Module 5 The Conquest of the Universe

词汇短语园地

1. accustomed adj. 习惯的

搭配：

be accustomed to （doing） sth = be used to （doing） sth 习惯于（做）某事

I’m accustomed to the school life here now.

现在我习惯这儿的学校生活了。

I have been accustomed to going to bed early and getting up early for years.

我已习惯于早睡早起数年了。

accustom v. 使……习惯于

It took a while for me to accustom myself to all the new rules and regulations.

我花了一段时间才适应了所有新的规章制度。

2. witness v. 目击，亲眼看见；亲身经历

Did you witness the accident？

你亲眼看到那场事故了吗？

（1） witness v. 作证（常与against，for，to等连用）

I think she will witness against him.

我认为她会证明他有罪。

He witnessed to having seen the man enter the building.

他作证说曾看到此人走进大楼。

（2） witness n. 目击者；证人

His good health is a witness to the success of the treatment.

他身体健康证明这种疗法是成功的。

（1） be （a） witness to sth 目击某事发生；为某事提供证据

（2） bear/give witness （to sth） 为……作证；证明

3. assume v. 假定，假设

搭配：

（1） assume + sth/that-clause 假定，认为……

We can’t assume anything in this case.

在这种情形下我们无法做出任何揣测。

I assume that you always get up at the same time.

我想你总是在同一时间起床。

（2） assume sb/sth to be... 假设某人/某物是……

He’s not such a fool as you assumed him to be.

他并非你所认为的那样愚蠢。

assumption n. 假定，假设

on the assumption that... / assuming that... 假定……

Assuming that/On the assumption that the proposal is accepted， when are we going to get the money？

假定这个建议被采纳，我们何时能拿到钱？

4. patience n. 耐心

The work requires both skill and patience.

这项工作既需要技术又需要耐心。

搭配：

be out of patience with... 耐不住…… ；对…… 忍无可忍

have no patience with... 对……不能容忍；对…… 没有耐性

have patience to do sth 做某事有耐性

be patient with sb 对某人有耐心

be patient of sth 忍耐某事

patiently = with patience 耐心地

5. burst v. 爆炸

I carry a spare tyre in the boot of the car in case one bursts.

我带了一个备用轮胎放在后备厢里，以防爆胎。

（1） burst into tears/laughter/cheers 突然大哭/大笑/欢呼起来

（2） burst out crying/laughing/singing 突然哭起来/笑起来/唱起来

（3） burst into the room 闯入屋里

（4） burst with anger 勃然大怒

（5） burst with joy/happiness 非常高兴

（6） burst in 突然插嘴；打断

“I don’t see why we should do that，” Peter burst in.

皮特突然插嘴说：“我不明白我们为什么要这么做。”

（7） burst open （使）猛然打开

Firefighters burst the door open and rescued them.

消防队员撞开门，把他们救了出来。

6. acknowledge v. 承认；认为

搭配：

（1） acknowledge+sth/that-clause... 承认……

（2） acknowledge doing... 承认做过……

（3） acknowledge...as/to be... 认为……是……（常用于被动形式）

（4） It’s widely/universally acknowledged that... 大家普遍认为……

They acknowledged their responsibility for the bombing. = They acknowledged that they were responsible for the bombing.

他们承认对这起爆炸事件负责。

Zhang Yimou is acknowledged as one of the best movie directors in China nowadays. = It’s acknowledged that Zhang Yimou is one of the best movie directors in China nowadays.

张艺谋被公认为是中国当今最优秀的电影导演之一。

acknowledge v. 告知（收到）；感谢

She walked right past me without acknowledging me.

她从我身旁走过，连个招呼也没打。

His long service with the company was acknowledged with a present.

公司送他一份礼物，答谢他对公司的长期服务。

7. defeat n. 失败

I never consider the possibility of defeat.

我从未考虑有失败的可能性。

defeat v. 击败；战胜

辨析：

比较beat， defeat和win

（1） beat和defeat都表示在战斗或竞赛中“战胜、击败（对手）”，后接竞争对手。

The news that he has been defeated/beaten in the election is not true.

他在大选中被击败的消息不真实。

（2） win“战胜、赢得”，其宾语通常是比赛、战争、奖品或表尊重、崇拜之类意义的词。竞争对手不能作其宾语。

win a game/match/race 在游戏/比赛/赛跑中获胜

win a gold medal （在比赛、竞赛中）赢得金牌

win support 赢得支持

8. accuse v. 指责

搭配：

accuse sb of sth/doing sth 控告某人某事/做某事

The police accused him of murder.

警方指控他谋杀。

She accused him of stealing her watch.

