21世纪大学英语读写教程第三册 Unit6

Unit 6

Text A

Pre-reading Activities

1. You're going to hear a radio news report about the death of a student. As you listen to it, you'll be expected to fill in the missing information from the chart below. Before you listen, use your imagination to predict what the missing information might be.
A) Who was involved? Yohashi Yatsumoto, a student, aged¹ _____ Hiro Takeda, _____, aged _____
B) What happened? _____ was killed when _____
C) Where and when? _____
d) Additional details:
_______________

2. What feelings do you think will be caused by the death reported in the passage — how must the family and friends of the dead student feel? What about the person responsible? What do you think the police should do?

Every 23 Minutes

Linda Weltner

My husband and I went to a funeral a few weeks ago. The man we honored had not been ill and will never grow old. He was killed in his car on a Sunday night, driving home along a divided highway.
It was an ordinary evening, no blacker than any other, when a car coming in the other direction went out of control, broke through the guard rail, and hit two other cars before smashing head on into his. According to the newspaper, the driver, who was returning from a wedding, seemed puzzled. "I only had two bottles of beer and a cocktail²," she is reported to have said.
A wedding.
Followed by a funeral.
I wish she could have been there to see all the lives her act has changed forever, the wife, and four children, the extended family, the hundreds and hundreds of friends who sat in painful silence, listening to words which barely touched the depths of their grief.
Strange to think that, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this happens in America every 23 minutes.
Somebody drinks.
Somebody drives.
Somebody dies.
And other lives are altered forever, though sometimes the changes may be invisible to a casual observer. By chance, the day before the funeral I ran into a longtime acquaintance while shopping. He commented on my crutches⁴. I asked if he had ever broken his leg.
"Uh, I have a long rod in this thigh⁵," he said, "from a car accident two weeks after I came back from Vietnam."
"That's ironic⁶. To leave a war zone and then get injured," I teased him. "You're lucky it wasn't worse."
"Well, my wife was killed in the crash and so was the wife of the driver," he said uncomfortably. "We were hit by a drunk."
I've known this man for years, yet suddenly realized there was a whole chapter of his life he'd never mentioned. I asked and discovered he'd remained in the hospital seven weeks, and that all that time he'd known his wife was dead. It was hard to know where to go from there, for there are questions you can't put to someone in a casual conversation — questions like, "How could you bear it?" or "What did you do about wanting revenge?"
I wish I knew the answers to those questions. I wish I could offer those answers to the woman who, overwhelmed by grief, could barely walk as she followed her husband's coffin⁷ from the church.
Every 23 minutes, who dies?
A mother who will never comfort the child who needs her. A woman who will never know how very much her friends depended on her. A man whose contributions to his community would have made a difference. A wife whose husband cannot picture the future without her.
Every 23 minutes, who dies?
A son who involuntarily abandons his parents in their old age. A father who can never acknowledge his children's accomplishments⁸. A daughter who can never take back her angry words. A sister who will never be her sister's maid of honor.
Every 23 minutes, who dies?
A brother who will not be there to hold his newborn niece. A friend whose encouragement is gone forever. A bride-to-be who will never say her vows¹⁰. An aunt whose family will fragment and fall apart.
Every 23 minutes, who dies?
A child who will never fulfill¹¹ his early promise. An uncle who leaves his children without guidance and support. A grandmother whose husband must now grow old alone. A lover who never had a chance to say how much he cared.
Every 23 minutes.
A void opens.
Someone looks across the table at a vacant chair; climbs into an empty bed, feels the pain of no voice, no touch, no love. Where there was once intimacy¹² and contact, now there is only absence and despair.
Every 23 minutes
A heart breaks.
Someone's pain shatters the confines of her body, leaking out in tears, exploding in cries, defying all efforts to soothe¹³ the despair. Sleep offers no escape from the nightmare of awakening¹⁴. And morning brings only the irreversibility of loss.
Every 23 minutes.
A dream ends.
Someone's future blurs¹⁵ and goes blank as anticipation¹⁶ fades into nothingness. The phone will not ring, the car will not pull up to the house. The weight of tomorrow becomes unbearable¹⁷ in a world in which all promises have been broken by force.
Every 23 minutes.
Somebody wants to run. Somebody wants to hide.
Somebody is left with hate. Somebody wants to die.
And we permit this to go on.
Every 23 minutes.
(771 words)

New Words

funeral
n. a ceremony of burying or burning a dead person 葬礼

* cocktail
n. 鸡尾酒

painful
a. causing an upsetting or unpleasant feeling; causing a feeling of discomfort¹⁸ in a particular part of the body 令人痛苦的；疼痛的

crutch³
n. T字形拐杖

rod
n. a long thin pole or bar 杆；棒条

* thigh
n. the top part of the human leg 大腿

zone
n. an area of particular qualities 地带，地区

injure
vt. hurt; offend 伤害，损害

injury
n. (to) harm, damage to a living thing （对生物的）伤害；损害

drunk
n. a person who habitually¹⁹ drinks too much alcohol 酗酒者，醉汉
a. overcome by drinking alcoholic²⁰ liquor; (fig.) filled with excitement and joy 醉酒的；（喻）陶醉的

