综合英语5Unit 5练习答案

Unit 5 Force of Nature

Text Comprehension

1. Decide which of the following best states the author's purpose.

A.To display Marie Curie's career as a Nobel Prize winner.

B.To honor Marie Curie who made magnificent contribution in science.

C.To unfold Marie Curie's complex life as glorious and tragic.

D.To introduce Marie Curie and her family.

Key: [ C ]

2. Judge, according to the text, whether the following statements are true or false.

1). At first I only knew that Marie Curie, a brilliant woman scientist, was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. [ T ]

2). Marie Curie was obsessively engaged in her research after her daughters were born. [ F ]

3). As governess to a wealthy family, Marie Curie fell in love with Casimir Zorawski, the young master. As his father threatened to disinherit him, she left Warsaw with courage for Paris, where her new life began. [ T ]

4). Marie Curie left Warsaw for Paris at the age of 18. [ F ]

5). The place where the Curies were working was dark, damp, shabby, and sad, more like a stable than a lab. [ T ]

6). The Curies became world famous, especially after they won a Nobel Prize in physics in 1903 for the discovery of radium and polonium. [ F ]

7). Eve Curie, a year old when her father died, wrote that Pierre's death marked a crucial moment in her mother's life. [ F ]

8). Shortly after her husband's funeral, Madame Curie went into the lab immediately though she should have stayed with her family and friends. [ T ]

9). A second Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded to the Curies for isolating the elements radium and polonium. [ F ]

10). According to the author, Madame Curie conquered colossal obstacles in science, but paid an enormous personal price. Her life was so complex that her glory was mingled with tragedy. [ T ]

Writing Strategies

This text is a biographical sketch of the great woman scientist Marie Curie. Except for the first three paragraphs, which make up the introductory part of the story, the narration of the major events in Madame Curie's life follows the chronological order. To make her narration and description more graphical and impressive, the author has used some metaphorical expressions and sentences. For example, the expression 'drag by' used in paragraph 4 immediately makes the reader share the way Marie felt about those four long years of waiting.

Can you find more instances of metaphorical language used in the text?

More instances of metaphorical language found in the text:

Paragraph 1: “her arms wrapped around her daughters”

Paragraph 3: Also she was a woman driven by passions, fighting battles much of her life with

what a doctor now would probably diagnose as severe depression.

Paragraph 5: “walked into history”.

Paragraph 7: “The reality was a lot grittier”

Paragraph 9: For the Curies, though, their triumph contained the seeds of their tragedy.

Paragraph 10: "A cape of solitude and secrecy fell upon her shoulders forever."

While the purpose of writing a biographical sketch or a biography is to present the major events that happen during the lifetime of the person concerned, it is also common for the writer to offer his/her own personal assessment. Madame Curie is recognized by the whole world as a renowned scientist, but she appeals to the author not just as a great scientist, but, perhaps more essentially, as a woman. This point is made clear in the sentence in the last paragraph: The Marie Curie that I discovered was no icon but a flesh-and-blood woman.

Can you find some supporting evidence of this point in the introductory part of the text?

→Elaboration of this point is mainly found in the second paragraph of the text:

Looking back, I think I admired that photo so much, not because of Marie Curie and what she stood for but because she seemed so exotic -- or maybe because of how her arms encircled her girls. My own mother lay in the hospital, recovering from a grave injury in a car crash. I wanted her to hold me, but she couldn't. So, instead, I idolized Marie, who in my mind became the strongest and most capable woman in the world.

Language Work

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

1). I didn't know very much about Curie beyond the basics.

→ except the most important aspects of her life

2). I was just a girl with little direction…

→ having no concrete goals or purposes to attain

3). Marie Curie's own daughters grew into accomplished women in their own right.

→ because of their own efforts and talents

4). …for months she'd find places to hide so she could cry her eyes out.

→ cry to her heart's content

5). …where sh e changed her name, enrolled at the Sorbonne -- and walked into history.

→ and thus launched her journey to become sb. to remember

6). …Pierre's death marked the defining moment in her mother's life.

