Text A

Comprehension

Possible answers to content questions:

1. No.

2. No.

3. It has been replaced by an era when people employ various security devices at home./It has been replaced by an atmosphere of fear and distrust.

4. Small notices announcing that the premises are under surveillance by this security force or that guard company.

5. The insurance company tries to impress the public that it will ensure your safety by paying for your losses.

6. An atmosphere of fear and distrust.

[ Now switch roles. ]

7. Because they feel threatened and want to keep outsiders away.

8. No. They are by now the most sophisticated of security sites.

9. It is a way to hold the terrorists, real and imagined, at bay.

10. To tell whether their friend or client is telling lies.

11. All is done in the name of "security". But according to the author, America, with all this "security", is perhaps the most insecure nation in the history of civilization.

12. We may have locked the evils out, but in so doing we have locked ourselves in.

Text Organization

1.

Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas

Part One     Paras 1 -3 In America, the era of leaving the front door on the latch has drawn to a close.

Part Two     Paras 4 -15 A new atmosphere of fear and distrust has crept into every aspect of daily life. As a result, security devices, in varied forms, are put to use.

Part Three    Paras 16 -19 In locking our fears out, we become prisoners of our own making.

2.  

1) Doors are not left unlocked either in cities or in rural areas.

2) Dead-bolt locks, security chains, electronic alarm systems and trip wires are widely in use.

3) Suburban families have steel bars built in sliding glass doors.

4) Small notices warning against burglary are commonly seen pasted on the windows of the most pleasant of homes.

5) Access cards are required of those who work with medium to large-size companies.

6) Airport security uses electronic X-ray equipment to guard against terrorism.

7) Businessmen employ new machines linked up to their telephone to help determine whether the caller is telling lies or not.

8) Suburban housewives wear rape whistles on their key chains.

Language Sense Enhancement

1.  

 1) electronic     2) hooked up to

 3) suburban     4) built in

 5) uncommon    6) announcing

 7) surveillance    8) symbol

 9) featured         10) attached to

Vocabulary

I. 1. 1) threatens   2) by a small margin

    3) civilize   4) closed up

    5) wandered    6) paste

    7) without so much as 8) sideways

    9) hook up to     10) universal

11) chart      12) Bathed in

2. 1) narrowed down  2) looked back on

3) cut off    4) fit into

   5) wear … down  6) lies in

   7) put up    8) stand for

 3.    1)  A certain gene which is likely to make people vulnerable to asthma has been found by researchers at the Department of Clinical Medicine in Oxford.

2)  A wardrobe with mirrored doors had to be built in so as to make their small bedroom look larger.

3)  The NBC show's opening shots feature the space shuttle Challenger blowing up in January 1986—killing all seven crew.

4)  When the teacher threatened to keep the pupils in after school they were quieted at once..

5)  Energy difficulties are a major barrier to the country's economic growth due to the fact that imported oil has absorbed 40% of its foreign exchange/because imported oil has absorbed 40% of its foreign exchange.  

  4.   1) Jacob looked back on his summer holidays spent on the Big Island of Hawaii with its beautiful landscape and tranquil atmosphere as a rare escape from the madness of urban life.

2) Learning in the information era is really convenient and efficient. With your computer hooked up to the Internet, you can easily obtain the electronic resources relevant to your research.

3)  Detectives, who believe more than one person is behind the constant attacks in the suburb, are using a sophisticated computer system to analyze specific behavior and situations. However, they are also aware that they shouldn’t rely too much on computer because it may make errors at times.

II. Collocation  

1 away        2 inside/in

  3 forward/through     4 back

  5 off        6 home

  7 back down   8 in; out

III. Usage

1. Internet is not such an unusual word as it used to be .

2. Most men do not look unattractive in them.

3. Wealthy as she is, she is not unconcerned by her sudden unemployment .

4.. This claim is not unrealistic in view of a sharp decrease in the city's violent crimes.

5. His poor health is not unrelated to his unhealthy way of life.

Comprehensive Exercises

I. Cloze

1.

       1) Statistics   2) rural

   3) era    4) stood for

5) on the latch   6) vulnerable

   7) barriers   8) electronic

   9) reflection          10) civilized        

2.

        1) tougher  2) liable

   3) shift   4) electric

   5) cautious  6) sophisticated

   7) thieves   8) break

   9) chances      10) signs

II. Translation

1.  

1) The Internet is changing the way people live, no matter whether they are in urban or rural areas.

2) Medium-sized and small companies are more vulnerable to the threat of the global economic crisis than large ones.

3) With regard to our term papers, the professor asked us to analyze the chart of unemployment first, and then provide critical reflections on the nation’s economic development.

4) It never occurred to him that their team would win the basketball match by a large margin.

5) Looking back on my twenty years’ teaching in high school, I attributed my success to patience, talent, and the constant pursuit of knowledge.

2.

It is almost impossible to keep a determined burglar out. All you can do is discourage him for a few minutes, thus exposing him to police patrols Common sense tells us that lighting is a barrier to criminal activity. A light should be fixed in the doorway and switched on at night. Make sure/Assure yourself that you don’t leave the door on the latch if you happen to be the last to come in. If you decide to buy a sophisticated electronic alarm system, be sure to ask for its signs and put them up on both windows and doors. In addition you may have it hooked up to a police station.