Language points
Welcome to the unit
belief:
noun [C or S or U]
the feeling of certainty that
something exists or is true:
It is my (
firm
)
belief
that nuclear
weapons are immoral.
我
坚信
核武器是不道德的。
His
belief
in God gave him hope
during difficult times.
在艰难时期他对上帝的
信仰
给了他以希望。
Reading
not clearly expressed, known,
described or decided:
I do have a
vague
memory of meeting her many years ago.
我确实有许多年前遇到过她的
模糊的
记忆。
not clear in shape, or not clearly
seen:
1. vague:
adjective
Through the mist I could just make
out a
vague
figure.
透过薄雾
,
我只能辨认出一个
模糊的
人影。
describes someone who is not
able to think clearly, or who,
sometimes as a way of hiding
what they really think, does not
express their opinions clearly:
My aunt is incredibly
vague
- she can
never remember where she's left things.
我阿姨非常
糊涂
,
总是不记得把东西放在
什么地方。
vaguely
adverb
I
vaguely
remembered having met her before.
我
隐约
记得以前见过她。
vagueness
noun [U]
2. underline:
verb [T] (ALSO underscore)
to draw a line under a word,
especially in order to show its importance:
All the technical words have been
underlined
in red.
所有的技术词汇都用红颜色
划出来
了。
to emphasize:
To
underline
their disgust, the crowd
started throwing bottles at the stage.
为了
突出
他们的厌恶
,
人群开始向舞台上扔瓶子。
3. strike:
1) to hit or knock hard against something
打,击,撞
一个雪球打中了他的后脑勺。
A snowball
struck
him on the back of the head.
2) to deliberately stop working for a time because of a disagreement about pay, working conditions
罢工
我们为争取每小时再加两美元而罢工。
We’re
striking
for another two dollars an hour.
3) To suddenly realize a thought or idea is important, interesting, surprising, bad
使突然意识到,使突然产生某种想法
她突然意识到事情可笑的一面。
The funny side of the affair suddenly
struck
her.
他给你的印象如何?
How did he
strike
you?
strike
the eye
抢眼,醒目
4. sow:
sowed / sowed or sown
to plant or scatter seeds on a piece of
ground
我们正在这块地里种草。
We’re
sowing
the field
with
grass.
2) to do something that will cause a bad situation in the future
sow the seeds of
埋下祸根
3) to widely spread sth
他企图在我们中间散布不满情绪。
He tried to
sow
discontent among us.
5. comprehension:
noun
[U] the ability to understand completely and be aware of a situation, facts, etc:
The problem is above [beyond] my
comprehension
.
这个问题超出我的
理解力
。
[C or U] UK a test to find out how
well students understand written or spoken language:
听力/阅读理解
a listening/reading comprehension
6. competence:
n. [U]
(Also competency)
the ability to do something well:
Her
competence
as a teacher is unquestionable.
她作为一个老师的
能力
是
毋庸置疑
的。
NOTE:
The opposite is
incompetence
.
competent
adjective
I wouldn't say he was brilliant but he is
competent
at his job.
我不会说他很优秀,但他在他的工作上
有能力
。
7. thorough:
adjective
complete, very great, very much:
It was a
thorough
waste of time.
这
完全
是浪费时间。
detailed and careful:
They did a
thorough
search of the
area but found nothing.
他们对这个地区进行了
仔细的
搜寻,
但什么也没找到。
thoroughly
adverb
8. appreciate:
verb [T]
to recognize or understand that
something is valuable, important or
as described:
We
appreciate
the need for
immediate action.
我们
意识到
立即行动的必要性。
I/We appreciate...
used when you are thanking someone or showing that you are grateful:
I appreciate
your making the effort
to come.
我感激
你的努力到来。
would appreciate: used when you are politely requesting sth.:
I would appreciate
it if you could let
me know (= Please let me know)
in
advance
whether or not you will be
coming.
如果你能让我
提前
知道你是否会来
我
将感激不尽
。
Grammar and usage
1. burden:
noun [C]
a heavy load that you carry:
The little donkey struggled under its
heavy burden
.
这头小驴在
重担
下挣扎着。
sth. difficult or unpleasant that you have to deal with or worry about:
My elderly mother worries that she's
a
burden
to me.
我年迈的母亲担心她是我的
负担
。
…there will be great suffering and
burdens
to
bear
. (P57)
burdensome
adjective FORMAL
causing difficulties or work:
a burdensome task
难于负担的工作
burden
verb [T]
I don't want to
burden
(= trouble)
you with my problems.
我不想用我的问题来
麻烦
你。
2. bear:
verb [T]
bore, borne or US ALSO born
to hold or support something:
The chair, too fragile to
bear
her weight, collapsed.
这把椅子太易坏了不能
承受
她的重量
,
结果塌了。
to have or continue to have something:
Their baby bears a strong resemblance
/an uncanny likeness to its grandfather.
他们的孩子非常像它的祖父。
Thank you for your advice, I'll
bear it
in mind
(= will remember and consider it).
谢谢你的建议
,
我将把它
记在心里
。
to accept, tolerate or endure especially something unpleasant:
Tell me now! I can't
bear
the suspense!
现在就告诉我
!
我不能
忍受
悬念。
It's your decision — you must
bear the
responsibility
if things
go wrong
.
这是你的决定
—
如果
出问题
,
你必须
承担责任
。
[+ to infinitive]
He couldn't
bear
to see the dog in pain.
他不能
忍受
看到狗痛苦。
[+ ing form of verb]
I can't
bear
being bored.
我不能
忍受
有人烦我。
bearable
adjective
If an unpleasant situation is bearable,
you can accept or deal with it:
As far as she was concerned, only the
weekends made life
bearable
.
就她而言
,
只有周末才使生活可以
忍受
。
If the symptoms get worse,
consult
your doctor.
如果这些症状变得严重的话
,
向医生
请教
。
3. consult:
verb
The most important person in a Karen village is the priest and he is
consulted
regularly about
sacrifices
and other ceremonies. (P57)
someone who advises people on a
particular subject:
a management/financial/computer consultant
管理
/
金融
/
电脑顾问
consultant
noun [C]
[I or T] to discuss something with
someone before you make a decision:
Why didn't you
consult
me about this?
关于这件事你为什么不和我
协商
?
After
consultations
with our accountants,
we've decided how to cut costs within the
company.
在和我们的会计
协商
之后
,
我们决定了
怎样在公司内部削减费用。
consultation
noun
[C] a meeting to discuss something or
to get advice:
noun [C or U]
We had to
make sacrifices
in order to pay for our children's education.
我们必须
作出牺牲
为孩子们的教育负费。
4. sacrifice:
(KILL) verb [I or T]
to give up something that is valuable
to you in order to help another person:
Many women
sacrifice
their careers for their family.
许多女性为她们的家庭
牺牲
事业。
This proverb is usually
shortened
to ‘great minds think alike’. (P57)
shorten
: to become shorter or make sth shorter (
使
)
变短,缩短
现在白天变得越来越短了。
The days are
shortening
now.
他们在谈论有关缩短工作周的问题。
They’re talking about
shortening
the working week.
Don’t
count on
something going well until it happens. (P57)
count on/upon
: to depend on or be certain of someone or something
依靠,指望
我准会投你一票。
You can
count on
my vote.
我们都期望能争取到这份合同。
We’re all
counting on winning
this contract.
你知道,她会把任何聚会都搞糟的。
You can
count on her to ruin
any party.