Unit8 Protecting Our Environment
Part II Reading Task Comprehension Content Question Pair Work
1. In the midst of prosperous farms and beautiful fields in the central part of America. 2. Foxes, deer, wild flowers and trees, migrant birds, trout and other fishes, etc.
3. The roadsides were beautiful even in winter. Berries and seed heads of dried weeds rose
above the snow, and birds came to feed on them. 4. The migrant birds, and fish in the streams and pools. 5. It was clear and cold.
6. They built their houses, sank their wells, built their barns, and lived in perfect harmony with
the wild life. The town remained beautiful and full of life for many years.
7. She refers to the shadow of death. Chickens, cattle and sheep began to die of mysterious
maladies, people were stricken with strange sickness and some of them died.
8. Spring should be throbbing with life, full of birdsong. “A silent spring” is a lifeless spring. 9. The roadsides are now lined with withered vegetation as though swept by fire. 10. Probably it is the remains of pesticides or other deadly chemicals. 11. Man. All these changes are the result of man’s own work.
12. No. The author is pointing to a real danger. The disasters befalling this imagined town have
actually happened here and there, though no single town has experienced all of them. If nothing is done to protect the environment, all American towns will suffer the same fate sooner or later. Text Organization
Working On Your Own 1.
Part Two: The description of the same town which was now stricken with all kinds of maladies Part Three: The cause of the maladies
Part Four: Though imagined, the tragedy may well become a reality and the author tells about her
purpose in writing the book.
2.
3. A strange blight crept over the area
5. Animals stopped breeding and trees bore no fruit Language Sense Enhancement 1.
(1) heart (5) orchards (9) barked (2) in harmony with (6) drifted (10) mists (3) in the midst (7) blaze (4) prosperous (8) flickered Vocabulary I 1.
1) barking 3) brooding; hatched 5) tragedies 2) evil 4) migrant 6) counterpart
7) are 8) grim 11) patches
complaining/co-mp9) flocks; fed on 12) Scores of lain 10) vegetation
2.
1) was lined with people who came to welcome the distinguished foreign guests. 2) the boss silenced all lively conversation in the office.
3) wearing a pair of sun glasses, the famous movie star passed the crowed unnoticed. 4) looked deserted. 5) were stricken by it. 3.
1) patches; came into full bloom; were puzzled; mysterious 2) throbbed with; sickened; migrant; a chorus 3) had crept into; flickered; the stark II. Word Formation 1.
Compound words Chinese meaning age-old 古老的 air force 空军 daughter-in-law 儿媳妇 first-rate 一流的 greenhouse 温室 half brother 同母异父兄弟；同父异母兄弟 ice-cream 冰淇淋 lifelike 逼真的 light year 光年 salesperson 售货员；推销员 self-centered 以自己为中心的，自私的 threefold 三倍 overuse 过度使用 stone-still 石头似的一动不动 worldwide 全世界范围的；在世界范围内 2.
1) poverty-stricken people 5) successful spacewalk 2) heart-breaking news 6) peace-loving people 3) newly-built database 7) need-based scholarships 4) well-fed kids 8) color-blind people III. Confusable Words 1. lying 4. lain 7. lie 10. lies 2. laid 5. lie 8. lay 3. lay 6. lay 9. lay Comprehensive Exercises I. cloze 1.
(1) spell (2) stricken
(3) misfortunes (8) silence (4) surroundings (9) sickened (5) blossom/bloom (10) hatch (6) migrant (11) puzzled (7) deserted (12) in harmony with 2.
(1) rate (5) export (9) boundaries (2) publication (6) profit (10) ultimately (3) dangerous (7) accept (4) banned (8) comprehend II. Translation 1.
1) This is a prosperous town, but there is still poverty in the midst of wealth and
abundance.
2) The Brown family was stricken with one misfortune after another, but their children
never complained.
3) The museum is designed in such a way that it stands in perfect harmony with its
surroundings.
4) It was a miracle that these flowers did not wither at all in the blazing sun.
5) Flocks of sheep feed on the patches of vegetation that rise above the winter snow. 2.
This village was once famous for its beautiful natural surroundings. All the year round, the trees were green and the flowers in bloom. Clear streams flowed out of the hills through a checkerboard of rice fields. Birds sang all day, and deer came and went in a leisurely manner. However, with the coming of DDT and other pesticides, an evil spell seemed to have settled over the village. Misfortunes came one after another. Chicken died suddenly, cattle and sheep were stricken by mysterious maladies, and farmers complained about a sickening feeling that puzzled the village doctor. The village square, once throbbing with life, was now deserted.