text a saving the rainforests for future generations
本课主要单词
1.rainforest n. 热带雨林
这是一个由名词rain加名词forest构成的复合名词。用rain加名词构成的复合名词,英语中还有不少。如:rainbelt (雨带),rainworm (蚯蚓)等等。
2.economic adj. 经济(上)的,经济学的
economic是economy的形容词形式,economical也是economy的形容词形式,请看下面的例句,注意区别economic和economical。
1)economic:concerned with economics and with the organization of money industry, and trade of a country, region, or social group
economic growth (经济增长) economic prosperity (经济繁荣)
economic decline (经济衰退) economic reform (经济改革)
economic order (经济秩序) economic depression (经济萧条)
economic crisis (经济危机) economic doctrines (经济学说)
2)economical:cheap,careful,efficient
this car is economical to run. (开这辆车费用很省。)
the child is so economical that he saves all his pocket money. (那个孩子很节省,他把零花钱都积攒了起来。)
形容词economic和economical的副词形式都是economically。
this region is unevenly developed economically. (这一地区的经济发展不平衡。)
it is necessary that we should learn to live economically. (我们学会节俭地生活是必要的。)
3.deforestation 砍伐森林
de-是前缀,意思是“除去,分离”。-ation是名词后缀。用de-做前缀的词在英文中也是比较常见的,如:defrost (去冰或霜),dehydrate (脱水),detach (分离,解开)等等。
the deforestation of rainforests will greatly upset ecological systems。(热带雨林植物的毁灭将对生态系统造成严重影响。)
the amazon basin is quickly becoming deforested. (亚马逊盆地的植被将被砍伐殆尽。)
4.consequence n. result, effect (结果,后果)
1)the young man would do what he likes regardless of the consequences. (那个年轻人将不顾后果去做他喜欢的事。)
2)they found themselves in a dilemma as a consequence of rapid changes in society. (由于社会的飞速发展他们发现自己处于进退两难的境地。)
3)he is a man of great consequence. (他是一个举足轻重的人。)
4)he will have to take the consequences if he doesn't apologize. (如果他不道歉,一切后果将由他承担。)
consequently adv. therefore,so,as a result (所以,因此)
the rain was heavy and consequently the football match was put off. (雨下得很大,因此足球赛被延期了。)
5.massive adj. extremely large (大而重的;大规模的,大量的)
1)the massive increase in oil prices put the taxi-drivers in a difficult situation。(燃油价格的大幅上升使出租车司机们面临困难。)
2)he saw massive changes in the village when he went there 20 years later. (20年后回到那个村子,他发现那儿的变化很大。)
3)a massive young man in police uniform came in. (一个身着警服身材魁梧的年轻人走了进来。)
6.upset v. mess up;turn over accidentally;(弄乱;打翻);make sb. worried or unhappy (使苦恼)
adj. be unhappy or disappointed, distressed (心烦意乱的,心情不安的)
1)he upset a cup of coffee on the carpet. (他把一杯牛奶打翻在地毯上。)
2)make sure that he stays where he is. if he comes, he will upset the whole atmosphere. (确保他呆在他该呆的地方。如果他来了会把整个气氛搅乱。)
3)the news upset him. (那消息使他心烦意乱。)
4)she was upset about the rumours. (她为那些谣言感到十分烦恼。)
5)he was upset to learn that his proposal was not discussed at the meeting。(他听说自己的建议没在会议上被讨论而感到沮丧。)
6)they were upset by the poverty they saw in that area. (他们为在那一地区看到的贫困现象而苦恼。)
注意:upset作形容词用,在句子中做表语时,以及upset作动词用时,应该成/λp′set / ;upset作形容词用,在句子中做定语时,应读成 /′λpset /。
还应注意,upset做动词用时,其过去式,过去分词与动词的原形相同。
7.ecosystem n. 生态系统
eco是一个词根,意思是“环境(的)”,“生态(的)”:“家庭(的)”,“经济(的)”。如:ecology (生态学),ecocide (生态灭绝),ecoclimate(生态气候);economy (经济),economic (经济学的,经济上的)。
8.erosion n. 腐蚀,侵害
erosion是动词erode的名词形式。rod,ros是词根,意思是gnaw (咬)。e-是前缀,相当于ex-,意思是out。以rod或ros作词根的词,如:corrode(腐蚀;侵蚀), emerge(出现),evaporize (蒸发),erase (擦去)
