Unit 13 A Delightful Village

Pre-reading tasks

Have a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of living in the city and in the country.

Key points in the text1.delightful

If you describe something or someone as delightful, you mean they are very pleasant.

e.g. It was the most delightful garden I had ever seen...

= lovely

Delight n.

Delight is a feeling of very great pleasure.e.g. Throughout the house, the views are a constant source of

surprise and delight... Andrew roared with delight when he heard Rachel's

nickname for the baby... To my great delight, it worked perfectly.

If someone takes delight or takes a delight in something, they get a lot of pleasure from it.

e.g. Haig took obvious delight in proving his critics wrong...

You can refer to someone or something that gives you great pleasure or enjoyment as a delight.

e.g. Sampling the local cuisine is one of the delights of a holiday abroad.= joy

delight v.

If something delights you, it gives you a lot of pleasure.

e.g. She has created a style of music that has delighted audiences all over the world...

If you delight in something, you get a lot of pleasure from it.

e.g. Generations of adults and children have delighted in the story...

He delighted in sharing his love of birds with children.

2. spoil (spoiled/spoilt, spoiled/spoilt)

If you spoil something, you prevent it from being successful or satisfactory.

e.g. It's important not to let mistakes spoil your life... Peaceful summer evenings can be spoilt by

mosquitoes.

If you spoil children, you give them everything they want or ask for. This is considered to have a bad effect on a child's character.

e.g. Grandparents are often tempted to spoil their grandchildren whenever they come to visit.

spoilt, spoiled adj. A spoilt child is rarely popular with other children... Oh, that child. He's so spoiled.

If you spoil yourself or spoil another person, you give yourself or them something nice as a treat or do something special for them. = pamper

e.g. Spoil yourself with a new perfume this summer...

Perhaps I could employ someone to iron his shirts, but I wanted to spoil him. He was my man.

If food spoils or if it is spoilt, it is no longer fit to be eaten.

e.g. We all know that fats spoil by becoming rancid...

Some organisms are responsible for spoiling food and cause food poisoning...

3. fertile Land or soil that is fertile is able to support the growth of a large

number of strong healthy plants. = rich e.g. ...fertile soil. ...the rolling fertile countryside of East Cork.

A fertile mind or imagination is able to produce a lot of good, original ideas.

e.g. ...a product of Flynn's fertile imagination...

A situation or environment that is fertile in relation to a particular activity or feeling encourages the activity or feeling.

e.g. ...a fertile breeding ground for this kind of violent racism.

A person or animal that is fertile is able to reproduce and have babies or young. ≠ infertile, sterile

e.g. The operation cannot be reversed to make her fertile again. fertility n. the fertility of soil fertility rate 出生率fertilize v. 施肥fertilizer n. 化肥，肥料

4. peep v. & n.

If you peep, or peep at something, you have a quick look at it, often secretly and quietly. = peek

e.g. Children came to peep at him round the doorway... Now and then she peeped to see if he was noticing

her. peep n. = peek e.g. `Fourteen minutes,' Chris said, taking a peep at his

watch.

If something peeps out from behind or under something, a small part of it is visible or becomes visible.

e.g. Purple and yellow flowers peeped up between rocks...

5. effort n.

If you make an effort to do something, you try very hard to do it.e.g. He made no effort to hide his disappointment... Finding a cure requires considerable time and effort. But a concerted effort has begun to improve the quality of the

urban air.

If you say that someone did something with effort or with an effort, you mean it was difficult for them to do. (WRITTEN) = difficulty

e.g. She took a deep breath and sat up slowly and with great effort...

With an effort she contained her irritation.

If you say that something is an effort, you mean that an unusual amount of physical or mental energy is needed to do it. = strain, struggle

e.g. Even carrying the camcorder while hiking in the forest was an effort.

Other phrases with effort

demand/ require/take effort 需要努力a joint effort 共同努力in an effort to do sth. 为某一目的而尽的努力worth the effort 值得费力气，值得做出努力e.g. It takes a long time to prepare the dish

but the results are so good that it’s worth the effort.

effortless adj. e.g. When you watch her dance, it looks so effortless.

