Working with Words and Expressions

1 In the boxes below are some of the words you have learned in this unit. Complete the following sentences with them. Change the form where necessary.

1) The film ____________ the complicated social relations during the 1970’s.

 

2) His mother criticized him for __________ badly towards the guest.

 

3) He is a competent doctor and can _________his patients very efficiently.

 

4) His teachings have ________ the lives of millions.

 

5) OK, I’ve done everything you asked. Now are you _________?

 

6) Though small in size, this press (出版社) produces many ___________ and educational books for children every year.

 

7) If he dies without making a will (遗嘱), his closest relative will __________ the house.

 

8) Whatever you say will not __________my decision; so it’s no use arguing with me.

 

9) The whole world is now___________with the problem of terrorism (恐怖主义).

 

10) The escaped criminal offered no ____________ when the police caught up with him.

 

11) Being an introvert, I felt quite___________during the first few weeks of college life.

 

12) Since we have only two professors of psychology, we have to_________the number of students on this course.

 

13) Though she answered all the questions, she was not ___________ about the result of the exam.

 

14) Don’t be so ___________; let us share your books.

 

15) Don’t mention that she has put on weight; she is rather __________ about it.

 

2 In the boxes below are some of the expressions you have learned in this unit. Do you understand their meanings? Do you know how to use them in the proper context? Now check for yourself by doing the blank-filling exercise. Change the form where necessary.

1) The chairman of the Science Club ____________ the meeting by repeating the main points discussed.

 

2) We hope that our research will ________________ the environment, especially the quality of air in cities.

 

3) I know you are still angry with John but please be polite when you __________ his questions.

 

4) Reading books and travelling across the country can surely _________________.

 

5) My lecture today ___________ three sections.

 

6) Listen to her voice, you can hear her professional training ___________.

 

7) During the examination period, I would like to _______________from everything and just focus on my studies.

 

8) I did so badly in my last two tests that I feel I am no longer ______________ my studies.

 

9) I want to live a happy life, _____________- problems and worries, but it is just so difficult.

 

10) Unless you are ____________ physically, you will not be able to climb the Great Wall.

 

3 The underlined words in the short text below are incorrectly used. Read the text carefully and replace each of them with a word given in the box. The first correct answer is already given.

Kathy is a 1)  combination. Not only is she good in her studies, she is also a top swimmer and someone who plays the piano well. The 2)   growth  of her talents, in study and in sports, makes her a popular student in school. Although she is already so good, she still tries to 3) vary ways to improve herself. One 4)  individual  example is that she reads all kinds of books and does not 5)  dominate  herself to only one type. The topics of her books 6)  spread  from social subjects such as health, education, and environment to science and technology. Kathy thinks that reading can 7)  restrict  her knowledge and help her a lot in her 8)  opportunity  as a good individual. She is persistent and never gets tired of learning.

In terms of personality, Kathy is kind and helpful. She is not proud at all; nor does she isolate herself. In fact, she likes the 9)  element  of her friends and often goes out with them to watch a movie or just to be with them. When talking to her friends, Kathy does not 10)  seek  the conversation. Instead, everyone has an equal 11)  availability  to speak. When any of her friends has a problem, whether it is academic or emotional, she will definitely help them. In short, Kathy is a pleasant and positive person.

 

1) high-achiever

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)

8)

9)

10)

11)

 

Increasing Your Word Power

1 Select from among the adjectives in the box and produce as many appropriate collocations as you can with the target nouns in the following sentences. Some of the adjectives may be used more than once.

1) When a person is angry, he / she may speak using ________ / ______ / _______ / _________ words.

 

2) If you are standing on top of a mountain, what you see could be described as a(n) ________ / _________ view.

 

3) Because my mother does not like my boyfriend, she has a(n) _______ / ______opinion of him.

 

4) Mary is such a nice girl. She has a(n) ________ /__________ / __________ personality.

 

5) Professor White has been described as a highly ____________ scholar who has published a lot in his field.

