Unit 8

Text I Antarctica

Text II The Underworld

Text I

Text II

Oral Work

Listening

Pre-reading Activity

Structure

Vocabulary Acquisition

Intensive Reading

Text 1: Antarctica

1.Read the text and write down in phrases the

reasons why Antarctic is uninhabited and

why we know so little about it.

2. Read the text and list out the similarities

and differences between Antarctic and the

Arctic.

1.Read the text and write down in phrases the

reasons why Antarctic is uninhabited and

why we know so little about it.

2. Read the text and list out the similarities

and differences between Antarctic and the

Arctic.

Text I Pre-reading Activity

1)Great isolation from other land;

2)Not inhabited by humans;

3)Hardly any plant or animal life;

4)No human child ever born there;

5)Very little rain;

6)Intense cold;

7)Howling wind;

8)The most tempestuous seas around it;

1)Great isolation from other land;

2)Not inhabited by humans;

3)Hardly any plant or animal life;

4)No human child ever born there;

5)Very little rain;

6)Intense cold;

7)Howling wind;

8)The most tempestuous seas around it;

Text I Pre-reading Activity

The similarities:

1)Both are at the ends of the earth’s axis;

2)Both occupy a vast area of the earth and are

covered with a thick layer of ice and snow;

3)Both are cold all the year round;

4)At both for nearly half a year the sun never

sets and for the other half of the year there

is utter darkness.

The similarities:

1)Both are at the ends of the earth’s axis;

2)Both occupy a vast area of the earth and are

covered with a thick layer of ice and snow;

3)Both are cold all the year round;

4)At both for nearly half a year the sun never

sets and for the other half of the year there

is utter darkness.

Text I Pre-reading Activity

The differences:

1)Geographical position;

2)Climate;

3)Rainfall;

4)Vegetation;

5)Animals;

6)Population.

The differences:

1)Geographical position;

2)Climate;

3)Rainfall;

4)Vegetation;

5)Animals;

6)Population.

Text I Pre-reading Activity

Antarctic

Arctic

Text I Structure

Striking conclusion

Direct quotation

Concrete data

Statistics facts

Comparison &

contrast

Theme at beginning

ExpositionDescription

narration

Text I Vocabulary Acquisition

Read the text once and Try to write down the meaning .

1. radiate (L.2)

2. outweigh (L. 12)

3. Hemmed in (L.12)

4. obscure (L.32)

5. shatter (L. 33)

6. Haul up (L. 34)

7. pore (L.44)

8. unveiling (L.50)

send out (light) in all directions

are greater than

surrounded

make difficult to see

break suddenly into small pieces

pull up, with some effort

very small opening in the skin through which sweat may pass

discovering, learning about

Text I Vocabulary Acquisition

Read the text once and Try to write down the meaning .

1. distinctive (L.1)

2. spectacular (L.7)

3. tenure (L.9)

4. tempestuous (L.14)

5. inclined (L.15)

6. precipitation (L.25)

7. disintegrate (L.33)

8. granules (L. 34)

9. mercury (L. 34)

10. cushion (L.44)

Clearly making a person or thing different

Striking, out of the ordinary, amazing to see

Right of holding (land)

Very rough, stormy

Likely, tending to, accustomed to (here)

Rainfall, snow etc. which has fallen onto ground

Break up into small particles or pieces

Small pieces like fine grains

A heavy silver-white metal 水银

Padding (here)

… the most distinctive feature of our planet is …

distinctive : Serving to identify or set apart an individual or group

a distinctive appearance, style, smell

Long complex sentences are distinctive of Henry James's later style.

Alcohol has a very distinctive smell; it's quite distinct from the smell of wine.

distinctively adv: distinctively colored distinctiveness n [U].

Seen from space, the astronauts tell us, the most distinctive feature of our planet is the ice sheet of Antarctica which “radiates light like a great white lantern across the bottom of the world.”

Task : paraphrase

We learn from the astronauts that if we look “down” from space,

we will find the most conspicuous / outstanding characteristics

of Earth to be the thick layer of ice which is Antarctic, which

sends light over the southernmost part of the southern

hemisphere.

It averages more than 7,000 feet in thickness

average : v. find the average of

e.g. He averaged a C. The number of hours I work per work averages out to 40.

The rainfall averages 36 inches a year.

