21世紀大學英語讀寫教程第二冊Unit9課文講解

　　在日復一日的學習中，不管我們學什么，都需要掌握一些知識點，知識點是知識中的最小單位，最具體的內(nèi)容，有時候也叫“考點”。哪些才是我們真正需要的知識點呢？以下是小編為大家收集的21世紀大學英語讀寫教程第二冊Unit9課文講解，僅供參考，希望能夠幫助到大家。

　　Pre-reading Activities

　　First Listening

　　1. As you listen to the passage the first time, circle the words from the list that you hear.

　　ice hate perish snow fear suffice frost despair hold with rain desire know of fire sorrow wonder fog confusion suffer wind corruption favor

　　Second Listening

　　2. Natural disasters are as fascinating as they are frightening. What forms do they take, and what do you know about their causes?

　　Get Ready for Some Wild Weather

　　Per Ola & Emily Daulaire

　　In March of 1997, Stephen Zebiak stared at his computer screen in alarm. The veteran climate researcher saw indications of a worldwide weather event that, over the years, has been blamed for droughts and floods, famine, fires and thousands of deaths. Called El Nino, it is the most disruptive climatic phenomenon on the planet.

　　Zebiak and Mark Cane, research scientists at Columbia University, had developed a computerized forecast model that correctly predicted El Ninos occurrences in 1982, 86 and 91, and it had pointed to a recurrence in 98. But the data appearing on Zebiaks screen from satellite and sea-surface monitors across the Pacific were unmistakable: El Nino was already beginning. A huge pool of warm water — larger than the United States and some 600 feet deep — was moving slowly but surely eastward toward South America.

　　In June the equatorial trade winds reversed direction from westward to eastward. By September, waters off Northern California were roughly 17 degrees warmer than normal. Off the Washington coast, stunned fishermen caught tropical fish that seldom stray that far north. Storms were flooding central Chile, and heavier-than-normal snowfalls in the Andes trapped hundreds in the bitter cold. And all of this only foretold of even more devastating weather for the fall and winter.

　　El Nino means "little boy" in Spanish; when capitalized, it refers to the Christ child. This innocent-sounding name originated in the 19th century, when Peruvian sailors noticed that every few years around Christmastime, waters near the coasts warmed up and the current shifted southward. But this "little boy" plays havoc around the globe.

　　El Nino occurs when weather patterns in the tropical Pacific shift violently. Normally, strong westward-blowing trade winds off South America push surface water toward Asia. Just as blowing on hot coffee pushes the liquid up against the opposite side of the cup, the trade winds pile warm water against the coastlines of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Above the warm water, moist air rises, lowering atmospheric pressure and triggering the tropical showers that nourish the rain forests of Asia. Meanwhile high-altitude winds travel back toward South America. There, the cooled air sinks, raising atmospheric pressure and suppressing rain along most of the Pacific coast, making it one of the driest regions in the world.

　　But with El Nino, the pattern reverses. Atmospheric pressure in the Western Pacific rises, setting the stage for drought from Australia to India. The trade winds decrease, or in extreme years reverse to blow eastward. As a result, a huge mass of warm water flows back toward South America, causing storms from Chile to California. Meanwhile, over the Pacific, ten-mile-high storm clouds further heat the atmosphere, fueling a stronger-than-normal jet stream, which often splits in two. One branch moves north, warming the Pacific Northwest, central Canada and Alaska. Another branch surges south, producing heavy rains in the U.S. Gulf States and Southwest.

　　El Ninos vast impact on humans has often been catastrophic. The El Nino of 1982-83 inflicted $13 billion in damage and claimed some 2,000 lives. In Australia day turned to night when a dust storm blanketed Melbourne; brush fires raged in its wake. In place of its normal monsoon, Southern India got dried-up crops and the threat of mass starvation. At the same time, violent rainstorms devastated the Western Hemisphere: Perus fishing industry — once one of the richest in the world — was wiped out, and seaside towns were washed into the Pacific.

