(完整版)新标准大学英语综合教程4__课后答案

……

嗯，差不多什么都跟他说了：钱、硕士学位、生日等等。他很同情 我。

托尼离开搁脚凳和旁边几个人 说话。记住：索尔兹伯里酒吧是在市中心，这里所有的顾客

都在银行、保险或证券市场工 作。第二天，他拿着几张价值共

2

万英镑的支票来到酒吧，他 对

我说：

“

这是给你的创业贷款，你唯 一的贷款担保是我对你的信任，相信有一天你赚了钱会把钱

还给我们。如果你还不了钱， 那就太糟了，金融生意就是这样。但是，我相信你还得了。

”

我没说话，我怕我自己要哭了。世上这么好的人能有几个？

< /p>

那些花怎么处理？我叫花店改送到妈妈那里去了，我生日那天鲜花正好送到她家。她最该< /p>

得到这些鲜花，不是吗？

依我看，回顾 这些年的经历，我发现人一辈子只需要一两次的转折就能成功。就算吃苦受

累也不要紧， 那还是值得的。

在索尔兹伯里酒吧干了一年之后，我去了伦敦 经济学院深造。拿到硕士学位之后，我在一

家投资银行找到了一份工作。

我把那两万英镑投进了证券市场，

在

2008

年金融崩盘之前卖掉了

所有的股票。

我把托尼和其他投资者的钱还了，付给他们

10%

意好得超乎意料，至今还红红火火 。托尼给我写了一封感谢信。他出了车祸，现在不能走路了。

我还给他的钱正好可以用来 改造房子，房子改造后他就可以坐着轮椅在家里自由活动了。下面

是他信里写的话：

“

我从事银行业

35

年来最好的投资就是给你的这笔贷款，你连本带利地偿还

了贷款，我对你的信任和你 的诚实都获得了百倍的回报。依我看，在人身上投资能带来你最希

望看到的回报。

”

依我看，他说得对。你说呢？

Unit 2

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Active reading (1)

Danger! Books may change your life

Culture points

Lewis Carroll

(1832

–

1898) is the pen-name of Charles Dodgson. He was a priest, a mathematician

whotaught at Oxford University, a photogr

apher, humorist and writer of children’s literature.

Alice’s

Adventures

in Wonderland

(1865) was immediately successful, a masterpiece which revolutionized

children’s literature,

giving coherence and logic through wit and humour to unlikely or impossible

episodes in which imaginary creatures embody recognizable human characteristics. He is also known

for

Through the Looking Glass and

what Alice found there

(1871) and nonsense poems, such as

The Hunting of the Snark

(1876).

William Cowper

(1731

–

1800): a notable English poet, writer of hymns and letter- writer. He wrote

gentle, pious, direct poems about everyday rural life and scenes of the countryside which have been

seen as

forerunners of the Romantic movement: Coleridge called Cowper “the best modern poet”.

He

translated

Homer’s Greek epics.

The Odyssey

and

The Iliad

into English. Another example of his

verses which have

become common sayings is “God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to

perform…”

John Steinbeck

(1902

–

1968): American novelist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in

1962.

The Grapes of Wrath

(1939) is a well-known, long tragic novel about an American family of

farmers who are

driven off their land in Oklahoma by soil erosion in the famous “dust bowl” era. They

flee to California to

what they hope will be a better life. The book won the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a film in 1940.

Other well-known novels include

Of Mice and Men

(1937),

Cannery Row

(1945),

The Pearl

(1947),

East of Eden

(1952) and an account of a personal rediscovery of America,

Travels with Charlie

(1962).

John Irving

(1942

–

): American novelist and screenwriter who taught English at college and was a

wrestling coach.

The Fourth Hand

(2001) is a comic-satirical novel about a TV journalist, Wallington,

whose hand is seen by millions of viewers to be bitten off by a circus lion. A surgeon gives him a

hand transplant (a third

hand) but the wife of the dead donor wants to visit her husband’s hand and

have a child by Wallington, who feels where his original hand used to be (the fourth hand).

