Book II Unit 1. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions

ContentsContents

Text OnePre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background informationWhile-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions III. Language points IV. Difficult sentencesPost-reading I. Grammatical items II. Translation exercises III. Oral activities IV. Writing practice

Text Two I. Questions for comprehension II. Language points

海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text I--- “We’ve Been Hit!”Text I--- “We’ve Been Hit!”

Pre-readingI. Warm-up question

1. Tell what you know about the 9.11 attack.

2. Describe a disaster you have experienced or have heard of and how people involved reacted to it.


II. Background information II. Background information

1. The World Trade Center Height: 1,368 and 1,362 feet (417 and

415 meters) The World Trade Center is more than its

signature twin towers: it is a complex of

seven buildings on 16-acres, constructed

and operated by the Port Authority of

NewYork and New Jersey (PANYNJ).

The towers, One and Two World Trade

Center, rise at the heart of the complex,

each climbing more than 100 feet higher than the silver mast of the

Empire State Building.海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

2. 911 Attack

On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, at

8:45 a.m. New York local time, World

Trade Center One, the north tower,

was hit by a hijacked 767 commercial

jet plane, loaded with fuel for a trans-

continental flight. World Trade Center

Two, the south tower, was hit by a simi-

lar hijacked jet 18 minutes later at 9:03 am.

Both of them suffered a complete

structural collapse.


I. Structural analysis The text describes a particular episode in the disaster

that occurred on September 11, 2001 in New York in praise of the courage and compassion of man. The whole text consists of four parts.

The whole passage can be divided into four sections:

Part I (para.1): tells of the common people’s

perception about the WTC.

While-reading


Part II (Para. 2-9): describes the initial reaction of people

inside the WTC when the building was

hit.

Part III (para. 10-30): tells how the three people endeavored

to save a heavyset man with their joint

efforts.

Part IV (para.31-34): describes the gathering of some of the

survivors and the victims’ wives.


II. Comprehension questionsII. Comprehension questions

1. What was special about the World Trade Center in New York?

---The World Trade Center, a symbol of New York, was the tallest building in the city with more than 100 levels. Its sturdy structure was shown by the fact that it remained standing for some time after being hit in the September 11 attack. Besides, when it did fall down, it fell down in its own space.


2. What makes Americans feel uneasy about extremely tall buildings?

---The September 11 attack makes them worry about the safety of extremely tall buildings.

3. What do some experts think of skyscrapers now? ---Some think skyscrapers are only a waste of space;

others don’t think skyscrapers are a must any more, as modern technology enables employees to communicate easily without having to work in their headquarters in skyscrapers.


4. What do some experts think of skyscrapers now? ---Some think skyscrapers are only a waste of space; others

don’t think skyscrapers are a must any more, as modern technology enables employees to communicate easily without having to work in their headquarters in skyscrapers.


III. Language pointsIII. Language points

lash vt. :hit violently or suddenly

--- The waves lashed the shore.

Collocation:

lash out (at / against sb. / sth.) make a sudden violent attack with blows or words


illusion n. : sth. that deceives a person by seeming to

be real

---The mirrors all round the walls give an illusion of

greater space.

---I have no illusions about my ability.

Collocation: be under the illusion that believe wrongly

---I was under the illusion that he was honest until he was

caught stealing some money. 他偷钱当场被人抓住，在此之前我一直误以为他是个老实人。


glance at : look at sb. or sth. quickly, esp. by raising your eyes and then lowering them again

Comparison: gaze at, stare at, glare at, gape at

gaze at look at sth. or sb. for a long time, for example,

because they are beautiful or interesting, esp.

without realizing that you are doing it

---The poet lay down and gazed at the bright moon,

missing his hometown.


stare at deliberately look at sb. or sth. for a long time without moving your eyes, for example, because you are angry, shocked, or very interested

glare at look angrily at sb. for a long time without moving your eyes

---The heroine stepped forward bravely and glared at the enemy.

gape at look at sb. or sth. for a long time, esp. with your mouth open, because you are very surprised or shocked

---His father stood there gaping at him, too astonished to say anything.


reassuring a.: making sb. feel less worried or frightened

--- Before commencing the performance, she gave me a reassuring smile.

panic vt. : be suddenly frightened by sth.

---The shot panicked all the customers in the restaurant.

Collocation:

panic sb. into doing sth. make sb. do sth. unwise or hasty because of panic


Derivation:

panic n. & v. 恐慌 panicky a. 恐慌的 panicked a. 惊恐的，受惊吓的 panicking a. 惊慌的


sap vt.: weaken slowly

---The constant tension was sapping my energy.

Collocation:

sap up on sb. beat up sb. meet up with: come across

---Mary met up with her student on the street of a foreign country.

meet the case 适当，令人满意 meet sb. half-way 与某人妥协 meet one’s Waterloo （在比赛中）惨败


stoop vi.: bend down

---The policeman stooped to pick up a lost gun in the

room.