→ represented the most crucial change

2. Fill in each blank with one of the two words from each pair in their appropriate forms and note the difference of meaning between them.

glistening luminous

Explanation: Luminous describes a source of light, indicating the brightness or clarity, but it can also specifically suggest a soft or barely perceivable radiance or one enclosed within or seen through something else. Glistening is almost exclusively restricted to reflected light, although

sometimes it does suggest in addition to dimness an undulating reflection or a moist surface.

1). The luminous wallpaper had attractive silhouettes of young women.

2). The luminous stars in the clear northern night sky brought back all the beautiful memories of her childhood.

3). A six-person shower was full of glistening naked bodies and a tangle of arms and legs.

4). He could see the gunners, their eyes hidden behind goggles and their faces glistening with sweat.

More: brilliant: very bright, splendid, or showy in appearance.

radiant: sending out light or heat in all directions, shinning; (of a person) showing love

and happiness

shiny: esp. of a smooth surface looking as if polished

bright: giving out or throwing back light very strongly; fully light; famous, glorious

grave serious

Both words emphasize something that is urgent or crucial and that promises to have an extremely undesirable outcome. Grave is the more restricted of the two, specifically suggesting something that may well have a fatal conclusion. Serious is more general and it suggests the crucial, ponderous, or solemn, but with less emphasis on urgency and even less on negative eventualities.

1). The AIDS patient finally couldn't survive the grave illness and left his five helpless children at the mercy of charity.

2). This is a serious and good-faith effort to try to engage in a dialogue.

3). The US finally became serious about toppling Saddam and the devastating war began.

4). We had to tip up the bed and the model was in grave danger of falling off it.

More: significant: a significant amount or effect is large enough to be important or affect a situation to a noticeable degree

solemn: someone or something that is solemn is very serious rather than cheerful or

humorous

basic: if one thing is basic to another, it is absolutely necessary to it, and the second

thing cannot exist, succeed, or be imagined without it

fantasy imagination

Both words refer to the mind's power to call up images, to picture or conceive things that are not actually before the eye or within the experience. Fantasy is imagination divorced from reality. The creations of fantasy may be delightfully bizarre or may be weird and grotesque, as in the case of science-fiction stories depicting monstrous beings from Mars. Engaged in fantasy, the imagination projects unreal images or imaginary scenes on the screen of the mind, creating a dream world. 1). In lives that are always difficult to comprehend, we are all accustomed to retreating into a world of fantasy, illusion and omnipotence.

2). Seeing the dome at close quarters, I was struck by its failure of imagination, its sheer ugliness.

3). She tortured herself with fantasies of Bob and his new girlfriend.

4). Doomsday fantasies have haunted the popular imagination of this century, from nuclear Armageddon to alien invasions.

More: fiction: fiction refers to books and stories about imaginary people and events, rather than books about real people or events

fallacy: a fallacy is an idea which many people believe to be true, but which is in fact

false because it is based on incorrect information or reasoning

prominent outstanding

Both words refer to something of unusual distinction or relevance by reason of its excellence or motivating force. Outstanding, besides its general meaning of being excellent, suggests a feature that is sharply distinct from its surroundings. Prominent carries less suggestions of excellence than outstanding, and it may point to status gained on other grounds entirely, or suggest merely familiarity to a wide audience.

1). Tina was presented with a trophy for her outstanding contribution to the music industry.

2). The Fords' family is wealthy and socially prominent, and now intends to enter into politics.

3). It has to be the most beautiful clubhouse in Denmark, and the restaurant is quite outstanding.

4). Prominent American educators, such as Horace Mann, Henry Barnard, etc. sought to increase educational opportunity for all children by creating the common-school movement.

3. Fill in the blank in each sentence with a word or phrase taken from the box, using its appropriate form.

obsessively congeal icon luminous

metamorphosis fete pernicious definitely

retreat devastating a shred of a fleet of

1). A useful definition of an air pollutant is a compound added directly or indirectly by humans to the atmosphere in such quantities as to affect humans, animals, vegetation, or materials.

