Unit Fifteen

Unit FifteenText II．Writing SkillsThe text is short but forceful, written in the form of a fable. A fable is usually an imaginary short story, meant to teach a moral. The writer uses a story of her own invention in an effort to warn people of the dangers of pollution.①The content of the text is organized in a pattern of comparison and contrast.②The writer uses writing techniques as parallelism, inversion, complicated sentence structures, carefully selected punctuation marks and a rhetorical question.③The writer successfully repeats a key idea in different words.II. Language Points1. in the heart of: in the central part/ centre ofe.g. They are now in the ~ of the forest.Let’s get to the ~ of the matter /the subject.cf: in the midst of: in the middle of, among2. harmony①harmony (n.) [u]: agreement (of feeling, interests, opinions, etc)e.g. The ~ of sea and sky makes a beautiful picture.There was perfect ~ between the two brothers.par. The agreement of colors will make us comfortable.There is no agreement between two selfish men.in harmony: peacefully, in agreemente.g. Bob and John worked together in ~ for years.par. The boys and girls are singing in agreement.be in/ out of harmony with: be (not) correspondent/ coincident withe.g. His tastes are in (out of ) ~ with mine.She lived in ~ with her neighbors.par. The violin was in agreement with the rest of the musical instrument.The old ideas are not corespondent with the modern ones.②harmonious (adj.)a) in agreement; free from ill feelinge.g. ~ families /neighborsb)pleasingly or satisfactorily arranged协调的, 调和的e.g. ~ colors a ~ group of building③harmoniously (adv.)e.g. The family lived ~.We worked together ~.④harmonize (v.)a) bring one thing into harmony with anothere.g. She painted the walls to ~ the colors of the walls and the curtains.He tried hard to ~ his views with facts.b) be in harmony or agreemente.g. The colors don’t seem to ~ with the decorations.Your temperament doesn’t ~ with a slow pace of life.c) (music) add notes (a melody) to make chords配上和音e.g. The singer began to ~ the songs.3. in the midst of: in the middle of; amongmidst: (literature or old use ) the middle part or portionin/ into/ from/ out of the ~ (of)e.g. They departed in the ~ of a heavy rain.He is the enemy I the ~ of us /in our ~. ( among us)We rode into the ~ of the woods.4. lie /lay/lain①be situatede.g. The small village ~s at the foot of the mountain.The new capital of Brazil, Brasilia, ~s 600 miles northwest of the old capital.②be kept or remains in a certain statee.g. The fields lay thickly covered with weeds, because of Shaka’s orders formourning.The snow lay thick on the ground.The man lay in prison for seven years.③hang, hover (used with ‘over’)e.g. Deep sorrow lay over the whole country at the death of the premier.Silence is lying over the forest.A curse has always lain over that family. (恶运缠绕)④be in a flat, resting positione.g. He likes lying in bed after waking up.The wounded soldier was lying on the battlefield.⑤(of things) be resting flat on sth.e.g. The book I bought last week are lying open on the table.⑥bee.g. For the next three months, the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron.The manager wanted everything to ~ in his power.The cause of Benny Paret’s death ~s in the prevailing mores.⑦phrases~ with sb.: be sb’s duty or responsibilitye.g. The responsibility ~s with the people to see a man hurt.The decision/ solution / choice ~s with you.It ~s with you to accept or reject the invitation.~ in sth.: (of abstract things) existe.g. The trouble ~s in the engine.The greatest charm of the bride’s costume ~s in its simplicity.5. bloom①(n.):flower, esp. of plants admired chiefly for their flowers (eg: roses, tulips,chrysanthemums)be in ~: ( of plants) floweringe.g. The tulips are in full ~ now.②(vi.): be in flower, bear flowerse.g. The roses have been ~ing all summer.cf: blossom① (n.): flower, esp. of a fruit-treebe in ~: (of bushes and trees) having flowerse.g. The apple-trees are in ~.②(vi.): open into flowerse.g. The cherry-trees will ~ next month.6. flame① (vi.): burn with, send out, flames; be or become like flames, in color发火焰, 红如火焰e.g. hillsides flaming with the colors of autumnHis face ~d with anger.② (n.): visible part of a firee.g. The house was in ~s. (on fire, burning)7.flicker①(vi.)a) (of a light; fig of hopes, etc) burn or shine unsteadily, flash and die away by turns闪烁不定,摇曳e.g. The candle ~ed and then went out.The last faint hope in her breast ~ed up and died.b)move back and forth, wave to and fro来回移动,摇晃e.g. The leaves were ~ing in the wind.Did you see the shadows ~ing on the wall?