英语第四单元

比尔·布福德（1954年至今）是一位美国作家和记者。他是《Heat》和《Among the Thugs》等作品的作者。

Lions and Tigers and Bears 22级英语一班黄平

• Author
  • Bill Buford(1954-) is an American author and journalist. He is the author of Heat and Among the Thugs. He was born in Baton Rouge,Louisiana, and raised in Southern California, attending the University of California,Berkeley from 1973 to1977, before moving to King's College, Cambridge,where he studied as a Marshall Scholar until 1979. He remained in England for most of the 1980s.
• Stucture
  • The introduction: The author's purpose of spending a night in Central Park(para. 1)
  • His experiences in the Park during the first couple of hours (paras. 2-6)
  • His later adventures (paras.7-12)
  • The occurrences during the rest of the night (paras. 13-25)
• Important words and phrases
  • words
    • appeal: the power of attracting or arousing interest
    • stock: used as an adjective, meaning: kept in stock and regularly available (常备的)
    • production: used to refer to a public performance or a showing of a movie, play, TV or radio program e.g.
    • respect: a way
    • aspect: a single area of interest from a particular point of view; a side or phase
  • phrases
    • stuff sth. into/in sth: elsefill or overfill a container or space with sth
    • muggyNote: Both “heavy”and“muggy”mean (weather) hot in a humid and unpleasant way, esp. before or after rain or a storm.
    • drop off: (infml) start to sleep
    • not to mention: used to add sth. that makes the situation even more difficult, interesting, surprising, etc.
    • except in one respect: except on one point
    • get/find sb 's bearings: find out where sb. is and what to do next
    • lose sb.'s bearings: become confused about where sb. is or what to do next
• euphemisms
  • The boy was lying there in his birthday suit. in his birthday suit: euphemism for “naked" They did have a little argument last night. So he got a blackened eye, and she had a few stitches. a little argument: It couldn't have been just a little argument if one ended up with “a blackened eye," and the other "a few stitches"; here it means "a big fight". She told the doctor that she had not had any movements for four days. movements: euphemism for “excretion" 7. It's amazing that the sewage system to remove night soil, built more than a hundred years ago, can still be in such wonderful condition. night soil: euphemism for “human waste" “feces" or “excrement" Identify the euphemisms in the following sentences. Some of these slow achievers are a bit disturbed or emotionally unstable. slow achievers: euphemism for “low-ability students" Many elderly citizens tend to be a little overweight. elderly citizens: euphemism for “old people"; a little overweight: euphemism for "obese" The life of underprivileged people in developing countries still leaves much to be desired. underprivileged people: euphemism for “poor people"; developing countries: euphemism for “underdeveloped countries"
• Paraphrase
  • And I bolted, not running, exactly, but no longer strolling-and certainly not looking back-turning left, turning right, all sense of direction obliterated, the crashing continuing behind me, louder even, left, another man in a T-shirt, right, another man, when finally realized where I was-in the Ramble. (para.
    • I walked away quickly. I was not exactly running (because 1 didn't want to show that I was frightened), but was not walking at a leisurely pace either, and certainly didn't dare to look back. I turned left and right frantically, trying to get rid of the man, and as a result, lost my sense of direction. I could hear the sound of someone behind me, and it was growing louder. I turned left and ran into a man in a T-shirt; I turned right, and ran into another man. Finally I realized where I was-in the Ramble.
  • The concert, pointedly, was held on a Saturday, still a working day, because the concert, like much of the Park then, was designed to keep the city's rougher elements out.(para. 7)
    • The concert, pointedly, was held on a Saturday, still a working day, because the concert, like much of the Park then, was designed to keep the city's rougher elements out.(para. 7)
  • The Park is now framed, enveloped even, by the city, but there was no escaping the recognition that this city-contrived, man-made, glaringly obtrusive, consuming wasteful and staggering quantities of electricity and water and energy-was very beautiful.(para.12)
    • The Park is now completely surrounded by the city, but it is impossible to deny (you have to admit) that the city was very beautiful, although it was not a natural kind of beauty, it was artificial and showy, and it used up a great amount of water and energy.
• Animal homes
  • 1) Lions, bears, tigers, wolves live in lairs/dens . 2) Chickens, ducks, geese live in coops . 3) Dogs live inkennels/doghouses . 4) Cattle and horses live in_stables . 5) Sheep and goats live in pens or folds . 6) Birds live in nests . 7) Pigs live in pigsties . 8) Bees live in beehives .
• Places for sports and Games
  • 1) We play basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, badminton on_courts . 2) We play football, field hockey, baseball on fields (pitches; also "diamonds" for baseball). 3) We skate and play ice hockey on arink. 4) We box in aring . 5) Swimming competitions are held inswimming pools .
• General verbs Specific verbs
  • General verbs: look/see/watch Specific verbs: scan/glimpse/glare/stare/gaze/glance/peep/peek/eye/spot
  • General verb: run Specific verbs: bolt (run in a sudden way, esp. when you are frightened); dash; rush; jog; trot; hurry; scurry; plunge General verb: walk Specific verbs: step (esp. a short distance); pace (back and forth); stride (take long steps); march (walk steadily, with a regular step); hike (go for a long walk for fun or exercise); stroll (walk at an easy, slow speed); shuffle (walk without taking your feet from the ground); tiptoe; ramble
  • General verb: walk Specific verbs: step (esp. a short distance); pace (back and forth); stride (take long steps); march (walk steadily, with a regular step); hike (go for a long walk for fun or exercise); stroll (walk at an easy, slow speed); shuffle (walk without taking your feet from the ground); tiptoe; ramble