Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness? 是本能還是機(jī)智
【New words and expressions】 生詞和短語
●insect n. 昆蟲
●wage v. 進(jìn)行（斗爭）
●contaminate v. 弄臟
●provocation n. 惹怒
●spider n. 蜘蛛
●wasp n. 黃蜂
●moth n. 飛蛾
●ant n. 螞蟻
●revulsion n. 厭惡
●horde n. 群
●uncanny adj. 神秘的，不可思議的
●erase v. 擦，抹去
●praying mantis 螳螂
●entranced adj. 出神的
●beetle n. 甲蟲
●sheltered adj. 傷不著的，無危險(xiǎn)的
●luscious adj. 甘美的
●cluster n. 一簇
●aphid n. 蚜蟲
●underside n. 底面，下側(cè)
●colony n. 一群
●sticky adj. 粘的
●scurry v. 小步跑
●swarm v. 聚集
●ingenuity n. 機(jī)靈
◆insect n. 昆蟲
◆wage v. 進(jìn)行（斗爭）
wage: begin and continue a struggle
wage a war against / on
Eg: life means perpetual struggle against poverty.
carry on
undertake to do 著手
Eg: He undertook to inform people concerned.
engage in / be engaged in / be determined on sth. / be dedicated to sth. / be devoted to sth.
◆◆◆contaminate v. 弄臟
contaminate / pollute
contaminate: make dirty or bad or impure by mixing with dirty or poisonous matter.
Eg: Don’t eat the apple. It has been contaminated by flies.
Never eat food contaminated by flies.
Don’t read the hot story just because it will contaminate your mind. 別閱讀黃色書刊。
hot story 色情小說 blue movie 色情電影
pollute
Eg: The air has been polluted severely / terribly / badly.
pollution / polluted
tint vt. 弄臟(通常指壞因素對你的影響)
Eg: Don’t read the hot story just because it will contaminate / tint your mind.
His reputation was tinted by the scandal. 他的名聲被丑聞?wù)次哿恕?BR> scandal 丑聞
foul : 弄臟 make sth. dirty
Eg: Dogs are forbidden to go into the streets because we are afraid the streets will be fouled.
The factory is responsible for fouling up the air. (相當(dāng)于pollute)
foul up == pollute
defile 弄臟，污染 make sth. impure
Eg: I like honey, but I don’t want to drink the honey defiled by flies.
poison / foul up / pollute
Eg: Gases from cars are poisoning the air of our city.
Read: pollute / foul up / poison / contaminate / defile / tint
Eg: He is contaminated / tinted by hot stories.
Hot stories contaminate / tint his mind.
◆provocation n. 惹怒
provoke v.
1. make angry or bad-tempered
Eg: He was provoked beyond his endurance.
He was provoked and it was more than he could endure.
2. cause 引起，導(dǎo)致，激起
arouse
Eg: The book arouses / provokes my interest.
bring about / result in / lead to / give rise to
provoke sb’s interest in sth.
provoke sb, to do / provoke sb. into doing / cause sb. to do sth.
Eg: You provoked him to say so. Why?
L54-01 end 18’53”
L54-02 begin 18’48”
Eg: His provocation is beyond my endurance.
◆spider n. 蜘蛛
◆wasp n. 黃蜂
◆moth n. 飛蛾
◆ant n. 螞蟻
◆revulsion n. 厭惡
disgust / dislike
◆horde n. 群
◆uncanny adj. 神秘的，不可思議的
mysterious
Eg: They are leading a mysterious life.
In spite of this, he survived mysteriously.
eerie 怪誕的，奇異的
Eg: He looks eerie. / What he said is eerie to me.
weird 怪異的，怪誕的，神秘的 （行為舉止讓人摸不著頭尾）
Eg: I can’t get along well with him because he is a weird person.
Why do you decide to many such a weird person?
cryptic 神秘的，鬼鬼崽崽的
Eg: Why did you do such a little thing in a cryptic way.
Read: eerie / weird / cryptic / mysterious / uncanny
◆erase v. 擦，抹去
Eg: Erease the idea from your mind!
He erases the name from the namelist.
cancel / write off / cross off
Eg: The word is unnecessary here, so it is crossed off.
wipe out
Eg: I want to write on the blackboard, so I have to wipe all the words here out.