②(n.): (usu. sing.) flickering movemente.g. the ~ of a candle/ light8. foxes barked in the hills…A fox barks A dog barks. A hen cackles/ clucks.A wolf howls. A cat mews. A cock/ rooster crows.A cow moos. A pig grunts. A bee drones /hums.9. laurel: (n.) evergreen shrub with smooth, shiny leaves, used by ancient Romans andGreeks as an emblem of victory, success and distinctione.g. win /gain one’s ~s: win reputation, honorrest on one’s ~s ---be content with one’s successes10. feed /fed/fed① (v.)a) (vt.): give food to~ sb. /sth. on/ with sth.e.g. She is ~ing her baby with milk.They fed him on biscuits.par. What kind of food do you give to your cat?Don’t give food to the monkeys in the zoo.b) (vi.): take as food, live one.g. Spiders chiefly ~ on insects.Lions, tigers, wolves are carnivores which ~ on other animals.c) phrases:be fed up with/ about: have had too much of sth., be tired of, be discontentede.g. I am fed up with her grumbling.She is very fed up about the man’s rude manners.par. The poor little boy had had too much of potatoes, because he had it every day.I am discontented with your complaints.feed sth. backe.g. The information is fed back to the Government department concerned.②(n.)a) a meal taken by a baby or an animale.g. He gave his dog a ~ of bones.The baby has 4 ~s a day.b) food for animals饲料e.g. Corn is used as chicken-~.I bought a bag of bird-~.c) feedback (n.): information, etc (about a product) given by the user to the supplier, maker, etc; responsee.g. The company welcomes ~ from people who use the goods it produces.11. abundance①abundance: (n.) great, plentya)[u]e.g. At the feast there was food and drink in ~.Nowadays many people are living in ~.b) e.g.She has an ~ of money/ good dresses.There is a great ~ of sunshine here.②abundant: (adj.): more than enough, plentye.g. Mosquitoes are extremely ~ in these dark places.We have ~ proof of his guilt.be ~ in: be rich inpar. The trees are ~ in fruits.The land is rich in minerals/ marine products.12. migrant①migrant: (n.) one who moves from one place to another, esp. a bird移居者,候鸟e.g. Migrant workers move from country to country in search of well-paid work.(流动劳工)Swallows are ~s.②migrate: (v.) move from one place to anothere.g. Wealthy people often ~ in winter to warmer sunnier countries.Swallows ~ with the seasons.③migration: (n.)e.g. Scientists have studied the ~ of fish from one part of the ocean to another overlong distances.The ~ of swallows takes place every year.④migratory: (adj.) having the habit of migratinge.g. Swallows are ~ birds.13. fish: (vi.) to catch fishe.g. Let’s go ~ing in the pond.This river has been ~ed too much.(fig.) What are you ~ing for/ around in your pockets? (try to get)~ in troubled waters: try to gain advantage out of other people’s troubles(浑水摸鱼, 趁火打劫)14. flock①(n.)a) number of birds or animals (usu. sheep, goats) of one kinde.g. Did you see a ~ of wild geese this morning?flocks and herds (sheep and cattle)b) crowd of peoplee.g. Visitors came in ~s to see the new park.②(vi.): gather, come or go together in great numberse.g. The football fans ~ed around the famous football player.In the 19th century people ~ed to the cities where they expected to make theirfortune.15. throb①(v.): (of the heart, pulse etc) beat, esp. more rapidly than usual跳动,悸动e.g. My head ~bed. (I have had a bad headache.)The engine was ~bing quietly.Her heart was ~bing violently with excitement/ joy/ anger.②(n.): throbbing or vibratione.g. A ~ of pain shot through his head.16. litter: all the newly born young ones of an animale.g. a ~ of puppies/ kittens ten little pigs at a ~17. know/ hear of: be aware of; have information concerninge.g. I know /hear of an excellent little restaurant near here.I don’t actually know the man you mention, but of course I know/ hear of him.18. suffer① (vt.)a) experiencee.g. People in this county are ~ing severe flood.The old man ~ed no pain when he died.b) allow; beare.g. Their parents refused to ~ their bad manners.I’ll ~ his rudeness no longer.He could not ~ criticism from his colleague②phrase~ frome.g. He ~ a lot from overwork.The corps ~ed from frequent blights.19. The roadsides, once so attractive, were now…, as though swept by fire.It is an ‘elliptical sentence’, an ‘ed’participle is used. (when the subject of a ‘when’, ‘though’clause is the same as that of the main clause)e.g. When the woman was deserted by her husband, she could not bear it.---When deserted by her husband, the woman could not bear it.Though she was scolded by her mother, she was not angry.---Though scolded by her mother, she was not angry.20.raise (vt.)a) lift up; move from a lower place to a higher onee.g. He ~d his glass and said ‘Cheers’.Raise your hands when you have questions to ask.b) cause to rise (increase)e.g. The boss will ~ our pay next week.They have ~ the price by 10%.Martin will be ~d to the rank of captain.c) bring up for discussion or attentione.g May I ~ a question?There’s one point I’d like to ~ for discussion.d) collect togethere.g. The vicar has been ~ing money to get the church repaired.e) bring up (a family), breed (sheep etc.)e.g. The film director was ~d in New York.The village people in that area at good at ~ing cattle and corn.f) build (up)e.g. That magnificent castle was ~d in the 18th century.g) cause, arousee.g. That discussion had ~d my great interest/ excitement.The young man’s stealthy behavior has ~d suspicion from the policemen.21. stricken (p.p. of strike): affected or overcomee.g. The whole family was grief /panic /terror-~. ( It was overcome by grief…)The young patient was ~ with fever/ malaria/ cancerbe cancer/ poverty…-~IV. Translation1.听到好消息后，这小男孩兴奋得心卜卜直跳。