全新版大学英语综合教程第三册UNIT4-1

 

    Every child likes listening to stories. Zoe, a girl with wings, is no exception. Listen carefully and see what story her father is going to tell her.

 

    "Now, Zoe, stop fluttering around, and I will tell you a story."
    "A true story, papa?"
    "It all happened exactly as I'm going to tell you. Two thousand and eleven years ago in 1985, a tribe of beings from the Dog Star invaded Earth. They were called An-vils."
    "And what did these beings look like, father?"
    "Like humans in many, many respects. They each had two arms, two legs, and all the other organs that humans are endowed with. But they also had a pair of wings and long, purple tails."
    "How many of these beings were there?"
    "Exactly three million and forty-one male adults and three female adults. In five weeks' time these creatures were the masters of the entire globe."
    "Didn't the Earthlings fight back?"
    "The humans warred against the invaders¹, using bullets, ordinary bombs, super-atom bombs and gases."
    "What were those things like, father?"
    "Oh, they passed out of existence long ago. The humans fought each other with such things."
    "And not with ideas, like we do now?"
    "No, with guns, just as I told you. But the weapons couldn't harm the invaders. Then the humans tried bacteria against the Star beings."
    "What were those things?"
    "Tiny bugs² that the humans tried to inject into the bodies of the invaders to make them sicken and die. But the bugs had no effect at all on the An-vils. You must know, these newcomers were more intelligent than the Earthlings. In fact, they were the greatest mathematicians³ in the Milky⁴ Way."
    "Then, father, the invaders killed off all the Earthlings?"
    "Not all. They killed many, but many others were enslaved."
    "Then everything was peaceful on Earth?"
    "For a little while. Then, some of the most daring of the humans, led by a man named Knowall, escaped into the interior of Greenland. This Knowall was a psychiatrist⁵ and he figured out a way to rid the earth of the An-vils."
    "How, papa?"
    "He filled these An-vils with human emotions, such as love, hate, ambition, jealousy⁶, envy, despair, hope, fear, shame and so on. Very soon terrible civil wars wiped out two-thirds of the An-vil population."
    "Then the An-vils finally killed off each other?"
    "Almost, until among them a being named Zalibar preached the brotherhood⁷ of all An-vils. The invaders quickly quit their quarrels, and the Earthlings were even more enslaved."
    "Oh, papa, weren't Knowall and his followers⁸ awfully⁹ sad about it?"
    "For a while. Then Knowall came up with the final way. He filled the An-vils with homesickness."
    "Oh, wasn't Knowall smart? That meant, the An-vils were all filled with the desire to fly back to the Star from where they had started."
    "Exactly. So, one day, at a given signal, all the An-vils rose up from Earth."
    "So then all the An-vils flew away from Earth?"
    "Not all. There were two child An-vils, one male and one female, aged¹⁰ two years, who had been born on Earth. They flew up too, but when they reached the upper limits of the atmosphere, they hesitated, turned tail and fluttered back to Earth. Their names were Zizzo and Zizza."
    "And what happened to Zizzo and Zizza, papa?"
    "Well, they were also great mathematicians. So, they multiplied."
    "Oh, papa," laughed Zoe, flapping her wings excitedly, "that was a very nice story!"

 

Listen to the recording11 two or three times and then think over the following questions: 1. How did the Earthlings fight against the invasion of the An-vils? Were they successful? 2. What was Knowall by profession ? What tricks did he use to drive away the invaders? Was he successful? 3. How come all the An-vils rose up from Earth at a given signal one day and flew back to their own star? 4. Can you guess what the texts of this unit are going to be about? The following words in the recording may be new to you: flutter v. 振翼，拍翅 endow vt. 赋予 Earthling n. 地球人 bacteria n. 细菌 enslave vt. 使成为奴隶，奴役

 

1 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

2 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 mathematicians   

数学家( mathematician的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Do you suppose our mathematicians are unequal to that? 你以为我们的数学家做不到这一点吗？ 来自英汉文学
• Mathematicians can solve problems with two variables. 数学家们可以用两个变数来解决问题。 来自哲学部分

4 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。

5 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

6 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

7 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

8 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

9 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

10 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。

11 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。