I can’t imaging why you are so hot, please wipe out sweat on your face.
obliterate 涂去
Eg: He obliterated two words in ink / with a pen.
I obliterate the word with chalk.
◆praying mantis 螳螂
◆entranced adj. 出神的
entrance
entrance to the room / hall
entrance: carry away with joy and delight 入迷，出神
be entranced in thought
Eg: I don’t know what he has in his mind. Anyway he is entranced in thought.
be entranced with fear 嚇得魂不附體
Eg: At the story at night, I was entranced with fear.
be pleased with / be satisfied with / be popular with / be entranced with performance / film / book
Eg: He was entranced with film.
Are you entranced with the story?
He listened to the story entranced.
The writer watched ants entranced.
◆beetle n. 甲蟲
◆sheltered adj. 傷不著的，無危險(xiǎn)的
◆luscious adj. 甘美的
◆cluster n. 一簇
◆aphid n. 蚜蟲
◆underside n. 底面，下側(cè)
◆colony n. 一群
◆sticky adj. 粘的
◆scurry v. 小步跑
◆swarm v. 聚集
◆ingenuity n. 機(jī)靈
Eg: The boy shows ingenulity in making toys.
【Text】
Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness? 是本能還是機(jī)智
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Was the writer successful in protecting his peach tree? Why not?
We have been brought up to fear insects. We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good. We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat ageist our lighted windows. We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths. Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears. Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch. No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating. We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives. We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their Business, unaware (we hope) of our presence. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing Home an enormous dead beetle?
Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree. The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house. I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches. During the summer, I noticed tat the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither. Clusters of tiny insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them. I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids. The tape was so stick that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time. I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment. I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it. I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity. The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods!
參考譯文
我們自幼就在對昆蟲的懼怕中長大。我們把昆蟲當(dāng)作害多益少的無用東西。人類不斷同昆蟲斗爭，因?yàn)槔ハx弄臟我們的食物，傳播疾病，吞噬莊稼。它們無緣無故地又叮又咬；夏天的晚上，它們未經(jīng)邀請便飛到我們房間里，或者對著露出亮光的窗戶亂撲亂撞。我們在日常生活中，不但憎惡如蜘蛛、黃蜂之類令人討厭的昆蟲，而且憎惡并無大害的飛蛾等。閱讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書能增加我們對它們的了解，卻不能消除我們的恐懼的心理。即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活具有高度組織性的社會里，當(dāng)看到大群螞蟻在我們精心準(zhǔn)備的午間野餐上爬行時，我們也無法抑制對它們的反感。不管我們多么愛吃蜂蜜，或讀過多少關(guān)于蜜蜂具有神秘的識別方向的靈感的書，我們?nèi)匀皇趾ε卤环潋?。我們的恐懼大部分是沒有道理的，但去無法消除。同時，不知為什么昆蟲又是迷人的。我們喜歡看有關(guān)昆蟲的書，尤其是當(dāng)我們了解螳螂等過著一種令人生畏的生活時，就更加愛讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書了。我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道（但愿如此）我們就在它們身邊。當(dāng)看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時，一隊(duì)螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲凱旋歸時，誰能不感到敬畏呢？
去年夏天，我花了好幾天時間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛的桃樹的樹干。那棵樹是靠著房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長的。我為這棵樹感到特別自豪，不僅因?yàn)樗冗^了幾個寒冬終于活了下來，而且還因?yàn)樗袝r結(jié)出些甘甜的桃子來。到了夏天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹葉開始枯萎，結(jié)果在樹葉背面找到成串的叫作蚜蟲小蟲子。蚜蟲遭到一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。我當(dāng)即動手作了一項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)，這項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)盡管沒有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時。我用一條膠帶把桃樹底部包上，不讓螞蟻接近蚜蟲。膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過。在很長一段時間里，我看見螞蟻圍著大樹底部來回轉(zhuǎn)悠，不知所措。半夜，我還拿著電筒來到花園里，滿意地（同時驚奇地）發(fā)現(xiàn)那些螞蟻還圍著膠帶團(tuán)團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)。無能為力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看見螞蟻已因無望而放棄了嘗試，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)它們又找到一條新的路徑。它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹葉。我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻的手下。螞蟻已很快找到了相應(yīng)的對策，來對付我那套完全不科學(xué)的辦法！
【課文講解】
背熟：We have been brought up to fear insects.