 

2 Complete the following sentences by choosing a most suitable adverb from among those given in the box.

1) He is always sleeping in class. __________, he is not interested in this subject.

 

2) This is not a group activity. Therefore, you will have to do the exercise ____________.

 

3) If you are not ____________sure of what happened, you should not say that you know everything about the accident.

 

4) My good friend is _________/_________ / __________ good in his work. For the past ten years, he has never made a single mistake.

 

5) I spent most of the money that my father gave me in the first few weeks at the university. __________, I had very little towards the end of the semester and had to borrow from friends.

 

6) Throwing a party is tiring both __________ and ________; the host / hostess has to think of what to prepare, make the necessary preparations, and make sure that everybody feels welcome.

 

7) As far as I know, Dr Zhou is_____________the best heart doctor in this province.

 

8) Xiaohui is one of the most motivated students I know. She does everything _____________and _____________ .

 

9) A strong person will not be_____________influenced by the environment.

 

10) _____________, he is very quiet and mild but today he is so aggressive and violent.

 

3 Did you notice the suffixes -ity/ty, -ic/ical in words such as loyalty, reality, optimistic, mythical in this unit? The suffixes -ity/ty can be added to many adjectives to form nouns, and -ic/ical can be put after many nouns to form adjectives. Change the words given in brackets into nouns or adjectives, and then fill them into the blanks.

1) This job requires a person to have the following_______________ (personal) traits:___________ (sensitive) and ___________  (loyal).

 

2) His mysterious disappearance added to the ___________  (complex) of the incident.

 

3)___________  (Mutual) of respect is vital in sustaining a lifetime friendship.

 

4) It was obvious that the project leader’s ___________  (stupid) was the cause of failure.

 

5) The robbers were able to plan their robbery of him due to the ___________ (regular) of his visits to the same bank.

 

6) The ___________  (readable) of your writing relies on avoiding common spelling and ___________  (grammar) errors.

 

7) Generally, ___________  (romance) poems depend on subjective imagination, while___________  (reality) poems focus on objective portrayal.

 

8) Too much stress may lead to ___________ (biology) and ___________  (psychology) disorders.

 

9) The social phenomenon can be analyzed from ___________  (history), ___________  (economy) and___________ (politics) points of view.

 

10) The paper conducts a ___________  (system) and ___________ (logic) research on how to enhance college students’ language competence.

 

Grammar in Context

Study the following sentences that appear in this unit and reflect on the gradable adjectives or adverbs in comparative forms. And then do the following two tasks.

Task 2: Talk in pairs about the following themes by way of making comparisons, using as many adjectives / adverbs as you can think of in their comparative and superlative degrees.

Cities (Hints: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, etc.)

It is much colder in winter in Beijing than in Shanghai. It is colder in winter in Shanghai than in Guangzhou. Of all the three cities, Beijing is the coldest city in winter.

 

Sports (Hints: football, basketball, surfing, etc.)

Among the three sports, I like football the best. Surfing also sounds interesting, but it takes a lot more training to be able to do it than the other two sports.

 

Writers (Hints: Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Charles Dickens, Shakespeare, etc.)

I know Lu Xun better than the other writers. Lu Xun is one of the most famous writers in China and he is a modern writer. Shakespeare is famous, but I think his plays are the most difficult to read.

 

Films (Hints: The Sound of Music, Gone with the Wind, The Pianist, etc.)

I think Gone with the Wind is very interesting, but it is the longest movie among the three. The Sound of Music is the lightest among the three and I like it much more than I do The Pianist.

 

Universities (Hints: Tsinghua University, Peking University, the university where you are studying now, etc.)

Peking University and Tsinghua University are the two most famous universities in China. They are also among the best universities in the world. As far as I know, Peking University is better known for its arts courses and Tsinghua is better known for its science courses.

 

Cloze

Complete the following passage with words chosen from this unit. The initial letter of each is given.