* revenge
n. (for, on) punishment given to sb. in return for harm done to oneself 复仇；报复
vt. do sth. to get satisfaction for (an offence, etc.); avenge²¹ (sb.) 报…之仇；为…报仇

involuntarily
ad. not (done) from choice or intention 非自愿地；非出于本意地

maid
n. 1. a female servant 女仆，保姆
2. (obsolete usage): a girl or (young) woman who is not married 少女，年轻女子

niece
n. 侄女；甥女

vow⁹
n. a solemn promise or declaration 誓言
vt. declare or swear solemnly 立誓

fragment
vi. break or separate into small pieces 破碎；碎裂
n. a small piece from a larger whole 碎片

guidance
n. guiding or being guided; direction 引导；指导

vacant
a. 1. (of a place or space) empty; not filled with anything 空的；未被占用的
2. (of a job) not at present filled 空缺的

intimacy
n. the state of being in a close relationship 亲密；密切

intimate
a. 1. (of people) close in relationship 亲密的；密切的
2. personal; private 个人的；私人的

despair
n. complete lack or loss of hope 绝望
vi. (of) have lost all hope 绝望；失去希望

* shatter
vt. break (sth.) suddenly into small pieces; smash (sth.) 粉碎；砸碎

confines
n. (fml) limits; borders; boundaries （正式）界限；边界；范围

leak
v. 1. （使）渗漏
2. make known （使）泄露出去
n. 漏隙；漏出物

* defy
vt. disobey; fight against; show no fear or respect for 违抗；蔑视

* defiance²²
n. behaviour showing one's disobedience to sb. or ignorance of sb. 违抗；蔑视

* soothe
vt. make less angry or upset; calm or comfort 抚慰；使平静

nightmare
n. an unpleasant and terrible dream 恶梦

irreversibility
n. a state of things which cannot be turned back, changed or improved 不可挽回；不可逆转

fade
vi. 1. (away) disappear or die gradually 逐渐消失
2. lose strength, colour, freshness, etc. 衰颓；褪色；凋谢

Phrases and Expressions

go out of control
be no longer under control 失去控制

smash into
hit forcefully against 猛地撞在…

head on
with the head or front parts meeting violently 迎面地，正面地

by chance
by accident; unintentionally 偶然地；意外地

comment on
make a remark or give an opinion on 评论；就…发表意见

make a difference
有影响；起作用

take back one's words
admit that one was wrong in what one has said 收回说过的话

maid of honor
首席女傧相

[n.]-to-be
未来的…

fade into
gradually disappear and become (sth. of no importance) 逐渐消失而变成（无足轻重的东西）

pull up [to/at/in front of a place]
(of vehicles) drive up to and stop at （车辆）到达，驶入

Proper Names

Linda Weltner
琳达·韦尔特纳（女子名）

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

3 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

4 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

5 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

6 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

7 coffin   

n.棺材，灵柩

参考例句：

• When one's coffin is covered,all discussion about him can be settled.盖棺论定。
• The coffin was placed in the grave.那口棺材已安放到坟墓里去了。

8 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

10 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

11 fulfill   

vt.履行，实现，完成；满足，使满意

参考例句：

• If you make a promise you should fulfill it.如果你许诺了，你就要履行你的诺言。
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements.这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。

12 intimacy   

n.熟悉，亲密，密切关系，亲昵的言行

参考例句：

• His claims to an intimacy with the President are somewhat exaggerated.他声称自己与总统关系密切，这有点言过其实。
• I wish there were a rule book for intimacy.我希望能有个关于亲密的规则。

13 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

14 awakening   

n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的

参考例句：

• the awakening of interest in the environment 对环境产生的兴趣
• People are gradually awakening to their rights. 人们正逐渐意识到自己的权利。

15 blurs   

n.模糊( blur的名词复数 )；模糊之物；（移动的）模糊形状；模糊的记忆v.（使）变模糊( blur的第三人称单数 )；（使）难以区分

参考例句：

• The electron clouds are clearly visible as blurs surrounding the invisible nuclei. 电子云就象环绕着看不见的核的一片云雾。 来自辞典例句
• The letter had many blots and blurs. 信上有许多墨水渍和污迹。 来自辞典例句

16 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

17 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

18 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

19 habitually   

ad.习惯地，通常地

参考例句：

• The pain of the disease caused him habitually to furrow his brow. 病痛使他习惯性地紧皱眉头。
• Habitually obedient to John, I came up to his chair. 我已经习惯于服从约翰，我来到他的椅子跟前。

20 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

21 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

22 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。