Unit 4 The Virtual World
Unit 4 The Virtual World
1.(标题) virtual: adj.
1) created and existing only in a computer
*I can visit a virtual store and put what I want in my basket at the click of a mouse button.
*Some people spend too much time escaping from reality into the virtual world conjured up on their computer screens.
2) almost what is stated; in fact though not in name
*The officials hear this kind of talk in virtual silence.
*国王处处都受王后的影响,以至于王后成了国家实际上的统治者。
(=The king was so much under the influence of his wife that she was the virtual ruler of the country.)
2.(L. 2) interpret: v.
1) understand (sth. said, ordered, or done)
*The gift is generally interpreted as a bribe.
*She made a gesture, which he chose to interpret as an invitation.
2) give or provide the meaning of, explain
诗有助于阐述人生的意义。
(=Poetry helps to interpret life.)
*The evidence is difficult to interpret.
3) translate what is said in one language into another
(=No one in the tour group spoke Spanish so we had to ask the guide to interpret.)
3.(L. 5) stretch: v. (cause to) become longer, wider, etc. without breaking
*My wool coat stretched when I washed it.
*The child stretched the rubber band to its full extent.
*你已经使我忍无可忍了。
(=You are stretching my patience to limit.)
4.(L. 8) submit: vt.
1) give (sth.) to sb. so that it may be formally considered
*I am going to submit an application for that job in Microsoft.
*Peter submitted his application to the local government.
2) yield (oneself); agree to obey
*Should a wife submit herself to her husband?
*We should submit ourselves to discipline.
Collocation:
submit oneself to 甘受, 服从
submit to 服从于;把…提交给…
submit willingly 心悦诚服
5.(L. 9) edit: vt. revise or correct
*Scholars often edit Shakespeare’s plays.
(=John didn’t finish editing the annu al report until the end of last month.)
6.(L. 9) communicate:
1. vi. contact sb. in any way, eap. by speaking to them, writing to them or calling them (followed
by with)
*We can communicate with people in most parts of the world by telephone.
*年轻人有时抱怨无法与父母沟通思想。
(=Young people sometimes complain of not being able to communicate with their parents.)
2. vt. make (news, opinions, feelings, etc.) known
*The radio stations communicate the storm warnings to the islanders.
*She communicated her ideas to her subordinates.
7.(L. 13) at times: sometimes
*At times, I feel that I want to leave this job.
8.(L. 18) take in:
1) receive, admit
2) include
3) make (clothes) narrower
4) understand
5) deceive
6) see at a glance; see at once
(Directions:) Match the above definitions with the sentences below.
1. The dress was too big, so I took it in. (=3)
2. I didn’t take in what you were saying. (=4)
3. She took in every detail of the other woman’s clothes. (=6)
4. Do you mean we should get rid of the stale and take in the fresh? (=1)
5. Don’t be taken in by her promises (=5)
6. This is the total cost of the trip, taking in everything. (=2)
Collocation:
take after 仿效,跟随;相象,在相貌、脾气或性格上相似
take apart 拆开
take back 收回(所说的或所写的事)
take down 拿下,放下
take for 把…视作;误认为
take off 脱掉(衣服等);起飞
take on 从事;开始对付:
take out 取出;弄走
take over 接管
take up 举起;再次开始
9.(L. 18) spit: vt. send (liquid, food, etc.) out from the mouth (used in the pattern: spit sth.(out)
(at/on/onto sb./sth.))
*He’s very ill and spitting (up) blood.
*The baby spat its food out on the table.
*他气呼呼地作了答复。
(=He angrily spat out her answer.)
10.(L. 19) symptom: n.
1) sign of the existence of sth. bad
*The Government must not ignore these symptoms of discontent among their own supporters.
(=High interest rates are a symptom of a weak economy.)
2) change in the body that indicates an illness
*A cold, fever and headache are the usual symptoms of flu.
*持续地咳嗽可能是非典型性肺炎的症状。
(=A persistent cough may be a symptom of atypical pneumonia.)
11.(L. 21) nightmare: n. a terrible dream
*Driving through that snowstorm was a nightmare.
*I had a nightmare about falling off the skyscraper.
12.(L. 26) conversely: adv. in a way that is opposite to sth.