Eg: We have been brought up to eat certain food.
We have learnt to do ...
We have learnt to fear insects.
Girls have been brought up to fear mice.
do more harm than good
Eg: The exercese will do you good.
Smoking will do you harm.
wage war against / wage war on them
Eg: Two dogs benefited from the accident and they devoured the remains of the cake.
Her eyes devour the beautiful dress.
fly uninvited into our rooms / without being invited 不請自來
做定語時，light 只能用lighted 形式。
背熟：We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths.
Eg: I did so as / because I believe that you can do it well.
I did so in the belief that...
in the thought that / in the hope that
in / under
Eg: Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is much more veautiful.
L54-02 end 18’48”
L54-03 begin 18’57”
Eg: We live under the illusion that city life is wonderful.
in dread: in fear
in dread of
dread doing / dread to do
ones: insects
在使用not only..., but (also ) ... (as well) 句型時，要突出介詞短語或動詞短語中的介詞，則此介詞要重復(fù)出現(xiàn)。
Eg: I live in dread not only of dogs, but of cats.
be afraid of
Eg: I am afraid not only of dogs, but of cats.
both ... and ...
Eg: We live in dread of both dogs and cats.
I am interested not only in English, but in French.
dispel : erase ／get rid of / remove消除
Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being
主語 謂語
filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch.
時間狀語從句
disgusting
in a highly organized society
Eg: We live in a highly organized society.
用does nothing to do造句
Eg: Doing so does nothing to prevent me from hating you.
prevent sb. from doing sth.
Eg: Nothing will prevent me from saying so.
Whatever you say does nothing to prevent me from attaining / accomplish my goal.
accomplish goal / attain goal
accomplish aim / attain aim
horde / colony
crawl / creep / climb
背熟：No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung.
No matter how: however much
dread / fear / horror / terror
we become illogical when we have a horror of being stung.
It is impossible for us to do sth.
It is impossible for us to erase the fears.
It is easy for everyone to read. / it is easy to read.
be fascinated with
strangely: uncanny
go about their Business: as they do what they should do
as they get down to their Business
Let us get down to our Business.
You should go about your Business. 你該干你應(yīng)該干的事。
背熟：Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly
L54-03 end 18’57”
Lesson54A end 56:23
Lesson54B begin 35:17
L54-04 begin 20’16”
stand in awe: fear but respect
pounce on: jump at / charge at
stand in awe of
Eg: Generally speaking, employees stand in awe of their employer.
In primary school, puples stand in awe of their teacher.
a colony of ants
Paragraph 2:
prize: dear
如果要突出原因，則要重復(fù)because
wither
horde / colony / column / cluster
were to be found / were found
see / find / congratulate (祝賀) 常和be to 搭配，用于被動語態(tài)。
Eg: The boy was found behind the door.
The boy was to be found behind the door.
He was congratulated by his friends.
He was to be congratulated by his friends.
We can’t find him anywhere. / We can find him nowhere.
He is nowhere to be found / seen.
which obtained: to obtain
embark on: set out to do / set about doing
Eg: I immediately set out to do an experiment.
本課的要點(diǎn)內(nèi)容：even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours.
kept me fascinated : kept me occupied
bind / bound
背熟：I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids.
making it impossible for sb. to do
Eg: I work hard making it possible to pass the examination.
I prepared dinner carefully, making it possible to please my guests.
They didn’t dare to cross it. / They dared not cross it.
need
Eg: You needn’t come here on Sunday. 助動詞
You don’t need to come here on Sunday. 實(shí)義動詞
in bewilderment: were lost
swarming around
without being albe to do anything about it
unable to do anything about it
背熟：I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair.
hoping to do: in the hope that
背熟：I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity.
I took a beating completely.
be quick to find answer to / a solution to
Eg: Daniel Mendoza was quick to learn.
Ants are quick to find answer to their problem.