　　Is there a good side to El Nino? There can be. Zebiak notes that the number of tropical hurricanes in the Atlantic is reduced during an El Nino year. One theory is that winds created by El Nino shear off the tops of Atlantic hurricanes, aborting them before they reach full force. And a team of scientists in Israel who study tree rings and satellite cloud pictures concluded that El Nino may bring precious moisture to the thirsty Middle East. "It is perhaps fitting that El Nino — the Christ child — should have a link to the Holy Land," notes scientist Dan Yakir.

　　This year, scientists around the world are keeping a sharp eye on El Nino. They know that the greater the temperature rise in Pacific waters off South America, the more powerful the El Nino. And this years waters have heated up unusually fast. Climate-change researcher Michael Ghil of UCLA expects the impact to be "substantial." Ants Leetmaa, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Climate Prediction Center in Maryland, agrees: This El Nino is shaping up as one of the most powerful ever.

　　According to forecasters, hardest hit in this country will likely be California, where heavy rains can send houses sliding down muddy slopes onto washed-out coastal highways. The nations southern states — from California to Florida — can expect cooler and wetter weather than normal this winter and spring, with extensive storms in some areas. The Northwest should be warmer and drier than normal.

　　Wetter-than-normal conditions are expected in much of South America. The Asian monsoon rains could fail, resulting in food shortages in India. In Australia, where El Nino ypically means drought, strict water conservation is already under way.

　　El Ninos effects wont just be climatic, of course — the global economy is sure to suffer as well. Drought in Brazil and flooding in Colombia may result in higher prices for coffee and other crops. And fishing industries from Ecuador to California are already being hurt.

　　Clearly, the more accurately scientists can forecast El Nino, the more people everywhere can prepare. Insurance companies, farmers, power and irrigation companies, public-safety agencies and even tourist boards could benefit from knowing in advance when El Nino will strike.

　　"Reliable forecasting is still in its infancy," states Mark Cane. Someday, perhaps, scientists will be able to predict exactly how El Nino will behave. But for now, batten down the hatches and get ready for some wild weather!

　　New Words

　　indication

　　n. a sign or suggestion 跡象，暗示

　　indicative

　　a. (of) showing or suggesting 指示的;標示的;暗示的

　　disruptive

　　a. causing disorder or trouble 破壞性的;制造混亂的;搗亂的

　　climatic

　　a. of or connected with the climate 氣候的

　　occurrence

　　n. 1. the fact that sth. happens or is present in a particular situation 出現(xiàn)，發(fā)生

　　2. an event 發(fā)生的事情;事件

　　recurrence

　　n. the fact or process of happening again 重新出現(xiàn);復發(fā)

　　recur

　　v. (esp. of sth. unpleasant or unwelcome) happen or appear again, or more than once (尤指不好的事)一再發(fā)生;重現(xiàn)

　　data

　　n. (sing. datum) facts, information 資料;數(shù)據(jù)

　　sea-surface

　　n. the surface of the sea 海面

　　equatorial

　　a. 赤道的;赤道附近的

　　equator

　　n. 赤道

　　trade wind

　　a tropical wind that blows almost continually towards the equator from the northeast and southeast 信風，貿(mào)易風

　　stray

　　vi. move away from a group, path or place, etc., usually with no particular purpose or destination 離群;走失;走離

　　a. 1. lost; wandering away from home 走失的;離群的

　　2. scattered; met by chance 零星的;偶爾遇到的

　　foretell

　　vt. tell (what will happen in the future) 預言;預示

　　devastating

　　a. causing great destruction 破壞性極大的;毀滅性的

　　capitalize,-ise

　　vt. 將…大寫

　　innocent

　　a. 天真無邪的，純真的;無害的;無罪的，無辜的

　　originate

　　vi. start, occur for the first time 發(fā)源;始于

　　violently

　　ad. with a lot of force 劇烈地;強烈地

　　westward-blowing

　　a. blowing towards the west 向西刮的

　　coastline

　　n. the shape (outline) of a coast 海岸線

　　moist

　　a. slightly wet 潮濕的

　　atmospheric

　　a. 大氣的;大氣層的

　　nourish

　　vt. cause to stay alive or grow by giving food, water, etc. 滋養(yǎng);養(yǎng)育

　　altitude

　　n. 1. height, as of a mountain above sea level 高度;海拔

　　2. (often pl.)a high place or area [常復數(shù)]高處;高地

　　suppress

　　vt. prevent from appearing 阻止;壓制

　　region

　　n. 1. a large area of land 地區(qū);地帶

　　2. 行政區(qū)

