An Integrated English Course Book 4

Unit Four

Text I A View of Mountains How do you understand the title?

What’s the theme of this essay? When did the view of mountains first appear? What’s happened so that people can have a clear view

of mountains? What type of writing is the text? What’s the thesis of this argumentative essay? How many parts can the text be divided into?

What are they? Can we find a topic sentence for each paragraph?

Text structure This argumentative essay comprises three parts. Part I (Paragraph 1)

-- the writer puts forward his thesis: a view of mountains in the background suggests the real extent to which the city was destroyed by the atomic bombing.

Part II (Paragraphs 2-3)-- the author argues that the bombing of Nagasaki is more representative of the nuclear peril threatening the world than that of Hiroshima and that we need to take actions to dispel nuclear threat from the Earth.

Part III (Paragraph 4)-- the author restates his main idea, i.e. we should not just worry about the nuclear peril but take actions to eliminate it to create a safer world.

Paragraph 1

In paragraph 1 the writer describes what Yamahata’s pictures display: the effects of a nuclear weapon on human beings. And then he presents the main point of his argument: the true measure lies not in the wreckage but in the gone city, and this is where the significance of a view of mountains in the background of one of the pictures lies.

Questions for discussion

1) Why does the author think that Yamahata’s pictures compose the fullest record of nuclear destruction in existence?

2) Why were the bodies often branded with the patterns of their clothes?

3) Why does the author particularly mention “a view of mountains” in one of the pictures?

Language work

1. dispatch: send off to a destination 派遣，发送 Parcels of food were dispatched to him by American fri

ends. The government was preparing to dispatch 4,000 soldie

rs to search the island.

2. constitute: 1) compose; form 组成，构成（部分构成整体）

Twelve months constitute a year. 十二个月为一年 . The committee is constituted of members of all three parties. 委员会由所

有三个政党的成员组成 . (fig 比喻 ) He is so constituted (ie His nature is such) that he can accept

criticism without resentment. 他豁达大度 , 能接受批评而不怀恨在心 .

2) be equal to 等同于；相等 It is up to the teacher to decide what constitutes satisfactory work.

Cf. consist of, be composed of, comprise: be formed of 由…构成 The British Parliament comprises/consists of/is composed of the House of

Commons and the House of Lords. compose, constitute, comprise: form （部分）构成（整体）

The House of Commons and the House of Lords comprise/compose/constitute the British Parliament.

* 避免用 be comprised of

in existence

- 现存的，现有的 According to some philosopher, everything in exi

stence is reasonable. 某位哲学家认为 , 存在的事物都是合理的。 This is the most magnificent bridge in existence. 这是现有的最雄伟的大桥。

Questions for discussion

1) Why does the author think that Yamahata’s pictures compose the fullest record of nuclear destruction in existence?

Because there were few pictures of the destructive consequences of the first atomic bomb. In contrast, Yamahata’s photos systematically and timely record the effects of the second bomb on Nagasaki.

methodically [m 'θ dik li] ə ɔ ə

adv.   有条理地 , 有条不紊地 ; 井然地 methodical adj.

He always checked every detail in a methodical way. He went through the papers methodically, one by one.

(1) It was therefore left to Yamahata to record, methodically--, and, as it happens, …

Paraphrase: Therefore, it was Yamahata’s duty to take photos systematically and give a timely record of the destructive result of a nuclear bomb only hours after its explosion.

methodically: systematically as it happens 碰巧来到 , 恰好出现 It is (was) left to sb to do sth /

It is up to sb to do sth …the effects of sth on sth

historic present 历史现在时

The present tense in reference to past events, found in photograph description, is called the historic present, or historical present.

The historic present describes the past as if it were happening now. It conveys something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account. It is characteristic of the popular narrative style. It may also be found in photographic captions ( 图片说明文字 ) and in historic summaries.

3. char: make or become black by burning（使某物）燃烧而变黑 ; 烧焦 Halve the peppers and char the skins under a hot grill.

4. ... their bodies are often branded with the patterns of their clothes ...:-- ... their bodies are often marked with the patterns of their clothes ...

brand: vt. label or mark with or as if with a brand 打火印；烙印；加污名于n. 商标，品牌 They branded the cattle one by one. The US administration recently branded him as a war criminal.

pattern 图案，花样

2) Why were the bodies often branded with the patterns of their clothes?