2). The most distant luminous objects seen by telescopes are probably ten thousand million light years away.

3). "Want some wine?" she asked. He smiled and took a swig from the bottle. He thanked her and retreated again into his silence.

4). The self-educated son of a Delaware farmer, Evans became obsessed by the possibilities of mechanized production and steam power.

5). Stone carvers engraved their motifs of skulls and crossbones and other religious icons of death, into the gray slabs that we still see standing today in old burial grounds.

6). The employment department has undergone several metamorphoses over the past few years.

7). Respect is never given freely; every shred of it has to be earned and you earn it by how well you treat others.

8). The professor argued that these books had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds.

4. Make a sentence of your own for each of the given words with meanings other than those used in the text. You may change the part of speech of these words.

1). up

He suddenly stopped talking, and his friends knew something was up.

2). crash

→ The angry wife dropped the tray of bowls and plates with a crash.

3). accomplished

→Numerous experiments have shown that once the concept of self is changed, other things consistent with the new concept of self, are accomplished easily and without strain.

4). stroke

→ She looked down at her lap while one hand absently stroked the other.

5). stable

→ Nothing is fixed and permanently stable. There must be movement forward, which is progress of a sort, or movement backward, which is decay and deterioration.

6). defining

→Worksheets require defining the problem in a clear and concise way and then listing all possible solutions to the problem.

5. Rewrite the following sentences in such a way as to avoid dangling non-finite clauses.

1). Reading in bed, my hands often get very cold.

→ When I read in bed, my hands often get very cold.

2). While cleaning his gun it went off unexpectedly.

→ He was cleaning his gun when it went off unexpectedly.

3). When carrying a gun it should never be pointed at anyone.

→ When carrying a gun, you should never point it at anyone.

4). Falling from such a height, we thought he would never survive.

→ We thought falling from such a height he would never survive.

5). Tied to a post, the sea was tossing the boat up and down.

→ Tied to a post, the boat was tossed up and down by the sea.

6). Barking furiously, I led the dog out of the room.

→ Barking furiously, the dog was led out of the room.

7). Reading the letter a second time, the meaning becomes clearer.

→ Being read a second time, the letter becomes clearer in meaning.

8). Wondering where to go, an advertisement caught her eye.

→ As she was wondering where to go, an advertisement caught her eye.

9). While sitting at the foot of a cliff a stone fell on him.

→ He was sitting at the foot of a cliff when a stone fell on him.

10). When planting these flowers care must be taken not to damage the roots.

→ When planting these flowers you must take care not to damage the roots.

Translation

1. Translating Sentences

1). 研究人员建议，人到老年应该多参加个人或集体的心理和生理活动。(engage in)

→Researchers suggest that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities individually as well as in groups.

engaged in

take part in a particular activity, especially one that involves competing with other people or talking to them

eg. He has engaged in a dispute with his former business partner.

2). 他在奥运会上夺冠让他一夜之间成了在家乡受人敬慕的人物。(toast)

→ The fact that he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games made him overnight the toast of his hometown.

toast n.

a person who is the subject of public adulation

e.g. After the success of her show she was the toast of Broadway.

3). 许多国家政要前来这里，对他的一生成就表示诚挚的敬意。(pay homage)

→ Many states leaders came to pay homage to him for his lifetime achievements.

pay tribute/homage to someone

to say or do something that shows you respect and admire someone a lot

e.g. We are here tonight to pay tribute to one of the greatest actors of all time.

4). 我认为快速的生活变化和全球化很可能让人们不再单一执著。(single-minded)

→ I suppose that the rapid change in life and globalization are apt to make people become less single-minded.

single-minded a.

a. with your attention fixed on only one thing

e.g. single-minded dedication/devotion/commitment

single-minded pursuit of success

b. not allowing yourself to be influenced by other people

e.g. She's always been very single-minded in pursuing her career.

5). 他没能赢得第二个冠军，浇灭了他对体育活动的热情。(dampen)

→ His failure in winning a second championship dampened his enthusiasm for athletic activities.

dampen / dampen down

to make something such as a feeling or hope less strong

e.g. N ot even defeat could dampen the enthusiasm of his supporters.