　　decrease

　　v. (cause to) become less in size, number, strength, amount, or quality (使)減少;(使)減弱;(使)減輕

　　n. the act or action of decreasing; the state of being decreased 減少;減弱

　　jet stream

　　[氣]急流

　　northwest

　　n. 西北;(N-)(一國或一地區(qū)的)西北部

　　a. 位于西北的;朝西北部的;來自西北的

　　ad. 在西北;向西北;從西北

　　gulf

　　n. 海灣

　　southwest

　　n. 西南;(S-)(一國或一地區(qū))西南部

　　a. 位于西南的;向西南的;來自西南的

　　ad. 在西南;向西南;從西南

　　inflict

　　vt. cause (damage, suffering, etc.) 導致(破壞、痛苦等)

　　dust storm

　　[氣](干燥地區(qū)的)塵暴，沙暴

　　brush fire

　　bush fire 灌叢火

　　rage

　　vi. 1. (of fires, storms, battles, etc.) continue violently (烈火)熊熊燃燒;(浪)洶涌;激戰(zhàn)

　　2. feel or express violent anger 發(fā)怒;怒斥

　　monsoon

　　n. 季風

　　violent

　　a. 1. uncontrollably fierce or dangerous in action 暴力的;強暴的

　　2. acting with or using great damaging force 猛烈的，劇烈的

　　hemisphere

　　n. a half of the earth 半球

　　seaside

　　n. & a. (of) an area or town by the sea 海邊(的)，海濱(的)

　　hurricane

　　n. 颶風;暴風雨

　　shear

　　v. 1. (off) 剪斷

　　2. cut off wool (from sheep) 剪(羊毛等)

　　abort

　　v. 1. end ( a job, plan, etc.) before the expected time because of some trouble (因中途遭遇困難而)中止(工作、計劃等)

　　2. (of a job, plan, etc.) end in this way (工作，計劃等)中止;未完成

　　3. (使)流產(chǎn)，墜胎

　　tree rings

　　(樹木的)年輪

　　precious

　　a. valuable and useful 寶貴的;珍貴的

　　moisture

　　n. 1. 水分;降雨量

　　2. 水氣;濕氣

　　fitting

　　a. suitable, appropriate, right for the purpose or occasion 適當?shù)模�恰當�(shù)?/p>

　　link

　　n. 1. relationship 聯(lián)系，關系

　　2. a physical connection between two places or objects 連接

　　v. join or connect 連接;聯(lián)系

　　holy

　　a. of God or religion; sacred 上帝的;宗教的;神圣的

　　oceanic

　　a. 1. 海洋的，大洋的

　　2. 在海洋中生活的;產(chǎn)于海洋的

　　forecaster

　　n. 天氣預報員

　　muddy

　　a. full of or covered with mud 泥濘的

　　washed-out

　　a. destroyed or made useless by the force of water 被洪水沖蝕的;受到侵蝕的

　　coastal

　　n. of or related to the coast 海岸的;沿岸的

　　extensive

　　a. 1. great in effect 巨大的;嚴重的

　　2. widespread, covering a large area 廣闊的;廣大的

　　conservation

　　n. the preservation of natural things to prevent them from being spoiled or destroyed (對自然資源的)保護;保存

　　insurance

　　n. 1. agreement by contract to pay money in case of misfortune 保險

　　2. 保險業(yè)

　　insure

　　v. to protect... by insurance 給…保險，為…提供保證

　　irrigation

　　n. the supply of water (to dry land) 灌溉

　　agency

　　n. 1. 公眾服務機構

　　2. a business or organisation providing a specified service 代理行;經(jīng)銷處

　　tourist

　　n. a person travelling for pleasure 旅游者

　　a. 旅游的

　　batten

　　vt. (down) (on ships) fasten with boards of wood 用板條固定

　　hatch

　　n. (船的)艙口(蓋);(飛機的)艙口

　　vt. 1. cause (an egg) to break, letting the young bird out 孵出

　　2. (up) make up (a plan or idea) 籌劃;策劃

　　vi. (of an egg) break, letting the young bird out; (of a young bird) break through an egg (蛋等)孵化;(小雞等)出殼