Audrey Niffenegger

(1963

–

): American college professor who teaches writing to visual artists and

shows students how to make books by hand. Her first novel,

The Time Traveller’s Wife

(2003)

–

filmed in 2009

–

is a science fiction and romance bestseller about a man who travels uncontrollably in

time to his own history and visits his wife in her childhood, youth and old age. His wife needs to cope

with his absences and dangerous life while he travels. The story is a metaphor for distance and

miscommunication in failed relationships.

Paul Torday

(1946

–

): a British businessman who worked for a company that repaired ship’s engines

for many years.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

(2007) was his first novel. It is a political satire and

comedy about a dull civil servant who becomes involved in a plan to populate the desert with Scottish

salmon. Politicians

manage the media to “spin” this as a plan they support in order to divert attention

from problems in the Middle East. There are themes of cynicism and belief, and East-West culture

clashes.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

(1918

–

2008): a Russian writer who was imprisoned in Soviet labour camps

in 1945; after eight years, he was exiled to Kazakhstan and not freed until 1956, when he became a

teacher. In 1970 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but not receive it until 1974. He went

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to Germany, Switzerland and the USA, returning to Russia in 1994. His best known novels were based

on his experiences as a prisoner and include:

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

(1962),

Cancer

Ward

(1968),

The Gulag

Archipelago

(1974

–

1978). His later works were about Russian history and

identity.

Graham Greene

(1904

–

1991): a British novelist, short-story writer, playwright, travel writer and

essayist. He wrote a num

ber of thrillers (he called them ‘entertainments’) which dramatize an

ambiguous moral dilemma, often revealing guilt, treachery, failure and a theme of pursuit. Greene was

also a film critic and all of these novels have been made into films:

Brighton Rock

(1938),

The Power

and the Glory

(1940),

The Heart of the Matter

(1948),

The Third Man

(1950),

The Quiet American

(1955), and

Our Man in

Havana

(1958).

E. M. Forster

(1879

–

1970): a British novelist and writer of short stories and essays. He lived at

different periods in Italy, Egypt and India and taught at Cambridge University. His best known novels

include

A Room

with a View

(1908),

Howard’s End

(1910),

A Passage to India

(1924) which have all

been made into films. His writing about reading and writing includes a book of lectures,

Aspects of the

Novel

(1927).

Thomas Merton

(1915

–

1968): an American Catholic writer, who was a Trappist monk in Kentucky.

He wrote over 70 books, including many essays about Buddhism and a translation into English of the

Chinese classic,

Chuang Tse

. He had a great deal to say about the meeting of Eastern and Western

cultures and wrote many letters to writers, poets, scholars and thinkers. He read a lot in English, Latin,

French and Spanish and said he always had at least three books which he was reading at any one time.

William Blake

(1757

–

1827): a British poet, artist and mystic, who read widely in English, French,

Italian, Latin, Greek and Hebrew. He made many engravings to illustrate the work of such writers as

Virgil, Dante and Chaucer, as well as his own poems. He stressed that imagination was more

important than rationalism and the materialism of the 18th century and criticized the effects of the

industrial revolution in England, but his work was largely disregarded by his peers. He is best known

for his poetry in

Songs of Innocence

(1787) and

Songs of Experience

(1794). His belief in the oneness

of all created things is shown in his much-quoted

verse, “To see the world in a grain of sand / And a

heaven in a flower, / Hold infinity in the palm of your

hand / And eternity in an hour.”

Clifton Fadiman

(1904

–

1999): an American writer, radio and TV broadcaster and editor of

anthologies. For over 50 years he was an editor and judge for the Book-of- the-Month Club. In 1960 he

wrote a popular guide to great books for American readers,

The Lifetime Reading Plan

, which

discusses 133 authors and their major work: the 1997 edition includes 9 authors from China.

J. K. Rowling

(1965

–

): British writer of the seven Harry Potter fantasy books. She studied French and

Classics at Exeter University, before teaching English in Portugal and training to teach French in

Scotland. The main idea about a school for wizards and the orphan Harry Potter came on a delayed

train journey from Manchester to London in 1990. She began to write as soon as she reached London.

