College English   Intensive Reading 2

Unit 2    

Part I  Requirements

After you learn this unit, you should be able to

I answer the following questions:

1.   Where did the story take place? When did it first appear in a magazine? Was it a true  story?

2.   Who gave the dinner party? What kind of guests were invited?

3.   Describe in some detail the room where the party was held.

4.   What was the subject of the discussion between the young girl and the major?

5.   What did the American naturalist do during the argument? What kind of expression did he notice come over the hostess? Why did her muscles contract slightly?

6.   Why did the American come to with a start? What did he realize was happening?

7.   How did the American react to the crisis? What trick did he use to quiet the guests?   Was he successful?

8.   What happened five minutes later? Why didn’t the cobra strike?

9.   What did the American’s reaction in the crisis prove?

10. Why did the hostess’s face light up with a faint smile? What did her  self-control prove?

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. India     2. naturalist     3. rafter     4. cobra

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

IV  understand and paraphrase the following sentences:

1.   That magazine story, and the person who wrote it, I have never been able to track down.

2.   …that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era…

3.   And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of control than a woman has.  And that last ounce is what really counts.

4.   The American does not join in the argument…

5.   She motions to the native boy…

6.   The American comes to with a start.

7.   …the commotion would frighten the cobra into striking.

8.   …it silences everyone.

(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

argument (argue + ment) 

  n.  1) disagreement, quarrel 争论; 争吵

      --- I said no and we got into a big argument over the implication of the sentence.

      ---I could hear her on the phone, having an argument with someone from the bank.

      ---I didn’t want to start an argument, so I kept quiet.

      2) reason 论据，理由

      ---There are strong arguments against these measures.

bare

  a.  1) not covered by anything; empty; having nothing growing on赤裸的，光秃秃的；空的

      --- The doctor stood uneasily on the bare floor.

      ---The little church was bare and cold.

      ---The room is bare of furniture.

      2) only仅仅的

      ---A bare word would be enough for me.

  vt.  uncover something 暴露，露出

      ---She bared her teeth.

      ---I must bare my heart to someone, or I shall go mad.

contract

  vi.  1) become smaller or shorter 缩小，收缩

      ---Metals expand with heat and contract with cold.

      ---In conversational English “is not” often contracts to “isn’t”.

      2) settle by a formal agreement 订合同

      ---Our shop contracted with a local clothing firm for 100 coats a week.

  n.  a written legal agreement between two people or groups 合同

      ---My contract says I have to work 35 hours per week.

      ---We signed a contract to build 58 planes.

crawl

  vi.  move forward on one’s hands and knees; move very slowly 匍匐而行，爬行；徐缓而行

      ---Her baby is crawling about now.

      ---The train was crawling deeper into Russia.

      ---The truck had to crawl along because of the snow.

crisis

  n.  moment of great danger or difficulty; turning point 危机，危急关头；转折点

      ---I was in Munich during the 1938 crisis.

      ---Who can you turn to in time of crisis?

      ---My mother has passed the crisis--the fever’s started to go down.

emerge

  vi.  come out or appear; become known 出现，显现；暴露

      ---I saw the woman emerge from a shop.

      ---After the long talks, feasible solutions emerged.

      ---The moon emerged from behind the clouds.

faint

  a.  weak; very small 昏晕的；微弱的；微小的

      ---He felt faint for lack of food.

      ---There was a faint smell of gas.

      ---There is a faint hope that he will pass the final exam.

  vi.  lose consciousness for a short time 昏厥，晕倒

      ---He nearly fainted from the pain.

heated (heat + ed)

  a.  angry; excited 生气的; 激烈的; 激动的

      ---At a heated moment in the discussion, I lost my self-control.

  heat  n.  excitement激烈; 激动

      ---In the heat of the argument, I became so excited that I shouted very loudly.

host

  n.  1) a man (woman) who has invited the guests; a man (woman) who introduces the people on a radio or TV show主人；主持人

      ---Drinks were being prepared by the host.

      ---Diana was a wonderful hostess--everyone enjoyed her parties.

      2) a large number许多

      ---I’m sure the audience has a host of questions for our team of experts.

image

  n.  picture or idea (in the mind); picture on the screen 形象，印象；图象

      ---An image of a country garden came into my mind after his description.

      ---She passed away, but her image is still fresh in my mind.

      ---The images on a computer screen are made up of thousands of tiny dots.

impulse

  n.  a sudden wish or a desire to do冲动；兴致

      ---I had a sudden impulse to turn around and walk out.

      ---On a sudden impulse, he went into the library.