Collocation:

stoop (down) to pick sth. up

stoop so low (as to do sth.): lower one’s moral standards so far (as to do sth.)

---He tried to make me accept a bribe — I hope I would

never stoop so low.


They were careening wildly, three feet in either direction

---They were swaying up to three feet from side to side, like a ship in a great storm.

Mayblum would be one of thousands cast into an extraordinary purgatory that morning.

---That morning, Mayblum would be one of thousands who were thrown into a terrible disaster.


IV. Difficult sentences

On the 53rd floor, he came across a heavyset man whose legs just wouldn’t move anymore.

---On the 53rd floor, he met a huge man whose legs just wouldn’t move any more.

Explanation:

“Anymore” is the variant of “any more”; this variant is chiefly used in North America.


The rumbles of the collapsing tower next door seemed to sap the heavyset man of his last gasps of energy.

---It seemed that the tremendous sound of the collapse of the South Tower destroyed the man’s hope of climbing down the remaining stairs, and thus took away his remaining energy.


I. Grammatical Items would vs. used to; used to vs. be used to would, should, might, could didn’t need to do / needn’t have done

Post-readingPost-reading


“Would do” refers to past actions and habits as well. Remember that “would” is also used in a conditional sense. It’s a good idea not to use “would” in questions and negative sentences, as its meaning can easily be misunderstood in a conditional sense.

---We’d spend a lot of money on projects that didn’t help the company.

---They would ask a lot of crazy questions that didn’t seem to make any sense.


“Used to do” expresses something that we often did in the past, but don’t do anymore. It is often used in the positive form to speak about repeated actions — something that was a habit, or a way of life — in the past. Generally, we use the form to contrast past habits with present situations.

---I used to go jogging three times a week when I lived in Italy. Now, I’m too busy and can only jog once a week.

---Janice used to live in New York, but moved to Seattle last year.


“Be used to (doing) sth.” means someone has experienced something so that it no longer seems surprising, difficult or strange. It is always followed by a noun or gerund.

---Sally is used to spending hours in front of the computer every day.

---They’ve always lived in hot countries so they aren’t used to the cold weather here.


Exercises A: Complete the following sentences with would when appropriate. Use used to whenever would is not suitable.

1. In those days whenever I had difficulties, I go to Mr. Blake for help.

2. Rita work in a law office for many years. But now she doesn’t.

3. My sister lived in Australia for many years, but she always come home for Christmas.

4. Yet, he cannot but remember China as it be ．


5. When he was at university, he sleep until noon at the weekends.

6. People believe that the earth was flat.


Exercise B: Fill in the blanks with used to (do) or be used to (doing).

1. This time, although she (not, receive) presents, she accepted his offer gratefully.

2. I (think) that tea was bad for you.

3. He seems (live) in hot countries.

4. There (be) a cinema in the town but now there isn’t.

5. Hans has lived in England for over a year so he (drive) on the left now.


Would can be used in some forms that are viewed as more formal or polite. It can also be used to express willingness.

---Would you get me a glass of water?

---I told him not to go, but he would not listen. Should is used to indicate that an action is considered by the

speaker to be obligatory. It is used to form the future tense of the subjunctive mood, usually in the first person.

---You should brush your teeth every day.

--If I should be late, go without me.


Might can be used to express a present time possibility or uncertainty. It can be used in the first person to express that future actions are being considered. It can be used in a question to ask for permission.

---John is not in the office today, and he might be sick.

---I might go to the mall later.

---Might your phone?


Like could and would, might can also be used in polite requests and suggestions. The auxiliaries could, would and might can be used to express differing degrees of politeness. Thus, might expresses the highest degree of politeness.

Could is used to express ability. It is also used to express beliefs about situations. Could can be used to make requests.

---I could speak English.

---He couldn’t have left already; why would he want to get there so early?

---Could you pass me the cheese?

Exercise C: Complete the following sentences using would, should, could or might.

1. I don’t know, I choose to spend a year in Paris — or perhaps I go to Kenya.

2. You try the Cajun Catfish — or perhaps the Gumbo. They’re both delicious.

3. Sure, you like a salad with that?4. We return the video before the video rental store

closes. 5. I suggest a stroll after lunch?6. He go in spite of our warnings.


Both these patterns are used to talk about past events. “Needn’t have done something” means that something was not necessary under circumstances where it was done.

---I needn’t have prepared all that food. They phoned to say they wouldn’t be coming.

---When I got home from the bakery, I found we still had plenty of bread, so I needn’t have bought a loaf.


“Didn’t need to do something” means that there was no necessity to do something. And the thing was not done.

---We had plenty of petrol in the tank, so I didn’t need to fill up.