Twelve publishersrejected the first book before Bloomsbury, a small London publisher, agreed to

publish it. Later books have repeatedly broken all the sales records (as have some of the films). She is

one of the richest women in the UK and a notable supporter of many charities.

Language points

1

Variety’s the very spice of life, / That gives it all its flavour … (Para 2)

Spices are made from plants and added to food to give it its particular flavour or taste. The English

proverb

- 11 -

“Variety is the spice of life” (the proverb comes from Cowper’s poem) therefore means that variety

gives

life extra value and allows you to appreciate life in particular ways.

2

We learn to look beyond our immediate surroundings to the horizon and a landscape far away

from

home. (Para 3)

This means that through reading we learn to look beyond our immediate experience or familiar

environment to things beyond our immediate experience, ie to completely different things that we can

imagine and experience through books.

3

When a baseball player hits a home run he hits the ball so hard and so far he’s able to run

round the

four bases of the diamond, and score points not only for himself but for the other runners

already

on a base. (Para 9)

In the American game of baseball, the field of grass is diamond-shaped and has four bases (specific

points

marked around the diamond), round which players must run to score points. One team bats (ie team

members take turns to hit the ball and run round the bases) and the members of the other team throw

(pitch)

the ball and, when it is has been hit, try to catch it or get it quickly to one of the four bases. If a batting

player can hit the ball hard enough, he can run round all four bases before the other team can get the

ball

and thus score maximum points

–

with a home run. In the passage, a really good book is a home run.

3 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 Why are we like Alice in wonderland when we read a book?

(a) Because, like Alice, we often have accidents.

(b) Because reading makes us feel young again.

(c) Because reading opens the door to new experiences.

(d) Because books lead us into a dream world.

2 According to the writer, what is the advantage of reading over real life?

(a) There is more variety in books than in real life.

(b) We can experience variety and difference without going out of the house.

(c) The people we meet in a book are more interesting than real people.

(d) It’s harder to make sense of real life than a book.

3 What do the seven novels listed in Paragraph 4 have in common?

(a) Their titles stimulate imagination.

(b) They represent the best writing by British and American novelists.

(c) They have become classics.

(d) You can find all of them in any local library.

4 At what moment in our lives do books become important?

(a) As soon as we start reading.

(b) When we start buying books to fill our shelves at home.

(c) When we start listening to bedtime stories.

- 12 -

(d) Only when we are ready for books.

5 What claim did Merton make about the poems of William Blake?

(a) They were similar to the works of the Greek writers and thinkers.

(b) They helped him understand the meaning of life.

(c) They created a sense of confusion.

(d) They taught him a lot about modern culture.

6 What is meant by a home-run book?

(a) A book which is so good you are unable to put it down.

(b) A book that the whole family can enjoy.

(c) A children’s book that is read and appreciated by adults.

(d) A book that hits hard like a home run in the game of baseball.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

4 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 to make someone feel that they do not belong to your group

(exclude)

2 to fail to do something that you should do

(neglect)

3 to mention something as an example

(cite)

4 to be strong enough not to be harmed or destroyed by something

(withstand)

5 in most situations or cases

(normally)

6 to be about to happen in the future

(await)

5 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 4.

When I lived in

Britain, one of my favourite radio programmes was called “Desert Island Discs”. The

format was always the same: Guest celebrities were asked to imagine they had been washed ashore on

a

desert island, and had to choose nine books

–

(1)

excluding

the Bible and Shakespeare, which they

were

already provided with

–

to take with them to the island, to help them (2)

withstand

the physical and

mental

isolation. I sometimes like to think which books I would take. (3)

Normally

, like most people, I don’t

have much time for reading, and I could (4)

cite

dozens of books which I have never read but which I

would like to. It’s an opportunity I have (5)

awaited

all my life, in fact. But what would I choose?

Mostly

novels, probably, but I wouldn’t (6)

neglect

to include a volume or two of poetry. My first choice, I

think,

would be Tolstoy’s

War and Peace

. I’ve never read it, but I’m ready to believe that it is one of the

most

marvelous books ever written.

