Unit 5 Cliff Young, an unlikely hero克里夫·杨，令人意想不到的英雄
Unlikely|?n?la?kli|: not likely to happen; not probable 不大可能发生的 Eg: The project seemed unlikely to succeed. 这个项目似乎难以成功。
It's most (= very) unlikely that she'll arrive before seven. 她极不可能在七点前到达。 (unlikelier, unlikeliest)
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1 Considered one of the toughest marathon events in the world the 875-kilometer annual Australian race a route from Sydney to Melbourne is a harsh test of endurance for the world's top athletes regardless of their age. 澳大利亚一年一度的悉尼至墨尔本的马拉松比赛全长875公里，被认为是世界上最艰难的马拉松赛事之一，对任何年龄段的世界顶尖运动员来说都是一项严酷的耐力考验。
[Meaning] The 875-kilometer annual Australian race, a route from Sydney to Melbourne, is considered the most difficult long-distance race in the world. It is a challenging to every athlete no matter who you are and how old you are. 【解析】 considered，介词，含义是“作为”。 regardless of，介词，后面接名词或名词性短语，含义是“不管，不顾”
1. tough [t?f]: having or causing problems or difficulties 艰苦的；艰难的；棘手的 eg: a tough childhood苦难的童年
It was a tough decision to make. 那是个很难作的决定。
2. marathon [?m?r?θ?n]: [C] a race that is run over a distance of 42 kilometers or about26 miles马
拉松(长跑)
eg: On her second marathon, en route to Portland, she fractured a bone in her foot。在她第二次参加马拉松时，在跑向波特兰的路上，她摔断了腿骨。
3. annual [??nju?l]: a. happening once a year一年一度的；每年的
eg: They met at an annual convention in New York.他们在纽约年会上会面。 4. route [ru:t]: (1)[ C] a way from one place to another路线
eg: I normally run or bicycle the same route at the same time each day.我每天都在同一时间，沿同 一线路跑步，或是骑自行车锻炼。
(2) a way of doing sth. or achieving a particular result途径；方法
eg: Researchers are trying to get at the same information through an indirect route.研究者们正试图 通过一条间接途径获取同样的信息。 5. Melbourne ['melb?n]: 墨尔本（其一为澳大利亚东南部港市，另一为美国佛罗里达州东部城
市）
6. harsh[hɑ:?]: 1) severe, cruel, or unkind严厉的；残酷的；苛刻的
eg: Ten days ago, I received some pretty harsh criticism. 十天前，我受到了一些颇为严厉的批评。 (2) harsh conditions are very difficult to live in and very uncomfortable恶劣的；艰苦的；严峻的 This laptop is definitely designed for harsh conditions。这台笔记本绝对是为恶劣环境设计的。 【近义】 rough， coarse， harsh，rude， crude这些形容词均有“劣的，粗糙的”之意。
rough：指表面凹凸不平，不光滑。
coarse：指某物质地粗糙，加工等不精细；指人的言谈举止粗鲁，不文雅。 harsh：指外表粗糙、声音刺耳等。
rude：指某人的言行举止粗鲁无礼，缺乏修养。 crude：主要指未经加工处理尚处于自然状态的物质。
7. endurance [?n?dj??r?ns]: [U] the ability to continue doing sth. difficult or painful over a long
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period of time 忍耐，忍耐力
eg: The exercise obviously will improve strength and endurance.这项练习将明显增强力量和耐力。 【近义】 endurance， patience这组词都有“忍耐，耐心”的意思，其区别是： endurance侧重指忍受艰或苦的能力， patience通常指不急不躁的容忍态度或能力。 8. athlete|??θli:t|: 1) a person who competes in sports 运动员
2) a person who is good at sports and physical exercise 擅长运动的人；健儿
9. regardless [r??gɑ:dl?s]: paying no attention, even if the situation is bad or there are difficulties 不顾；不加理会
eg: The weather was terrible but we carried on regardless . 天气非常恶劣，但我们并不理会，照常进行。
~ of) without being affected or influenced by sth.不管；不顾
eg: They will carry out this experimentation, regardless of what happen.不管发生什么，他们都将完成这个实验。
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The young super-fit runners train for months before a competition and are under contract to prominent sponsors like Nike and Adidas who finance them and furnish them with a substantial support mechanism of money and equipment. 体能超好的年轻选手在赛前要进行数月的训练，而且还和像耐克和阿迪达斯这样著名的赞助商签约，这些赞助商通过强大的资金和装备支持机制为选手提供资助和装备。
[Meaning] The young and strong runners train for months for the competition. They have signed official agreements with companies like Nike and Adidas, who support them with a lot of money and equipment based on a sponsor system. 【解析】 be under contract是一个固定句型，表示“有协议，签合同”。 furnish sb. with是固定搭配，表示“提供，配备”。
1. super [?sju:p?(r)]: 1) prefix ( super-): more, better, or bigger than usual过于；超 eg: super-rich极富有 superhuman超出常人的 superglue强力胶 2) a. ( infml.) extremely good极好的；了不起的
Eg: Then they spent a super week at the seaside. 然后他们在海边度过了极好的一周。
2. fit: a. healthy and strong, especially because you do regular physical exercise 健壮的；健康的 fitness |?f?tn?s|: the state of being physically healthy and strong 健壮；健康
3. contract['k?ntr?kt] n. [C] an official agreement between two or more people, stating what each
will do契约；合同；合约
eg: What clause do you require in the contract?你要求在合同中订上什么条款?
