大学英语精读修订版第四册Book4UnitThree课件

1、Unit 3Why Do We Believe That the Earth Is Round?I. Word study1. preface (to): introduction; foreword2. gullible: credulous【记忆法】gull vt.欺骗 n.鸥，笨人gullibility易受欺骗3. superstitious: believing in superstition- Tom is very superstitious and believes the number 13 brings bad luck.- Many people have a supers

2、titious fear of the dark.4. cite: give or mention as an example(esp. by quoting from a book to support an argument, etc.)- The lawyer cited a previous case to support his argument.5. widespread: popular- Personal computers are in widespread use now even in underdeveloped areas.- The problem of air p

3、ollution has attracted widespread attention. 6. advance vt.: put or bring forward- She is too shy to advance her opinion at the meeting.- In the 19th century, the new theory of the origin of life advanced by Darwin raised a storm of debate in England and other parts of the world. advanced adj. 【考点】i

4、n advance -We were told to pay the rent in advance.7. appeal vi.【考点】appeal to sb.: attract, move the feeling of-The idea of studying abroad appeals to many young people.- Bright colors appeal to children. Cf. appeal for sth. 呼吁，强烈要求帮助，支持等 plead for向人求情或替某人求情以求宽恕或同意请求等 call for 指一般的要求 -As a result of

5、 the radio _ for help for the earthquake victims, over a million pounds has been raised. a. beg b. plead c. appeal d. call 8. mentalitymental moral physical 12. citizen：一般指有某种国籍的公民 inhabitant：指某一地方的常住居民 resident：除指居民外，还可指侨民，住外使节等 civil ：市民的，民用的- She is a British citizen, but lives in India.- senior

6、citizen13. refute: prove (sb.) to be mistaken or (a statement) to be untrue-How would you refute the theory that the earth is flat?- The best way to refute the accusation of laziness is to work hark.14. invisible- invisible exports/imports:无形输入输出- invisible ink :隐形墨水- invisible mending :看不出的修补15. ho

7、rizon horizontal【考点】on / below the horizon - There is a tree on the horizon.- The sun had already sunk below the horizon.- Suddenly the sailors saw a ship far away on the horizon. 16. phenomenon (pl. phenomena)- The booklet gives scientific explanations to many natural phenomena.19.analogy: similari

8、ty, likeness analogue n. analogue computer模拟计算机 analogous adj.【考点】draw an analogy between: describe the similarities在之间作比喻- The teacher drew an analogy between the human heart and the pump.教师打了一个比喻，把人的心脏比作唧筒by/from analogy 用类推法 e.g. argue by analogy20. prompt adj. & v. 【考点】prompt sb. to do sth.- Wha

9、t prompted him to be so generous?21. cast: send (light, shadow, etc.) on a surface- The candle cast a flickering light on the wall.- The tall tree casts a long shadow across the lawn in the late afternoon.22. exchange【考点】exchange A for B- You can exchange five apples for five eggs. in exchange (for)

10、23. statement- They need more facts to back up their statement.- His statement is vague and no one can be sure what it means. 【考点】在state that 这一结构中that不宜省略- He stated that he had never seen the accused man.他说他从未见过被告statesman 指正派的“政治家”，不用作贬义politician 指“政治家”，主要用作贬义，指运用计谋贪图私利的“政客”24. justify vt. prove

11、 or show (an act, statement, etc.) to be just or right- Your wish to go for a walk can not justify leaving the baby alone in the house. 你想去散步，这不能作为你把孩子独自一人放在屋里的理由。- Mr. Hunter managed to justify his neglect of his duty on the basis of his poor health.亨特先生设法把他的失职归于身体状况差.- How can the government justi

12、fy the spending of millions of pounds on weapons?政府怎么来说明花百万英镑购买武器是有道理的？ 【考点】be justified in doing sth.: have a good reason to - You are justified in saying that.- Hes fully justified in refusing your request.25. counter 1) n. 计算器；柜台2) adv. (与)相反，反对3) vi. & vt. : oppose 反对，反击- They countered our prop

13、osal with one of their own.counter-1)in opposition to; against counteract2)in return counterattack3)corresponding counterpart26. exceptionally: unusually-Hes an exceptionally talented player in NBA history.-You have defended your position exceptionally well.【考点】an exception to 的一个例外- This is an exce

14、ption to the grammatical rules. with the exception of除之外-I enjoyed all Zhangs films with the exception of his Happy Time.Comparison :besides, except and except for-Besides Tom, Kate passed.-I enjoyed all his novels except his last.except for ：指除外者异于包括在内者-Your essay is good except for the spelling.29

15、. press: demand or ask continuously; urge strongly- He looked very ill that morning and all his classmates pressed him to go and see the doctor at once.30. credulous: believing too easily in sth.- Only a credulous person would believe your stories.- Credulous people are usually easily fooled.31. bur

16、den n. vt.- I dont want to be a burden on anyone.- Ann was tired of the burden of looking after so many children.32. follow up: pursue or investigate closely; find out more about- They followed up the matter until they got results.-The editor of the newspaper thinks that this story is worth followin

17、g up.33. for the sake of: for the purpose of ( = for ones sake )for Gods sakefor any sake无论如何- He bought a house in the country for the sake of his mothers health.- I did it for your sake, I didnt care about it myself.- Ill give you a hand for your brothers sake.36. as for : with regard to, concerni

18、ng (used at the beginning of a sentence in order to introduce a topic or point that is different from what has just been said although it is related to it.)- As for you, I never want to see you here again. as to : (used not only at the beginning but the end of a sentence)- As to your brother, Ill de

19、al with him later.- We were at a loss as to what to do next.37. may well (not) : be very likely (not) to 表示“很可能”，用来修饰现在和将来的可能性，但不能表达选择 may as well表达某种无可奈何的“选择”和“委婉的- You may well think so, but may well not say so.- You might as well go home with me now.38. bring out: cause to appear; come out togeth

20、er with 使出现; 带出来 -She brought her mother out to the car.她把母亲领出来走向汽车。This warm weather will bring out all the blossom on the fruit trees.这暖和的天气会使果树的花盛开。39. fall back on: turn to for help, use, when all else has failed He is a man to fall back on in an emergency.40. rest on: rely on; be based on Colum

21、buss decision to sail west to reach the East rested on his belief that the earth was round.41. stray (away) from: wander away from; leave (a subject) His sheep strayed away from his own fields to a neighbors. Youre straying (away) from the subject again; so please keep to the point.42. start off vi.

