Detailed Reading

1. Difficult Sentences

The morning coffee was still cooling when our grandest illusion was shattered.

   What is the “grandest illusion” the author refers to?

   (=It is the illusion that America is strong and invulnerable.)

Within minutes, one of New York’s mightiest symbols was a smoldering mess and the nation’s image of invincibility was made a lie.

  What did the twin towers of the World Trade Center once symbolize?

  (=They symbolized the power and the invincibility of the USA.)

Those not entombed by the bomb-blasted buildings ran and ran — just as they did eight years earlier, when another terror attack shook this mighty symbol of America’s power.

  What happened eight years earlier?

  (=In 1993, a group of terrorists left a van loaded with explosives in an underground parking garage of the north tower and killed six and wounded more than a thousand.)

  Translate this sentence

For the rest of the country, there was another shock to digest — a second kamikaze attack.

  What is kamikaze attack? What was the target of the second kamikaze attack?

  (=Kamikaze attack deliberate suicidal crashes into enemy targets. The Pentagon was the second target of kamikaze attack.)

When the sun rose yesterday, someone joked that the city was missing its two front teeth.

  What were the two front teeth?

  (=They were the twin towers of the World Trade Center.)

But there was nothing to laugh about in the aftermath of our generation’s Pearl Harbor.

  In what sense are the 911 terrorist attacks a second Pearl harbour?

  (=The 911 attacks and the Japanese air attack on Pearl Harbor were both surprise attacks on a massive scale which should be considered as acts of undeclared war. )

The rest of New York resembled a Third World capital after a particularly explosive coup.

  How can you explain the Third World?

  (=It is a political term originally used (1963) to describe those states that are not part of the first world — the capitalist, economically developed states led by the U.S. — or the second world — the communist states led by the Soviet Union. The third world principally consists of the developing world, former colonies of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. )

But now — as after Pearl Harbor more than half a century before — it was our turn.

  What is the implied meaning of this sentence?

  (=It is time for America to take revenge on terrorism.)

New Yorkers talked tough and carried on, but with far less swagger and far less joy.

  What can be inferred from this sentence?

  (=Looking back a year later, one could find some changes in New Yorkers: even though they were not as confident and proud as they used to be, they carried on. )

Some of the mourners divined in the dust the ghosts of those they lost, and they opened their mouths and breathed it in.

  Translate this sentence

  (=有些哀悼者虔诚地认为尘土中有他们逝去的亲人的阴魂，于是他们张开嘴，把尘土吸进。)

2. Words and Expressions

mood:  n.  the way sb. is feeling at a particular time

 * The government seems to be out of touch with the public mood.

 * Bad mood may deteriorate the condition of disease.

（=The good weather him in an excellent mood for breakfast.）

Collocation:

in a good mood                                 心情愉快

in a bad mood                                    心情不好

in a foul mood                                    心情很差

in a confident/optimistic mood      充满自信/乐观

in a holiday/party mood                   沉浸在节日/舞会的氛围中

CF: mood, temper & humour

       这些词都是名词，都含有“心情”、“脾气”、“情绪”的意思。

mood指人的心境或精神的暂时状态。它强调情感的强制性或渗透性．有时还可指“心情不好，郁郁寡欢”。

temper指单一、强烈的情感，尤指发怒或生气。

humour强调人的情绪或心情的变化性或易变性。

(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.

1. Roy is a man of cheerful        .  (=humour)

2. This morning they flied into a         and had fist fights. (=temper)

3. To prolong life, old people should know how to keep themselves in a merry         every day. (=mood)

4. Don't lose your         even if you are very angry with someone. (=temper)

illusion: n.  a false idea, belief or impression

* The girl has the illusion that a prince will come and marry her.

 * The CEO of the company is under no illusion about the challenges he faces.

 * 太阳看起来好像绕着地球转, 但这只是个错觉。

 (=The sun appears to go round the Earth, but it's an illusion.)

CF: illusion & delusion

       这两个词都是名词，都含有“错觉”、“幻想”之意。

illusion表示“错误的观念”、“幻觉”。例如：I have no illusions about my

ability. 我对自己的能力如何颇有自知之明。

delusion作为“幻想”，“妄想”讲。例如：His arguments sound

convincing, but they are based on delusion. 他的论据听起来似乎

有理，但根本上是欺骗性的。

shatter:  v.