When a person is born, he / she has a set of personalities that make him / her different from others. Psychologists believe that colors are sometimes a good way to i___________ (1) how a person behaves and the way he / she r___________  (2) to things that are happening to him / her. They can also r___________  (3) personality traits. Nonetheless, we cannot be a___________ (4) sure about a person’s characteristics by just looking at his / her p___________  (5) for certain colors. Therefore, we should not be h___________ (6) and critical towards a person just because he / she likes a s___________  (7) color that does not represent some positive t___________  (8) or characteristics. Psychologists also believe that everyone can develop or change his / her personality. For example, if an i___________  (9) wants to correct his / her negative traits such as his / her i___________  (10) behavior, he / she has to make an e___________ (11) to do so. He / She has to be p___________  (12) and keep working hard to ensure that he / she can a___________  (13) his / her goal. Therefore, if a person is determined, he / she can change the traits he / she i___________  (14) from his / her parents. The important thing is to change for the better and not for the worse.

 

Translation

Translate the following sentences into English, using the words and expressions given in brackets.

1) 威廉非常喜欢那女孩子，所以他尽力讨好她，并且很有信心可以赢得她的

心。(impress；optimistic)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

2) 他有创造性，对未来也有很好的判断力，可就是喜欢秘而不宣。(creative;

vision; keep sth. to oneself)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

3) 他们来自一个贫穷的小山村，那里的人们远离现代文明。(shut off)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

4) 我们要努力工作，争取达到我们所订下的目标。(achieve the goals; make an /

the effort)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

5) 我们应该满足于我们所拥有的一切，不该对周围的事情太吹毛求疵。(be

content with; critical)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

6) 他们经常代表学校参加辩论比赛; 今晚我们将聚会庆祝他们的成功。

(represent; throw a party)

T____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

7) 通过读书，他不仅开阔了视野，而且学会了不断完善自己的人格。(expand

one’s horizons；improve)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

8) 为把那个女孩从火中救出，两名警察牺牲了他们的生命。(sacrifice)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

9) 稳定的、无冲突的夫妻关系对家庭中的孩子有好处。(stable, conflict)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

10) 不要抱怨命运，尽可能好地享受自己的生活。(fate, make the best of)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 Descriptive words

independent独立的； out-going外向的； active 活泼的； able 有才干的，能干的； adaptable 适应性强的； active 主动的，活跃的； aggressive 有进取心的 ambitious 有雄心壮志的； amiable 和蔼可亲的； amicable 友好的； analytical 善于分析的； apprehensive 有理解力的； aspiring 有志气的，有抱负的； audacious 大胆的，有冒险精神的； capable 有能力的，有才能的 careful 办理仔细的； candid 正直的 competent 能胜任的； constructive 建设性的 cooperative 有合作精神的； creative 富创造力的 dedicated 有奉献精神的； dependable 可靠的； diplomatic 老练的；有策略的； disciplined 守纪律的； dutiful 尽职的。

well--educated 受过良好教育的； efficient 有效率的； energetic 精力充沛的； expressivity 善于表达； faithful 守信的，忠诚的； frank 直率的，真诚的； generous 宽宏大量的； genteel 有教养的； gentle 有礼貌的； humorous 有幽默； impartial 公正的； independent 有主见的； industrious 勤奋的； ingenious 有独创性的； motivated 目的明确的； intelligent 理解力强的； learned 精通某门学问的； logical 条理分明的； methodical 有方法的； modest 谦虚的； objective 客观的； precise 一丝不苟的。

punctual 严守时刻的； realistic 实事求是的； responsible 负责的； sensible 明白事理的； porting 光明正大的； steady 踏实的； systematic 有系统的； purposeful 意志坚强的； sweet-tempered 性情温和的； temperate 稳健的； tireless 孜孜不倦的； Personality 性格； able 有才干的，能干的； active 主动的，活跃的； adaptable 适应性强的； adroit 灵巧的，机敏的； aggressive 有进取心的； alert 机灵的； ambitious 有雄心壮志的； amiable 和蔼可亲的； amicable 友好的； analytical 善于分析的； apprehensive 有理解力的。