any time disaster can strike.
(=不止我一个人深受他横加干预之苦。哦，绝非我一个人，我们兄妹三个整天提心吊胆，知道倒霉的事情随时可能来临。)
2. Don't know where she got her brains. Her mother, I suppose.
(=不知道她怎么会这么聪明。我想可能是她母亲的遗传。)
3. That has given them the opportunity to essentially hide in plain sight.
(=这使他们可以在父母眼皮底下与别人交流而大体上不致泄密。)
4. Text messaging has perhaps become this generation’s version of pig Latin.
(=发短信也许已经成为这一代人的文字游戏。)
5. 出于搞笑的目的，故事情节极度夸张，但几乎人人都能从中看到自己及父母的影子。
(=For the sake of fun it carries things to extremes, but nearly everyone can recognize something of themselves and their parents in it.)
6. 黛安娜，你怎么了？我真不明白你们年轻人。唉，在我那个时候……
(=Diane, what has come over you? I just don't understand the younger generation. Why, back in my day…)
7. 就在去年，她初中最后一年，我们还没搬家的时候，海蒂在县里每年一度的拼单词比赛中得了第一名!
(=Why just last year, in her last year of junior high school, before we moved, Heidi placed first in the county in the annual spelling bee.)
8. 如今，父母在需要的时候总能联系到孩子，这对于家庭来说利大于弊。
(=So far, parents’ ability to reach their children whenever they want affords families more pluses than minuses.)