6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box.

1 In a good novel, the writer and reader communicate with each other.

(interact)

2 I have to face up to the problem sooner or later.

(confront)

3 I read the book in one sitting and Mary did too.

(likewise)

4 E. M. Forster was one of the most important and respected British novelists of the 20th century.

(influential)

5 Do you believe that a work of literature can actually lead to social changes?

(induce)

6 Robert Burns was a great poet who wrote in the language variety spoken in Scotland.

(dialect)

- 13 -

7 The

Time Traveller’s Wife

is the story of a man who has a strange and inexplicable genetic disorder.

(mysterious)

7 Answer the questions about the words.

1 If you have had a disconcerting experience, do you feel a bit (a) tired, or

(b) confused

?

2 If you have a vista of something, can you

(a) see or imagine it

, or (b) go and visit it?

3 Would you express great wrath by (a) smiling at someone, or

(b) shouting at them

?

4 If you feel enchanted by a book, do you

(a) like it a lot

, or (b) not like it at all?

5 Is a writer who is supremely talented

(a) very good

, or (b) quite good at his job?

6 If reading fosters an understanding of certain problems, does it

(a) help understanding

, or (b) prevent

it?

7 If you are desperately trying to get a job, are you

(a) trying very hard to get it

, or (b) caring little

whether you get it or not?

8 Is a sensation (a) a certainty, or

(b) just a feeling

?

Active reading (2)

They were alive and they spoke to me

Background information

This is from

The Books in My Life

by Henry Miller (1861

–

1980), an American novelist, writer and

painter. Miller was born in New York, lived in Paris 1930

–

1939, and then in California. His

best-known works blend fiction, autobiography, social criticism and mysticism:

Tropic of Cancer

(1934 published in France) describes his life and loves in Paris and because of its sexual frankness it

was not published in the USA till 1961;

Black Spring

(1936) has ten autobiographical stories;

Tropic

of Capricorn

(1939) is about his years with the Western Union Telegraph Company;

The Colossus of

Maroussi

(1941), considered by some critics to be his best work, is a travel book about people from

his stay in Greece.

In

The Books in My Life

(1969) Miller looks at 100 books that influenced him. His list includes

children’s

books written originally for adults (eg

Alice in Wonderland

,

The Arabian Nights

,

Greek

Myths and Legends

,

Robinson Crusoe

,

The Three Musketeers

); many French novels and poetry (eg by

Balzac, Hugo, Giono, Nerval, Proust, Rimbaud, Huysmans, Maeterlinck), German novels (by Mann,

Hesse, Dreiser) and the Chinese

Lao Tse

and Fenollosa’s

The Chinese Written Character as a Medium

for Poetry

, besides work by American writers (Twain, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman), Dostoievshy,

Nietzsche, Joyce and writers on spiritual topics.

Culture points

August Strindberg

(1849

–

1912): A Swedish playwright and a prolific writer of novels, short stories,

satires, essays and poems, and a photographer, who tried various jobs before becoming assistant

librarian at the Royal Library in Stockholm and established an experimental theatre. He is best known

for his plays, including

The Father

(1887) and

Miss Julie

(1888), and for his vitality, vigour, and

brilliant use of language.

Miller cites Strindberg’s autobiographies,

The Confession of a Fool

(vol.2), a passionate love story

and account of problems in his marriage, and

The Inferno

(vol.3), a study of his religious conversion,

delusions

and neuroses which reflect Strindberg’s periods of mental instability.

Blaise Cendrars

(1887

–

1961) is the pen name of Fré

dé

ric Sauser, a Swiss-born French novelist,

shortstory writer, poet, and film- maker, who led a life of constant travel (he was born in an Italian

- 14 -

railway train) doing various jobs in Russia, Europe, North and South America and Asia

–

he is said to

have shoveled coal on steam trains in China. He lost his right arm fighting for France in World War I.

