最新15篇文章贯通英语四级词汇MP3 Unit10-Part2

[00:00.00]The need for new markets,
[00:02.17]and a solid defense¹ system
[00:04.26]from potential invasion
[00:05.79]by the United States,
[00:07.21]brought an acute awareness²
[00:08.96]to these diverse colonies that
[00:10.92]they should look to
[00:12.78]each other for resolutions
[00:14.21]to these problems.
[00:15.85]They felt uneasy trying
[00:18.58]to cope against these
[00:20.44]adversities on their own.
[00:21.98]Sir John A. Macdonald from United Canada,
[00:26.35]the dominant³ personality at this time,
[00:29.64]also saw the acceleration⁴ of
[00:31.71]American settlers moving north
[00:34.23]and spreading throughout the flat
[00:36.85]prairie lands to the west.
[00:38.60]This would potentially put a wall
[00:41.78]between the colonies in the East
[00:43.96]and the lonely western British colony
[00:46.60]in what is today part
[00:48.35]of British Columbia on the west
[00:49.98]coast of North America.
[00:52.39]Macdonald felt that
[00:54.80]the situation was urgent.
[00:56.44]In the summer of 1864,
[01:00.05]the maritime⁵ colonies of Nova Scotia,
[01:03.77]Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland
[01:06.83]scheduled a meeting to discuss
[01:08.91]the possibility of a customs union
[01:11.53]or free trade area to compensate⁶
[01:14.16]for the latest setbacks
[01:16.35]in trade relations with Britain
[01:18.65]and the United States.
[01:20.29]Macdonald managed to get permission
[01:23.79]for some delegates from United Canada
[01:25.76]to attend as observers.
[01:27.73]For a number of years,
[01:31.12]United Canada was experiencing
[01:33.20]problems of political deadlock⁷.
[01:36.26]Canada West was predominantly English speaking
[01:40.48]and Canada East was
[01:42.68]predominantly French speaking.
[01:44.97]A central government, set up in 1841,
[01:49.01]required a majority from
[01:51.86]both Canada West and Canada East
[01:54.27]for all legislation to become law.
[01:57.55]It was very difficult
[02:00.06]to pass significant legislation
[02:02.26]when two opposing views
[02:04.33]were constantly being debated
[02:06.63]and legislative⁸ bills were
[02:08.49]constantly being defeated.
[02:10.46]The Canadians saw a new,
[02:13.31]wider union, a potential new national
[02:16.91]institution or central government,
[02:18.99]as a possible solution for
[02:20.96]breaking out of this
[02:23.15]constant political disorder⁹.
[02:24.79]The Canadian delegates sailed
[02:27.97]on board a cruise ship down
[02:30.15]the St. Lawrence River,
[02:31.57]into the Gulf¹⁰ of St. Lawrence,
[02:33.11]to Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island.
[02:35.73]This convention expanded to
[02:39.02]discussions of the possibility
[02:41.20]of all the British colonies
[02:43.17]uniting into one nation

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

3 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

4 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

5 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。