　　Phrases and Expressions

　　point to

　　suggest that (sth.) is likely; indicate 說明(某事)很可能;表明

　　warm up

　　(cause to) get warmer (使)變暖

　　refer to

　　relate to; mention or speak of 與…有關;提到;談到

　　set the stage for

　　prepare for; make possible 為…做好準備;使成為可能

　　in sth.s wake / in the wake of sth.

　　coming after or following sth.; as a result of sth. 隨著…而來;作為…的結果

　　wipe out

　　destroy completely 徹底摧毀;消滅

　　be washed into

　　be carried somewhere by water 被沖入某處

　　shear off

　　cut off 剪斷;切掉

　　keep a sharp eye on

　　watch closely 密切注意

　　heat up

　　make or become hot or warm (使)變熱

　　shape up

　　develop; assume a shape 發(fā)展;成形，形成

　　under way

　　in progress 在進行中;在前進中

　　benefit from

　　receive benefit or gain from 得益于

　　in advance

　　before, ahead of time 事先，事前

　　batten down the hatches (在暴風雨未來到前)封艙;(喻)未雨綢繆，做好準備

　　Proper Names

　　Per Ola

　　珀·奧拉

　　Emily Daulaire

　　埃米莉·多萊爾

　　Stephen Zebiak

　　斯蒂芬·澤比�？�

　　El Nino

　　“厄爾尼諾”現(xiàn)象(指嚴重影響全球氣候的太平洋熱帶海域的大風及海水的大規(guī)模移動)

　　Mark Cane

　　馬克·凱恩

　　Columbia University

　　(美國)哥倫比亞大學

　　Chile

　　智利(南美洲西南部國家)

　　the Andes

　　安第斯山脈(南美洲西部)

　　Christ

　　基督

　　Peruvian

　　秘魯?shù)?秘魯人

　　Christmastime

　　圣誕節(jié)時期

　　Indonesia

　　印度尼西亞(東南亞島國)

　　the Philippines

　　菲律賓(東南亞島國);菲律賓群島

　　Alaska

　　阿拉斯加州(美國州名)

　　the Gulf States

　　美國瀕墨西哥灣諸州(指佛羅里達、亞拉巴馬、密西西比、路易斯安那和得克薩斯等五個州)

　　Melbourne

　　墨爾本(澳大利亞東南部港市)

　　Peru

　　秘魯(南美洲西部國家)

　　Israel

　　以色列(全稱以色列國，在西南亞巴勒斯坦地區(qū))

　　the Holy Land

　　(基督教)圣地;宗教圣地

　　Dan Yakir

　　丹·亞克

　　Michael Ghil

　　邁克爾·吉爾

　　Ants Leetmaa

　　安茨·利特馬

　　Maryland

　　馬里蘭州(美國州名)

　　Florida

　　佛羅里達州(美國州名)

　　Brazil

　　巴西(南美洲國家)

　　Colombia

　　哥倫比亞(南美洲西北部國家)

　　Ecuador

　　厄瓜多爾(南美洲西北部國家)

　　Unit 1-B

　　The great journey of learning

　　1 Malcolm X was an African-American civil rights activist, religious leader, writer, and speaker. Born in 1925, he was mysteriously assassinated in 1965. By the time of his death, his own telling of his life story, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, had been widely known. He was born Malcolm Little into a poor household. Later, he took the name Malcolm X after joining an organization called the Nation of Islam, a religious group that had changed major practices and beliefs of mainstream Islam to apply more specifically to the condition of African-American people in the United States in the early 1960s.