Because the different colors of the patterns absorb light in different degrees. That is, they permitted the body to be heated by the thermal pulse in different degrees in accordance with the colors of the patterns. The lighter the color, the less burned the part of the body.

hang over (hang, hung, hung) A lamp hung over the table. 一盏灯悬挂在桌子上方。 John is a bullfighter. Death hangs over his head ev

ery time he performs. 约翰是斗牛士，每次出场表演都要面临死亡的

威胁。 (Para. 2)…the nuclear danger that still hangs over

us.

5. witness: --see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception 证人，目击者

Only one person witnessed the accident.

6. dot: cover or sprinkle with or as if with dots加点；点缀

The countryside is dotted with beautiful ancient churches.

We have offices dotted all over the region.

(1) The absence, even more than wreckage, contains the heart of the matter.

Paraphrase: That vanished city rather than its remains represents the true measure of the event.

3) Why does the author particularly mention “a view of mountains” in one of the pictures?

Because the view of mountains reminds the viewers of the city that had been erased from earth. It is in the vanished city rather than in the wreckage that the significance of the event lies.

The mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.

Atomic bomb being dropped on Hiroshima

Corpses charred

Bodies branded with the patterns of their clothes

A picture by Yosuke Yamahata

A horse twisted under the cart it had been pulling.

Survivors of the atomic bomb

A girl survivor stood in the open mouth of a bomb shelter and smiled an unearthly smile.

A view of mountains

Part II: Paragraphs 2-3

In this part, the writer first claims that the bombing of Nagasaki is the fitter symbol of the nuclear danger menacing the world; then he argues that we should not just apprehend the nuclear peril but try to dispel it from the earth. For this purpose, he maintains that picture taking is not enough and action is called for.

Questions for Paragraph 2

1) Why is the meaning of Yamahata’s pictures universal?

2) Why has Nagasaki always been in the shadow of Hiroshima?

3) Do you agree with the author when he says the bombing of Nagasaki is the fitter symbol of the nuclear peril? Why or why not?

Language work in a flash 立刻，一瞬间

The answer came to her in a flash of inspiration. 她突然来了一阵灵感，答案想出来了。 His perception of the change came in a flash. 他在一瞬间察觉到了这一变化。

come into one’s own: to have the opportunity of showing what one can do得到应该得到的东西；获得应有的声誉 He has at last come into his own as a pop-singer.

(2) In the photographs, Nagasaki comes into its own. Paraphrase: In the photographs Nagasaki regains its own st

atus.

7. stumble: walk or go unsteadily绊倒 , 摇摇晃晃地移动 I stumbled over a tree root. 树根绊了我的脚 . Having drunk half a bottle of whiskey, I stumbled upstairs a

nd into bed.

8. ruin: devastate; reduce to the remains The rain absolutely ruined our barbecue. If the press should find out about this, his marriage, h

is reputation, and his career would all be ruined.

(2) Nagasaki has always been in the shadow of Hiroshima, as if the human imagination…

Paraphrase: Compared with Hiroshima, what happened in Nagasaki has always been less talked about. It seems that the human imagination had been exhausted and stopped at the wreckage of the first ruined city and failed to reach even the outskirts of Nagasaki.

9. hang over: menace; overshadow 威胁；笼罩 The threat of nuclear war hangs over mankind. With the court case hanging over us, we couldn’t enjo

y our vacation.

10. spare : refrain from harming, punishing or killing使免遭 ; 免去 ; 不伤害

It will spare him embarrassment if you speak to him about it in private.

Spare us the suspense and tell us who won the first prize!

Can you spare me a few minutes? （分出，腾出） 你能为我挪出几分钟时间吗 ?

(2) Each picture therefore seemed not so much an image…as a window…

not so much…as 与其说…不如说 She is not so much a teacher as a scholar. The important thing is not so much the actual populatio

n of the world, but its rate of increase.重要的与其说是世界的实际人口量，还不如说是人口的增长率。

not so much as 连…都不（肯） He did not so much as thank me for returning his mone

y that I found. 我把找到的钱还给他，他却连谢都不肯谢。

11. intact: entire, unimpaired 无损失的，完整的

Despite the bombing, the house was still intact. He can scarcely survive this scandal with his reputati

on intact. 他经此丑闻名誉很难不受损 .

