泛读第六次

Unit 7 and Unit 8Check the answers of home reading on p119What are the character of Buck, of Spitz and of François and Perrault as they are portrayed in the home reading section?As portrayed in the home reading section, the character of Buck is that of bravery, intelligence, shrewdness and responsibility. He is brave in fighting back against the crazy Indian dogs in defense of his own team, and he is brave in taking Spitz's challenge and overwhelming this considerable rival. He shows himself as a clever and shrewd being by avoiding starting the final fighting with Spitz in front of the two men and by using artful tactics to get the better of the powerful and sly enemy Spitz. Buck is ambitious, or rather, responsible, persisting in becoming a lead-dog. We see a Buck growing stronger and wilder in this section.Spitz is challenging and offensive, full of hatred and anger. He is dishonest, attacking sideways at his "comrade" when they should be fighting in the same line against the aggressive Indian dogs. A good fighter, he is also intelligent, although he is defeated by the more intelligent Buck.As for the two men, Francois and Perrault show their qualities of being hard-working and of being fair and just with clear insight and caring for their similarly hard-working dogs.The Call of the Wild is a novel by American writer Jack London. The plot concerns a previously domesticated dog named Buck, whose primordial instincts return after a series of events leads to his serving as a sled dog in the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, in which sled dogs were bought at generous prices.Published in 1903, The Call of the Wild is London's most-read book, and it is generally considered his best, the masterpiece of his so-called "early period".Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence. The Yeehat, a group of Alaska Natives portrayed in Call of the Wild, were a figment of London's imagination.PlotBuck, a powerful Saint Bernard-Scotch shepherd dog,lives a comfortable life in the Santa Clara Valley with his owner, Judge Miller. One day, Manuel, the Judge's gardener's assistant, steals Buck and sells him in order to pay a gambling debt. Buck is then shipped to the "man in the red sweater" to be broken. Then Buck is shipped to Alaska and sold to a pair of French Canadians named François and Perrault (for $300), who were impressed with his physique. They train him as a sled dog, and he quickly learns how to survive the cold winter nights and the pack society by observing his teammates. He and the vicious, quarrelsome lead dog, Spitz, develop a rivalry. Buck eventually bests Spitz in a major fight, and after Spitz is defeated, the other dogs close in, killing him. Buck then becomes the leader of the team.Eventually, Buck is sold to a man named Charles, his wife, Mercedes, and her brother, Hal, who know nothing about sledding nor surviving in the Alaskan wilderness. They struggle to control the sled and ignore warnings not to travel during the spring melt. They first overfeed the dogs, then when their food supply starts running out, they do not feed them at all. As they journey on, they run into John Thornton, an experienced outdoorsman who notices that all of the sled dogs are in terrible shape from the ill treatment of their handlers. Thornton warns the trio against crossing the river, but they refuse to listen and order Buck to move on. Exhausted, starving, and sensing the danger ahead, Buck refuses and continues to lay unmoving in the snow. After being beaten by Hal, Thornton recognizes him as a remarkable dog and is disgusted by the driver's beating of the dog. Thornton cuts him free from his traces and tells the trio he's keeping him, much to Hal's displeasure. After some argument, the trio leaves and tries to cross the river, but as Thornton warned, the ice gives way and the three fall into the river along with the neglected dogs and sled.As Thornton nurses Buck back to health, Buck comes to love him and grows devoted to him. Buck saves Thornton when the man falls into a river. Thornton then takes him on trips to pan for gold. During one such trip, a man makes a wager with Thornton over Buck's strength and devotion. Buck wins the bet by breaking a half-ton sled out of the frozen ground, then pulling it 100 yards by himself, winning over a thousand dollars in gold dust. Thornton and his friends return to their camp and continue their search for gold, while Buck begins exploring the wilderness around them and begins socializing with a wolf from a local pack. One night, he returns from a short hunt to find his beloved master and the others in the camp have been killed by a group of Yeehat Indians. Buck eventually kills the Indians to avenge Thornton. After realizing his old life is a thing of the past, Buck follows the wolf into the forest and answers the call of the wild. Every year Buck comes to mourn for Thornton the place where he died.Jack LondonJohn Griffith "Jack" London ( January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916)was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone.He is best remembered as the author of Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life".He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen", and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf.London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers and wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics such as his dystopian novel, The Iron Heel and his non-fiction exposé, The People of the Abyss.The Klondike Gold Rush, sometimes referred to as the Yukon Gold Rush, drew people from all over the world to the Klondike region of northwestern Canada after gold was discovered there in 1896. The gold rush lasted only a few years, essentially ending in 1899. Spurred on by newspaper campaigns, at its height in late 1897 to mid 1898, about one hundred thousand people, mostly novices to prospecting, headed for the gold fields. The Klondike is remembered for the hardship endured by the would-be prospectors, immortalized by pictures of their ascending of the Chilkoot Pass, by books like The Call of the Wild, and films like The Gold Rush. Few got rich, and it is estimated that the money spent getting there exceeded the value of gold found during the rush.It is often called the Alaska Gold Rush because the gold field belonged to the Alaskan peninsula, and a majority of the prospectors disembarked at Alaskan ports. It came to an end when a real Alaskan gold strike, the Nome Gold Rush (1899–1909), drew away many Klondikers. Yet another name sometimes applied is the Last Great Gold Rush, following other major 19th century ones such as the California Gold Rush (1848–1852) and the Australian Gold Rush (1851–1869), among the biggest of all time. Unlike its Californian and Australian counterparts, the Klondike rush did not lead to a permanent increase in population.In terms of gold production the rush lasted until 1903; the year production peaked.After that, claims that were no longer profitable to the original owners were sold and mined by large scale methods. Since the rush, the Klondike area has continued to be mined with pauses depending on fluctuations in the gold price. Today (2011) family-run gold mines still exist, though they work bigger claims and use heavier equipment than the original klondikers. A total of about 12,500,000 oz (390,000 kg; 860,000 lb) gold have been taken from the Klondike area since its discovery.Text AReading SkillsGuessing Meanings of Words from ContextThere are many ways to help you guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context. Read the explanation below and study the examples.1. DefinitionA definition gives the meaning of words. The writer may use words, phrases, or statements todefine something. The writer will use key words, or signal words to identify a definition so you need to look for them. See examples of key words below.Key wordsis/are means/meanis/are called what this means isis/are known as consist ofis/are defined as refer tois/are described as may be seen ase.g.1. Inflation is a rise in the general level of prices you pay for things you buy.an unfamiliar word = inflationsignal word = isthe definition = a rise in the general level of prices you pay for everything you buy.2. Someone who explores and studies caves is known as a spelunker.an unfamiliar word = spelunkersignal words = is known as definition = someone who explores andstudies cavesExercise 2 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined words. Circle signal words and write their meaning in the space provided.1. The encyclopedia defines astrology as “the ancient art or science of divining the fate and future of human beings from indications given by the positions of stars and other heavenly bodies.”astrologymeans_____________________________ _________2. Sales literature means printed matters that contain information on the goods. Sales literaturemeans_____________________________ ____3. The part at the back of the car used for holding luggage is called the car boot in United Kingdom, whereas Americans would refer to this as the car’s trunk.car bootmeans_____________________________ _________2. RestatementThe writer may use other words, phrases, or sentences to provide the meaning of difficult words. We call this restatement; the writer describes it again or in a different way. Signal words for restatement are in the “Key words box” belowKey wordsorthat is to sayin other wordsi.e. or that ise.g.The surface of Africa consists mainly of plateaus, or large flat areas, although these occur at different levels.an unfamiliar word = plateaussignal word = ormeaning = large flat areas Exercise 3 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined words. Circle signal words and write the meaning in the space provided.1. There are several types of aerosol cans. Simple ones contain a liquefied gas, called the propellant, in which material is dissolved, i.e., melt.dissolved=_________________________________ _2. Our youth nowadays should not engage in intoxicating things such as alcohol, cigarettes, and tranquilizers, that is to say, they should not ingest them.engage=_________________________________ __3. Punctuation marksPunctuation is used to describe the meaning of unfamiliar words. The writer will