Task: Translate 税务局算出他 5 年内的平均利润为每年 3000 英镑 . The tax authorities averaged his profit out at 3000 a year over 5 years.

Yet 160 years ago no one had ever set eyes on this vast continent, let alone set foot on it;

Those who claimed to have set eyes on the mysterious savage in the forest all affirmed that the most distinctive feature of the savage was its huge size.

set eyes on 看到set foot on 进入set one‘s heart on 渴望set one‘s mind on 决心要set one's teeth on edge 使某人不舒服

Task: Translate 所有那些声称见过神秘野人的人都肯定地认为。野人最显著的特征是巨大的身材

Yet 160 years ago no one had ever set eyes on this vast continent, let alone set foot on it;

I can’t drive a car, let alone fly an airplane.

The baby can't even walk, let alone run.

He hasn't enough money for food, let alone amusements.

There isn't enough room for us, let alone six dogs and a cat.

Task: Translate 我连汽车都不会开，更不用说开飞机了。

Yet 160 years ago no one had ever set eyes on this vast continent, let alone set foot on it; and even today man’s tenure of it is unsure and his knowledge comparatively slight.

Task : paraphraseOne hundred and sixty years ago, however, nobody had ever seen this enormous continent, and had certainly not walked on it. Even today whether we can occupy it or not is still uncertain. Further, we know relatively little about it.

tenure: holding of (eg political) office or land or other property, etc.

The tenure of the US Presidency is four years.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to acquire academic tenure.

In fact their differences outweigh their similarities.

outweigh : To be more significant than; exceed in value or importance.

This outweighs all other considerations.

The medical benefits of x-rays far outweigh the risk of having them.

Task: Translate 这个计划的获益超出了它的缺陷。

The benefits of the scheme outweigh the disadvantages.

The Arctic is closely hemmed in by the populated landmasses of Europe, America and Asia;

hem : To surround and shut in; enclose

a valley hemmed in by mountains

He felt hemmed in by convention.

The enemy troops were hemming us in.

Task: Translate 湖四周栽满垂柳。

The lake is hemmed in on all sides by weeping willows.

…the Antarctic in contrast is in splendid isolation, divided from the nearest land by vast reaches of the most tempestuous seas on earth.

tempestuous : Of, relating to, or resembling a tempest tempestuous galesa tempestuous sea a tempestuous relationshipa tempestuous political debate

Task: Translate 北极居住着各族人民。与北极显然不同的是，南极却没有永久性的居民，因为那里的气候不利于人类生存。 The arctic is populated with people of different nationalities. The Antarctic, in contrast, has no permanent residents because the climate there is unfavorable to human survival.

In fact their differences outweigh their similarities. The Arctic is closely hemmed in by the populated landmasses of Europe, America and Asia; the Antarctic in contrast is in splendid isolation, divided from the nearest land by vast reaches of the most tempestuous seas on earth.

Task: paraphrase

The differences between the arctic and the Antarctic are greater than the similarities. The arctic is tightly surrounded by the continents of Europe, America and Asia where there are permanent population; whereas the Antarctic is unconnected to anywhere else, separated from the nearest land by vast areas of the world’s roughest seas.

We are so inclined to think of both the Arctic and Antarctic as cold,…

Be inclined to:

I'm inclined to believe he's innocent. Generally speaking, I'm inclined to agree with you. We can go for a walk, if you feel so inclined.

I am inclined to think that there will be strong opposition to our reform plan among quite a few board members.

task: translate 我总觉得相当数量的董事会成员会强烈反对我们的改革计划。

As regards: in regard toe.g. As regards that matter I'm quite of your opinion. As regards the second point, we can discuss it at another

meeting. As regards the car, I didn't forget to put an advertisement in

the paper.

As regards precipitation the southern continent is a desert with an annual fall no greater than the outback of Australia.

task: translate 关于小岛上的饮用水质量问题，据登岛探险家的报道，岛上的水有一种甘甜清新的味道。

As regards the quality of the drinking water on that small island, the explorers who set foot on the island reported that it was sweet, pleasant and refreshing.

In this sort of cold if you try to burn a candle the flame becomes obscured by a hood of wax,…

v. to make dim or indistinct:

e.g. Smog obscured our view.

The main theme of the book is obscured by frequent

digressions.

obscure : a. out of sight; hidden

e.g. an obscure village.

an obscure flaw.

an obscure poet

In these conditions it was possible to stand for no more than a few seconds, and then only by leaning forward at an angle of 45°!