1)they decide to plant more trees to prevent soil erosion. (他们决定种更多的树以防土壤受侵蚀。)
2)they protested strongly against erosions of civil rights. (他们强烈抗议对公民权的侵害。)
9.drought n. 干旱季节,旱灾
1)the land is in a state of drought. (土地干旱。)
2)in many parts of china, people are fighting drought. (在中国的许多地区,人们在抗旱。)
请注意区别drought和draught.drought也用作名词,意思是拉,拖,牵引;①被拉的东西,如:that drought was too much for the horse to pull. (那负荷太重了,马拉不动。)
②鲜啤酒,散装啤酒,如:give him a glass of draught, please. (请给他一杯散装啤酒。)③一饮的量;吸入,如:he drank the wine in one draught. (他一口喝干了那酒。)
10.global adj. 球形的;全球的,世界的;普遍的,总的
global是名词globe的形容词形式,-al是形容词后缀,常用在名词后面构成形容词。如regional (局部的,地区的),emotional (情感的),seasonal (季节的)。
1)the earth is a global mass. (地球是一个球形体。)
2)the global economic growth is on the decline this year. (今年总体经济增长呈下降趋势。)
3)a global picture of their progress can be obtained from these marks。(从这些分数中你可以得到他们进步的全貌。)
4)i'll try to give you a global idea of the situation. (我将尽力把形势的总体情况告诉你。)
5)he makes friends with people from every corner of the globe. (他与来自世界各地的人们交朋友。)
11.contribute vt. 贡献;捐助;投稿 vi. 起作用,有助于;捐献;投稿
1)they contributed food and medicine to people in the flooded area. (他们向受淹地区的人们捐助食物和药品。)
2)he didn't contribute any idea to the discussion. (他在讨论中没有提出任何意见。)
3)she contributes articles to the newspaper weekly. (她每周为那家报纸撰稿。)
4)the two sisters contributed to their mother's support. (两姐妹合力赡养母亲。)
5)i'm sure your suggestion will contribute to solving the problem. (我相信你的建议将有助于解决这个问题。)
6)they are determined to make contributions to public safety. (他们决心为公众安全作出贡献。)
请注意区别contribute to (doing) sth。和devote to (doing) sth.。这两个短语都表示“为…贡献”,但表示“献身于某一事业或目标”时,要用devote to (doing)sth.。而在contribute后面不接one's life或oneself。如:
1)she devoted all her life to the welfare of women and children. (她一生致力于妇女和儿童的福利事业。)
2)he devoted himself to teaching in the mountain village. (他致力于在那个山村教书。)
3)air pollution contributes to respiratory diseases. (空气污染会引起呼吸道疾病。)
再注意区别contribute与distribute。
contribute:①give money in order to help someone
②help to make sth. successful
③influence sth。
distribute:①give out, hand out (分发)
②share sth. among the members of a particular group (分布)
③supply sth.to sb. (销售商品于特定的市场;运送货物给个别顾客)
1)the teacher distributed the papers to the students. (教师把试卷分发给学生。)
2)fuel resources are unevenly distributed. (燃料资源分布不匀。)
3)they distributed their cars throughout the world. (他们的汽车销往世界各地。)
12.greenhouse n. 暖房,温室
green表示“绿色”,也可作形容词用表示“缺乏经验的;幼稚的;青春的”等等。下面我们看看与green有关的一些复合词以及表达:
greenback (美钞)
greenbelt (绿化地带) green-carder (绿卡持有者)
greenroom (剧场里的演员休息室)
a green hand (生手)
the green years (青春年华)
green-eyed monster (嫉妒)
greenhouse effect (温室效应)
green revolution (绿色革命)
13.polar adj. 南极的,北极的;两种相反性质的
-ar是形容词后缀,如popular(受欢迎的,民众的),similar (类似的)
1)most insects don't live in polar regions. (大多数昆虫在两极地区不存在。)
2)they are thinking about how to survive in a polar winter. (他们正在考虑如何在极地冬季生存。)
3)after reading his report you can see that he holds polar viewpoints。(读完他的报告你就能明白他的观点正好相反。)
