Unit_7_The_Glorious_Messiness_Of_English
Unit 7 The Glorious Messiness Of English Words and Expressions
1. (L. 7) corrupt: vt.
1) cause errors to appear in
* The Academy ruled that such foreign expressions were not permitted, as they corrupted the language.(=Has Japanese been corrupted by the introduction of foreign words?)
2) cause to act dishonestly in return for personal gains
* To our great surprise, the former mayor turned out to have been corrupted by the desire for money and power.
* To gain more profits, the businessman tried every means to corrupt the officials in the local government.
2. (L. 8) ban:
1. vt. forbid (sth.) officially (used in the pattern: ban sth.; ban sb. from sth./doing sth.)
* The local government will ban smoking in all offices later this year.
* Tom was banned from driving for six months after being caught speeding again. * Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned when it was first published.
CF: ban, forbid & prohibit这三个是及物动词，均含“禁止”之意。
ban语气最重，指权威机关“正式禁止”。一般含有“严厉谴责”的意思，只能用于严重危害公众利益的事物。例如：
* The treaty bans all nuclear tests.
forbid是普通用词，可用于较细小的事物。例如：
* He forbade his children sweets because he didn’t want their teeth to be ruined.
prohibit指“（通过法律、法令或严正警告）禁止某些事物”，应用范围较ban 广。例如：
* In some countries the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited.
2. n. ban (followed by on)
* The government is considering a total ban on cigarette advertising.
*The ban on human cloning is welcomed by most countries in the world.
3.（L. 9）invent: vt.
1) make or design (sth. that has not existed before); create (sth.)
* James Watt invented the steam engine.
* Walter Hunt and Elias Hone invented the sewing machine
2) give (a name, reason, etc. th at doesn’t exist or is not true) (=All the characters in the novel are invented.)
* Standing still in the teacher’s office, the boy tried to invent a plausible excuse for his absence from class.
CF.: invent & discover这两个词都是及物动词，在意义上比较容易混淆。
Invent“发明”，发明的对象是以前没有的新东西；如：工具、手段或方法，是
实践问题，不仅仅是认识问题。例如：
* Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
discover“发现”，发现的对象是本来就存在，但主语不知道的东西，如新的科学真理，新领域等。有时也可泛指“发现”、“认识到”某种情况。例如：* The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930.
4．(L. 11) fascinating: adj. of great interest or attraction
* The story of his adventures in the Arctic was fascinating to listen to. (=I found the discussion about cloning absolutely fascinating.)
* It is fascinating to imagine what might have happened if the US had not declared war against Japan in World War II.
5. (L. 11) strictly speaking: if one uses words, applies rules, etc. in their exact sense
* He’s not strictly speaking an artist; he is more of a performer. (=Strictly speaking she was not qualified for the job. But we employed her because of her honesty.)
6. (L. 15) tolerance: n.
1) the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you don’t agree or approve of it (followed by for)
* School teachers have to have a great deal of tolerance in order to deal with difficult children.
* He has no tolerance for people who disagree with him.
2) the ability to bear sth. painful or unpleasant (followed by of/for/to)
* Human beings have limited tolerance of/to noise.
* The patient had no tolerance for/to pain. Whenever he was injected he would cry.【Collocation】
display/show tolerance 表示宽容
have tolerance有容忍力；有雅量
tolerance for/of/towards 对…容忍
7. (L. 16) to a (very real, certain, etc.) extent: to the degree specified
* I agree with him to some extent but there are still some areas of sharp disagreement between us. (=To some extent the water pollution has affected local residents.)（＝To a certain extent the failure of the restaurant was due to bad management.）
8. (L. 22) necessity: n.
1) sth. you must have in order to live properly or do sth. (= Water is a basic necessity of life.)
* A lot of people would consider a TV as more of a necessity than a luxury item.