write unfamiliar words and then use punctuation, words, phrases, or sentences to explain the meaning of the new words. Such punctuation is in the “Key words box” belowKey wordse.g.Full-color pictures are printed using only black and three colors: yellow, cyan (a light blue) and magenta (a light purple). an unfamiliar word = cyan and magentasignal punctuation = ( ) meaning : cyan = a light blue and magenta= a light purpleThe use of computers to handle text, or word processing, was foreseen in the 1950s.an unfamiliar word = handle textsignal punctuation = , , meaning : handle text = word processing Exercise 4 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined words. Circle signal words and write the meaning in the space provided.1. Both facsimile (known as fax) and electronic mail (email) are ways ofsending documents.Facsimile=_________________________________ _____Electronic mail=_________________________________ _2. An FM radio DJ (disk jockey) broadcasts over the airwaves.DJ=_________________________________ __________3. Infection，becoming ill through contact with bacteria ，of the respiratory system such as the nose, the throat, and the chest is among the most common of all diseases. Infection=_________________________________ _____4. ExamplesExamples help us to understand the meaning of new words. See key words or signal words used for showing examples in the “Key words box”.Key wordssuch aslikefor example, …for instanceis / aree.g.Use navigation buttons, such as, the “Next” button, the “Previous” button, the “Menu” button, and the “Exit” button, to go back and forth or jump to other topics while you are using your English software. unfamiliar words = navigation buttonssignal word = such asmeaning = buttons on computer programthat are used for turn on pagesExercise 5 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined words by choosing the best answer for each question. Circle signal words.1. Some people in the North of Thailand do wickerwork, for example, they make elephants, turtles, plates, beds, and chairs, from teak trees for earning money. a) silverhandicraftb) bronze handicraft c) niellohandicraft d) wood handicraft2. The Savanna grasslands are the home of grazing animals such as elephants, giraffes, antelopes and zebras. Lions, leopards and hyenas also live there.a) non-backbone b)meat-eatinganimals animalsc) invertebrate animals d)grass-eating animals3. A tourist guide advised them to see the elephant round up. There was racing, colorful war procession, marching, kicking a ball and tug-of-war between men and elephants.a) show b) breedc) sleep d) born5. ContrastYou can guess the meaning of new words by using signal words of contrast. They will show the opposite meaning of the new words. See key words or signal words of contrast in the “Key words boxKey wordsBut、instead of 、eventhough 、in contrast to、Yet、in spite of、although 、as opposedto、unlike 、despite 、however、on the otherhand、Wherease.g.Althrough Dara and Vipa are very close friends but they are very different. Suda spends a lot of money to buy things while Vipa loves to economize.a) spend moremoneyb) save moneyc) buy things more than before d) keep things in a safe placeExercise 6 Use signal words as your clues to find the meaning of the underlined words by choosing the best answer for each question. Circle signal words.1. Ladda was promoted to be the chief secretary of the manager of the company, whereas her colleague, Somechai, was penalized.a) promoted b) punishedc) exiled d) rewarded2. Although small pox has almost been eradicated. Malaria is prevalent in Kanchanaburee, Thailand. A policeman just died from the PF (Plasmodium Falsiparum) malaria last month.a) destroyed completely b) common foundc) fear of disease d) furbish6. SimilarityYou can guess the meaning of new wordsby using signal words of similarity. They will display the same meaning of the new words. See key words or signal words of similar ity in the “Key words box”.Key wordslike 、similarly、in thesame way 、as the same as 、just ase.g.Indonesia is producing Ford cars and trucks. Soon, Thailand and Vietnam will be producing the same products with, no doubt, the same quality.What does the words “the same products” mean? ___________________________ What is your clue?__________________________________ _________________Exercise 7 Use signal words as your clueto find the meaning of the underlined words. Circle signal words and write the meaning in the space provided.1. Learning should not be limited to the classroom or with teachers. We can learn by ourselves about things that are not taught by teachers. Similarly,“self-learning” is encouraged for ou r education system.What does the words “self-learning” mean? __________________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ _7. Surrounding wordsIf you cannot find any signal words or key words as stated before, you may look around new words or unfamiliar words and try to guess them. The surrounding wordsmay help you to understand the new words.Exercise 8 Find the meaning of the underlined word by choosing the best answer for each question.1. Professor Boonmee of the Thai Business Commerce School (TBC), Bangkok, had to do a presentation in Khonkaen and Bangkok on the same day, to be sure that he would be back to Bangkok on time, he bought a round trip ticket.a) one way ticket b) two way ticket2. The accountant clerks are responsible to check for false signatures, thus they needed to verify all cheques with the original signature before paying the money.a) fake b) true8. ImaginationYou may try to use many strategies as stated previously to understand new words, but sometimes you still can’t understand. You can use your imagination in that case. Read the following passage and try to imagine how a father felt when his child got D or F grades.Exercise 11 Read the passage below. Answer the questions that follow.A father examined his son’s report card and suffered mild cardiac tremors as he saw a solid column of D and F grades. Outraged that a product of his genes could so disgrace the family, he confronted his son and said, “Dave, this just won’t do. I can’t tolerate these grades, and if you don’t show me an immediate turn-around, you’re going to be grounded!”Do you think Dave got good grades or bad grades? ___________________________ Was Dave’s father happy or angry at his school result?________________________What is his father going to do with him? __________________________________ __Now, find the meaning of words below. 1) What does the words “suffering mild cardiac tremors” mean?a) very angry b) about to die of a heart attackc) verysad2) What does the words “disgrace” mean?a) please b) shame c) disappoint3) What does the words “tolerate” mean?a) give b) borrow c) admit4) What does the words “turn-around” mean?a) complete change from a very bad situation to a good oneb) convert attitude from a positive one to a negative onec) run around when you are unhappy Based on the context, guess the meaning of the underlined words in the following passageOccupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park, formerly "Liberty Plaza Park". The protest was originally called for by the Canadian activist group Adbusters; it took inspiration from the Arab Spring movement (particularly the Tahrir Square protests in Cairo, which initiated the 2011 Egyptian revolution) and from the Spanish Indignants.The participants of the event are mainly protesting against social and economic inequality, corporate greed, and the influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government, among other concerns.Adbusters states that, "Beginning from one simple demand – a presidential commission to separate money from politics – we start setting the agenda for a new America."By October 9, similar demonstrations had been held in over 70 cities. BackgroundIn mid 2011, the Canadian-based group Adbusters Media Foundation, best known for its advertisement-freeanti-consumerist magazine called Adbusters, proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest corporate influence on democracy, address a growing disparity in wealth, and theabsence of legal repercussions behind the recent global financial crisis.According to the senior editor of the magazine, “[they] basically floated the idea in mid-July into our [email list] and it was spontaneously taken up by all the people of the world, it just kind of snowballed from there.”Activists from Anonymous also encouraged its followers to take part in the protest which increased the attention it received calling protesters to "flood lower Manhattan, set up tents, kitchens, peaceful barricades and occupy Wall Street".Although it was originally proposed by Adbusters magazine, the demonstration is leaderless.Other groups began to join the protest, including the NYC General Assembly and U.S. Day of Rage.The protests have brought together people of many political positions. A report in CNN suggested that protesters "got really lucky"when gathering at Zuccotti Park since it was private property and police could not legally force them to move off of it; in contrast, police have authority to remove protesters without permits from city parks.Prior to the protest's beginning on September 17, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a press conference, "People have a right to protest, and if they want to protest, we'll be happy to make sure they have locations to do it."Demands and goalsPerceptions vary as to the specific goals of the movement.According to Adbusters, a primary protest organizer, the central demand of the protest is that President Obama "ordain a Presidential Commission tasked with ending the influence money has over our representatives in Washington".Liberal commentator Michael Moore hadsuggested that this is not like any other protest but this protest represents a variety of demands with a common statement about government corruption and the excessive influence of big business and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans on U.S. laws and policies.Peripheral demands such as raising taxes on the rich, raising taxes on corporations, ending corporate welfare, support for trade unionism, and protecting Medicare and Social Security in their traditional forms are expressed by some participants.Occupy Maine is asking for