Text A Diamonds

本課主要單詞

1. rare adj. 稀有的，難得的

a rare word〔冷僻的詞〕 　rare metals〔稀有金屬〕

a rare disease(罕見的疾病)

2. substance n. 物質;實質;大意;根據

Ice， snow and water are the same substance in different forms.〔冰、雪、水是同一物質的三種不同形式。〕

What was the point of going to a lecture with little substance?

〔去聽一個沒有什么內容的講座有什么意義呢?〕

What he is saying in substance is that we should take effective measures to prevent pollution.

〔他大體上說的是我們應該采取有效措施防止污染。〕

There was no substance in his complaints.〔他的抱怨沒有道理。〕

3. slight adj. 輕微的;纖細的

Mother said she had a slight headache.〔媽媽說她有點頭疼。〕

I didn''t have the slightest idea about what had happened.〔我一點都不知道發生了什么事。〕

4. extreme adj. 極端的，極度的;盡頭的 n. 極端

Extreme action will be taken if necessary.〔如有必要，我們將采取最嚴厲的行動。〕

His hospitality was carried to an extreme.〔他好客得過分了。〕

She found the book uninteresting to the extreme.〔她覺得那本書沒意思透了。〕

extreme joy/pain 〔極度的歡樂/痛苦〕 an extreme of sadness〔極度傷心〕

go from one extreme to the other〔從一個極端走到另一個極端〕

go to the other extreme 〔走到另一個極端〕

in the extreme〔極度，非常〕

extremes of poverty and wealth〔貧富的兩極〕

5. pressure n. 壓力，壓強

Heavy study load and great expectation from parents may give children too much pressure.

〔沉重的學習負擔以及家長的過高期望可能會給孩子太大的壓力。〕

He was under constant pressure from his superiors.〔他的上司不斷地給他壓力。〕

6. liquid adj. 液體的，液態的;清澈的，明亮的 n. 液體

7. crack n. 裂縫 v. 破裂;打開

His face cracked with a broad smile. 〔他咧開嘴笑了。〕

The phone cracked the room''s quiet.〔電話鈴聲打破了房間的寂靜。〕

They were unable to crack a highly competitive sales market.〔他們無法打進競爭激烈的銷售市場。〕

8. crust n. 地殼;面包皮，外皮

It is very dangerous to walk on the thin crust of ice.〔在這樣一層薄冰上行走是很危險的。〕

9. crystal n. 水晶;晶粒 adj. 清澈透明

I''ve made my point crystal clear that I would never agree to such a proposal.

〔我已經表明了我的觀點，絕不同意這個提議。〕

10. popular adj. 流行的，大眾的;普及的;受歡迎的

Popular music is well liked by young people.〔流行音樂深受年輕人的喜愛。〕

Swimming is a sport popular with people of all ages.〔游泳是老老少少都喜歡的體育運動。〕

He has always been popular with / among boys in his community.

〔他一直廣受他那個社區的男孩子們的喜歡。〕

This restaurant offers meals at popular prices.〔這家飯店供應價格大眾化的飯菜。〕

11. handful n. 一把，一小撮

He told the doctor that his hair fell out in handfuls.(他對醫生說他的頭發一把一把地脫落。)

He gave me nothing except for a handful of books.〔除了少量的幾本書他什么也沒給我。〕

注意：一般來說，-ful是一個形容詞后綴，加在名詞后面可以構成形容詞，比如：careful，helpful，useful，hopeful等等。而在handful這個單詞中，-ful是一個名詞后綴，加在某些名詞的后面，表示“充滿…所需的量”，比如：roomful，basketful，mouthful，spoonful等等。

12. formation n. 巖層;形成，構成

Most diamonds are mined from rock formations inside the earth.

〔大多數鉆石都是從地下的巖層里開采出來的。〕

The formation of good habits is very important for a child.〔好習慣的養成對孩子來說很重要。〕

13. pipe n. 管子，導管;煙斗 　v.用管道輸送

14. somewhat adv. 稍微，有點

It is somewhat difficult for him to answer the question.(要他回答這個問題有點難。)

15. blast n. 疾風，強風;爆炸 　v.炸，炸掉

A blast of cold air sent a shiver all over his body.〔一股冷氣使他渾身戰栗。〕

They decided to blast through the mountains. 〔他們打算炸山開路。〕

16.crush v. 壓碎;鎮壓，壓倒

The machine can crush rocks into powder.〔那臺機器能把石頭碾成粉末。〕

Can you imagine that debts are crushing them?〔你能想像到債務正壓得他們喘不過氣來嗎?〕

17. destroy v. 破壞，毀滅;消滅

18. impressive adj.給人深刻印象的，感人的

impression n. 印象

impress v. 給…極深的印象

I had the impression that he was a teacher.〔我記得他好像是個老師。〕

What impressed me most were the great changes in this city.〔給我印象最深的是這座城市的巨大變化。〕

19. experience n 經驗;經歷 v. 經歷，遭受

experienced adj. 有經驗的

20. immediately adv. 即刻地;緊密地

immediate adj. 立刻的;最接近的

He said he had to go to the hospital immediately.〔他說他得立即去醫院。〕

The post office is immediately next to the bank.〔郵局緊挨著銀行。〕

You have to give them an immediate reply.〔你得立刻答復他們。〕

It is necessary that you get the support from your immediate superior.〔你必須得到頂頭上司的支持。〕

