Parents' love for their kids provides another explanation for their burning desire to see the best of their kids. Parents will be proud if their children make great achievements. But sometimes such love becomes a heavy burden on their kids.

The harsh reality, peer pressure and parents' love all account for the

unreasonable expectations for the kids. To set reasonable expectations for the kids is not easy, but is worth trying; after all, parents don't want the heavy pressure to crush their children.

Reading skills——Practice

1.I had the same feeling as the author because I always want to see the

beautiful sights of the world such as the Eiffel Tower in France, Venice in Italy, and Grand Canyon in the US. Just name a few. From what is said in the

paragraph, such as \I can see what the author really wants to say is that people love to travel because traveling is always fun and exciting.

2.The description of preparing for a visit to an exotic place is very true. Even though most of the time I traveled with my family or friends, I still had to do a lot of homework before embarking on a trip. I had to surf online to get specific information so that I wouldn't get into much trouble later. The author wants to warn us that we must get fully prepared before we set foot on the way to an unfamiliar place.

3.Yes, such non-pleasant experiences did happen to me sometimes. I remember once I was traveling in Germany and wandering the streets in Munich. All of a sudden, two young men sprayed blue paint on my back and meanwhile grabbed my purse from me while I was not paying attention to them. That's exactly the reason why the author wants to point out the downside while traveling to unfamiliar places. The author wants to remind us, apart from all the positive things about travel, something negative could also happen and travelers need to be on alert and be defensive.

Unit 5

Text A

Vocabulary

degrade

vt.

treat sb. without respect and make them lose respect for themselves 贬低（某人）；羞辱（某人）

The examination supervisor warned students not to degrade themselves by cheating on the exam. 监考老师警告学生不要在考试中舞弊，以免自取其辱。

adverse

a.

not good or favorable 不利的；反对的；反面的

Economists fear that any conflict between the two countries could have adverse effects on global financial markets. 经济学家们担心两国之间的任何冲突都可能对全球金融市场产生不利影响。

conform

vi.

(~ to / with) obey sth. such as a rule or law 遵照；遵守；服从

The city has a few modern buildings in the central area which do not conform with the style of the city's overall character. 该城市中心区域有一些现代建筑跟城市的整体风格特点不相符合。

revenue

n.

[U] money that a business or organization receives over a period of time, esp. from selling goods or services （公司、机构的）收益，收入

A spokesman for the finance department said costs generally rise when revenue increases. 财务部门的发言人说收益增加成本通常会增加。

polar

a.

1 (~ opposite / extreme) sth. that is the complete or exact opposite of sth. else 完全相反；正好相反

John said he'd vote for the candidate even if his beliefs were the polar opposite of his own. 约翰说即便候选人的观点与自己的相左，他也将投票给该候选人。

2 close to or relating to the North Pole or the South Pole 地极的；近地极的；极地的

The melting of the polar icecaps and the rise in the sea level are only the most commonly cited effects of climate change. 极地冰盖融化以及海平面上升只是最常被提及的气候变化的后果。

pastime

n.

[C] sth. that you do because you think it is enjoyable or interesting 消遣；娱乐

To relieve the stress caused by her job, she turned to painting, a pastime she had loved since childhood. 为了缓解工作引起的压力，她开始画画，这是她自儿时起就喜欢的消遣。

coincide

vi. (~ with)

1 (of ideas, opinions, etc.) be the same or very similar （想法、意见等）相同，相符，极为类似

Indeed, the State's interests may not coincide with those of the individual. 的确，国家利益可能与个人利益不一致。

2 (of two or more events) take place at the same time （两件或更多的事情）同时发生 Her arrival coincided with our departure. 她到来之时正逢我们离开。

voluntary

a.

done willingly and without being forced 自愿的；自动的

Every decision is made of a person's free will, and is voluntary, unless it is effected by compulsion. 每项决定都是基于个人意愿，属自愿性质的，除非有强制要求。

designate

vt.

1 (fml.) (~ sb. / sth. as) give sb. or sth. a particular name, title, or description 把…定名为；授予…称号；把…描述为

When residents wanted to designate the Elk River as a heritage site, the mines killed the proposal. 当居民们想把埃尔克河确定为文化遗产时，该提议却被众多的矿井给毁掉了。 2 (~ sb. / sth. as) formally choose sb. or sth. for a particular purpose 任命；选定；选派 A will allows people to designate someone as receiver of their property when they die. 遗嘱使人们可以指定其去世后财产由谁继承。

correlate

v.

(~ with) if two or more facts, ideas, etc. correlate or you correlate them, they are closely connected to each other or one causes the other （使）相互关联

Rising temperatures and the associated earlier spring snowmelt correlate with increasing amounts and size of wildfires in the western United States. 气温升高及其所导致的春季融雪提前与美国西部数量日益增多、规模日益增大的山火是有关联的。

esteem

n.