她控告他偷她的表。

辨析：

比较accuse， charge和blame

（1） accuse指“当面指控或指责，不一定诉诸法庭”。

（2） charge指“因犯较大错误或重大罪行而进行正式法律控诉”。可构成charge sb with sth的搭配，意思是“控告某人某事”。

The police are going to charge him with murder.

警察准备控告他谋杀罪。

（3） blame指“对不好的事物或对做错事的人给予责备”。可构成blame sb for （doing） sth或sb is to blame for sth的搭配。

The driver was to blame for the accident.

这起交通事故责任应归咎于这个司机。

9. relief n. 安慰；宽慰

To my great relief， I wasn’t late.

我最庆幸的是没有迟到。

搭配：

It’s a great relief to do sth 做……让人宽慰

It’s a great relief to find you here.

见到你在这儿也就放心了。

to one’s relief 使某人感到庆幸或宽慰的是

in relief 如释重负地

bring/give relief to... 给…… 带来宽慰

10. consult v. 咨询；请教

搭配：

consult sb about sth 就某事向某人征求意见

He consulted his lawyer about the case.

他就此案向律师作了咨询。

（1） consult a doctor 看医生

（2） consult with sb 与某人商量

（3） consult a map/dictionary 查阅地图/词典

（4） consult one’s notes 查看某人的笔记

11. in spite of 不管

In spite of the heavy snow， he drove downtown.

尽管下着大雪，他还是开车去了城里。

搭配：

in spite of/despite the fact that... 不管…… 的事实

辨析：

比较in spite of和though

in spite of是介词，后接宾语。though是连词，后接从句。

They had a wonderful holiday， in spite of the bad weather. = They had a wonderful holiday， though/although the weather was bad.

尽管天气不好，他们还是度过了一个美好的假期。

regardless of 不管；不顾

12. set out 开始做；着手进行

搭配：

set out to do sth = set about doing sth = get down to doing sth

着手、开始做某事

At five in the morning he set out to do （set about doing） his work.

清晨五点他就开始工作。

set out for... = set off for... = leave for... 动身去……

Having said goodbye to their friends， they set out （set off） for Paris.

他们向朋友告别后，就动身去巴黎了。

跟踪导练（一）

阅读理解

In the summer of 1978 an English farmer was driving his tractor through a field of wheat when he discovered that some of his wheat was lying flat on the ground. The flattened wheat formed a circle about six meters across. Around this circle were four smaller circles of flattened wheat. The five circles were in a formation like five dots （点）.

The circles are called “crop circles” because they appear in the fields of grain—usually wheat or corn. The grain in the circles lies flat on the ground but is never broken； it continues to grow， and farmers can later harvest it. Farmers always discover the crop circles in the morning， so the circles probably form at night.

At first， people thought that the circles were a hoax. Probably young people were making them as a joke， or farmers were making them to attract tourists. To prove that the circles were a hoax， people tried to make circles exactly like the ones that farmers had found. They couldn’t do it. They couldn’t enter a field of grain without leaving tracks， and they couldn’t flatten the grain without breaking it.

Many people believe that beings from outer space are making the circles to communicate with us from far away and that the crop circles are messages from them.

Scientists who have studied the crop circles suggested several possibilities. Some scientists say that a downward rush of wind leads to the formation of the circles—the same downward rush of air that sometimes causes an airplane to crash. Other scientists say that forces within the earth cause the circles to appear. There is one problem with all these scientific explanations： crop circles often appear in formations， like the five-dot formation. It is hard to believe that any natural force could form those.

1. What did the English farmer discover in his field in the summer of 1978？

A. His grain was growing up in circles.

B. Some of his wheat had been damaged.

C. His grain was moved into several circles.

D. Some of his wheat formed some strange patterns on the ground.

2. The underlined part “a hoax” in Paragraph 3 probably means “___”.

A. a special way to plant crops

B. an attempt made to fool people

C. a research on the force of winds

D. an experiment for the protection of crops

3. The crop circles are not made by man because the farmers couldn’t ___ .

A. step out of the field

B. make the circles round

C. leave without footprints

D. keep the wheat straight up

4. Which should be the best title for the text？

A. An Unsolved Mystery

B. Strange Flying Objects

C. The Power of Natural Forces

D. The Discovery of Strange Circles

完形填空

I woke up the other day to find that 10 inches of freshly fallen snow was waiting for me outside my door. The flakes （雪花） were still 1 heavily too. I didn’t want my little dogs 2 in it， so I reluctantly （不情愿地） 3 on my heavy coat and took the snow shovel （铁铲） to make a 4 . I had only gotten a bit done， however， 5 the handle of my old snow shovel 6 with a “snap”. Laughing and shaking my head， I 7 to wait out the storm for a while.