His prose includes vivid, witty, action-packed novels, like

Moravagine

(1926), which describe travel

and adventure, or works directly inspired by his own experience, like

The Astonished Man

(1945) and

The Cut Hand

(1946), and four volumes

of memoirs. Miller admired his work and lists ‘virtually the

complete works’ of Cendrars as influential

reading.

Ré

my de Gourmont

(1858

–

1915): a French writer of 50 books: essays, novels and poetry, with a

strong interest in medieval Latin literature; as a critic he was admired by T. S. Eliot. He was a

librarian at the National Library in Paris; later, a painful skin disease kept him largely at home. He

was influential in the symbolist movement in literature. He claimed that a work of art exists only

through the emotion it gives us. He asserted the need to get away from the unquestioning acceptance

of commonplace ideas and associations of ideas, and believed it was necessary for thought to proceed

by imagery rather than by ideas.

Julius Caesar

(110 BC

–

44 BC): a Roman statesman, known as a great military strategist. As a

general he was famous for the conquest of Gaul (modern France and Belgium) which he added to the

Roman Empire. He also made two expeditions to Britain, was governor of Spain and traveled in North

Africa and Egypt. He was a good speaker and he wrote several books of commentaries and memoirs

on Roman wars and military

campaigns. Caesar’s writing is often stu

died today by those who learn

Latin.

The Julius Caesar of literature

:

this phrase compares Cendrars with Caesar: both were men of

action, travelers, adventurers, explorers, who somehow found time to read a lot and write books.

Language points

1

The fact, however, that in the past I did most of my work without the aid of library I look

upon as an advantage rather than a disadvantage. (Para 1)

This is irony. Miller is writing about the importance of reading and about key books in his life, but

there is a paradox: Only recently has he been able to get all the books he has wanted all his life (ie he

now has money, as a best-selling writer, to buy books) and, as a writer, he wrote books without the

help of a library. He says that not having books was an advantage. The explanation is probably that

Miller’s early

writing was a mixture of autobiography and fiction, so he didn’t need to read other

books or refer to them to do his own writing. The irony is that he is saying this in a book about the

books the influenced him.

2

A good book lives through the passionate recommendation of one reader to another. (Para 3)

Miller thinks that a good part of the ‘life’ of a book is how one reader recommends it to another

with enthusiasm, ie books are about sharing experience, no

t just the author’s experience in the book

and the reader’s experience of reading it, but also the experience of word

-of- mouth or face-to-face

recommendation by other readers.

3

And the better the man the more easily will he part with his most cherished possessions. (Para

4)

This continues Miller’s thought that books are for sharing. A good person will share things he or she

loves. In this case, such a person will give or lend favourite books and such generosity makes friends:

When you give books you get friendship.

4

If you are honest with yourself you will discover that your stature has increased from the mere

effort of resisting your impulse. (Para 6)

- 15 -

Miller’s argument here is that you should not read everything, but that you should choose very

carefully and selectively. This means you should resist the temptation to read some things which are

not really going to add to your knowledge or enjoyment (not every book will do this, only some). Here,

he says

that in this way, we grow (we “increase our stature”).

That is, we grow by not reading many

books. The implication is that if we choose the very best books and read these few really carefully we

will get the best from them

–

and grow by such selection. Miller discusses 100 books which he things

are such books.

5

All on the side, as it were. (Para 7)

Cendrars was a man of action who spent most of his time on travels and adventures. Surprisingly (you

would think he did not have time), he read a lot in different languages and even wrote many books

–

this was in addition to his main activities.

6

For, if he is anything, Cendrars, he is a man of action, an adventurer and explorer, a man who

has

known how to “waste” his time royally. (Para 7)

Cendrars had a huge reputation as a man of action, travelling, having adventures and exploring

different

countries and yet he read a lot (he knew how to use the little time available to read). “Waste”

is in quotes

to show irony (reading isn’t a waste of time), that he reads in a royal manner (ie very

thoroughly). The sentence str

ucture here is quite French with the repetition of “he”.

Reading and understanding

2 Choose the best answer to the questions.

1 What does Miller consider to have been an advantage during his writing career?

(a) To have been able to read all the books he wanted.