* The workers’ wages were so low that they hardly ha d enough money to buy the bare necessities of life2) circumstances that force one to do sth.; the state of being necessary; the need for sth. (followed by of/for)
再搞一次选举有必要吗？
(= Is there any necessity for another election?)
*There is absolutely no necessity for you to be involved in the project. 【Collocation】
feel the necessity of 感到有…的必要
the bare necessities 最低限度的必需品
the necessities of life生活必需品
【Pattern】
of necessity 必然地
* You will of necessity remain silent.
by necessity 由于必要；不得已
* I walked home by necessity, because the car broke down.
9. (L. 26) arouse: vt. provoke (a particular feeling or attitude)
* These educational toys give children a feeling of self-worth by arousing their interest in challenging tasks.
* The man’s strange behavior aroused the policeman’s suspicions.
10. (L. 31) surrender: v. give in (followed by to)
* After several weeks of severe attacks, Afghanistan’s T aliban forces surrendered to the Northern Alliance.
*After the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese surrendered.
*We’ll never surrender to terrorism despite the terrorist attacks. (= You must surrender your guns to the police.)
11. (L. 32) virtually: adv. for the most part, almost
* It’s virtually impossible to tell the imitation from the real thing.
* It has been raining virtually non-stop for the past several days. (=The dinner’s virtually ready; I only have to finish the vegetables.)
12. (L. 38) invade: vt. enter with armed forces
* In July 1937 the Japanese army invaded China.
* The Germans invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the start of World War II.
13. (L. 40) mystery: n. sth. that people can’t, or have not been able to understand or explain
* The politician’s sudden death remains a mystery to us all.
埃及的金字塔（pyramid）是如何建成的依然是个谜。
(=How Egyptian pyramids were built still remains a mystery.)
* No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. 【Collocation】
pose a mystery 形成疑团
remain a mystery 依然是个谜
clear up a mystery 使神秘的事真相大白
solve/unravel a mystery 阐释奥秘
shrouded/cloaked/wrapped in mystery 处于神秘之中
14. (L. 42) resemble: vt. be like or similar to
约翰在各方面都非常像他父亲。
（＝John resembles his father very much in all ways.）
(= I’d say he resembles his mother more than his father.)
15. (L. 43) descend: v. come down (from a source), go down
* These ideas descend from those of the ancient philosophers.
* The old lady descended the stairs.（＝The sun descended behind the hills.）【CF】descend, fall & drop这三个词都是动词，均含“下落”之意。
descend是相当正式的用法，表示从某一高处落到某一低处。
fall为不及物动词，表示由于地球吸引力或失去支撑而导致的下落。广义上讲，指任何形式的下落。
drop表示一点一滴地落下，但通常表示下落或使下落时的速度、方向出乎意料或不经意。
Directions: Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. The rain was still __________ from the trees. (=dropping)
2. On turning the corner, we saw that the road ______ steeply. (=descended)
3. Large masses of rock are constantly ______ into the sea. (=falling)
4. The hawk (鹰) ______ in a vertical stoop on its quarry (猎物). (=descends)
16. (L. 49) establish: vt.
1) cause to be, set up
这学校是由一位意大利教授于1905年建立的。
（＝The school was established in 1905 by an Italian professor.）
* The bank helps people wanting to establish their business.
2) place or settle sb./oneself in a position, an office, etc.
* Ingrid Bergman established her fame as a film star at the age of 20.
* Yao Ming established himself in the team soon after he arrived in U.S.
17. (L. 50) drift:
1. vi. move or go somewhere in a slow casual way
(=Jimmy spent the year drifting around Europe.)
* The football match was over, and the crowds drifted away from the stadium.
她经常调换工作。
（＝She just drifts from job to job.）
2. n.
1) the movement or course of sth. drifting
* Nowadays there is a drift of young people from the country to the city.