本課主要構詞法

affixation(詞綴法)

1.形容詞后綴 -ful beautiful，useful，

2.形容詞后綴 -ive impressive

3.形容詞后綴 -y 　greasy

4.名詞后綴 -ation combination，formation

5.名詞后綴 -ure 　pressure

6.名詞后綴 -y 　discovery

7.名詞后綴 -er 　traveler，miner

8.名詞后綴 -ful 　handful

9.副詞后綴 -ly 　finally，probably，immediately，carefully，

10.副詞后綴 -ward upward

課文簡介

本課主要介紹了鉆石的特性、形成、分布以及開采方式。讀了本課，你會了解鉆石的形成與數百萬年前的地殼運動有關;你也會了解深受上至達官貴人下至普通百姓喜愛的“恒久遠”的鉆石在剛開采出來時并不光彩照人。

本課語言點

1. They are the hardest substance found in nature.

本句中found in nature是定語從句，修飾substance.定語從句中省略了that are.這種省略現象在定語從句中很常見，在前幾個單元中，我們遇到過多次。請看下面的句子：

1) There are many books (that) I''d like to read. (有很多書我想看。)

2) He is a man (that) we all like and trust. (他是一個我們大家喜歡和信賴的人。)

3) This is the most interesting film (that) I have ever seen. (這是我看過的最有意思的電影)

先行詞的前面有形容詞最高級時，定語從句必須用that引導，而不用which.

本句中的hardest意思為“堅硬的”“堅固的”，而不是“困難的”。

mean是一個很常見的詞，本句中的意思是“意味著”。mean還有“意欲，企圖，打算”的意思。請看下面的句子，注意mean在各句中的意思和用法：

1) What do you mean by saying this to me? (你對我說這個是什么意思?)

2) Friendship means everything to him. (友誼對他來說意味著一切。)

3) The teacher''s praise meant so much to the children. (老師的表揚對孩子們來說很重要。)

4) I''m serious about this. I mean what I say. (我對此事是認真的，我說話算數。)

5) I''m sorry， I didn''t mean to hurt you. (對不起，我無意傷害你。)

6) They meant to finish the work ahead of time. (他們的打算是提前完成這項工作。)

7) I meant to call you but I forgot. (我原打算給你打電話的，但我忘記了。)

cut在前一個句子中做動詞用，意思是“切割”，在后一個句子中做名詞用，意思是“切面”。

3. Diamonds are made from carbon.

由……制成，可以用be made from和be made of兩個詞組來表達。但是be made from通常指制成品已看不出原材料是什么，而be made of可以看出該物品由什么材料制成的。

4. Scientists know that the combination of extreme heat and pressure changes carbon into diamonds.

extreme在句中做形容詞用，意思是“極度的”，如：

1) Extreme cold can wake a hibernating animal. (極度的寒冷能使正在冬眠的動物蘇醒。)

2) They will have to endure extreme discomfort in winter. (冬天時，他們將不得不忍受極度的不適。)

change…into意思是“把…轉變為…”，如：

1) Water changes into vapour when heated. (水加熱后轉變為蒸氣。)

2) Go to the bank and you can easily change these dollars into RMB. (你去銀行就能很容易地把這些美元換成人民幣。)

5. Such heat and pressure exist only in the hot， liquid mass of molten rock deep inside the earth.

請注意such與so之間的不同用法。such后面接名詞，而so后面接形容詞或副詞。如：

1) I don''t believe he could make such a mistake. (我相信他不會犯這樣的錯誤的。)

2) How can you go out on such a rainy day? (在這樣的雨天里，你怎么能出門?)

3) He spoke so fast that I couldn''t follow. (他說話太快，我聽不懂。)

4) I''m so glad you could come. (你能來我真高興。)

mass在本句中的意思是“(聚成一體的)團、塊”，比如：

1) a mass of hot air(一團熱氣)

2) a mass of sand(一堆沙)

3) Rain occurs when a mass of warm air is laden with water. (一團云聚集大量的水蒸氣就形成了雨。)

Mass也可以做形容詞用，意思是“群眾的”、“大量的”，如：

1) a mass meeting (群眾大會)

2) mass education (大眾教育)

3) mass media (大眾傳媒)

4) Mass production could very well cut the cost. (大規模生產可以降低成本。)

6. It is thought that millions of years ago this liquid mass pushed upward through cracks in the earth''s crust.

It is thought that…是一個很常用的句型，類似的句型在英語中很多，比如：

1) It is / was， has been…， reported that…

2) It is / was， has been…， stated that…

3) It is / was， has been…， pointed out that…

4) It is / was， has been…， mentioned that…

5) It is / was， has been…， believed that…

7. A. There are only four areas where very many diamonds have been formed.

B. The first known area was in India， where diamonds were found thousands of years ago.

定語從句可分為限定性定語從句和非限定性定語從句。A句是限定性定語從句，B句是非限定性定語從句。A、B兩句中都是用關系副詞where來引導定語從句，修飾表示地點的名詞。請看下面的句子，注意限定性定語從句一般不用逗號隔開：

1) Is there a shop around where we can get some fruit? (附近有什么商店可以買到水果嗎?)

