Unit 7 Unit 7 Letter to a B Student Words and Expressions综合教程二

Unit 7 Letter to a B Student
Words and Expressions
1. norm n.
1) an accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people agree with
e.g. You must adapt to the norms of the society you live in.
2) the norm = a situation or type of behavior that is expected and considered to be typical
e.g. One child per family is fast becoming the norm in some countries.
Derivation:
normal a.
normally ad.
normalize v.
normalization n.
2. shift vt.& vi.
1) to (cause something or someone to) move or change from one position or direction to another, especially slightly
e.g. She shifted (her weight) uneasily from one foot to the other.
The wind is expected to shift (to the east) tomorrow. 2) transfer sth.
e.g.This simply shifts the cost of medical insurance from the employer to the employee.
Collocation:
shift sth. (from A to / onto B)转移或转换某事物
shift (your) ground（辩论中）改变立场或方法
e.g.He’s annoying to argue with because he keeps shifting his ground.
Derivation:
shift n.
shiftless a.
3. eligibility n.the qualifications or abilities required for doing something
e.g.I’ll have to check her eligibility to take part in this competition.
Derivation:
eligible a.
eligible (for sth. / to do sth.)
4. inadequacy n.
1) being too low in quality or too small in amount
e.g.The inadequacy of water supply for city people has already been a problem no government can take lightly.
2) fault or failing; weakness
e.g.I always suffer from feelings of inadequacy when I’m with him.
Derivation:
inadequate a.
inadequately ad.
Antonym:
adequacy
5. essence n. the most basic and important idea or quality
e.g. The essence of his argument was that education should continue throughout life.
Yet change is the very essence of life.
Collocation:
in essence本质上，大体上
e.g. In essence, both sides agree on the issue.
of the essence非常重要的，不可缺少的
e.g. In any of these discussions, of course, honesty is of the essence.
Derivation:
essential a. & n.
essentially ad.
6. offset vt. to counterbalance or compensate for
e.g.In basketball, he offsets his small size by his cleverness
and speed.
Forests can help offset human-caused climate warming, and scientists want to know how big a role these particular forests will play.
Collocation:
offset sth. by sth. / doing sth.
7. go under to fail; to be overwhelmed
e.g. His business went under because of competition from the large corporations.
Poor Donaldson had no head for business, and it was not long before he went under.
8. go / be broke to become penniless; to go bankrupt
e.g. The business kept losing money and finally went broke.
I can’t afford to go on holiday this year —I’m broke.
A lot of small businesses went broke during the recession.
经济不景气，很多小公司都倒闭了。

9. perspective n. a way of regarding situations, facts, etc.
e.g.His father’s death gave him a whole new pe rspective on life.
The novel is written from the perspective of a child. Collocation:
in / out of perspective
e.g.The background of this picture is all out of perspective.
e.g. He sees things in their right perspective.
put / see / view sth. in perspective to compare something to other things so that it can be accurately and fairly judged get / keep sth. in perspective to think about a situation or problem in a wise and reasonable way
e.g. You must keep things in perspective — the overall situation isn’t really that bad.
10. take … at face value to accept something for what it appears to be
e.g. She took his stories at face value and did not know he was joking.
If you take his remarks only at their face value, you will not have understood his full meaning.
11. be apt to to have the tendency to
e.g. A careless person is apt to make mistakes.
My pen is rather apt to leak.
Synonym:
be inclined to
be likely to
12. proficiency n. skill; ability
e.g. It said in the job ad that they wanted proficiency in at
least two languages.
You have to take a test of proficiency in English before you can apply for the job.
Collocation:
proficiency (in sth. / doing sth.)
Derivation:
proficient a.
proficiently ad.
13. conventional a. traditional and ordinary
e.g. conventional behavior / attitudes / clothes / method
I find his art rather dull and conventional.
Derivation:
convention n.
conventionally ad.
conventionalize v.
conventionality n.
Antonym:
unconventional
14. correspond to to match; to be similar or equal to
e.g. The wing of a bird corresponds to the arm of a man.
The American Congress corresponds to the British Parliament.
15. assumption n.
what is thought to be true or will happen, without any real proof
e.g. These calculations are based on the assumption that prices will continue to rise.
I’m working on the assumption that the money will come through.
Collocation:
assumption of sth.
16. make a point of to take particular care to do sth.
e.g.He makes a point of jogging for an hour every morning, rain or shine.
To prevent loss of data, I always make a point of making a copy on a floppy disk of what I have done during the day.
17. flunk vt.
1) to fail an examination or course of study
e.g. I flunked my second year exams and was lucky not to be thrown out of college.
2) give a failing mark to sb.
e.g. If he is no good, flunk him.
Collocation:
flunk out因成绩不及格而被学校除名
e.g.Dan won’t be in college next year —he’s been flunked out.
18. resent vt. to feel angry because you have been forced to accept someone or something that you do not like
e.g. Her father seems to resent her new boyfriend for he has no job.
Her roommate seems to resent my being in their dorm. Derivation:
resentment n.
resentful a.
resentfulness n.
19. gear n.
1) the machinery in a vehicle that turns power from the engine into movement
e.g.Don’t turn off the engine while you’re still in gear.
2) a piece of machinery that performs a particular job
e.g. The landing gear of a plane has jammed.
3) a set of equipment or tools you need for a particular activity
e.g. We’re only going for two days; you don’t need to bring so much gear.
Collocation:
change / shift gear换档
20. coercive ing force to persuade people to do what they are unwilling to do
e.g. coercive methods / measures
The president relied on the coercive powers of the military.
Derivation:
coerce v.
coercion n.
Collocation:
coerce sb. into sth. / doing sth.
e.g. The Chamber of Commerce was making efforts to coerce the strikers into compliance.
商会正在努力迫使罢工者妥协。

You can’t coerce her into obedience.
（学习的目的是增长知识，提高能力，相信一分耕耘一分收获，努力就一定可以获得应有的回报）。