(b) To have grown up in a room full of books.

(c) To have written without the aid of a library.

(d) The fact that he never wanted to own any books.

2 What did three stars on a book mean in the public library in Miller’s youth?

(a) Young people weren

’t allowed to read them.

(b) They were the most popular books in the library.

(c) They were intended for children.

(d) They were more exciting than one-star books.

3 Why does Miller hope the star system still exists in public libraries?

(a) It is an efficient system which works well.

(b) It discourages people from reading inappropriate books.

(c) It makes people interested in reading.

(d) It makes it easier for people to recognize books.

4 Why do people lend books, in Miller’s opinion?

(a) Because they feel the need to share their feelings.

(b) It’s the best way to make a friend.

(c) It’s less risky than lending money.

(d) Because it’s not possible to possess a book for ever.

5 According to Miller, what should you do when you find a book you want to read?

(a) Pick it up and start reading.

(b) Ask a friend for advice about the book.

(c) Think about whether you really need to read it.

- 16 -

(d) Only read it if it is original.

6 What does Miller especially admire about Blaise Cendrars?

(a) He had a very adventurous life.

(b) He was a great writer.

(c) He knew what to do with his time.

(d) He read as well as wrote a lot.

Dealing with unfamiliar words

3 Match the words in the box with their definitions.

1 the quality of being new, interesting, and different from anything that anyone has created before

(originality)

2 the process of putting people or things into particular groups according to the features they have

(classification)

3 to make an organized and determined attempt to deal with a problem

(tackle)

4 to make something better or more enjoyable

(enrich)

5 a difficulty or problem that prevents you from achieving something

(obstacle)

6 to sink under water and die

(drown)

7 not being used

(idle)

8 a suggestion that someone or something is especially suitable or useful for a particular situation

(recommendation)

9 to make a lot of effort to achieve something

(strive)

4 Complete the conversation with the correct form of the words in Activity 3.

A

Professor Ridgeway, you’ve just written a biography of the poet Shelley,

who (1)

drowned

off the

coast

of Italy in 1822 in a sailing accident. As you remind us in the introduction, people’s lives have

been (2)

enriched

by poetry for thousands of years. What (3)

recommendation

could you make to a

young poet who is just beginning their career?

B

That they should always (4)

strive

to be themselves, and not to worry about (5)

originality

. Once

they’ve

found their own voice, it will be original in its own way, because everyone is unique.

A

So you don’t believe in the (6)

classifications

which label poets as “romantic” or “modernist” and

so on?

B

I do, but they have limited value.

A

What do you think is the main (7)

obstacle

facing young poets today?

B

I think it is to accept that you cannot be productive all the time. A poet’s mi

nd is never (8)

idle

and waiting for the right moment is part of the creative process. All other problems are relative, and

can be (9)

tackled

when you get to them.

5 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the following words. You may need to

make other changes.

1 I felt depressed and lacking in confidence after reading his criticism of my novel.

(demoralized)

2 Henry Miller’s

The Books in My Life

is about, as the name suggests, the story of his life.

(autobiographical)

Henry Miller’s

The Books in My Life

is, as the name suggests, autobiographical.

3 Shakespeare had an extraordinary talent as a writer, which is without comparison in the history of

English literature.

(prodigious; unparalleled)

- 17 -

4 Some people look to a book for pleasure rather than for understanding.

(enlightenment)

5 The experiment in banning alcohol drinks in the United States actually led to an increase in crime.

(prohibiting)

6 I’m not sure if it is to their advantage for readers to read this review before they start the book

.

(advantageous)

7 Miller’s

Tropic of Cancer

was, without doubt, one of the most infamous novels of the 20th century.

(indubitably)

6 Answer the questions about the words and expressions.

1 If someone

makes a confession

, do they tell you something

(a) personal and secret

, or (b) which

everyone knows?

2 If someone

whets your appetite

for something, do they make you

(a) desire for it

, or (b) dislike it?

3 If you

wade through

piles of documents, do you

(a) read or deal with them

, or (b) just ignore them?