2) This is the place where we met yesterday. (這是我們昨天碰頭的地方。)

3) The small town， where he once worked， has turned to be a modern city. (他曾經工作過的那座小城，已經變成現代化的城市了。)

8. In the 1600''s…(十七世紀)

In the 1720''s…(十八世紀二十年代)

In the 1800''s…(十九世紀)

請注意年代的表達方法，以上的年代也可以表達為in the 1600s; in the 1720s; in the 1800s.如果我們要表達“在十七世紀初(中、末)期”，則可以說in the early(mid， late) 1600''s/1600s.

9. Diamonds became very popular with the kings and queens of Europe.

become / be popular with / among是一個常用詞組，意思是“受…歡迎”，

10. India''s supply of diamonds was finally running out after 2，500 yeas of mining the stones.

Supply在句子中做名詞用，意思是“供應”。Supply常常可以做動詞用，意思是“供給，提供”。

run out是一個常用詞組，意思是“用完，用盡”。請看例句：

1) Time is running out. We have to hurry. (時間快到了，我們得快點。)

2) My patience is running out. (我快要耐不住了。)

3) His luck seemed to have run out. (他的好運似乎結束了。)

我們也可以用run out來表達類似的意思，但run out of的主語應該是“某人”。如：

1) They have run out of money， so they have to find a job. (他們錢用完了，所以得找一份工作。)

2) I have run out of ink. (我的墨水用完了。)

11. People would pick up handfuls of gravel from the bottom of the streams and sort out the diamonds.

-ful通常加在名詞后面，構成形容詞，如care-careful，help-helpful.而本句中的handful是一個名詞，意思是“一把”，在單詞部分，我們已經提到過，英語中有不少這樣的詞，如：

1) He gave me a basketful of beaches. (他給了我滿滿一籃子桃子。)

2) She put a spoonful of salt in the soup. (她往湯里撒了滿滿一勺鹽。)

3) Tom is carrying an armful of books. (湯姆抱著一捆書。)

sort out是一個常用詞組，意思是“整理，分類”

bottom在句子中做名詞用，意思是“底部”。bottom還有“盡頭、末端”的意思

12. These diamonds were probably carried from where they were formed to India by great sheets of moving ice that covered parts of the earth 20，000 years ago.

where they were formed是where引出的名詞性從句，作介詞from的賓語。請看下面的句子：

He didn''t say anything about where the accident took place. (他對事故在哪兒發生的只字未提。)

13. It flows over boards thickly coated with grease.

在本句中的定語從句thickly coated with greases前面省略了which/that are.coat一般做名詞用，意思是“外套”或“(動物的)皮毛”。在本句中coat作動詞用，意思是“在…上涂(包)著”，

14. Since diamonds stick to grease， they are left behind by the rocks and mud which flow down the tables.

Stick在本句中的意思是“粘住”。Stick to也可以表示“堅持，遵守”的意思。

leave behind在本句中的意思是“留下”，這個詞組還可以表示“忘帶;把…丟在后面”。例如：

1) Take care not to leave anything behind. (小心別丟下任何東西。)

2) Look forward to the bright future and leave all your worries and fears behind. (期盼光明的未來，把所有的擔心和恐懼拋在身后。)

15. Experienced diamond miners can tell a diamond immediately.

句子中的tell意思為“判斷;分辨;看出”。如：

I cannot tell her from her twin sister. (我無法分辨出她和她的孿生妹妹。)

Text B The Difference between Plants and Animals

短語表達

1. difference between…and

Will you please tell me the difference between a horse and a seahorse?

2.neither …nor

I have neither seen him nor heard from him since we last met.

3. look up

The little boy didn''t dare to look up at his teacher.

4. a matter of

Don''t panic. This is a matter of record and there is nothing to worry about.

5. throughout

He said that a person should be honest and upright throughout his life.

6. be satisfied with

The teacher was satisfied with the students'' performance.

7. take place

The accident took place when people were all fast asleep.

8. lie in

The importance of this book lies in its later influence.

9. be classed as

He was classed as a genius.

10. hold good

This rule may hold good for you but not for me.

11. live on

Cows live on grass.

The old man lives on the government pension.

12. work wonders

I don''t think this medicine will work wonders.

13. take in

Their club took in some new members last week.

14. suck up

The plants suck up a lot of water.

15. take up

He took up the newspaper and began to read.

She took up English when she was only five.

All the window seats had been taken up when I got on the bus.

（責任編輯：lqh）

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