6. pave

If a road or an area of ground has been paved, it has been covered with flat blocks of stone or concrete, so that it is suitable for walking or driving on.

e.g. The avenue had never been paved, and deep mud made it impassable in winter.

paved adj. ...a small paved courtyard... If one thing paves the way for another, it creates a

situation in which it is possible or more likely that the other thing will happen. (JOURNALISM)

e.g. The discussions are aimed at paving the way for formal negotiations between the two countries.

pavement (US sidewalk) n.人行道

7. rock

be (caught) between a rock and a hard place: to be in a very difficult situation and to have to make a hard decision

be (as) solid as a rock: to be very strong

rock v. rocking chair

rock sb. to sleep

8. dominate To dominate a situation means to be the most powerful or

important person or thing in it.e.g. The book is expected to dominate the best-seller lists... No single factor appears to dominate. If one country or person dominates another, they have power over

them.e.g. Women are no longer dominated by the men in their

relationships... The countries of Eastern Europe immediately started to

dominate.

If a building, mountain, or other object dominates an area, it is so large or impressive that you cannot avoid seeing it.

e.g. It's one of the biggest buildings in this area, and it really dominates this whole place.

domination n.控制 , 统治 , 支配 e.g....the domination of the market by a small

number of organizations.They had five centuries of domination by the

Romans.dominant adj. = pre-eminent 显著的e.g. ...a change which would maintain his party's

dominant position in Scotland...dominating adj. = commanding 专横的 , 主要的 , 独裁的

e.g. She certainly was a dominating figure in politics...

9. be alive with

If a place is alive with something, there are a lot of people or things there and it seems busy or exciting.

e.g. The river was alive with birds...

10. alike

If two or more things are alike, they are similar in some way. ≠ different

e.g. We looked very alike.

Alike means in a similar way. ...their assumption that all men and women think alike.

You use alike after mentioning two or more people, groups, or things in order to emphasize that you are referring to both or all of them.

e.g. The techniques are being applied almost everywhere by big and small firms alike. = equally

11.stretch

n. a continuous area of land or watere.g. This particular stretch of coast is

especially popular with walkers.

v. to spread over a large area or distancee.g. The refugee camps stretch as far as

the eye can see.

If you are at full stretch, you are using the maximum amount of effort or energy.

e.g. Everyone would be working at full stretch.

If you say that something is not true or possible by any stretch of the imagination, you are emphasizing that it is completely untrue or absolutely impossible.

e.g. Her husband was not a womaniser by any stretch of the imagination...

12. horizon

The horizon is the line in the far distance where the sky seems to meet the land or the sea.

e.g. A grey smudge appeared on the horizon. That must be Calais, thought Fay...

The sun had already sunk below the horizon. Your horizons are the limits of what you want to do or of

what you are interested or involved in.e.g. As your horizons expand, these new ideas can give

a whole new meaning to life...

If something is on the horizon, it is almost certainly going to happen or be done quite soon.

e.g. With breast cancer, as with many common diseases, there is no obvious breakthrough on the horizon...

broaden/expand/widen sb’s horizons: to increase the range of things that some knows about or has experienced

e.g. Travelling certainly broadens your horizons.

horizontal adj. 水平的vertical adj. 垂直的

by a stretch of language用牵强附会的语言

do a two-year stretch in prison坐两年牢

The factory was at full stretch.工厂在全力生产。

Can you work (for) six hours at a stretch?

你能连续工作六小时吗 ?

Dictation

I live in a large village in the countryside by the beach. Around my village lie fertile fields, in which grow a variety of crops throughout the year. In such a lovely environment you can avoid many urban troubles such as noise, pollution, and heavy traffic.

I love to walk into the open country from time to time in the early morning, to enjoy the fresh air and watch the sun rise above the horizon. Through my village stretches a wide road, along the sides of which stand tall silver-barked trees. On fixed dates, the road serves as a free market. It is alive with local people who come to sell their farm produce and buy things for their households.

Translation

1. West Lake in Hangzhou attracts tourists from home and abroad alike.

2. Through our campus flows a small river, along the banks of which stand many willow trees.

3. The wheat fields stretch all the way to the small hill.

4. This restaurant serves delicious food at inexpensive prices.

5. So far, we are satisfied with his work.

6. It is said that some guests from our sister college in Wisconsin will come to visit our campus.

7. This supermarket sells everything from household electric appliances to matches. You name it, they got it.

8. This building is let to a businessperson from Hongkong.