6). 货币再次出现贬值，经济复苏的期望随之远去。(fade away)

→ Expectations for economic recovery faded away when devaluation occurred again.

fade away

to disappear slowly

e.g. Her footsteps faded away down the staircase.

7). 有些艾滋病人，从HIV病毒入侵到发病，中间会相隔几年。(onset)

→ In some AIDS patients, there are several years between exposure to HIV virus and the onset of the illness.

onset n.

the beginning of something, especially something bad

e.g. the onset of the disease

8). 姑娘悲悲凄凄的叙述深深地打动了老太太的心。(pitiful)

The pitiful story told by the girl deeply softened the old lady's heart.

pitiful adj.

looking or sounding so unhappy that you feel sympathy and sadness

e.g. T he scrawny little kitten looked so pitiful out in the rain.

The refugee camp was a pitiful sight.

2. Translating Passage

Translate the following into Chinese.

Alfred Nobel, the great Swedish inventor and industrialist, was a man of many contrasts. He was a son of a bankrupt man, but became a millionaire; a scientist with a love of literature, an industrialist who managed to remain idealist. He made a fortune but lived a simple life, and although cheerful in company he was often sad in private. A lover of mankind, he never had a wife or family to love him; a patriotic son of his native land, he died alone on foreign soil. He invented a new explosive -- dynamite, to improve the peacetime industries of mining and road building, but saw it used as a weapon of war to kill and injure his fellow men. During his useful life he often felt he was useless. World famous for his works, he was never personally well known, for throughout his life he avoided publicity, but since his death, his name has brought fame and glory to others.

参考译文:

瑞典发明家和实业家阿尔弗雷德·诺贝尔是一个在各方面对比鲜明的人。他是一个破产者的儿子，但成了百万富翁。他是一个科学家，却又爱好文学。他是一个实业家，但坚持理想主义。他很有钱，然而生活简朴。和友人在一起他兴致勃勃，可私下里时常郁郁寡欢。他热爱人类，却未曾有妻子和儿女去关爱他。对祖国他一片赤子之心，却孑然一身，客死异乡。他发明了一种新炸药，以改进采矿和筑路等和平时期工业，但他却目睹炸药被用作战争武器杀伤同伴。在他有用的一生中，他常常感到自己无所作为。他的成就名扬天下，而他自己却始终默默无闻，殊不知他一生总是在回避抛头露面。但是他逝世以后，他的名字却给别人带来了名誉和荣耀。。

Tips for discussion

Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and in Chemistry in 1911. Therefore, in our mind, she must seem as great as Einstein, Edison, and some other world famous scientists. Now that we have studied the passage Force of Nature, in which the author Barbara Goldsmith approached the great scientist and depicted her as an ordinary woman. Taking into consideration Barbara's statement that Marie Curie was no icon but a flesh-and-blood woman, you can focus in your discussion on the following points:

a)Marie’s attitude towards her first romance;

b)the photo in which she was sitting under an elm tree, with her daughters wrapped in

her arms;

c)her reactions to her mother’s death when she was ten;

d)what she wrote to Pierre after his funeral;

e)her efforts to rescue wounded soldiers during World War I.

Listening Exercises

1. Listen for the main ideas and details.

Task 1: Which of the following best states the speaker’s purpose?

A.WHO tries to track down the cause of SARS.

B.WHO has found ways to treat SARS.

C.WHO warns that SARS is a epidemic as influenza.

D.WHO reports that only China is now affected by SARS.