22、n He started off this morning without telling us where he was going.n The chairman started off on his favorite subject after attacking the first speaker.II. Vocabulary Exercise1. Those gifts of rare books that were given to us were deeply _. (99.6) a. appealed b. appreciated c. applied d. approved2.

23、 Most broadcasters maintain that TV has been unfairly criticized and argue that the power of the medium is _. (00.6) a. granted b. implied c. exaggerated d. remedied3. He hoped the firm would _ him to the Paris branch.(98.1) a. exchange b. transmit c. transfer d. remove4. To help students understand

24、 how we see, teachers often draw an _ between an eye and a camera.(01.6) a. axis b. image c. imitation d. analogyII. Passage Reading 1. Background information1) About the author: George Orwell(1903 - 1950) a) British novelist and essayist b) stresses the importance of truth and objectivity, and the

25、need to be willing to question the trustworthiness of those from whom we take our opinions and beliefs2) George Bernard Shaw(1865 - 1950) a) Irish playwright, critic and novelistb) the greatest British dramatist since Shakespeare, the greatest satirist since Swiftc) awarded the Nobel Prize for Liter

26、ature in 19252. Introductory remarksIn this article, George Orwell uses vivid examples and analogies to support Bernard Shaws point, that is, we are more credulous today than we were in the Middle Ages. Orwell first tries to refute both the Flat earth theory and the Oval Earth theory but says his re

27、asons for thinking that the earth is round are rather weak and precarious. Then from the discussion he draws his conclusion that ours is a credulous age because much of knowledge does not rest on reasoning or experiment but on authority. Here Orwell expresses a healthy concern for the burden that th

28、e ordinary newspaper-reading citizen carries. 3. Part Division of the TextPart I (Para. 1) We are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages.Part II (Para. 2 7 ) Orwell tries to refute both the Flat earth theory and the Oval Earth theory but says his reasons for thinking t

29、hat the earth is round are rather weak and precarious.Part III (Para. 8) Much of knowledge does not rest on reasoning or experiment but on authority.3. l.6 He merely swallows this theory : He accepts this theory without question or suspicion.swallow 1) n. 燕子2) allow (food, etc.) to pass down the thr

30、oat to the stomach-He swallowed his medicine with the help of some water.- His throat was so painful that he could hardly swallow.3) accept sth. without question or protest- He will never swallow such an excuse.他永远不会轻信这种托词- Surely, youre not going to swallow an insult like that.你当然不会容忍那样的侮辱！4. l.8 T

31、here is something in what he says : there is some truth in what he says something : a thing or a person of importance - He think he is something. 他自以为了不起. something in / to: some truth or value in- There is something ( some truth, some point ) in / to what you say；Ill take your advice.5. l.32 Defeat

32、ed in the minor exchange, : 过去分词短语作状语，表示原因，相当于Since I was defeated in the two less important rounds of debate, 7. l.36 bring out : show, produce- Suddenly the man brought out a gun and threatened the taxi-driver with it.- As I brought the handkerchief out of my pocket, several other objects fell out

33、.8. l.42 then bang goes my ace : (inverted sentence ) bang adv.Note : If you say bang goes something you mean it suddenly becomes obvious that it cannot now succeed or be achieved.- The dog has eaten our food bang goes dinner! (= no dinner )- Hes broken his leg, so bang goes playing football.- Half

34、way through the race I twisted my ankle, so bang went my chance of winning.9. l.44 finish : destroy; kill- That shock almost finished him.那一惊几乎把他吓死- The flu almost finished the old man.- The Watergate scandal finished Nixons political career.10. l.55 bother : take the trouble; trouble oneself- Dont

35、bother about my breakfast, Im not hungry in the least.- After writing an article, he never bothers to go over it again.- On her mothers 80th birthday, Myra would not even bother to buy her a gift.11. l.58 in a way : to a certain degree; in a certain but limited manner- In a way I agree with you, but

36、 I think you could have presented your argument in a much better way.- He considers himself a great singer, and in a way he is justified.IV. Useful Collocations and Expressions 1. the widespread belief广为流传的信念 2. the average man普通人 3. ocular proof凭观察得出的结论 4. newspaper-reading citizen报纸的读者 5. refute a

37、 theory驳斥一个理论 6. stand by the seashore站在海边 7. say against反驳 8. by observation通过观察 9. cast a shadow投下阴影10. minor exchanges小小的交锋11. to ones delight让人高兴的是12. go round环绕13. precarious reasons不牢靠的理由14. at this level在这个水平上15. rest on authority依赖权威16. a credulous age轻信的年代V. Homework 1. Review the language

38、points discussed in class 2. Study the writing style and method of this article 3. Finish the exercises related to the textTeaching Steps of the Last Period:I. Review1. Make sentences with some important phrases2.Retell the text in own words “Why Do We Believe That The Earth Is Round ” is one of a series of short essays Orwell wrote for British periodicals in the 1940s. In it he