14.recede vi. ①move further away into distance (远去)
②gradually become less clear (变模糊)
③withdraw (撤回)
1)the plane gradually out of sight. (飞机渐渐远去看不见了。)
2)the memory was receding and he couldn't remember anything. (记忆在变得模糊,他什么也想不起来了。)
3)he receded from his promise. (他背弃了自己的诺言。)
4)the article receded from the newspaper. (这篇文章从报纸上撤下了。)
请注意区别recede和secede。
secede vi. withdraw formally from membership in a group, association, organization, etc.; to break off one's connection with others, as in a political or religious group (从宗教、政党、联盟等组织中退出,脱离)
1)nine states seceded from the union government and established their own confederate government。
(九个州脱离联邦政府,成立了自己的邦联政府。)
2)they seceded from the eec. (他们从欧洲经济共同体中退出。)
15.pharmaceutical adj. 药物的,药学的 n. 药品
请看下面几个单词,对记忆和理解pharmaceutical会有帮助。
pharmacy 药学
pharmaceutics 制药学
pharmacology 药理学
pharmaceutist 药剂师
16.derive v. 由…得到;起源,由…派生
1)they derive enormous pleasure from reading. (他们从阅读中得到了极大的乐趣。)
2)he said he derived no real satisfaction from his work. (他说他从工作中得不到真正的满足。)
3)this word is derived from latin. (这个单词从拉丁语派生而来。)
4)electric power can be derived from the sun-warmed surface waters of the ocean。(电力可以从晒热的海洋水面获得。)
17.senseless adj. 无知觉的;愚蠢的,无意义的
1)he fell senseless to the ground. (他昏倒在地。)
2)it was a senseless thing to do so. (这样做毫无意义。)
3)he put forward some senseless proposals at the meeting. (他在会上提出了几个愚蠢的建议。)
18.overpopulated adj. 人口过密的
over-是一个前缀,意思是too much (过度,太过),如:overcrowd (过度,拥挤),overdo (过度烹煮),overeat (吃得过多),overestimate (估计过高)等等。
popul是个词根,意思是people (人),如:populous (人口稠密的),depopulation (人口减少),populace (大众)等等。
1)the city is noisy, overpopulated, and seriously polluted. (这座城市喧闹,人口过多而且污染严重。)
2)overpopulation has caused many problems。(人口过多已经造成了许多问题。)
19.cancel v. call off, give up (取消),delete (删除)
1)the performance will have to be cancelled because of an accident. (由于意外,演出不得不取消。)
2)the flight was cancelled because of the snow-storm. (航班因暴风雪而取消。)
3)they won't be able to come tonight, i have to cancel the hotel reservations。
(他们今晚来不了了,我得取消旅馆预定。
4)cancel the nasty words from your composition. (把你作文中的那些下流的词语删掉。)
20. owe n. 欠(债等),应该向(某人)付出
1)he owned her 200 dollars. (他欠她200美元。)
2)he owned the landlady two months' rent. (他欠房东太太两个月的房租。)
3)she owned her success to hard work. (她把成功归因于辛勤工作。)
4)he owes his life to a kindhearted man. (多亏一位好心人他才活了下来。)
21.select v. 选择,挑选,选拔
1)they select books that are useful to them. (他们挑选那些对他们有用的书。)
2)you can select friends from your schoolmates. (你可以在同学中挑选朋友。)
3)they voted to select a new monitor. (他们投票挑选新班长。)
22.export v. 输出,出口
n. 输出品;输出,出口
这个单词用作动词时,发音的重音在后面的第二个音节上,用作名词时,重音在第一个音节上。
ex-是前缀,表示out,port是词根,表示carry。
1)they banned all exports of weapons. (他们禁止武器出口。)
2)they grow coffee, cotton and bananas for exports. (他们种植咖啡、棉花和香蕉出口。)
3)one third of exports from industrial nations go to the developing countries。
(工业国家三分之一的出口品进入发展中国家。)
4)raw materials are exported at low prices. (原材料的出口价格低廉。)
本课简介
从巴西到印度尼西亚,热带雨林被砍伐、被焚烧,也许在2050年之前,它们就会从地球表面消失。最新的 数据表明,仅去年一年,被毁的热带雨林面积就大于大不列颠群岛和爱尔兰群岛的面积之和。照此下去,后果严重。生态系统将遭严重破坏,土壤流失加剧,洪水泛 滥,旱灾肆虐,全球气候将受影响,珍稀的动、植物也将可能消失。热带雨林的焚毁是引起温室效应的原因之一。温室效应导致极地的冰层回缩,因而平均气温升 高,海平面上升。