Questions for Paragraph 2

1) Why is the meaning of Yamahata’s pictures universal?

Because they express an apprehension of the nuclear peril that hangs over us. What happened to Nagasaki could happen to any other city in the world.

2) Why has Nagasaki always been in the shadow of Hiroshima?

Because Hiroshima was the city on which the first atomic bomb was dropped and it has drawn almost all the attention of the world. By contrast, Nagasaki has nearly been forgotten as an atomically devastated city.

3) Do you agree with the author when he says the bombing of Nagasaki is the fitter symbol of the nuclear peril? Why or why not?

An open-ended question. If you say “yes”, you can follow the writer’s

reasoning. First it is the evidence of the danger that nuclear weapons can be used again. Second, it shows the unpredictability of nuclear attacks.

Paragraph 3

Questions for consideration

4) What should we do in addition to apprehending the nuclear peril?

5) What do we need in order to meet the more important challenge of eliminating nuclear weaponry?

12. glimpse: a very brief passing look, sight, or view 一瞥 , 一闪

I caught a glimpse of the driver of the getaway ( 逃亡，逃走 ) car, but I doubt I would recognize her if I saw her again.

This biography offers only a few glimpses of his life before he became famous.

apprehend

（ 1 ） expect with anxiety, suspicion, or fear 忧虑；担心

apprehend danger in every sound Do you apprehend any difficulty?

你是不是怕有什么困难 ?

（ 2 ） to grasp mentally, to understand 领会，理解 He can't apprehend the real nature of change.

他不能理解变革的真实性质。

14. peril: serious or immediate danger I never felt that my life was in peril. The bicycle has no brakes you ride it at your peril.

这辆自行车没闸 -- 你要骑可太危险了 .

15. dispel: cause to vanish 驱散；驱除；使消散 dispel sb's doubts/fears/worries

消除某人的疑虑 / 恐惧 / 烦恼 I’d like to start the speech by dispelling a few rum

ors that have been spreading recently. 澄清流言

Once and for all (1) now and for the last (and only) time 这一次

且为最后一次 I‘m warning you once and for all.

我给你最后一次警告 . (2) completely and finally 彻底地

I wish we could settle the matter once and for all.

(3) … we seem to need, in addition, some other picture to counterpoise against…

Paraphrase: . ... apart from the pictures of Nagasaki we seem to need some other picture to inspire in us a hope of life to counterbalance the sense of doom suggested by the ruined Nagasaki ...

4) What should we do in addition to apprehending the nuclear peril?

In addition to apprehending the nuclear peril, we should try to dispel it completely from the earth. This is a more significant challenge.

Questions for Paragraph 3

5) What do we need in order to meet the more important challenge of eliminating nuclear weaponry?

We need actions rather than pictures. No picture seems adequate for this purpose.

Paragraph 4

In this part the writer calls on us to take the responsibility of creating a safer world for new generations.

Language work

16. ... we ensure their right to exist.: --... we guarantee a safe living environment for them.

ensure: make (something) certain to happen Following the plane crash, the airline is taking further

steps to ensure public safety on its aircraft. The role of the police is to ensure that the law is

obeyed.

Question for discussion

What should we do to ensure a safer world for the future generations?

According to the text, one of the things we should do is make efforts to banish nuclear peril from the Earth forever. However, there are other things to be considered. For instance, the issue of pollution and environment protection, the development and application of high technology including cloning and nuclear energy, and the issue of terrorism.

Text Comprehension -II. T or F.

1. F. Refer to Paragraph 1. Nobody made a photographic record of the immediate effect of the atomic bombing on Hiroshima.

2. F. Refer to Paragraph 1. The author is shocked because the girl reminds him of the ordinary life that would have been going where fields of rubble are if there had not been the atomic bombing.

3. F. Refer to Paragraph 2. The “nuclear danger that still hangs over us” means the danger caused by the possible use of atomic bombs in the future rather than the dangerous consequences of the world’s second atomic bombing.

4. T. Refer to what is in the brackets in Paragraph 2.

5. T. Refer to Paragraph 3.

Text Comprehension - III

1. Because it reminds the viewer of the city that was leveled to the ground by the atomic bomb and of the normal life that would have been going on there.

