College English   Intensive Reading 2

Unit 1

Part I  Requirements

After you learn this unit, you should be able to

I answer the following questions:

  1. What caused the excitement on the planet Venus?

  2. Is there such a place as Manhattan on earth? Where is it if the answer is Yes?

  3. What led the Venusian scientists to believe that there is no life on Earth?

  4. What, according to Prof. Zog, will add weight to the saucer?

  5. Why does Prof. Zog think it impossible to land a flying saucer on Earth without its being smashed?

  6. What are the dangers that a Venus Being might have if being sent onto Earth?

  7. What is this satirical essay try to tell us?

  8. What is your idea about the environmental protection?

II  understand and use the following key words and expressions by yourself:

(please refer to the "Words to Drill" part and the hyperlinked blue words in the  text on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

III  explain who or what are the following:

     1. the planet of Venus    2. satellite    3. Manhattan    4. concrete 5. astronomer      6. the Earth    7. oxygen   8. Telescope    9. flying saucer 10. press conference   11. skyscraper

(please refer to the hyperlinked red words in the text on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

IV  understand and paraphrase the following sentences:

    1. For the first time Venusian scientists managed to land a satellite on the planet  Earth, and it has been sending back signals as well as photographs ever since.

    2. We have come to the conclusion, based on last week's satellite landing...

    3. You see this dark black cloud hovering over the surface of Earth?

    4. If all you say is true, won't this set back the flying saucer program several years?

(please refer to the "Notes to the Text" part on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

V   understand the structure of the text:

(please refer to the "Organization" part on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

VI    summarize the whole text:

(please refer to the "Organization" part on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

VII   translate the text into Chinese:

(please refer to the "Translation" part before each paragraph in the text on the CD-ROM CEIR2_A)

Part II  Help

Words to Drill

 atmosphere

  n . the mixture of gases around the planet; the air; the general impression or

       feelings that an event or place gives you 大气，大气层；空气；气氛

     ---A planet’s atmosphere is the layer of air or other gases around it.

     ---The atmosphere of the city is polluted.

     ---The restaurant has a real family atmosphere.

compose

  vt.  1) make up, form; 构成，组成

      ---England, Scotland and Wales compose the island of Great Britain.

      ---The chemistry teacher asked the pupils what water was composed of.

      2) write a piece of (music, a poem or speech) 谱曲; 创作

      ---Mr. Mozart composed his first symphony (交响曲) in 1764.

      ---He sometimes composes poems.

conclusion

  n.  1) a judgement or decision; the ending or closing part 结论，推论；结尾

      ---I came to the conclusion that I didn’t really like civil engineering (土木工程).

      ---What conclusion did you come to?

      ---I found the conclusion of his book very interesting.

      ---In conclusion (总之), I’d like to say how much I’ve enjoyed staying here.

      2) an agreement or arrangement 协议，议定

      ---The conclusion of a treaty or business deal is its final conclusion.

conference

  n.  meeting 会议

      ---The Managing Director has daily conferences with the other staff members.

      ---She was in Boston attending an international conference on the protection of the environment.

      ---A national conference on architecture will be held next Friday in our university.

crash

  vt. & vi.   hit or fall violently or accidentally 碰撞；坠毁

      ---The plane crashed within seconds of taking off.

      ---Eric came running down the corridor (走廊) and crashed into me.

      ---The car would not stop so the driver had to crash it into the wall.

  n.  violent hit or fall 碰撞；坠毁

      ---All the passengers were killed in the plane crash.

      ---The tree fell with a great crash.

deadly

  a.  fatal, likely or able to cause death 致命的

      ---This is one of nature’s deadliest poisons.

      ---The disease is deadly.

emit

  vt.  produce or send out (light, heat, sound, smell) 发出（光，声音，热等）

      ---The chimney emitted a cloud of smoke.

      ---The fireplace emitted a pleasant warmth.

      ---He was heard to emit heartbroken signs.

      ---Animal bodies emit perspiration (汗).

extremely (extreme + ly)

  ad.  very 非常

      ---It is extremely difficult to work in these conditions.

      ---The article contains some extremely important information.

      ---Ralph and I always got on extremely well.

  extreme

   a.  very great in degree; very unusual or unreasonable 极度的；极端的

      ---The extreme punishment of the law in England used to be punishment by death.

feasibility (feasible +ty)

  n.  possibility 可行性; 可能性

      ---They were working at the technical feasibility of a supersonic aircraft during my first visit.

      ---The scientist doubted the feasibility of the experiment.

  feasible

   a.  able to be carried out or done, possible 可行的; 可能的

      ---The electric car is technically feasible.

      ---It’s not feasible to dismiss him.

fund

  n.  1) money collected for a special purpose 资金；基金；专款

      ---He made a generous donation (捐款) to our campaign (竞选) fund.

      ---Parts of the school sports funds will be used to improve the condition of the football field.

      2) a store or supply 储藏，储存

      ---When explaining a new point to a class, it helps a teacher to have a fund of good examples

          to make his meaning clear.

hazard

  n.  something dangerous 危害; 公害

      ---Drinking alcohol is a real health hazard if carried to excess.

      ---Signs warn drivers of hazards on the road ahead.

      ---Polluted water sources are a hazard to wildlife.

indicate

  vt.  show 表明；标示; 表示

      ---Research indicates that the drug can be harmful to pregnant (怀孕的) women.

      ---A recent survey has indicated that viewers want a wider choice of programs on TV.

      ---The man indicated, with a nod of his head, that he understood.

originally (original +ly)

  ad.  1) at the beginning, formerly 起初，原来

      ---She’s Canadian, but her family originally came from Scotland.

      ---Originally, the book was published as a series of magazine articles.