热带雨林是一个具有无限潜力的医药百宝箱,2000种热带雨林植物可能有助于抗癌,在当今的药品市场上,每125种从植物提取的药品中就有15种来自于热带雨林。除了植物,热带雨林所独有的珍稀鸟类和动物也在以每年一种的速度灭绝。
在如此严峻的事实面前,毁林事件仍旧频频发生。原因何在?热带雨林通常位于人口过多的贫穷国家,这些国 家的政府无力阻止人们毁坏雨林。政府无钱帮助穷人,所以当穷人们以砍伐树木为生时,他们只能视而不见。另外,对于这些国家来说,珍贵的木材和其他资源是重 要的外汇来源,他们急需外汇偿还外债、购买国外设备和其他物品。
如何解决这一问题?富裕的国家有责任帮助那些贫穷的国家取消外债、发展经济,并教育贫困国家的人们正确对待雨林,合理科学地利用雨林。富裕国家也可以减少使用木材产品。总之保护雨林已刻不容缓。
本课主要语言点
1.rainforests are being cut and burned from brazil to indonesia at such a rate that they could well disappear from the earth's surface before the year 2050。
“are being cut and burned”是现在进行时被动语态。如:
1)the problem is being discussed now. (这个问题现在正在讨论。)
2)the car is being repaired by mr. smith. (那辆车正由史密斯先生修理。)
“at such a rate that” (以这样的速度(砍伐、焚烧)以致于…)。我们曾讲过程度副词such和so的区别。一般来说,such的后面接名词,而so的后面接形容词或副词。如:
1)he spoke for such a long time that people began to feel bored. (他讲了那么长时间,人们开始觉得厌烦了。)
2)he made such a rapid progress that both his teachers and his parents were happy。(他取得了飞快的进步,他的老师和父母都觉得高兴。)
3)it was such a fine day that we decided to go for a walk. (天气这样好,我们打算去散步。)
4)the work was so difficult that i couldn't finish it in 2 hours. (这项工作太难,两小时内我完不成。)
5)she spoke so fast that i could catch her. (她讲话太快,我没听懂他的意思。)
“they could well disappear” 他们很可能消失。well在本句中的意思是“很可能的,很”。如:
1)it might well turn out true. (这很可能会成为真的。)
2)it's well worth trying. (这很值得一试。)
3)he must be well over forty. (他很可能大大超过四十岁了。)
2.they are being cleared for valuable timber and other resources to speed up the economic growth of the nations in which they are located。
本句中的clear用作动词,意思是remove (清除),如:
1)brazil's forests were being cleared at the rate of almost 7,000 square miles a year。(巴西的森林以每年近7,000平方英里的速度被清除。)
2)the children were helping me clear weeds from the garden. (孩子们在帮助我清除花园里的杂草。)
speed up是个常用短语,意思是increase the speed
1)tom speeded up and overtook his classmates. (汤姆加快了速度,赶上他的同学们。)
注意speed用在词组动词中时,其过去式和过去分词为speeded, 其他情况下,其过去式和过去分词为sped。
2)africa's population growth speeded up. (非洲的人口增长加速。)
3)bad housing and poverty speed up the breakdown of family life. (恶劣的住房条件和贫困加快了家庭的破裂。)
表示“坐落于某地”时,locate常用在被动语态中,be located.in which they are located中的they指rainforests, which指nations。
1)the factory is located in the suburb. (那家工厂坐落于郊区。)
2)the hospital is located in the center of the city. (医院坐落于市中心。)
3.according to many scientists, the burning of rainforests is also directly contributing to the so-called greenhouse effect。
contribute to在本句中的意思是help to bring about (促战,造成)。如:
1)your suggestion will contribute to solving the problem. (你的建议将有助于解决这个问题。)
2)carelessness contributed to his errors. (粗心大意造成了他的错误。)
so-called用作形容词,意思是“所谓的”。如:
1)he was deceived by his so-called friend. (他被所谓的朋友骗了。)
2)the so-called christian even showed no love to his own children. (这个所谓的基督徒连对自己的孩子都没有爱心。)
effect在句中用作名词,意思是“效果,效应”,在第三单元中我们对名词effect和动词affect做过详细讲解,再请看几个例句。
1)the sound effect of this movie is great. (这部电影的音响效果很棒。)
2)excessive smoking will have a bad effect on your health. (吸烟过多将会给你的身体带来不良影响。)