2) the general meaning
* I’m sorry: I can’t catch/get the drift of what you’re saying.（＝Did you get/see the drift of the argument?）
【Collocation】
drift along 漫无目的地游荡
drift apart 分开；疏远
get/catch the drift of …理解大意
follow sb’s drift听懂某人的意思
【Pattern】
drift into/toward 渐渐进入；陷入
* At last, he drifted into a life of crime.
drift from … to …从…漂流到…
* The conversation drifted from one subject to another.
a general drift 总的倾向
18. (L. 56) pass (sth.) on to (sb.): hand or give (sth.) to (sb.)
* When you have finished reading the novel, please pass it on to Laura.
* The King passed on much of his fortune to the princess.
19. (L. 66) addition: n.
1) a person or thing added (followed by to)
* The baby is a welcome addition to the Smith family. (=He will be a valuable addition to our basketball team.)
2) the act of adding, esp. adding numbers together
* Before I entered the primary school, my mother taught me to do addition and subtraction.
【Collocation】
do addition做加法
make an addition 增加一些
【Pattern】
in addition to 除…之外
* In addition to his salary, he earns a lot from giving lectures.
in addition 另外；加之
* You need money and time. In addition, you need diligence.
20. (L. 69) conquer: vt. take possession and control of (a country, city, etc.) by force; defeat
* Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance conquered Kabul a mo nth ago. (= She has conquered the hearts of many men.)
* There has been a tremendous international effort to conquer cancer.
【CF】conquer, beat & defeat这三个词都是动词，均含“打败”、“胜过”之意。conquer指通过武力、斗争或坚强的意志把某事或某物、某人置于自己的控制下。例如：
* The Romans conquered parts of Britain in the first century B. C. 公元前
beat强调对手被彻底打败，该词常用在正式场合，可用于描写任何比赛。例如：She beat her brother at tennis.
defeat是个普通用语。可指打败敌人、对手，也可指在选举中落选，希望、计划受挫等。例如：
*He was defeated by 165 votes against 132. 他以132票对165 票落选了。
21. (L. 73) alternative:
1. n. one of two or more possibilities (followed by to)
* His father gave John the alternative of staying in high school or going to work.
（＝I’m afraid I have no alternative but to report you to the
police.）
2. adj. (of two things) that may be used, had, done, etc. instead of another; other
* We returned by an alternative road.
【NB】有时alternate可用来代替alternative：They had an alternate/alternative plan.（他们另有一个计划。) 但是，alternative被认为是更地道的英语。
22. (L.76) enrich: vt.
1) make rich or richer
* That once poor coastal village has been enriched by the profits from tourism. （＝The discovery of oil has enriched many Arabian countries.）
2) improve
* It is important to enrich the soil prior to planting.
* Music can enrich your whole life.
23. (L. 86) source: n.
1) a place from which sth. comes or is obtained
* Tourism, which is a major source of income for the city, has been seriously affected by SARS.
* Do you have any other source of income apart from your job?
2) the place where a stream of water starts
* Where is the source of the Amazon River?
【CF】source & origin这两个词都是名词，均含“根源，起因”之意。
source原指“水源”，转义指事物的“根源，起因或出处”。例如：
* They had to find a new source of income.
origin指事物的起源、源头，含有现在的情景已有变化之意，有时也指“出身，血统”。
Directions:Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.
1. There are a number of words in the English language which were French
in __________. (=origin)
2. Where is the _______of the River Thames? (=source)
3. They had to find a new _________ of income. (=source)
4. This practice owes its _________ to the Chinese. (=origin)
24．(L. 87) out of control: no longer able to be controlled
* The fire was out of control by the time the second fire engine arrived.
* There was nothing they could do about it. The situation was out of control.
25. (L. 89) put into practice: take action regarding sth.
* They weren’t allowed to put into pr actice in their daily lives the teachings they received. (= Having delayed several times, we must put this plan into practice now.)
26. (L. 94) strike out: start being independent; start doing what one wants to do in life
* After working for his father for about ten years, he decided to strike out on his own.
约翰辞掉原来的工作，开始从事旅游推销员的工作。
(= John quit his job and struck out as a traveling salesman.)