It was late in the afternoon when the snow finally 8 and I trudged （跋涉） over to my Dad’s house to borrow his shovel and

9 again. By then the 10 inches of snow had turned into a foot and a half. I started out slow setting a steady 10 and stopping to rest whenever my back started to ache. After a while， though， the

11 finally broke and the sun peeked out to 12 me on. The work seemed a lot easier then even though it was still 13 . I even sang a few Christmas songs and 14 while I cleared out the drives， cleaned off the cars， and shoveled out the paths. After an hour of hard work the job was 15 done. It felt good walking back to my house after a job 16 done. It felt even better 17 around at this wonderful world of white.

I don’t know why life sometimes gives us spring days and sometimes dumps a ton of snow in us. I do know， 18 ， that we can pray， laugh， love， and choose 19 through it all. God loves us always. He comforts our souls and 20 our hearts on the coldest days. He is with us forever and that is the greatest gift of all.

1. A. fallingB. floatingC. pilingD. flying

2. A. missingB. runningC. hidingD. drowning

3. A. pulledB. draggedC. tookD. pushed

4. A. differenceB. discoveryC. pathD. snowman

5. A. untilB. whenC. onceD. as

6. A. crashed B. bentC. slippedD. broke

7. A. decidedB. hopedC. continuedD. hesitated

8. A. disappearedB. frozeC. stoppedD. melted

9. A. moveB. tryC. checkD. struggle

10. A. developmentB. rateC. stepD. pace

11. A. cloudsB. shovelC. skyD. trees

12. A. overlookB. cheerC. shineD. trick

13. A. foggyB. coldC. clear D. bright

14. A. prayedB. jumpedC. wavedD. smiled

15. A. roughlyB. graduallyC. slowlyD. finally

16. A. wellB. hardlyC. halfD. easily

17. A. walkingB. lookingC. turningD. wandering

18. A. anywayB. stillC. thenD. however

19. A. confidenceB. luckC. joyD. determination

20. A. seizesB. curesC. warmsD. guides

阅读填空

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。

To most Chinese students， studying abroad could be a burden. There are lots of difficulties 1 （face） them every day—language barrier， culture shock， gaps 2 Eastern and Western lifestyles， expensive education fees and endless research projects.

To Song Yinan， however， studying abroad was a（n） 3 （forget） experience. In her book， Kiki’s London Diary， she tells her stories in

4 optimistic way.

The language barrier is the biggest difficulty Chinese students will meet abroad. In a story 5 （write） at the beginning of her first term in London， Song suffered some embarrassment during a welcoming party， 6 she was introduced to some drink and wine.

However， she found that she couldn’t read most of the English names of the drinks and therefore 7 （drink） only cola and fruit juice. She described how red her face was. Song says it is normal for most Chinese 8 （lose） face when they study abroad. And she is happy to share the story with others.

Throughout the book， readers can feel the 9 （optimistic） and persistence （坚持） of this girl. 10 （She） study and life experiences are sure to delight any Chinese studying abroad or who plan to do so.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

跟踪导练（二）

阅读理解

Since the 1970s， scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface （BCI） technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently， two researchers， Jose Milan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne， Switzerland， demonstrated （展示） a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.

In the laboratory， Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord （脊髓） to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles，” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with the outside world and also to control devices.”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp （头皮） and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Milan， the team leader， says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories： communication， and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients， so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

1. BCI is a technology that can ___ .

A. help to cure the disabled

B. control a person’s thoughts

C. help to rebuild computer systems

D. link the human brain with computers

2. How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory？

A. By using his mind.

B. By moving his hand.

C. By talking to the machine.

D. By controlling his muscles.

3. Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5？

A. scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair

B. computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C. scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair

D. cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

4. Which should be the best title for the text？

A. Switzerland， the BCI Research Center

B. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

C. New Findings about How the Human Brain Works

D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

阅读选择

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish （区别） each other a lot. 1

The origin of the eastern cultures is mainly from two countries： China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers—the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India. 2

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture， another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain—the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. 3

At the same time， some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East， most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. 4 But what’s more， due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and West， the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries. So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference （干扰） from the other.

The differences are everywhere. 5 But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle （障碍） to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.

A. Let us work together to keep a variety of culture.

B. One important thing is to learn about other cultures.

C. Other causes like human race difference counts as well.

D. They affect people’s ways of thinking and their views of the world.

E. And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture.

F. This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole.

G. They helped the two cultures develop for centuries and form their own styles.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

短文改错

A little wave is jumping along in the ocean， having great time. He is enjoying the wind but the fresh air until he notices the other waves in front of him， crashing against on the shore. “This is terribly，” the wave says. “Look how is going to happen to me！” Then along came another wave. It sees the first wave looked depressed， and it asks him， “Why do you look so sad？” The first wave says， “They are all going to crash！ All of us waves are going to be everything！ Isn’t this terrible？” The second wave says， “No. We are not wave. We are part of the ocean.”