词汇与讨论

Words and expressions in Unit one
Note：This part may help you in understanding the text without spending much time on a dictionary.
above all: the most important of all
By using the dictionary, and above all by reading can a student increase his sensitivity to the fine shades of difference in meaning.
通过使用词典，最重要的是通过阅读学生才能提高对词义细微区别的感知能力。

afield: adv. far away; at a great distance
a + word = adv
alike
alive
asleep
awake
…
(look far) afield to do sth.: look far away. Figuratively, it means “make an effort to do sth.”
We don’t have to look far afield to find evidence to refute him.
我们不必费力气就可以找到驳倒他的证据
alive to : be aware of; having knowledge of；sensitive
We must be alive to what is happening around us.
We must be alive to the risks involved in the task.
ambiguous: unclear
anxiety: a state of being anxious; uneasy; worry and fear 忧虑；焦急
appeal: a formal request make an appeal to sb. 向某人提出要求
apt: suitable
An apt remark/statement 确切的话语/陈述
He made an apt remark that broke the silence. 他的话语恰到好处，打破了沉默。

apt to do sth. : having the tendency to do sth.
He is apt to lose patience when his question is not answered.
当他的问题没人回答时，他就会失去耐心。

chap：a man or a boy；a fellow
clumsy: awkward and ungraceful in action and movement; having no or little skill in doing sth. You are clumsy! You've knocked over my cup of coffee! 你真笨手笨脚！把我的这杯咖啡撞翻了。

clean English: clear and precise English
craftsman: one who is skilled in a job or a trade, such as a carpenter or a blacksmith.
In this text, it means a skilled writer or language master
craftsman手艺人；工匠
craftsmanship （工匠的技术、技艺）
constitute: make up; form
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland constitute the United Kingdom.
Twelve months constitute one year.
cowardice: feeling of a coward
coercion: pressure
Rule a country by coercion 用高压政治治理国家
distill: take the most important part of
Distill the essence of 提取精华
deft: skillful 灵巧的，熟练的
A deft catch 娴熟的接球动作
a deft performance 熟练的表演
delicate: If something is delicate, it is hard to make out or recognize
A delicate subject 微妙的主题
A delicate notion 难以言表的观念
dismayed: be shocked and discouraged
I was dismayed when I recognized the voice of Mrs Bates.
当我听出是贝茨夫人的声音时,我感到丧气。

distinguished: outstanding
The Chinese nation is distinguished for its diligence and courage.
中华民族以勤劳勇敢著称。

The monitor distinguished himself by his performance in the examination.
班长在考试中成绩优异,因而显得突出。

disprove: refute, prove to be wrong or false
His point sounds too absolute, but it is difficult to disprove.
他的观点听上去有点太绝对，但要反驳可不容易。

drive home:
If one drives a nail home, he forces it into the right place.
If one drives his point home, he makes it unmistakably clear.
eagerness：being eager to do (want to) very much
epitomize: summarize
expire: reach the end of a period of time for which sth. is valid. If a person expired, he died.
A trade agreement expired 贸易合同期满
A guarantee expired 保证期满
A passport expired 护照到期
human: of man
humane: kind, sympathetic, benevolent (kind and friendly)
hit on: find by chance;
Robert has hit upon an idea that will get us out of our difficulty.
罗伯特想出了一个好主意,可以使我们摆脱困境。

imprison: restrict；restrain 限制；束缚
indigent: poverty-stricken; very poor; penniless
i ncrease one’s sensitivity to: be more sensitive to
knock over: If one knocks a nail over, he does not hit it squarely on the head so that it falls to the ground.
If one who is knocked over by a bus is knocked down by it.
When one is knocked over by the bad news, he is upset and feels unhappy at the news.
kinship: relationship
loose: vague
limitation：shortcoming
leader: editorial, an article usually printed on the front page revealing a viewpoint on
a hot issue.
malapropism: misuse of a word （from Mrs. Malaprop）
marked: noticeable
There is a marked difference between the two statements.
这两种说法区别很大。

maintain: state one’s opinion or belief very strongly; claim; believe
manliness: quality of a man
more or less: almost
We hope our explanation will prove more or less helpful.
希望我们的说明或多或少有些帮助。

I don’t know the exact time, 5 o’clock more or less.
我不知道准确时间，大约5点吧。

What he said about the incident was more or less true.
关于这一件事，他所讲的基本是事实。

oddity: state of being odd 怪癖；古怪
peculiarity: state of being peculiar 特性；怪癖
realization: becoming aware of what one thinks and feels.
rife: widespread; common
Crime and violence were rife in the city
犯罪和暴力在该市一度很普遍。

Sars used to be rife in China.
中国曾流行非典。

scrupulous: extremely careful; meticulous; conscientious
A scrupulous writer 一丝不苟的作家
He is not scrupulous in his business.
他做生意不够谨慎。

The nurse treated the soldier’s wound with scrupulous care.
护士非常用心地治疗士兵的伤口。

shade: slight difference; variety
shades of meaning: slight difference in meaning
sharp: distinct; clear
A sharp notion 清楚地概念
Pay attention to different meanings in different collocations:
A sharp knife 锋利的刀
Sharp eyes 敏锐的目光
Sharp ears 灵敏的听觉
Sharp voice 刺耳的声音
Sharp words 严厉的词语
Sharp pain 剧痛
singularity: quality of being singular; of a high quality; outstanding;
A lady of singular beauty：容貌出众的女士
Singularity of mind：思想奇特
singleness：专一；单一
Singleness of mind：思想专一，专心致志
squarely: directly
The boxer hit his opponent squarely on the jaw.
We must face the difficulty squarely.
s o with language: ellipsis of “So it is with language”; it is the same with language subtle: If something is subtle, it is not easy to understand or explain
A subtle remark 微妙的话语，难以捉摸的话语
A subtle distinction 微妙的差别
stirring: exciting;
A stirring call 激动人心的号召
A stirring song 激动人心的歌曲
A stirring speech 激动人心的演说
A stirring event 激动人心的事件
take courage: feel confident
vague: not clearly described or expressed；indistinct
A very vague description 非常笼统地描述。

If a person is vague, he is unable to express himself clearly.
He is so vague that I can never understand what he’s trying to say.
他说话含糊不清，我总是弄不清他要说什么。

Go through the text and get ready to discuss the following questions:
In-class discussion: Practice 1
Scan the text and find out those sentences of analogy, which show the similarities between hitting the nail and choosing words
In-class discussion：Practice 2
Examples are powerful in illustrating an idea. Can you find as many examples as you can in the text?
Idea 1: scrupulous writers
Example: …like Flaubert, who spent days trying to get one or two sentences exactly right.
Idea 2: words with the same root have different meanings
Example: The two words human and humane have the same root human, but their usage is distinct. A human action is not the same thing as a humane action…
In-class discussion：Practice 3
Figures, or statistic numbers, are strong in supporting an idea in that they are specific, concrete and convincing. Scan the last paragraph and tell what these number are used for.。