　　2 Malcolm X learned about the Nation of Islam while in prison for committing criminal acts such as theft. Because he was poorly educated, he felt inadequate to teach his new beliefs to others. As a young man, he could sketch his thoughts with poor grammar and little vocabulary using the simple, unsophisticated language of people on the street. As an adult, when he tried to inform people about his new beliefs at a rally, he found that he didnt have the adequate communication skills he needed. In his own words, he "wasnt even functional".

　　3 In a bid to increase his knowledge and improve his skills, desperate Malcolm X devised a scheme. He turned to books, believing this would be beneficial. However, when he tried to read serious books on his own, he was distressed as he didnt know most of the words. "They might as well have been in Chinese," he wrote. He skipped all the words he didnt know and then would end up with no clue as to what the book was about. "I became frustrated," Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography, speaking of his inadequate language skills.

　　4 Malcolm Xs considerable frustration at his inability to read and write launched him on a quest to overcome his deficiencies. He said, "I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary – to study, to learn some words." And he was lucky enough to reason also that he should try to improve his handwriting. "It was sad. I couldnt even write in a straight line," he told us. These ideas together moved him to appeal to the prison authorities for some paper and pencils.

　　5 For the first two days, Malcolm X just skimmed through the pages of the dictionary trying to negotiate his way through its unfamiliar format. He told us of his amazement at how closely related the words seemed. How moist could be the root of moisture, and advisable and advisory had the same root word! "I didnt know which words I needed to learn," he said, "finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying." In his slow, careful, crude handwriting, Malcolm X copied everything on the first full page of the dictionary into a notebook. He even copied the quotation marks! This took him one full day. After that, he read everything he had written aloud. "Over and over, aloud, to myself, I read my own handwriting," Malcolm recalled. He also logged important things that happened every day. Repetition helped move him from basic literacy toward true proficiency.

　　6 Malcolm X depicted how the next morning when he woke up, he kept thinking about the words he had copied and read aloud and about the acquisition of the knowledge he was pursuing. It was a marvelous feeling. He felt immensely proud.

　　7 He was so fascinated that he went on copying the dictionarys next page. Once again, he awoke, proud and energized. With every succeeding page he copied and read aloud, Malcolm X found he was learning and remembering more and more words. With each successive day, his confusion diminished.

　　8 As Malcolm Xs word base broadened, he began to better understand the books he read. It was the first time in his life this had ever happened, "Anyone who has read a great deal can imagine the new world that opened." From then until he left that prison, his concentration was focused on reading. He was so absorbed in it. Months passed without his even thinking about being in prison. "In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life."

　　9 "I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life," Malcolm X wrote. He described how one day a writer telephoned him from London for an interview. The interviewer asked Malcolm X what college he had graduated from as he could write so fluently. He told the Englishman that his own personal university was "books".

　　10 Malcolm Xs life is a wonderful example of the profound effect of learning a language. He was born into a world full of poverty and ignorance. However, as he acquired knowledge, his horizons expanded. He had left behind the narrow, ignorant world of his youth to join the world community of thoughts and actions ever since he started with his great journey of learning English in prison.

　　譯文：

　　偉大的學習之旅

　　1馬爾科姆艾克斯是一位非裔美國民權活動家、宗教領袖、作家和演說家。他生于1925年，1965年被神秘地暗殺。在他去世之前，他對自己生平的自述——《馬爾科姆艾克斯自傳》已聞名遐邇。他出生于一個貧民家庭，取名馬爾科姆利特爾。后來，他加入了一個叫“伊斯蘭民族”的組織，之后改名為馬爾科姆艾克斯�！耙了固m民族”是個宗教團體，它改變了美國主流的一些主要的習俗和信仰，使之更適用于19世紀60年代早期非裔美國人的特定情況。

　　2馬爾科姆艾克斯因當時犯有諸如偷竊等罪而入獄。他在監(jiān)獄里得知了“伊斯蘭民族”組織。由于沒有受過良好的教育，他在向別人傳授他的新信仰時感到力不從心。作為一名年輕人，他可以用草根語言來概述自己的想法，語言簡單、粗淺、語法差勁，且詞匯貧乏�？勺鳛橐幻�成年人，當他在大型公眾集會上向人們闡述他的新信仰時，他發(fā)覺自己缺少了所需的語言交流技能。用他自己的話說，他“甚至沒有這個功能”。