Key: [ A ]

2. Task 2: Determine whether the following statements are true or false.

1).The World Health Organization still does not know the cause of SARS, a mysterious

respiratory illness. [ T ]

2).The disease began in Asia and has not spread to other regions of the world. [ F ]

3).Nine laboratories in five countries are trying to track down the cause of this disease. [ F ]

4).According to Dr. Heymann, the information from China will hopefully provide some answers

as to how Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome can be treated. [ T ]

5).The disease identified in China is the same as that found in other countries. [ F ]

6).The medical community is alarmed because it does not know how to treat the SARS. [ F ]

7).About 20 million people died of influenza in 1918, more than those killed in World War I. [ T ]

8).SARS is not spreading as rapidly as influenza because only people who have been in close

contact with actual patients are at risk. [ T ]

9).After the first cases of SARS were reported in Vietnam and China, it now has spread to

Canada and several African countries. [ F ]

10).About 400 people in the world have contracted the disease, SARS. [ T ]

11).SARS is very serious because it is quite easy to catch. [ F ]

12).Those who are prone to SARS are hospital workers or family members who have had very

close contact with the patients. [ T ]

13).The symptoms of SARS include coughing, high fever and shortness of breath. [ T ]

Script

WHO Trying to Track Down Cause of Unknown Respiratory Illness

1. The World Health Organization said it still does not know the cause of a mysterious respiratory illness that is being blamed for the deaths of nine people. The disease, known as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), began in Asia and has now spread to other regions of the world.

2. Officials at the World Health Organization say eleven laboratories in nine countries are trying to track down the cause of this disease, which first appeared in China in November 2002.

3. The head of WHO's communicable diseases program, David Heymann, said the agency hopes that information gathered from China over the last four months will provide some answers as to how the disease, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, can be treated.

4. But, as of now, he said it is not certain that the disease identified in China is the same as that found in other countries. Dr. Heymann said the medical community is alarmed because it does not know what is causing the illness. "We are very concerned initially that this could be an

influenza virus, and this is still being looked at in the 11 laboratories to make sure it is not, because the scientific community tells us that there will be another major world epidemic of influenza again one day. This is inevitable according to the scientific community. So we have to be on guard," Dr. Heymann said.

5. About 20 million people died in the influenza pandemic of 1918, more than those were killed in World War I. Dr. Heymann emphasizes there is no evidence that anything as serious as this is occurring now. In fact, he says the disease is not spreading as rapidly as a normal influenza, and only people who have been in close contact with actual patients appear to be at risk.

6. The first cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome were reported in China and then Vietnam, but it now has spread to Canada and several European countries. It is estimated that, worldwide, about 400 people have contracted the disease.

7. Although Dr. Heymann acknowledges the illness is very serious, he also says it is actually quite hard to catch. "There should not be panic. This is a disease which has to have, it seems very close contact with patients. It is mainly hospital workers who have been infected in the first wave of infections. Now we are seeing that some of their family members are being infected. It is not contagious at the level of many other infectious diseases, including influenza," he said.

8. The World Health Organization urges people to seek medical attention if they show any symptoms of the illness. These include coughing, high fever and shortness of breath.

Text II

Text II: Questions for Discussion

1). Why is music so important for Nina?

Music has always been linked in her mind with the mystic texture of her life and with the memories of her father. For in this linkage between the generations rests the magic of music. There is something deeply satisfying in the knowledge of this continuity.

2). What was the cause of her father's death?

The Soviet authorities suppressed expressions of political discontent. He was wounded by the political persecution from the Soviet authorities because he was suspected of anti-Soviet behavior, which interfered with his career and kept him from fulfilling the promise of his talent.

3). Why did she finally quit modeling?

She had no money, so she had to sashay down the catwalk and pose for the camera. But with all the attention, she never took well to the world of haute couture because music alone was her life and her happiness rested on music.

4). Nina appears to be well versed in music. What are the main causes of her success?

She has a gift for music and has devoted her life to it. When she was young, she was greatly influenced by her father. Later, she received systematic Western-style academic training in the fundamentals of music. She plays classical music with her own passion and intensity of expression.

5). In what way does the passage end with regard to the relationship between Nina and her father?

Nina circles back to her childhood. Her journey through time is connected in some fundamental way to the fact that she is now a famous musician herself. She is anxious to share her success and happiness with her father.

Fun Time & Memorable Quotes

a). Fun Time

b). Memorable Quotes: Quotations by Marie Curie

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

“One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done.”

“There are sadistic scientists who hurry to hunt down errors instead of establishing the truth.”