an investment in public transportation infrastructure and the return home of Maine National Guardsmen from wars overseas.Other protesters are calling for an audit or elimination of the Federal Reserve, affordable healthcare,dismantling the military-industrial complex and to end all wars.Despite the various lists of demands, some non-partisan groups and supporters of the protest have expressed concern that the proposed agenda items are not addressing some of the root causes. Political activist Lawrence Lessig argues that the problems on Wall Street have been caused by corruption in Washington that has been perpetuated by a deep conflict of interests. He further states that because both parties depend on Wall Street's money to fund their campaigns, they will not dare to cross the interests of Wall Street.Fast reading on P112Unit 8Text A and Fast ReadingTranslate the underlined sentences in the following news.A sovereign default is a failure by the government of a sovereign state to pay back its debt in full.If potential lenders or bond(an agreement by a government or company to pay you interest on the money you have lent) purchasers begin to suspect that a government may fail to pay back its debt, they may demand a high interest rate in compensation for the risk of default. A dramatic rise in the interest rate faced by a government due to fear that it will fail to honor its debt is sometimes called a sovereign debt crisis.Since a sovereign government, by definition, controls its own affairs, it cannot be obliged to pay back its debt.Nonetheless, governments may face sever pressure from lending countries. In the most extreme cases, a creditor nation may declare war on a debtor nation for failing to pay back debt. For example, Britain routinely bullied countries that failed to repay foreign debts, invading Egypt in 1882 and Istanbul in the wake of Turkey's 1876 default. Other examples include the United States occupation of Haiti beginning in 1915.A government which defaults may also be excluded from further credit and some of its overseas assets may be seized (e.g. Chile's copper mines were seized by U.S. American companies in 1977);and it may face political pressure from its own domestic bondholders to pay back its debt. Therefore governments rarely default on the entire value of their debt. Instead, they often enter into negotiations with their bondholders to agree on a delay or partial reduction of their debt payments, which is often called a debt restructuring or 'haircut'.The International Monetary Fund often assists in sovereign debt restructurings. To ensure that funds will be available to pay the remaining part of the sovereign debt, it often makes its loans conditional on austerity measures（财政紧缩措施）within the country, such as tax increases or reductions in public sector jobs and services.Fake Cop Pulls Over Real CopA New Mexico man who pretended to be a police officer has been given a misdemeanor citation by police.Police say they can decide if someone will get a misdemeanor citation or a felony arrest for impersonating a police officer.42-year-old Tyree Appleberry was caught when he pulled over a detective. He still claims he´s innocent. "At no time did I say I was a cop, did I pretend to be a cop, did I badge anybody. At no time did that happen," Appleberry said.Honda to Halve Exports From Japan in the Next 10 YearsCarmaker Honda said it plans to export 50 percent less from Japan over the next decade due to the strong yen.A spokesperson for the company explained that Honda will sell most of its Japan-built cars in JapanHonda is not the only carmaker leaving Japanese plants on the strong yen. Toyota and Nissan also move production abroad.Philippines: Typhoon Claims Lives of 18 PeopleTyphoon Nesat hit the Philippines and killed at least 18 people. Residents have already started cleaning up the damaged areas.The national disaster agency speaks of 48,000 evacuated people and damages which cost about £1.46 million. The storm also passed an important rice crop area. This could have an influence on the rice import.Typhoons in that area are getting stronger with the changing climate. Weather officials warned that another typhoon could hit the Philippines soon.Police Stop Motorist Using Laptop While DrivingPolice in Hampshire caught a driver that was using his laptop AND drinking his coffee while driving.Other curious offences reported while driving include: a man caught eating a pear with a knife and a guy caught writing down radio quiz answers.A police officer reminded the penalties for distracted drivers; in the UK they can be fined up to 60£ and if they crash and cause death by careless driving they can end up spending 14 years in jail.Steve Jobs DeadSteve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, has died at age 56. He had been fighting a rare form of pancreatic cancer.He started Apple at the age of 21. Thought of as the Thomas Edison of the 20th century, he brought us the iPhone, iPod, and the iPad.Kodak Shares Down on Bankruptcy RumorsEastman Kodak shares were down almost 60 percent Friday as bankruptcy rumors spread.The company´s stock dropped to 78 cents per share。