[U] a feeling of respect for sb., or a good opinion of sb. 尊敬；敬重

He is held in high esteem by colleagues in the construction industry. 他受到建筑业同行的高度尊重。 vt.

(fml.) respect and admire sb. or sth. 尊敬；敬重

Employee qualities such as being cooperative and industrious are often esteemed by managers. 员工的合作、勤奋等品质常常为经理们所推崇。

greenhouse

n.

[C] a glass building used for growing plants that need warmth, light, and protection 温室；暖房

mayor

n.

[C] the person who has been elected to lead the government of a town or city 市长

prone

a.

likely to do sth. or suffer from sth., esp. sth. bad or harmful 易于发生某事（尤指不好或有害的事）的；很可能…的；有…倾向的

Most children are prone to junk food. 多数孩子喜欢吃垃圾食品。

dedicate

vt.

1 use a place, time, money, etc. only for a particular purpose （为某一目的而）使用 The newspaper dedicated three whole pages to pictures of the princess. 报纸用了三个整版刊登王妃的照片。

2 give all your attention and effort to one particular thing 致力于；献身于

The new president said she would dedicate herself to protecting the rights of children, the old and the homeless. 新总统说她将致力于保护儿童、老人和无家可归者的权利。

autonomy

n. [U]

1 the ability or opportunity to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else 自主能力；自主

Genetic engineering may threaten privacy, kill autonomy, make society look and be alike, and destroy the concept of human nature. 基因工程可能威胁隐私，扼杀自主权，使社会千篇一律，并且破坏人性这一观念。

2 freedom that a place or an organization has to govern or control itself 自治；自治权 They are willing to give this district more autonomy, but not independence. 他们愿意给该地区更多的自治权，但不会让其独立。

precision

n.

[U] the quality of being very exact or correct 精确（性）；准确（性）

To improve the precision of gene testing, scientists needed to spell out the actual DNA sequence of disease-fostering genes. 为了提高基因测试的精度，科学家们需要阐明致病基因的DNA序列。

foster

vt.

help a skill, feeling, idea, etc. develop over a period of time 促进；培养；助长

All classroom practice will be geared to encouraging and fostering not only students'

learning habits but also students' creativity. 所有的课堂实践都将不仅鼓励和培养学生的学习习惯，还鼓励和培养其创造力。

incentive

n.

[C, U] sth. that encourages you to work harder, start a new activity, etc. 刺激；动力；鼓励 My girlfriend's interest in my job gave me an incentive so I worked twice as hard. 女友对我工作的兴趣给了我动力，因此我加倍努力。

livelihood

n.

[C, U] the way you earn money in order to live 生计

It was the lack of a basic livelihood that compelled the oppressed to fight for their survival. 正是由于无法维持基本的生计才迫使被压迫者为自身的生存而抗争。

gauge

vt.

make a judgment or guess about a situation, action, or person based on the information that you have （根据所掌握的信息）估计，判断

If you want to gauge public opinion about the war, look at the local media coverage

concerning the deaths of the soldiers. 如果你想判断舆论对这场战争的看法，看看当地媒体有关士兵牺牲的报道吧。 n.

[C] an instrument for measuring the size or amount of sth. 测量仪器；计量器；量规

A gasoline gauge shows the amount of gasoline left in a car. 油表显示汽车剩余的油量。

commonplace

a.

happening or existing in many places, and therefore not special or unusual 平常的；平凡的；不足为奇的

Paid vacations of two weeks or longer are a commonplace benefit in many companies. 两周或更长的带薪假期在很多公司都是常见的福利。

innovation

n.

1 [U] the introduction of new ideas or methods 革新；创新

The duty of every teacher is to encourage creativity and innovation in the classroom. 每个老师在课堂上的职责都是鼓励创新。

2 [C] a new idea, method, or invention 新观念；新方法

Those well-meaning people who have tried to introduce innovations in schools have come up against considerable resistance from teachers, students and parents alike. 那些善意的人们尽力将一些新观念引入学校，但在老师、学生和家长中都遇到了相当大的阻力。

automate

vt.

start using computers and machines to do a job, rather than people 使自动化

The engineer used a computer program he had created to automate downloading of program updates. 该工程师用自己设计的电脑程序自动下载程序更新。

automated

a.

using computers and machines to do a job, rather than people 自动化的

One proposed solution to the growing problem of accidents caused by tired truck drivers, may perhaps be an automated highway system. 由卡车司机疲劳驾驶引起的事故越来越多，一个提议的解决方案可能就是自动化高速公路系统。

upcoming

a.

(only before noun) happening soon 即将来临的；即将发生的