*$1 will buy 100 yen worth of Japanese goods. Conversely, 100 yen will buy $1 worth of
American goods.
*You can add the fluid to the powder or, conversely, the powder to the fluid.
13.(L. 33) but then: yet at the same time
*The failure of China’s soccer t eam looks inevitable. But then, anything can happen in football.
*这个马戏团并不出色,不过观众的要求也并不高。
(=The circus was not a very good one, but then, the audience was not demanding.)
14.(L. 33) jar: v. have a harsh or an unpleasant effect (used in the pattern: jar sth., jar on sb./sth.)
*The fall jarred every bone in my body.
(=The way he laughs jars on me.)
15.(L. 34) suck in: (usu. passive) involve (sb.) in an activity, an argument, etc., usu. against their will
*Some teenagers don’t want to get involved with gangs, but they find themselves getting sucked in.
*我不想卷入有关学校改革的辩论。
(=I don’t want to get sucked into the debate about school reform.)
16.(L. 34) keep up with:
1) learn about or be aware of ( the news, etc.)
*Carrie likes to keep up with the latest fashions.
*He didn’t bother to keep up with the latest news. His only concern was to study.
2) move at the same rate as
*My salary doesn’t keep up with inflation.
*他请了位家庭教师,因为他的功课跟不上班上其他同学。
(=He hired a tutor because he wasn’t able to keep up with the rest of the class.)
17.(L. 39) in sight:
1) visible
*No vehicle is in sight.
*哪儿也见不到他。
(=He is nowhere in sight.)
2) likely to come soon
(=Peace was in sight at last after four years of war.)
*An immediate agreement is nowhere in sight.
Collocation:
lose sight of 看不见;失去联系;忘记;没有考虑到out of sight 看不到,不被看到
18.(L. 42) remark:
1. n. things said or written as a comment
*He closed the discussion with the remark that “he who plays with fire gets burnt”.
(=Mr. Smith approached us and made a couple of remarks about the weather.)
2. v. say, esp. something which one has just noticed; give as an opinion
*A local newspaper remarked that inflation was not to be checked for the time being.
*His fluency with the Chinese language was remarked upon by all his Chinese colleagues. CF: remark & comment
这两个词都是名词,都有“谈论”、“评论”之意。
remark 是常用词,指议论、评价,常含有一种随便的意味。例如:
I should be pleased to have your remark.
我将很高兴听到你的意见。
Her absence of hair could hardly escape remark.
她没有头发,免不了被人议论。
comment 通常强调批判性的评述。例如:
Some scathing comments were heard from visitors.
从来宾那听到了一些尖刻的批评。
It became a matter of cynical comment among the neighbors.
她成了邻居们冷嘲热讽的话题.
19.(L. 46) emotional: adj.
1) of the emotions
*She is grateful to him for his emotional support while she was in trouble.
*It’s quite difficult to handle emo tional problems.
2) having emotions that are easily excited.
*It’s said that the Italians are more emotional than we are.
*他非常易动感情,我离开时他哭了
(=He was very emotional; he cried when I left.)
20.(L. 46) cue: n. anything that serves as a signal about what to do or say
*When he started to talk about the finance, which was our cue to get up quietly and leave.
*The time had come to say good night. At mother’s cue, we all ascended.
21.(L. 49) routine: n. fixed and regular way of doing things
*These two babies have different daily routines.
*请按常规办事。
(=Please do it according to routine.)
22.(L. 50) rely: vi. depend confidently on, put trust in
*He can always be relied upon for help.
*你放心好了,我会早到的。
(=You may rely on my early arrival.)
Collocation:
rely on/upon 依靠; 信任, 信赖
rely upon it 放心
CF: rely, trust & depend
这些词都有“信任”、“相信”的意思。
rely 指完全的信任。例如:
You are the only woman I can rely on.
你是我唯一能指望的女人。
He can be relied on to keep secret.
相信他能保密。
trust 常强调基于没有说服力的证据的信仰产生的信心。例如:We must try to trust one another. Stay and cooperate.
我们必须试图相互信任。留下来并且相互合作
I don't think I could trust myself to speak to him about it.
我认为我不能对他谈论这件事。
depend 意味着对另一个人的帮助或支持有信心。例如:
It is foolhardy to depend on Middle Eastern countries for our oil supplies.