L54-04 end 20’16”
L54-05 begin 11’58”
【Vocabulary】P246
Explain the meanings of the ofllowing words as they are used in the passage: contaminate (l.3); devour (l.4); provocation (l.4); dispelling (l.8); revulsion (l.9); pouncing (l.15)
contaminate: make dirty, make impure
contaminate / taint
contaminate / defile
pollute / foul up / poison
devour: eat hungrily
provocation: being make angry
provoke: make angry
dispelling: erasing
dispel: erase
Nothing can dispel our fear.
industrious: hard working
revolsion: dislike
pouncing： jumping at suddenly
pounce on: 猛撲向
Eg: The customs officer pounced on my tiny bottle.(L11)
【Multiple choice questions】
Comprehension
1 We may learn more about the behaviour of insects _____ .
a. and become so fascinated by them that we are no longer moved by them
b. but we are no less likely to lose our irrational fear of them
c. provided they remain unaware of our presence while we observe them
d. as long as they only harm each other and not us
(背熟答案)
rational 理性的 / irrational 沒理性的
logical / illogical
reasonable / unreasonable
retional / irrational
outrageous / ridiculous
be likely to do 有可能做
no less likely 可能性不大
we are no less likely to do sth.
2 The ant is an insect which _____ .
a. will eat its way through anything from picnic lunches to aphids
b. lives in a highly organized society which we find disqusting
c. once it has killed its prey, will bear it Home in a triumphal column
d. shows great ingenuity at finding its way round any obstacle in its path
3 Had the peach tree been planted on the opposite side of the house _____ .
a. it might not have survived the severe winters
b. the writer would not have spent days looking at it
c. the ants would have had further to go before reaching it
d. the ants would not have found another route of access to the leaves
4 The reason for the ants’ swarming up and down the tree was that _____ .
a. they collected a kind of honey from the leaves
b. they fed on a kind of honey contraned in the sap of the tree
c. they were milking a kind of honey from the aphids on the leaves
d. they needed to go back to their nest in the branches of the tree
up and down 上上下下 /來來回回
around 來來回回
Clusters of insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves.
Structure
5 By reading about them, we may increase our understanding but _____ dispel our fears. (ll.7-8)
a. we will not b. it does not c. this will not d. not
結(jié)合第1題
6 Most of our fears are unreasonable, but we find _____ . (l.12)
a. it impossible to erase them b. that they cannot erase
c. them to erase impossible d. erasing them impossible
背熟題干和答案
7 ---- an experiment which, _____ failure to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated. (ll.22-23)
a. even though it was b. in spite of the c. despite its d. was a
in spite of / despite / in contempt of / in disregard of
8 _____ long to find an answer to ... (ll.30-31)
a. The ants had not been b. The quick ants had not been
c. The ants had not spent d. It had not taken the ants
it takes sb. or sth. some time to do
Vocabulary
9 Even when we know that the ant is an industrious creature which leads a highly organized life, we cannot _____ being filled with ... (ll.8-10)
a. refuse b. help c. prevent d. lose
can not help doing / can not resist doing
10 ---- we have read about the _____ sense of direction which bee possess ... (l.11)
a. unknown b. mysterious c. infinite d. disabled
uncanny
L54-05 end 11’58”
L54-06 begin 3’11”
11 The tree occasionally produces _____ fruit. (ll.19-20)
a. deliciously fresh b. sweet and juicy c. tender d. exotic
luscious
deliciously fresh 美味的
tender 溫柔的，
exotic 未來的
12 I had been completely defeated by the _____ (ll.29-30)
a. speedy swarms b. hungry hordes c. inventive creatures d. ingenuous insects
speedy / swift / rapid / fast / quick/ hasty
ingenuous 天真的，老實(shí)的
【Key to Multiple choice questions】
1. B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. C 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. B 10. B 11. B 12. C
【New words and expressions】 生詞和短語
●insect n. 昆蟲
●wage v. 進(jìn)行（斗爭）
●contaminate v. 弄臟
●provocation n. 惹怒
●spider n. 蜘蛛
●wasp n. 黃蜂
●moth n. 飛蛾
●ant n. 螞蟻
●revulsion n. 厭惡
●horde n. 群
●uncanny adj. 神秘的，不可思議的
●erase v. 擦，抹去
●praying mantis 螳螂
●entranced adj. 出神的
●beetle n. 甲蟲
●sheltered adj. 傷不著的，無危險(xiǎn)的
●luscious adj. 甘美的
●cluster n. 一簇
●aphid n. 蚜蟲
●underside n. 底面，下側(cè)
●colony n. 一群
●sticky adj. 粘的
●scurry v. 小步跑
●swarm v. 聚集
●ingenuity n. 機(jī)靈
◆insect n. 昆蟲
◆wage v. 進(jìn)行（斗爭）
wage: begin and continue a struggle
wage a war against / on
Eg: life means perpetual struggle against poverty.
carry on
undertake to do 著手
Eg: He undertook to inform people concerned.
engage in / be engaged in / be determined on sth. / be dedicated to sth. / be devoted to sth.