      2) in a new, different way 独创地

      ---The apartment was decorated quite originally.

      ---We want this room decorated originally.

  original

    a. 1) existing at the beginning 原来的，起初的；

      ---The original idea came from Dr. Ball.

      2) completely new or different新颖的，独特的

      ---The young man is a jazz musician with a completely original style.

pollute

  vt.  make (air, water, etc.) dirty or dangerous to live in or use 污染

      ---Parts of the Mediterranean are polluted with poisonous waste.

      ---The air is heavily polluted with exhaust fumes (废气).

      ---Efforts have to be made to clean up Britain’s polluted rivers.

  pollution

   n.  the action of polluting 污染

      ---We moved to the country to get away from all the crime and pollution in Los Angeles.

proceed

  vi.  continue 进行，继续

      ---He proceeded to explain how to carry out the plan.

      ---It is necessary to examine this claim (主张) before we proceed any further.

      ---He cleared his throat and then proceeded with his speech.

signal 

  n.  gesture, sound or action intended to give a message信号; 暗号

      ---My signal will be 3 knocks.

      ---A red lamp is often used as a danger signal.

      ---Don’t start yet, not until I give you the signal.

  vt. & vi.  give a signal发信号

      ---A sailor began signaling with two flags.

      ---An official signaled that it was time for the race to begin.

smash

  vt. & vi.  (cause to) break into pieces violently (使)粉碎，(使)破碎

      ---I heard something smash in the kitchen. Dad must have dropped a dish or something.

      ---They smashed the display window and grabbed (抢劫) $4000 worth of gold jewelry.

      ---Their little boat hit the rocks and was smashed to bits.

survive

  vt. & vi. continue to live in spite of coming close to death; manage to cope with

           (a difficult situation); continue to live after 幸存，活下来；挺过来；比……活得长

      ---My grandmother is too old to survive another operation.

      ---The plane crashed into the sea but over half of the passengers survived.

      ---You have to make difficult decisions to survive in business.

      ---She will probably survive me by many years.

type 

  n.  1) kind, class, sort 类型，种类，品种

      ---Accidents of this type are extremely common.

      ---They export (出口) farm medicines and tools of various types.

      ---There are two types of politicians--the ones who really want to help people, and the ones  who just want power.

      2) the size or style of a printed character or printed characters 排印出的字型、字体

  vt. & vi.  write using a typewriter or computer 打字

      ---I’m afraid I don’t type fast enough.

      ---Could you type those letters for me?

unfit (un + fit)

  a.  not fit, not suitable 不适合的

      ---This meat is unfit for human consumption (消费).

      ---Adams is clearly unfit to hold an administration post (行政职务).

      ---Years of work in Africa made him unfit for life in a cold country.

Expressions to Drill   

(be) known as   (be) publicly called, (be) named…as 知名，通常叫作

     ---She is known as a great singer.

     ---Samuel Clemens, known as Mark Twain, was a famous American writer.

     ---This place is known as “Little Russia” because there are a lot of Russians living here.

name… after/for   give the same name as 以……的名字命名

     ---Bill was named after his father.

     ---He named his daughter after/for his grandmother.

as to  with regard to, as for; about 至于；关于

     ---As to that job, I haven’t decided whether I will take it or not.

     ---As to money, he is indifferent.

     ---John has been given no directions as to what to do next.

  cf. 作“至于”讲时，as to常放在句首，而as for通常放在句中，例如：

     ---That’s the answer. As for the cause, how do I know?

     ---We all passed the examination, but as for him, he alone failed.

base on / upon  develop…from, give a reason in 基于，根据，以……为基础

     ---The new agreement is based on the original United Nations proposal.

     ---You should base your conclusion upon careful research.

     ---This story is based on facts.

     ---The film is based on a novel of the same title.

for one thing…(for another)  first…(second) 一来……（二来），一则……（再则），首先……（然后）

     ---For one thing, I think you’re stupid; for another I don’t like you.

     ---I prefer badminton to football. For one thing, it’s not so tiring to play badminton.

     ---I can’t go--for one thing, I have no money; for another, I have too much work to do.

be composed of  be made up of, consist of 由……构成

     ---The book is composed of well-known essays written over the last twenty years.

     ---A sentence is composed of several words put together according to grammatical rules.

     ---Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.

as/so far as…be concerned  considering; in one’s opinion 就…..而言（引出要谈的话题）；在……看来

     ---As far as the jobs are concerned, we can finish them perfectly.

     ---As far as I am concerned, I don’t object to your marriage.

     ---As far as English is concerned, Li Hua is the first in our class.

     ---This is the most difficult time of the year as far as I am concerned.

stick up

     1) rise, point upward (使) 直立; (使) 向上突出

     ---The plants stick up vertically (垂直地) from the seabed.

     ---Aerials (天线) stick up above the chimney.

     2) attach…to a wall so that it can be seen 张贴

     ---The examination results will be stuck up on this board tomorrow.

give off  (heat, smoke, smell) emit, send out 释放，散发出（热，烟，味等）

     ---These wild flowers give off a nice smell.

     ---If something gives off heat, smoke or a smell, it produces it and sends it out in the air.

  cf.  give out (a lot of things): distribute 分发

     ---Give the money out to the children.

     ---The principal will give out diplomas (毕业证书) tomorrow afternoon.

set back 

     1) postpone, delay (the advance) 推迟; 阻碍

     ---This problem has set back the whole program of nuclear power in America.

     ---The bad weather will set back our building plans (by) three weeks.

     2) cost 花费

     ---His new car set him back over $3000.

     ---“That’s a nice suit: it must have set you back quite a lot.” “Yes, it set me back about £75.”