4 If you have to

forego

something, do you (a) finish it quickly, or

(b) do without it

?

5 Is someone who has

business acumen

(a) good at business

, or (b) without any business skills?

6 Is a

repetitive

job one in which you do (a) different things, or

(b) the same thing every day

?

7 If you do something

on the side

, do you do it

(a) in addition to a regular activity

, or (b) where no one

can see you do it?

Reading and interpreting

7 Answer the questions.

1 What is the first struggle that he has with books?

Miller’s

first struggle is to obtain books and get his hands on them.

2 Why is it difficult to lay hands on them?

The books are not in the public library because someone has already borrowed them and Miller

doesn’t

have the money to buy them.

3 What sort of books are prohibited for a young man?

Books which are considered to be immoral for a young person to read.

4 What is the best way to be introduced to a book?

Through the passionate recommendation of someone who has read the book.

5 What is an unused book lying on a shelf compared with?

It is compared with wasted ammunition. This means that it is useless. It is also compared to money

because it should be in circulation.

6 Why does Miller suggest resisting your impulses and not opening a book as soon as you get it?

He says you should think intensely about the title, author, and likely contents, imagining what you

would have written yourself about it. Then you may decide you don’t need to read it, or, if you do read

it, you will read it with more interest and acumen.

Language in use

word formation: -ous

1 Write the adjectives which describe:

1 a writer who has achieved fame

(famous)

2 readers who show curiosity

(curious)

3 someone who feels envy

(envious)

- 18 -

4 a region which is full of mountains

(mountainous)

5 a parcel which has a very large volume

(voluminous)

infinitive / gerund as the subject of a sentence

2 Complete the sentences using infinitive or gerund as the subject. Usually both forms are

possible, but you should be able to justify your choice.

1

Getting up

early in the morning gives me more time to organize the day.

(To express an everyday activity)

2

To write a best-seller

has always been my dream.

(This is a bit more abstract or a far- away grand idea)

3

Forgetting

to take back a library book may not seem serious, but it causes problems for other

students.

(To express a normal activity for many people)

4

To spend

a lot of time reading in one’s childhood can bring rewards later in life.

(Use the more abstract form for an important idea)

5

To be or not to be

, that is the question.

(In Shakespeare this can be interpreted as a grand idea, so he uses the formal way; if you say, ‘Being

or

not being…’ is may be more immediate and seems normal –

but in Hamlet the situation is not

normal)

such is / are …

3 Rewrite the s

entences using such is / are …

1 Good writing is so powerful that the reader thinks the writer is speaking directly to them.

The reader thinks the writer is speaking directly to them. Such is the power of good writing.

2 The novel

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

is so charming that you can’t put it down even for a

moment.

You can’t put Salmon Fishing in the Yemen down even for a moment. Such is the charm of the novel.

3 Travel is such a pleasure that you may end up living in another country.

You may end up living in another country. Such is the pleasure of travel.

4 The sense of confusion in this film is so great that you may feel you want to leave before the end.

You may feel you want to leave before the end. Such is the sense of confusion in this film.

5 The difficulties of translation are so enormous that much of the meaning is lost.

Much of the meaning is lost. Such is the enormity of the difficulties of translation.

if / whether it be …

4 Rewrite the sentences using if / whether it be …

1 Is it the right time to start this kind of project? Ask yourself carefully.

Ask yourself carefully whether it be the right time to start this kind of project.

2 Is it the first edition of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary? I very much doubt it.

I very much doubt if this be the first e

dition of Dr Johnson’s Dictionary.

3 Is it common knowledge that Arthur Miller thought like this? I’m not sure.

I am not sure if it be common knowledge that Arthur Miller thought like this.

4 Is it necessary to produce any documents when making an application? Perhaps we should inquire.

Perhaps we should inquire whether it be necessary to produce any documents when making an

application.

5 Is it the right way to tackle the problem? I doubt it.

I doubt if it be the right way to tackle the problem.

- 19 -

collocations

5 Read the explanations of the words. Answer the questions.

1

confront

This word usually means to deal with a difficult situation.