◆◆◆contaminate v. 弄臟
contaminate / pollute
contaminate: make dirty or bad or impure by mixing with dirty or poisonous matter.
Eg: Don’t eat the apple. It has been contaminated by flies.
Never eat food contaminated by flies.
Don’t read the hot story just because it will contaminate your mind. 別閱讀黃色書刊。
hot story 色情小說 blue movie 色情電影
pollute
Eg: The air has been polluted severely / terribly / badly.
pollution / polluted
tint vt. 弄臟(通常指壞因素對你的影響)
Eg: Don’t read the hot story just because it will contaminate / tint your mind.
His reputation was tinted by the scandal. 他的名聲被丑聞?wù)次哿恕?BR> scandal 丑聞
foul : 弄臟 make sth. dirty
Eg: Dogs are forbidden to go into the streets because we are afraid the streets will be fouled.
The factory is responsible for fouling up the air. (相當(dāng)于pollute)
foul up == pollute
defile 弄臟，污染 make sth. impure
Eg: I like honey, but I don’t want to drink the honey defiled by flies.
poison / foul up / pollute
Eg: Gases from cars are poisoning the air of our city.
Read: pollute / foul up / poison / contaminate / defile / tint
Eg: He is contaminated / tinted by hot stories.
Hot stories contaminate / tint his mind.
◆provocation n. 惹怒
provoke v.
1. make angry or bad-tempered
Eg: He was provoked beyond his endurance.
He was provoked and it was more than he could endure.
2. cause 引起，導(dǎo)致，激起
arouse
Eg: The book arouses / provokes my interest.
bring about / result in / lead to / give rise to
provoke sb’s interest in sth.
provoke sb, to do / provoke sb. into doing / cause sb. to do sth.
Eg: You provoked him to say so. Why?
L54-01 end 18’53”
L54-02 begin 18’48”
Eg: His provocation is beyond my endurance.
◆spider n. 蜘蛛
◆wasp n. 黃蜂
◆moth n. 飛蛾
◆ant n. 螞蟻
◆revulsion n. 厭惡
disgust / dislike
◆horde n. 群
◆uncanny adj. 神秘的，不可思議的
mysterious
Eg: They are leading a mysterious life.
In spite of this, he survived mysteriously.
eerie 怪誕的，奇異的
Eg: He looks eerie. / What he said is eerie to me.
weird 怪異的，怪誕的，神秘的 （行為舉止讓人摸不著頭尾）
Eg: I can’t get along well with him because he is a weird person.
Why do you decide to many such a weird person?
cryptic 神秘的，鬼鬼崽崽的
Eg: Why did you do such a little thing in a cryptic way.
Read: eerie / weird / cryptic / mysterious / uncanny
◆erase v. 擦，抹去
Eg: Erease the idea from your mind!
He erases the name from the namelist.
cancel / write off / cross off
Eg: The word is unnecessary here, so it is crossed off.
wipe out
Eg: I want to write on the blackboard, so I have to wipe all the words here out.
I can’t imaging why you are so hot, please wipe out sweat on your face.
obliterate 涂去
Eg: He obliterated two words in ink / with a pen.
I obliterate the word with chalk.
◆praying mantis 螳螂
◆entranced adj. 出神的
entrance
entrance to the room / hall
entrance: carry away with joy and delight 入迷，出神
be entranced in thought
Eg: I don’t know what he has in his mind. Anyway he is entranced in thought.
be entranced with fear 嚇得魂不附體
Eg: At the story at night, I was entranced with fear.
be pleased with / be satisfied with / be popular with / be entranced with performance / film / book
Eg: He was entranced with film.
Are you entranced with the story?
He listened to the story entranced.
The writer watched ants entranced.
◆beetle n. 甲蟲
◆sheltered adj. 傷不著的，無危險(xiǎn)的
◆luscious adj. 甘美的
◆cluster n. 一簇
◆aphid n. 蚜蟲
◆underside n. 底面，下側(cè)
◆colony n. 一群
◆sticky adj. 粘的
◆scurry v. 小步跑
◆swarm v. 聚集
◆ingenuity n. 機(jī)靈
Eg: The boy shows ingenulity in making toys.