---We didn’t need to wait for long for them. They arrived just after us.


Exercise D: Complete the following sentences with needn’t have done or didn’t need to do.

1. You (carry) it home. If you had asked, the shop would have delivered it for you.

2. We (hurry). There was plenty of time.

3. You (wash) the dishes. I would’ve put them in the dishwasher.

4. You (write) such a long essay. The teacher only asked for 300 words ， and you have written 600.


5. I (translate) it for him for he understands Dutch.

6. I (cut) the grass myself. My brother did it.


II. Translation exercises 那个精神病医生因谈论他的病人而被指控违反了职业

道德规范。（ ethics ） ---That psychiatrist, who had talked about his patients, was

charged with violating professional ethics.

教室的墙上悬挂着一些名人名言，令人鼓舞，催人奋发。（ hang on ）

---Hanging on the walls of the classroom are some famous sayings, which inspire and urge people to exert themselves.


各种各样的商品应有尽有，没有什么东西供应不足。（ in short supply ）

---All kinds of commodities are available (to you). Nothing is in short supply.

我们都信任董事长，因为他是个刚直不阿的人。（ integrity ）

---We all trust the president of the board of directors, who is a man of absolute integrity.


在我们投票支持他之前，我们想知道他的主张。（ stand for ）

---Before we vote for him, we want to know what he stands for.

这笔钱是在被告家里发现的，被告不能对此作出令人满意的解释。（ account for ）

---The defendant couldn’t account for the fact that the money was found in his house.


我看到他是正确的，我只好放弃原来的主张。（ back down ）

---When I saw that he was right, I had to back down.

因为她既聪明又勤奋，所以被任命为销售经理。（ appoint ）

---She has be appointed sales director, for she is both clever and diligent.


本届政府所面临的最大挑战之一是创造新的工业和新的就业机会。（ challenge ）

---One of the biggest challenges faced by the present government is that of creating new industries and new jobs.

我们的战士们猛攻敌人的堡垒，其势如暴风骤雨，没过多久，敌人就投降了。（ succumb ）

---The enemy succumbed soon after our soldiers stormed its stronghold.


II. Oral activitiesII. Oral activities

Discuss with one of your classmates on the following topics.

1. Suppose you experienced an earthquake that occurred in a city, and you were trapped in the ruins for two days with your friend. You tried to comfort him because, suffering from fear and hunger, he felt depressed. First your partner will play the role of your friend. Then you switch roles.


2. Occasionally we read in the newspaper that some people stand watching indifferently a woman drowning in a river and no one makes any effort to save her. Organize yourselves into groups of five or six and discuss what is wrong with such people and what we should do about it.


III. Writing practiceIII. Writing practice

Write a composition on the topic listed below. Your composition should be no less than 150 words. Remember to write neatly.

On the disaster I have experienced/heard/seen

海南大学外国语学院基础英语研室海南大学外国语学院基础英语教研室

Text II---Text II---Rethinking SkyscrapersRethinking Skyscrapers

Lead-in questions

What do you think of the skyscrapers shooting up in the city with the urban development?


II. Questions for comprehension1. What was special about the World Trade Center in New

York?2. What makes Americans feel uneasy about extremely tall

buildings?3. What do some experts think of skyscrapers now? What’s

your idea about skyscrapers?4. How many ways of restoring the World Trade Centre are

mentioned in the passage? Which of them do you think is the best one? Why?


II. Language points

twofold: having two important parts

---The reason for the country’s economic collapse is twofold.

take time: if doing something takes time, it needs a

relatively long period of time.

---Learning a foreign language isn’t easy, it takes time. vital to: extremely important and necessary for something to

succeed or exist.

---Your support is vital to the success of my plan.


it feels like: it gives one a particular feeling of

---I was only there two days but it felt like a week!

contaminate: make a place or substance dirty and dangerous

by adding something to it, for example

chemicals or poison.

---People feared that dumped waste would contaminate

water supplies.


man’s relationship to his environment: a relationship with

sb. or sth. is usually close, and may involve strong feelings.

---What kind of relationship does she have with her mother?

a relationship to sb. or sth., like a connection, is usually

about a simple fact.

---Jane’s relationship to Jeff is that he is her boss.

a relationship between people and other people or things may be either

close and full of emotion, or simply a matter of fact.

---They’re both called Smith, but there is no relationship between

them.


conserve vs. preserve

a. to conserve something is to protect it and try to prevent it

from changing or being damaged.

---We must conserve our woodlands for future generations.

b. to preserve something is to keep it as it is for a long time

in a good condition, or keep it as it is now.

---I think these traditional customs should be preserved.


Good Bye!

Documents

Book II Unit 1. Contents Text One Pre-reading I. Warm-up questions II. Background information While-reading I. Structural analysis II. Comprehension questions