      ---She almost yielded to an unexpected impulse to dance in the street.

likely

  a.  probable 可能的

      ---A peace settlement now seems likely in the Middle East.

      ---The likeliest result is a win for Scottish football team.

      ---Men are more likely to die from heart attacks than women.

  ad.  probably 可能地

      ---Very likely none of them would know the name of this tree.

      ---They’ll very likely come by car.

motion

  vt.  make a movement with the hand 用手势或动作向……示意

      ---He shook hands and motioned him to a seat.

      ---He motioned me out of the room.

  n.  movement; gesture; suggestion 运动；手势，动作；提议

      ---The motion of the train put the child to sleep.

      ---At the last committee meeting, the motion that the club (should) remain open until midnight was defeated.

outgrow

  vt.  grow bigger than or too big for sth.  长大(或发展)得使……不再适用

      ---Wendy is now sixteen years old and has outgrown these dolls.

      ---Her son has outgrown all his clothes bought last summer.

      ---He outgrew his troubling years and became a bright child.

      ---Small children outgrow their shoes at a fast rate.

shortly

 ad.  1) soon, in a little time 立刻；不久

      ---We apologize for the delay--the train will be leaving shortly.

      ---Her last novel was published shortly after her death.

      2) impatiently, not politely 不耐烦地；无礼地

      --- “You ought to be in bed now,” I said shortly.

slam

 vt. & vi.  shut noisily and with great force 砰地关上

      ---He slammed the door so hard that the glass crashed (破裂).

      ---I waited for the gate behind me to slam shut.

      ---The door suddenly slammed.

slightly (slight + ly)

 ad.  very little, a little 轻微地

      ---We’re almost the same age. He’s slightly older than me.

      ---Susan’s car is a slightly different color from mine.

      ---The temperature had risen slightly, but it was still very cold.

tone

  n..  1) quality in one’s voice, style 语气，语调；风格

      ---She was speaking now in a cold sarcastic (讽刺的) tone.

      ---He described the new building in tones of disapproval (不以为然).

      2) the effect of light and shade色调，明暗

      ---The colors of the birds in the picture matched the tones of the sky.

      3) sound with regard to highness, lowness, or strength 音调，声调

      ---Mandarin Chinese has four tones.

unexpected (un + expected)

  a.  not expected 未料到的，意外的

      ---My hostess greeted me with unexpected warmth.

      ---His death was hardly unexpected.

      ---The question was quite unexpected.

      ---There have been delays on the freeway because of an unexpected accident.

widen (wide +en)

  vt. & vi. make or become wide 加宽，放宽；变宽

      ---The road widens ahead so that more traffic can get through quicker.

      ---The gap between the rich and the poor regions widened.

      ---The gulf (差距) between specialists and non-specialists continues to widen.

Expressions to Drill  

track down  find by hunting or searching for 追捕；查明

      ---They hope to track down the source of the pollution.

      ---The police have tracked down the escaped criminal.

      ---Did the hunter manage to track down the wounded fox?

be seated  seat oneself, sit down 坐下

      ---General Tomkins was seated behind his desk.

      ---Please be seated, gentlemen.

      ---He was seated at the piano, with his back to them.

spring up  suddenly appear or come into existence 涌现，突然出现

      ---Computer stores are springing up all over the city now.

      ---A wind suddenly sprang up.

      ---Towns had sprung up in what was a dry desert.

at (the) sight of   on seeing 一看见……

      ---The baby began to cry at the sight of its mother.

      ---At the sight of the police the robbers ran away immediately.

      ---His face brightened up at the sight of his girlfriend.

feel like  feel a desire for; be inclined to 想做

      ---She felt like a good sleep after a long journey.

      ---We all feel like a cup of coffee.

      ---It’s a lovely day--do you feel like a walk?

      ---I feel like watching a video tonight.

come to   recover or regain consciousness; amount to苏醒，恢复知觉；总计

      ---The driver came to slowly after the accident.

      ---She is unconscious now, but may come to in a little while.

      ---Including wine, the bill came to $70.

make for  move towards; results in, cause, lead to 朝……方向行进；导致，促成

      ---We joined the crowd making for the exit.

      ---Cultural exchange makes for better understanding.

ring out  sound loudly and clearly 突然响起；突然大声说

      ---Her voice rang out.

      ---The clock rang out ten o’clock.

      ---After a while her firm voice rang out, “All right! I’ll go.”

light up  suddenly look very happy; make/become bright 容光焕发；照亮

      ---His face lit up at the sight of Janet.

      ---Her face always lights up when her parents are present.

      ---Her face lit up with pleasure.

      ---The candles on the Christmas tree lit up the room.