【Text】
Lesson 54 Instinct or cleverness? 是本能還是機(jī)智
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
Was the writer successful in protecting his peach tree? Why not?
We have been brought up to fear insects. We regard them as unnecessary creatures that do more harm than good. We continually wage war on them, for they contaminate our food, carry diseases, or devour our crops. They sting or bite without provocation; they fly uninvited into our rooms on summer nights, or beat ageist our lighted windows. We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths. Reading about them increases our understanding without dispelling our fears. Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch. No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung. Most of our fears are unreasonable, but they are impossible to erase. At the same time, however, insects are strangely fascinating. We enjoy reading about them, especially when we find that, like the praying mantis, they lead perfectly horrible lives. We enjoy staring at them, entranced as they go about their Business, unaware (we hope) of our presence. Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly, or a column of ants triumphantly bearing Home an enormous dead beetle?
Last summer I spent days in the garden watching thousands of ants crawling up the trunk of my prize peach tree. The tree has grown against a warm wall on a sheltered side of the house. I am especially proud of it, not only because it has survived several severe winters, but because it occasionally produces luscious peaches. During the summer, I noticed tat the leaves of the tree were beginning to wither. Clusters of tiny insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves. They were visited by a large colony of ants which obtained a sort of honey from them. I immediately embarked on an experiment which, even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours. I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids. The tape was so stick that they did not dare to cross it. For a long time. I watched them scurrying around the base of the tree in bewilderment. I even went out at midnight with a torch and noted with satisfaction (and surprise) that the ants were still swarming around the sticky tape without being able to do anything about it. I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair. Instead, I saw that they had discovered a new route. They were climbing up the wall of the house and then on to the leaves of the tree. I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity. The ants had been quick to find an answer to my thoroughly unscientific methods!
參考譯文
我們自幼就在對昆蟲的懼怕中長大。我們把昆蟲當(dāng)作害多益少的無用東西。人類不斷同昆蟲斗爭，因?yàn)槔ハx弄臟我們的食物，傳播疾病，吞噬莊稼。它們無緣無故地又叮又咬；夏天的晚上，它們未經(jīng)邀請便飛到我們房間里，或者對著露出亮光的窗戶亂撲亂撞。我們在日常生活中，不但憎惡如蜘蛛、黃蜂之類令人討厭的昆蟲，而且憎惡并無大害的飛蛾等。閱讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書能增加我們對它們的了解，卻不能消除我們的恐懼的心理。即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活具有高度組織性的社會里，當(dāng)看到大群螞蟻在我們精心準(zhǔn)備的午間野餐上爬行時，我們也無法抑制對它們的反感。不管我們多么愛吃蜂蜜，或讀過多少關(guān)于蜜蜂具有神秘的識別方向的靈感的書，我們?nèi)匀皇趾ε卤环潋?。我們的恐懼大部分是沒有道理的，但去無法消除。同時，不知為什么昆蟲又是迷人的。我們喜歡看有關(guān)昆蟲的書，尤其是當(dāng)我們了解螳螂等過著一種令人生畏的生活時，就更加愛讀有關(guān)昆蟲的書了。我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道（但愿如此）我們就在它們身邊。當(dāng)看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時，一隊(duì)螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲凱旋歸時，誰能不感到敬畏呢？
去年夏天，我花了好幾天時間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛的桃樹的樹干。那棵樹是靠著房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長的。我為這棵樹感到特別自豪，不僅因?yàn)樗冗^了幾個寒冬終于活了下來，而且還因?yàn)樗袝r結(jié)出些甘甜的桃子來。到了夏天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹葉開始枯萎，結(jié)果在樹葉背面找到成串的叫作蚜蟲小蟲子。蚜蟲遭到一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。我當(dāng)即動手作了一項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)，這項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)盡管沒有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時。我用一條膠帶把桃樹底部包上，不讓螞蟻接近蚜蟲。膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過。在很長一段時間里，我看見螞蟻圍著大樹底部來回轉(zhuǎn)悠，不知所措。半夜，我還拿著電筒來到花園里，滿意地（同時驚奇地）發(fā)現(xiàn)那些螞蟻還圍著膠帶團(tuán)團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)。無能為力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看見螞蟻已因無望而放棄了嘗試，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)它們又找到一條新的路徑。它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹葉。我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻的手下。螞蟻已很快找到了相應(yīng)的對策，來對付我那套完全不科學(xué)的辦法！
【課文講解】
背熟：We have been brought up to fear insects.