2. Because it was the first time that Americans had ever seen the pictures since the atomic bombing fifty years ago.

3. The bombing of Nagasaki is regarded as the fitter symbol of the nuclear peril in two respects. First, it is the evidence that nuclear weapons can be used again to destroy the human civilization. Second, the fact that Nagasaki had not been the originally chosen target of the nuclear attack shows the unpredictability of the possible nuclear attacks in future. That is, every city in the world is liable to nuclear destruction.

4. They were intended to demonstrate the devastating power of nuclear weapons and express an apprehension of the nuclear peril menacing the world.

5. No, they only express part of it, because the writer intends not only to express his apprehension of the nuclear threat but, more importantly, call on the people to take actions to banish forever nuclear weaponry from the Earth for a safer world.

IV. Explain in your own words the following sentences taken from the text. 1. The responsibility was therefore placed on Yamahata’s shou

lders to record the effects systematically and incidentally with a great and simple artistry.

2. That vanished city rather than its remains represents the true measure of the event.

3. In the photographs Nagasaki regains its own status. 4. ... the human imagination had been exhausted and stopped a

t the wreckage of the first ruined city and failed to reach even the outskirts of Nagasaki.

5. ... apart from the pictures of Nagasaki we seem to need some other picture to inspire in us a hope of life to counterbalance the sense of doom suggested by the ruined Nagasaki ...

Structural analysis of the text What makes clear the author’s opinion about the meaning

of Yamahata’s pictures is the sentence that appears at the end of the first paragraph: The true measure of the event lies not in what remains but in all that has disappeared.

And what makes clear the author’s opinion on what should be done about the existing nuclear peril is the sentence that appears in the middle of the last paragraph: Performing that act is the greatest of the responsibilities of the generations now alive.

Rhetorical features of the text Apart from the two sentences that have been already

mentioned, we can find the following sentences with the “A but B” structure in the text:

The true measure of the event lies not in what remains but in all that has disappeared. (Paragraph 1)

... the challenge is not just to apprehend the nuclear peril but to seize a God-given opportunity to dispel it once and for all ... (Paragraph 3)

... one showing not what we would lose through our failure but what we would gain by our success. (Paragraph 3)

Apart from the “A but B” sentence structure, we can also find the “A yet B” type:

Nagasaki has always been in the shadow of Hiroshima ... Yet the bombing of Nagasaki is in certain respects the fitter symbol of the nuclear danger that still hangs over us. (Paragraph 2)

Yamahata’s pictures afford a glimpse of the end of the world. Yet in our day ... (Paragraph 3)

And we can find a sentence that organizes information in a similar way without the use of the conjunction but or yet:

Arriving a half-century late, they are still news. (Paragraph 2)

By admitting something is correct first and then saying something else is even more correct, or admitting something is urgent first and then saying something else is more urgent with the help of the above-mentioned sentence structures, the author succeeds in making his sentences well balanced and his argumentation forceful and convincing.

Vocabulary exercises

I. Explain the underlined part in each sentence in your own words.

1. had not been recorded by the camera 2. smiling in a strange and unnatural way 3. their meaning is applicable to any other places

around the world 4. had stopped working 5. threatens 6. city which is not destroyed by nuclear weapons

II. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the words in the

brackets. 1. unearthly 2.. wrecked 3. exhaustive 4. apprehensive 5. continuation 6. Accuracy

III. Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word or phrase taken from the box in its appropriate form. 1. will come into his own 2. is branded with 3. for good 4. lay in 5. In certain respect 6. came into existence 7. outskirts 8. once and for all

IV. Explain the meaning of the underlined word or phrase. 1. protection 2. calculated 3. effective 4. increased/higher 5. not often found 6. perspective

Grammar exercises

I. Note the use of the present tense in the following paragraph.

The present tense in reference to past events, found in photograph description, is called the historical present.

The historical present describes the past as if it were happening now. It conveys something of the dramatic immediacy of an eye-witness account. It is characteristic of the popular narrative style. It may also be found in photographic captions and in historical summaries.

II. Find two examples of the historic present. (For reference) 1. He was such a nuisance when he lived

upstairs. Every time he came back, which was usually in the middle of the night, he kicks off his shoes and I hear “bang, bang”!

2. I couldn’t believe it! Just as we arrived, up comes Ben and slaps me on the back as if we were life-long friends. “Come on, old pal,” he says, “Let me buy you a drink!” I’m telling you, I nearly fainted on the spot.