3)too much rainfall affected the harvest. (过多的雨水影响了收成。)
4)i hope what i have said won't affect your decision. (希望我的话不会影响你的决定。)
4.it is a medicine chest of unlimited potential。
chest可以指胸腔或柜子、箱子,medicine chest是“药箱”的意思。
potential在句中用作名词,意思是“潜力”,potential也可用作形容词,意思是“潜在的”。
1)they are determined to tap their potential to the full. (他们决心充分挖掘自己的潜力。)
2)the aim of this advertisement is to attract potential customers. (这则广告的目标是吸引潜在的顾客。)
3)you have to know more about the potential demand of the market。(你得对市场上可能达到的需求量有更多的了解。)
5.in today's pharmaceutical market 15 of the 125 drugs derived from plants were discovered in the rainforest. derived from plants是现在分词短语做定语,相当于被动语态的定语从句。如:
1)the beer bought from the supermarket is very light. (在超市买的那啤酒口味很淡。)
2)the candy made from cactus tastes strange. (用仙人掌做的糖果味道很怪。)
15 of the 125意思是125中的15。再如two of the three (三个中的两个)
derive from意思是get from, obtain from, 如:
1)much of his knowledge is derived from books. (他的许多知识得自书本。)
2)he derived his stories from his experiences in the countryside. (他的故事来自于他在农村的经历。)
6.rare birds and animals that cannot be found anywhere else in the world have been disappearing at the rate of one a year since the turn of the century。
句中的else是形容词,常接在不定代词的后面,表示“其他的,别的”,如:
1)is there anything else i can do for you?(我还能为你做些别的事吗?)
2)did anybody else know this? (有其他人知道这件事吗?)
3)he didn't go anywhere else. (他没去其他地方。)
one a year意思是“每年一种”。这种表达方式在英语中很常用,如:
1)take the medicine three times a day. (每日三次服这种药。)
2)they met three times a week. (他们每周见三次。)
3)he finishes 5 books a month. (他一个月读完五本书。)
当时间状语用since引导时,句子中的时态常用完成时。如:
1)he has been living here since he came to nanjing 5 years ago. (自从他五年前来到南京,他就一直住在这儿。)
2)they haven't seen each other since last may. (自去年五月起,他们一直没见过面。)
turn在句中做名词,意思是“转折点”。since the turn of the century意思是“自本世纪初(或上世纪末)。”
1)he hasn't written home since the turn of the year. (自去年底以来他还未给家里写过信。)
2)at the turn of the two centuries, they had many hearty wishes for their family。(在两个世纪交替之时,他们对家人有许多衷心的祝愿。)
7.in the face of all these facts, it seems senseless for countries to continue destroying their rainforests。
介词短语in the face of 意思是“面对”。如:
1)they didn't give up in the face of adversity. (面对逆境,他们没有放弃。)
1)he kept his head in the face of flattery. (面对奉承,他保持镇静。)
it seems senseless for sb. to do sth. (对于某人来说做某事是愚蠢的)
it是形式主语,动词不定式真正的主语。这种句式我们已多次碰到过。如:
1)it is important for us to get into contact with them as soon as possible。(我们尽快与他们取得联系是很重要的。)
2)it seems useless for you to argue further with him. (你再跟他争辩下去似乎是毫无意义的。)
在动词continue的后面既可以用动词不定式也可以用动名词,意思都是“不间断地做某事”。如:
1)it is necessary for us to continue to learn things in life. (我们在生活中不断学习是必要的。)
2)he continued doing his homework. (他继续做家庭作业。)
8.…the government often have no choice but to turn a blind eye。
have no choice but to do sth. (别无选择,只能…),如:
1)i had no choice but to take the last train to go home. (我别无选择,只能乘末班火车回家。)
2)they had no choice but to accept the term. (他们别无选择,只能接受这个条件。)
turn a blind eye (to sth。) (对…视而不见),类似的表达不有turn a deaf ear to sth.,如:
1)he turned a blind eye to the messy room (他对凌乱的房间视而不见。)