Task: paraphrase

Under such conditions, a person could only stand for a few seconds, and that was by leaning forward to form an angle of 45° with the ground.

Stand : tolerate

e.g. I don't know if I can stand the waiting any longer.

can stand somebody doing something

e.g. How can you stand Marty coming home late all the time?

It is worth remembering that wind is as injurious to human health as cold;

e.g. Speak not injurious words.

Smoking is injurious to health, especially to the lungs .

injurious : causing or likely to cause injury; harmful

Task: translate 我们不能姑息任何人的有害社会秩序的行为，不管他是谁，不管他来自何处。 No matter who he is or where he is from, we cannot tolerate anyone’s behavior that is injurious to social order.

Small wonder that whereas in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries man swiftly explored and occupied the rest of the planet, the southernmost continent remained inviolate.

It is not surprising that although man did not hesitate to explore and take possession of most of the earth in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the continent in the far south was left untouched.

task: paraphrase

Task: translate 怪不得他们一场一场地输球，他们已经好久没有训练了。 Small wonder they lost the games time and again; they had been out of training for quite some time.

Yet climate by itself was not the main drawback to the unveiling of Antarctica;

unveil a statue 为塑像揭幕e.g. The plan was unveiled with the approval from the Minister.

She unveiled her plans for reform.

Unveil: to disclose; reveal

Drawback: a disadvantage of a situation, plan, product etc

e.g. It's a great city - the only drawback is the weather.

drawback of/to (doing) something

The main drawback to these products is that they tend to be too

salty.

Yet climate by itself was not the main drawback to the unveiling of Antarctica;

Task: translate 从经济收益方面来考虑，出版学术书籍的主要问题在于这类书籍销量较少，平均每次印刷数量只有数百本而已。

As far as the business profits are concerned, the main drawback

of the publication of academic books is that they usually do not

sell well, with an average number of only several hundred copies

for each painting.

why do people presume that the earth’s interior is of liquid metal?

what was Jules Verne’s conception of the earth? Is his conception justified? Give your reasons.

What stops man from getting deeper and deeper into the earth?

Why does the writer mention the town of Quetta in Balchistan?

why do people presume that the earth’s interior is of liquid metal?

what was Jules Verne’s conception of the earth? Is his conception justified? Give your reasons.

What stops man from getting deeper and deeper into the earth?

Why does the writer mention the town of Quetta in Balchistan?

Text II Extensive Reading Questions

The Underground

Useful expressions

Oral Work

Discuss your plans after graduation with your

partner. You might include the following points:

To inquire about agreement

To express disagreement

To express persuasion

To express preference

To express certainty or uncertainty

Listening Comprehension

Dictation A

Dictation B

Listening

Key

Key

Listening Dictation A

How High Can You Jump?Fleas trainers have observed a strange habit of fleas while training them. Fleas are trained by putting them in a cardboard box with a top on it. The fleas will jump up and hit the top of the cardboard box over and over and over again. As you watch them jump and hit the lid, something very interesting becomes obvious. The fleas continue to jump, but they are no longer jumping high enough to hit the top. When you take off the lid, the fleas continue to jump, but they will not jump out of the box. They will not jump out because they cannot jump out. Why? The reason is simple. They have conditioned themselves to jump just so high. Once they have conditioned themselves to jump just so high, that is all they can do!Many times, people do the same thing. They restrict themselves and never reach their potential. Just like the fleas, they fail to jump higher, thinking they are doing all they can do. (159 words)

Listening Dictation BApology Helps

It is never easy to admit you are in the wrong. / Being human, we all need to know the art of apologizing. / Look back with honesty and think how often you have judged roughly, / you said unkind things, and pushed yourself ahead at the expense of a friend. / Then count the occasions when you indicated clearly and truly that you are sorry. / A bit frightening, isn’t it? / It is frightening because some deep wisdom in us knows that / when even a small wrong has been committed, / some mysterious moral feeling is disturbed; / and it stays out of balance until fault is acknowledged and regret expressed. / A heartfelt apology can not only heal a damaged relationship but also make it stronger. / If you can think of someone who deserves an apology from you, / someone you have wronged, / or judged too roughly, / or just neglected, do something about it right now. / (148 words)