(a) Which are the most important

problems

we have to

confront

in today’s world?

This could be a long list! I’d say: globa

l warming, pollution, water shortages, extreme weather

conditions, local military conflicts, poverty, famine and hunger, unemployment, to name only a few.

(b)

Were

you

confronted by

anyone asking for something on your way to class today?

Not today, but a few days ago I was confronted by someone asking for money

–

which I didn’t like

at all.

(c) What’s the biggest crisis you’ve ever been

confronted with

?

The problem that my grandfather is elderly and has Alzheimer’s disease: He needs constant care

because he forgets ordinary things. It is difficult for my parents and for me because we all take turns

to look after him. I realized what this was really like when I had to look after him for a weekend

when my parents were away, but I discovered I have a lot more patience now. So perhaps this crisis

has helped us to develop some good qualities, although it is actually a very difficult time for all

of us.

2

idle

This word usually means not being used, lazy, or without any real reason or purpose.

(a) If someone is

idle

by nature, what don’t they like doing?

They don’t like doing work or other things that they should do but which they don’t like doing.

(b) If machinery is

idle

, what isn’t it doing?

The machinery is not being used.

(c) If someone picks up a book out of

idle curiosity

, do they have a strong motivation to read it?

Not really, they just have a slight curiosity to see what the book is, but they have no real interest.

(d) If someone makes you an

idle threat

, do you take it seriously?

No, you don’t because you

know that the threat has no real purpose.

3

tackle

This word usually means to challenge someone or something, or to make an attempt to deal

with

a problem.

(a) What are the main

issues

the government needs to

tackle

in the near future?

Well. I suppose there are several issues which need to be tackled, including rising prices and

employment in some places, or some social problems in a few areas.

(b) How do you

tackle someone about

their ideas and opinions?

I am inclined to be direct and simply ask them about their opinions and ideas. I think they will tell

me honestly if they believe I am really interested in what they think.

(c) If you

tackle someone

in a game of football, what have you managed to do?

You have managed to get the ball away from them so that your team can keep the ball for a

moment.

4

withstand

This word usually means to be strong enough not to be harmed or destroyed by

something,

or to be able to deal with a difficult situation.

(a) What sort of defences can

withstand a direct attack

?

To withstand a direct attack you need strong defences which are well placed.

(b) What sort of clothes allow you to

withstand the cold

in winter?

- 20 -

To withstand the cold in winter, you need thick, warm clothes.

(c) Can you

withstand the pressure

of having to produce regular assignments on your course?

Yes, I can. Actually, our teachers generally give us our assignments at intervals and we usually know

well in advance what we should. So as long as you get on with the work (and don’t leave it until the

last minute!) the pressure is not too bad and we can manage.

6 Translate the paragraph into Chinese.

Indubitably the vast majority of books overlap one another. Few indeed are those which give the

impression of originality, either in style or in content. Rare are the unique books

–

less than 50,

perhaps, out of the whole storehouse of literature. In one of his recent autobiographical novels, Blaise

Cendrars points out that Ré

my de Gourmont, because of his knowledge and awareness of this

repetitive quality in books, was able to select and read all that is worthwhile in the entire realm of

literature. Cendrars himself

–

who would suspect it?

–

is a prodigious reader. He reads most authors in

their original tongue. Not only that, but when he likes an author he reads every last book the man has

written, as well as his letters and all the books that have been written about him. In our day his case is

almost unparalleled, I imagine. For, not only has he read widely and deeply, but he has himself written

a great many books. All on the side, as it were. For, if he is anything, Cendrars, he is a man of action,

an adventurer and explorer,

a man who has known how to “waste” his time royally. He is, in a sense,

the Julius Caesar of literature.

（几处倒装句应灵活处理，以体现原文语气。

every last book the man has written

等于

all the

books he has written

。

注意这段话的逻辑关系。

If he is anything, he is a man of…

一句中的

if

从句

起强调作

用，说明他不是一个书生或思想家，而是一个行动家。此处需灵活翻译。）