2)the manager turned a deaf ear to the customers' complaints about the poor service。(顾客报怨服务太差,经理对此置若罔闻。)
9.…which they badly need to pay off their foreign debts and purchase foreign equipment and other goods。
badly在本句中用作副词,意思是extremely。如:
1)i am badly in need of advice. (我急需建议。)
2)we need the money badly. (我们非常需要这笔钱。)
pay off的意思是pay all that is owed (清偿)。如:
1)it book him 6 years to pay off the debt。(他花了六年时间才还清那笔债。)
2)he won't be able to pay off a home all his life. (他一辈子也不能付清购买住房所下的钱。)
equipment是不可数名词,不可在其后加s。
goods是复数名词,意思是“商品;货物”。
10.…how to select trees worth exporting and to cut only those trees down while leaving the rest, so that the basic make up of the forest would not be disturbed。
形容词worth后面通常接动名词或名词。如:
1)this book is worth reading. (这本书值得一读。)
2)the equipment is worth 10,000 dollars. (这台设备值一万美元。)
请注意区别worth,worthy和worthwhile:
1)be worth + n. = be worthy of + n。
this matter is worth consideration。
this matter is worthy of consideration。
2)be worth doing = be worthy of being done
to be done
this matter is worth considering。
this matter is worthy of being considered。
to be considered。
3)it is worthwhile doing sth。
to do sth。
it is worthwhile to consider the matter。
considering the matter。
make-up在句中用作名词,意思是“组成,构造”。如:
1)he didn't know the make-up of the mineral. (他不知道这种矿物质的构成。)
2)the make-up of chinese characters is hard for many foreigners. (对许多外国人来说汉字的构造很难。)
make-up还可以表示“化妆”、“虚构”、“补考”。
11.last but not least, …
本句的意思是the last point but not the least important one (最后一点,但并不是最不重要的点。)
本课主要短语及表达
1.at such a rate
2.speed up
3.be located
4.be allowed to
5.according to
6.contribute to
7.derive from
8.continue doing
9.in the face of
10.continue doing
11.stop sb. from doing sth。
12.cut down
13.turn a blind eye
14.pay off
15.regard…as
16.make a living
17.be worth doing
18.make…into…
19.on the spot
20. in addition to
text b life in the tundra
短语表达
1.be known as
china is known as one of the four ancient civilizations。
she is known as a great singer。
2.adapt to
it is hard for him to adapt to the food and climate there。
he is well adapted to the harsh environment。
3.threat to
heart diseases are major threats to life。
darkness is a threat to him。
4.to some degree
i agree with you to some degree。
to some degree he hated his work。
5.as if by magic
his face turned green as if by magic。
the sun appeared after the rain as if by magic。
6.give birth to
mrs. brown gave birth to a baby girl last week。
the summer sun gives birth to many species of arctic plants。
7.in search of
the whole family was out in search of the lost pet dog。
all his life he has been in search of the meaning of life。
8.migrate to
many birds migrate to the south in winter。
he migrated from canada to the united states when he was 30。
9.in turn
we drove to the beach last week. the two of us took the wheel in turn。
theory is based on practice and in turn serves practice。
10.result in
his carelessness resulted in the accident。
deforestation will result in disastrous ecological changes。