[k?n'tr?kt]v. agree to do sth. or make sb. agree to do sth. by a formal written agreement(使)签订合同；(使)立约
Eg: You can contract with us to deliver your cargo.你们可以和我们签订合同，由我们负责运输你们的货物。
4. prominent[?pr?m?n?nt] : a.important and well- known重要的；知名的；显赫的
eg: The newspapers gave prominent coverage to the news. 各报在显著位置上登载了这条消息。 【近义】 famous， prominent， notorious这些形容词均含有“著名的，知名的”之意。 famous：普通用词，指传播很广，引起人们注意的人或事物。 prominent：指出人头地，为公众所熟悉，至少在地方上闻名 notorious [n???t?:ri?s]：指因劣迹而臭名昭著，含强烈贬义。
5. sponsor [?sp?ns?(r)]: n.[C] a person or company that pays for a show, broadcast, sports event,
etc., esp. in exchange for the right to advertise at that event赞助者；赞助商
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eg: Race officials announced a handful of new sponsors on Tuesday. 比赛官方星期二公布了几位新赞助人。
vt. give money to a sports event, theater, institution, etc, esp. in exchange for the right to advertise 赞助；资助
eg: Most students are sponsored by the National Department of Education。多数学生是由国家教育部资助的.
6. finance [?fa?n?ns]vt. provide money, esp. a lot of money; pay for sth为…提供资金
eg: He sells one each year to finance the next.他每年出售一项投资，来为下一项投资筹措资金。 (1)[U] the management of money by governments, large organizations，etc.财政；金融
Eg: The report recommends an overhaul of public finances.这份报告建议对公共财政进行彻底检视。
(2)(-s)[pl. ]the money that an organization or person has, and the way that they manage it (机构或 个人的)财务情况
Eg: Be prepared for unexpected news concerning your finances. 对关于你财务状况的意外消息要做好准备。
【派生】 financial a.财经的，金融的
7. furnish [?f?:n??]vt. (1)(fml.) supply or provide sth.提供；供应
Eg: The bank will furnish accommodation to the firm.银行将给这家公司提供贷款。 (2) put furniture and other things into a house or room为(房屋或房间)配备家具
Eg: Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques.许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的 酒店
8. substantial [s?b?st?n?l] : a (1) large in amount or number大量的；多的
Eg: This sounds promising, but as far as we know, substantial investigation of the applicable rules has yet to be done.这听起来十分有前途, 但是据我所知, 人们对可应用的规则已经进行了大量的研究
2) consisting of or relating to substance物质的；材料的
Eg: People now care more about the spiritual life than the substantial life.现在人们更加注重精神生 活而不是物质生活。
9. mechanism [?mek?n?z?m] : n (1)[ C] a system that is intended to achieve sth. or deal with a
problem机构；结构；机制；体制
eg: What’ s the mechanism behind these traits?这些特征背后的机制是什么?
(2) part of a machine or a set of parts that does a particular job机械装置；机件；工作部件 Eg: Bomb has been detonated by a special mechanism.炸弹由一个专门装置引爆。
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The contest takes up to seven days to complete and is a challenging test of fitness and strength even for world-class athletes who compete for distinction and a cash prize.这项比赛历时七天，即使对那些为荣誉和奖金而赛的世界一流运动员来说，这项比赛也是对体能和力量的严峻考验。 [Meaning] The race takes as long as seven days to finish and it is a hard test of physical condition and strength even for the world's top athletes who want to become famous and earn money by winning the race.【解析】up to含义是“达到，多至”，表示数量之多。
1. Contest/'k?ntest/n[C] a competition or a situation in which two or more people or groups are
competing with each other 比赛；竞赛
Eg: Did you hear who won the English speech contes?你可听说谁贏得了这次英语演讲比赛冠军? /k?n' test/vt. compete for sth. or try to win It竞争；争夺；角逐
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