III. Complete the sentences by using the correct forms of the verbs given in the brackets. 1. hear 2. are 3. have/will have 4. tells 5. is 6. gather 7. earns 8. says 9. speaks 10. is writing, opens, enters

IV. Complete the following sentences1. had better

2. More, less

3. fainter and fainter

4. none the worse 依然如故，并不更差；未受到伤害5. no better, no worse

6. so much the betterso much the better/worse (for sb/sth) that is even better/worse 甚至更好 [ 更坏 ] The result is not very important to us, but if we do win, (then) so mu

ch the better. 输赢对我们并不十分重要 , 但假如我们真赢了 , （那）就更好

了 .

Translation -I1. Their cattle were branded with the letter C.2. In this season Brooks has really come into his own as a

goal scorer.3. An economic crisis is hanging over that country.4. He is the man who really gives the order, but he always

remains in the background.5. After dispatching the messenger, what is left for us to do is

nothing but to wait.6. You just have to call and he’s here in a flash.7. They have lived in the shadow of war for totally seventeen

years.8. These are the last seven Northeast Tigers in existence. If

human beings failed to protect them, the tigers of this species would face extinction.

II. Translate the following passage into Chinese. 世贸中心倒塌前 102 分钟的声音纪录面世了。起初是呼救、

问询和求救， 很快就变成了表达绝望、愤怒和爱的声音。如今，被困在

世贸中心双子座上的男男女女发出的这些声音成了永久的记忆。

由《纽约时报》记者收集的这些最后遗言让人们以一种看不见的形式再次感受这场灾难：北楼最上面的 19 层和南楼最上面的 33 层遭受的损失最为惨重。

在据说已经死亡的 2823 人中，至少 1946 人，或者说 69%的人，是在这些楼层上。

救援人员没能靠近他们。摄影师没能拍下他们的脸。 然而，正如在遥远的天边陷入险境的人们在黑匣子里留下

的信息一样，他们的遗言不仅让人们感受令人不寒而栗的灾难场景，还让人们了解到在这样一个残酷的时刻，仍然存在着勇敢、体面和风度。

II. Fill in each blank in the passage below with ONE appropriate word. 1. went 2. In 3. as 4. for 5. among 6. number 7. that 8. with 9. followed 10. over

Text II Statement at the 2003 Session of… Questions for discussion 1. It is uncertain and unpredictable because

military confrontation caused by disputes over territory, resources, religion and interest continues and non-traditional security threats characterized by terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have become more salient.

2. The speaker proposes nine measures for nuclear disarmament. Refer to Paragraphs 9-17.

3. In Paragraphs 22-25, the speaker talks about the concrete and practical measures taken by China in recent years to build up confidence between China and its neighbouring countries.

4. The multilateral approach is necessary because more than one country possess nuclear weapons and these weapons cannot be reduced and destroyed without willing cooperation between the nuclear states, especially the nuclear powers like the United States.

Quiz -Voc

1. 派遣，调派 2. 绊脚；摇摇晃晃地走 3. 抵消，抗衡 4. 组成，构成5. 艺术技巧，技艺 6. 市郊， 外围地区7. 严重危险 8. 继续，连续 n.

9. 脉搏，脉冲 10. 碎石11. 残骸，废墟 12. 完好无缺的，完整

的13. 忧虑，担忧；领会 14. 存在 n.

Key -Voc

1. dispatch 2. stumble

3. counterpoise 4. constitute

5. artistry 6. outskirt /outskirts

7. peril 8. continuation

9. pulse 10. rubble

11. wreckage 12. intact

13. apprehend 14. existence

TEM4-2005 The Wrist Watch It is generally believed that wrist watches are an

exception / to the normal sequence in the evolution of man's jewelry. / Reversing the usual order, they were first worn by women, / and then adopted by men. / In the old days, queens included wrist watches among their crown jewelry. / Later, they were worn by Swiss workers and farmers. / Until World War I, Americans associated the watch with fortune hunters. / Then army officers discovered that the wrist watch was most practical for active combat. / Race car drivers also loved to wear wrist watches, / and pilots found them most useful while flying. / Soon men dared to wear wrist watches without feeling self-conscious. / By 1924, some 30 percent of man's watches were worn on the wrist. / Today, the figure is 90 percent. / And they are now worn by both men and women / for practical purposes rather than for decoration.