　　3為了增長知識，提高溝通技能，深陷絕望的馬爾科姆艾克斯為自己制定了一個計劃。他決定求助于書籍，相信書會使他受益匪淺。可是當他試圖閱讀一些嚴肅的書本時，他不禁倍感苦惱，因為大部分的詞他都不認識。他寫道：“這些書還不如是用中文寫的�！彼�跳過了所有不認識的詞，可是最終他全然不知這本書里寫了什么。馬爾科姆艾克斯在他的自傳里談到他貧乏的語言技能時是這樣寫的：“我變得沮喪起來�！�

　　4由于無法閱讀和寫作所遭受的巨大挫折促使馬爾科姆·艾克斯開始探索如何攻克自己的語言缺陷。他說：“我明白我所能做的就是弄到一本詞典來學習，學一些單詞�！彼�也幸運地意識到應該嘗試去改進他的書寫。他告訴我們：“令人傷心的是我甚至不能把英文書寫得整齊。”這些想法促使他向獄管請求，要了一些紙和鉛筆。

　　5頭兩天，馬爾科姆艾克斯只是很快地瀏覽了一下詞典，試圖在這不熟悉的格式里尋找出他自己的應付方法。他告訴我們，他對這些單詞之間的密切關系感到詫異。moist怎么會是moisture的詞根；advisable跟advisory竟是同根詞！“我都不知道哪些單詞我需要學，”他說，“最后，為了有所行動，我開始抄寫詞典。”馬爾科姆艾克斯用他緩慢、仔細、蹩腳的書寫，把詞典的第一頁全都抄寫在一個筆記本上，他甚至把引號也抄了。這花了他整整一天的時間。在此之后，他高聲朗讀所有抄寫下來的東西�！拔乙槐橛忠槐榈亟o自己大聲朗讀自己抄寫的東西。”馬爾科姆回憶道。他還把每天發(fā)生的重要事情記錄下來。重復朗讀幫助他從一個僅有一些基礎文化知識的人變成真正精通語言的人。

　　6馬爾科姆艾克斯描述了他第二天醒來時，是如何努力回憶他抄寫和朗讀過的單詞及他苦苦追求所獲的知識。這是一種神奇的感覺，他感到無比自豪。

　　7他對此如此著迷以至于他又繼續(xù)抄寫詞典的下一頁。又一次，他醒來時感到驕傲且精力充沛。隨著不斷抄寫和朗讀，馬爾科姆·艾克斯發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在學到東西，也記住了越來越多的單詞，他的困惑也逐日減少。

　　8隨著馬爾科姆艾克斯的詞匯量不斷擴大，他開始能更好地理解所閱讀的書了。這種現(xiàn)象在他的一生中從未發(fā)生過�！叭魏我粋�閱讀廣泛的人都能想象那個開啟了的新世界�！睆哪菚r起到他離開那個監(jiān)獄，他一直專注于閱讀，被它深深吸引。數(shù)月過去了，他竟然沒感到自己在坐牢。“事實上，在這之前，我從沒如此真正地感受過生活的自由�！�

　　9 “就是在監(jiān)獄里我意識到閱讀永遠地改變了我的人生軌跡，”馬爾科姆艾克斯寫道。他描述了有一天一位作家從倫敦打電話來采訪他。那位作家問馬爾科姆艾克斯，他文筆那么流暢，是從什么大學畢業(yè)的。馬爾科姆告訴那位英國人他的大學是“書本”。

　　10馬爾科姆艾克斯的一生成功地創(chuàng)造了一個通過語言學習而深刻改變?nèi)松�的光輝典范。他出生于貧窮、無知的世界�？墒�，知識開闊了他的眼界。從他在監(jiān)獄里踏上偉大的英語學習之旅起，他就離開了青年時代狹窄、無知的世界，加入到有思想、有作為的世界之中。

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