把我们的石油供应都依赖于中东国家是鲁莽的。
It all depends on how you tackle the problem.
那要看你如何应付这问题而定。
23.(L. 53) abuse:
1. n. 1) wrong or excessive use
*the abuse of power
*alcohol abuse
2) cruel treatment
*The abuse of the helpless prisoner made him bitter.
*human rights abuses
2. vt. 1) put to wrong use; use badly
*He abused his privileges in activities outside his official capacity.
*他辜负了我对他的信任。
(=He has abused my confidence in him.)
2) do cruel things to (a person or animal)
(=I won’t allow you to abuse that dog.)
*The arrested men have been physically abused.
CF: abuse, misuse & mistreat
这些词都是动词,都有“不公正对待”、“伤害”或“滥用”之一。
abuse 最普通,指各种故意的或非故意的、言语上的辱骂或行为上的伤害。例如:
He was always abusing people when he was drunk.
他酒醉后总爱骂人。
The serf-owners had the right to beat, abuse or even kill the serfs at will.
农奴主有权任意打马甚至杀掉农奴。
misuse 指不适当的使用,即“误用”、“滥用”,并不一定有目的性。例如:
He misused the idiom.
他把这个成语用错了。
He misused his knife at the table by lifting food with it.
吃饭时他误用刀子拿食物。
mistreat 多用于美国英语,表示苛刻或残暴对待。例如:
The dog’s owner mistreated him terribly.
这条狗遭到主人的虐待。
The magistrate administered a public thrashing to the landlord who had mistreated his brother.
法官对那虐待兄弟的地主施以公众鞭苔。
24.(L. 54) restore: vt. bring back to a former condition (used in the pattern: restore sth.; restore sb.
to sth.)
*Winning three games restored their confidence.
(=Doing sports every day restored the old man to good health.)
25.(L. 55) arrange: vt.
1) prepare or plan
*A marriage has been arranged between Mr. Brown and Miss White.
*观光局为我们到罗马去的旅行筹备一切。
(=The Tourist Bureau arranged everything for our journey to Rome.)
2) put in order
*I arranged the books on the shelves.
*Before going away, he arranged his business affairs.
Collocation:
arrange for 安排, 准备
arrange with sb. about sth. 与某人商定某事
26.(L. 56) flee: v. run away (from)
*They all fled (from) the burning ship.
(=He killed his enemy and fled the country.)
27.(L. 57) interview:
1. n. 1) meeting at which a journalist asks sb. questions in order to find out their news
*In an exclusive interview with our reporter, the film star revealed some of his personal affairs. *Radio interviews are generally more relaxed than television ones.
2) formal meeting at which sb. applying for a job is asked questions, as a way of judging how
suitable they are
*I have been asked to go for an interview for a project I applied for at Harvard University *She has had a couple of job interviews, but no offers.
2. vt. ask questions of (somebody) in an interview
*As a journalist, he interviewed many government officials.
*I will be interviewed next week for the chief Executive’s job.
Collocation:
give an interview to sb. 接见某人
have an interview with sb. 会见某人
job interviews (对申请工作者的)口头审查
28.(L. 58) appointment: n.
1) agreement to meet or visit sb. at a particular time (followed by with)
*You can’t see the president of the university unless you make an appointment.
*我已约定下午三时去看牙医。
(=I have an appointment with my dentist at 3pm.)
2) choosing of someone for a position or job
* John took the appointment as director.
After Reading
Ⅰ. Useful Expressions
1.一周中的最好时光 highlight of the week
2.投稿submit articles
3.有时at times
4.对…感到厌恶feel an aversion to
5.社交方式forms of socializing
6.缺乏自律 a lack of discipline
7.网络交际cyber-interaction
8.面对be confronted with
9.穿着得体be dressed appropriately
10.广告令…心烦 be jarred by the commercials
11.工作成了次要的。 Work moves into the background.
12.坏脾气be bad-tempered
13.在此状态下 in this state
14.日常事务daily routine
15.依赖rely on
16.长期失业long-term unemployment
17.吸毒drug abuse
18.恢复平衡restore balance
19.将…与…区分开set apart…from…
20.面对面face to face
21.找借口make an excuse