Eg: We have been brought up to eat certain food.
We have learnt to do ...
We have learnt to fear insects.
Girls have been brought up to fear mice.
do more harm than good
Eg: The exercese will do you good.
Smoking will do you harm.
wage war against / wage war on them
Eg: Two dogs benefited from the accident and they devoured the remains of the cake.
Her eyes devour the beautiful dress.
fly uninvited into our rooms / without being invited 不請自來
做定語時，light 只能用lighted 形式。
背熟：We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless one like moths.
Eg: I did so as / because I believe that you can do it well.
I did so in the belief that...
in the thought that / in the hope that
in / under
Eg: Even he still lives under the illusion that country life is much more veautiful.
L54-02 end 18’48”
L54-03 begin 18’57”
Eg: We live under the illusion that city life is wonderful.
in dread: in fear
in dread of
dread doing / dread to do
ones: insects
在使用not only..., but (also ) ... (as well) 句型時，要突出介詞短語或動詞短語中的介詞，則此介詞要重復(fù)出現(xiàn)。
Eg: I live in dread not only of dogs, but of cats.
be afraid of
Eg: I am afraid not only of dogs, but of cats.
both ... and ...
Eg: We live in dread of both dogs and cats.
I am interested not only in English, but in French.
dispel : erase ／get rid of / remove消除
Knowing that the industrious ant lives in a highly organized society does nothing to prevent us from being
主語 謂語
filled with revulsion when we find hordes of them crawling over a carefully prepared picnic lunch.
時間狀語從句
disgusting
in a highly organized society
Eg: We live in a highly organized society.
用does nothing to do造句
Eg: Doing so does nothing to prevent me from hating you.
prevent sb. from doing sth.
Eg: Nothing will prevent me from saying so.
Whatever you say does nothing to prevent me from attaining / accomplish my goal.
accomplish goal / attain goal
accomplish aim / attain aim
horde / colony
crawl / creep / climb
背熟：No matter how much we like honey, or how much we have read about the uncanny sense of direction which bees possess, we have a horror of being stung.
No matter how: however much
dread / fear / horror / terror
we become illogical when we have a horror of being stung.
It is impossible for us to do sth.
It is impossible for us to erase the fears.
It is easy for everyone to read. / it is easy to read.
be fascinated with
strangely: uncanny
go about their Business: as they do what they should do
as they get down to their Business
Let us get down to our Business.
You should go about your Business. 你該干你應(yīng)該干的事。
背熟：Who has not stood in awe at the sight of a spider pouncing on a fly
L54-03 end 18’57”
Lesson54A end 56:23
Lesson54B begin 35:17
L54-04 begin 20’16”
stand in awe: fear but respect
pounce on: jump at / charge at
stand in awe of
Eg: Generally speaking, employees stand in awe of their employer.
In primary school, puples stand in awe of their teacher.
a colony of ants
Paragraph 2:
prize: dear
如果要突出原因，則要重復(fù)because
wither
horde / colony / column / cluster
were to be found / were found
see / find / congratulate (祝賀) 常和be to 搭配，用于被動語態(tài)。
Eg: The boy was found behind the door.
The boy was to be found behind the door.
He was congratulated by his friends.
He was to be congratulated by his friends.
We can’t find him anywhere. / We can find him nowhere.
He is nowhere to be found / seen.
which obtained: to obtain
embark on: set out to do / set about doing
Eg: I immediately set out to do an experiment.
本課的要點(diǎn)內(nèi)容：even though if failed to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated for twenty-four hours.
kept me fascinated : kept me occupied
bind / bound
背熟：I bound the base of the tree with sticky tape, making it impossible for the ants to reach the aphids.
making it impossible for sb. to do
Eg: I work hard making it possible to pass the examination.
I prepared dinner carefully, making it possible to please my guests.
They didn’t dare to cross it. / They dared not cross it.
need
Eg: You needn’t come here on Sunday. 助動詞
You don’t need to come here on Sunday. 實(shí)義動詞
in bewilderment: were lost
swarming around
without being albe to do anything about it
unable to do anything about it
背熟：I got up early next morning hoping to find that the ants had given up in despair.
hoping to do: in the hope that
背熟：I realized sadly that I had been completely defeated by their ingenuity.
I took a beating completely.
be quick to find answer to / a solution to
Eg: Daniel Mendoza was quick to learn.
Ants are quick to find answer to their problem.
L54-04 end 20’16”
L54-05 begin 11’58”
【Vocabulary】P246
Explain the meanings of the ofllowing words as they are used in the passage: contaminate (l.3); devour (l.4); provocation (l.4); dispelling (l.8); revulsion (l.9); pouncing (l.15)
contaminate: make dirty, make impure
contaminate / taint
contaminate / defile
pollute / foul up / poison
devour: eat hungrily
provocation: being make angry
provoke: make angry
dispelling: erasing
dispel: erase
Nothing can dispel our fear.
industrious: hard working
revolsion: dislike
pouncing： jumping at suddenly
pounce on: 猛撲向
Eg: The customs officer pounced on my tiny bottle.(L11)
【Multiple choice questions】
Comprehension
1 We may learn more about the behaviour of insects _____ .
a. and become so fascinated by them that we are no longer moved by them
b. but we are no less likely to lose our irrational fear of them
c. provided they remain unaware of our presence while we observe them
d. as long as they only harm each other and not us
(背熟答案)
rational 理性的 / irrational 沒理性的
logical / illogical
reasonable / unreasonable
retional / irrational
outrageous / ridiculous
be likely to do 有可能做
no less likely 可能性不大
we are no less likely to do sth.
2 The ant is an insect which _____ .
a. will eat its way through anything from picnic lunches to aphids
b. lives in a highly organized society which we find disqusting
c. once it has killed its prey, will bear it Home in a triumphal column
d. shows great ingenuity at finding its way round any obstacle in its path
3 Had the peach tree been planted on the opposite side of the house _____ .
a. it might not have survived the severe winters
b. the writer would not have spent days looking at it
c. the ants would have had further to go before reaching it
d. the ants would not have found another route of access to the leaves
4 The reason for the ants’ swarming up and down the tree was that _____ .
a. they collected a kind of honey from the leaves
b. they fed on a kind of honey contraned in the sap of the tree
c. they were milking a kind of honey from the aphids on the leaves
d. they needed to go back to their nest in the branches of the tree
up and down 上上下下 /來來回回
around 來來回回
Clusters of insects called aphids were to be found on the underside of the leaves.
Structure
5 By reading about them, we may increase our understanding but _____ dispel our fears. (ll.7-8)
a. we will not b. it does not c. this will not d. not
結(jié)合第1題
6 Most of our fears are unreasonable, but we find _____ . (l.12)
a. it impossible to erase them b. that they cannot erase
c. them to erase impossible d. erasing them impossible
背熟題干和答案
7 ---- an experiment which, _____ failure to get rid of the ants, kept me fascinated. (ll.22-23)
a. even though it was b. in spite of the c. despite its d. was a
in spite of / despite / in contempt of / in disregard of
8 _____ long to find an answer to ... (ll.30-31)
a. The ants had not been b. The quick ants had not been
c. The ants had not spent d. It had not taken the ants
it takes sb. or sth. some time to do
Vocabulary
9 Even when we know that the ant is an industrious creature which leads a highly organized life, we cannot _____ being filled with ... (ll.8-10)
a. refuse b. help c. prevent d. lose
can not help doing / can not resist doing
10 ---- we have read about the _____ sense of direction which bee possess ... (l.11)
a. unknown b. mysterious c. infinite d. disabled
uncanny
L54-05 end 11’58”
L54-06 begin 3’11”
11 The tree occasionally produces _____ fruit. (ll.19-20)
a. deliciously fresh b. sweet and juicy c. tender d. exotic
luscious
deliciously fresh 美味的
tender 溫柔的，
exotic 未來的
12 I had been completely defeated by the _____ (ll.29-30)
a. speedy swarms b. hungry hordes c. inventive creatures d. ingenuous insects
speedy / swift / rapid / fast / quick/ hasty
ingenuous 天真的，老實(shí)的
【Key to Multiple choice questions】
1. B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. C 6. A 7. C 8. D 9. B 10. B 11. B 12. C