1) destroy completely, esp. sb's hopes or beliefs;

 * The failures have shattered her confidence.

 * The violent murder shattered the peace of the holiday season.

 * We were shattered to hear of her sudden death.

 (=听到她突然死亡的消息我们十分震惊。)

2) break (sth.) into pieces

 * The mirror shattered into tiny pieces.

 * The stone shattered the window of the restaurant.

blot out: cover or hide completely        

 * Dark clouds overhead had blotted out the sun. 

 * The human tendency is to blot out bad memories.

 * 白色浓烟遮住了太阳。

 （=Thick white smoke blotted out the sun. ）

chaos:  n.  a state of complete disorder and confusion

 * The country’s health system is in a state of chaos.

 * Two days of heavy snowfall caused chaos across the UK.

(=The room was in a state of chaos when the burglars had left. )

Collocation:

political chaos                      政治骚乱

financial chaos                    经济动荡

social chaos                         社会动荡

revenge:

1. n. action taken in return for an injury or offense

 * Finally she had a chance for revenge against the evil man.

* The movie is about a Jewish woman who plotted her revenge against the Nazis.

2. vt.  take action in return for an injury or offense

 * She was planning to revenge the injustice done to her mother.

 * He revenged his brother’s murder.

Pattern:  take / have / get revenge on

 * The woman took revenge on her cheating husband.

 * I will never take revenge on anyone, because it is so stupid and immature.

CF: avenge & revenge

       这两个词都是动词，都含有“报复”之意。

avenge多因受辱或受伤害而报仇（报复），无论是为别人或自己都是出于正义

感。例如：I will avenge you (on the enemy). 我要替你（向敌人）报仇。

revenge作为“复仇”讲。例如：The enemy revenged the

village for protecting soldiers. 这座村庄因掩护士兵而遭敌军报复。

denounce: vt.  criticize severely and publicly

 * He denounced my telling lies.

 * The book has been denounced because of its controversial statements about race.

（= Professor Jackson denounced those students who had cheated on the exam. ）

think back on / to: think about things that happened in the past

 * Every December I think back on the past year, all the good times and bad ones.

 * Now that I have children of my own, thinking back on my own childhood Christmases has new meaning.

 * 回过头来看，我想我不应该如此轻易地放弃那次比赛。

 （=Looking back on it, I think I shouldn't have given up the contest so easily. ）

crystal: 

1. adj.  transparent

 * The adventurers breathe air untainted by the modern world and drink pure sweet water from a crystal lake.

 * 麦克非常清晰地表达了自己的想法。

 (= Mike expressed his thoughts with crystal clarity. )

2. n.  transparent natural substance like quartz or piece of this as an ornament

 * She wears a crystal ornament on her chest.

Pattern:

in (great / crystal) detail: including many / clear facts or aspects of a  situation

 * Tim presented his argument in great detail.

 * The old man could remember in crystal detail the days of his childhood.

in the aftermath of: following (an event, esp. a catastrophic one)

 * We must ensure food safety in the aftermath of natural disasters.

 * In the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order of the world was changed.

 * 地震之后，许多人无家可归。

 (=Many people were homeless in the aftermath of the earthquake. )
 

wreckage: n. the parts of sth. such as a plane, ship, or building that are left after it has been destroyed in an accident

 * The rescue workers searched the wreckage for signs of survivors.

* A team of French and American scientists found the wreckage of the Titanic.

(=Ten days after the accident, pieces of the wreckage were washed ashore.)

debris: n.  pieces of wood, metal, brick, etc. that are left after sth. has been destroyed

*Debris of the aircraft can be seen in the photos of the aftermath of the crash.

*Debris from the two aircraft killed two children in a school playground in a suburb of Philadelphia.

       *科学家正在追踪卫星碰撞留下的残片。

  (= Scientists are tracking the debris from a satellite collision.)

resemble:  vt.    look like or be like

  * Many college graduates discover that society does not at all resemble the way it is in their imagination.

* Leo Tolstoy once said all happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

  * 她和她母亲长得非常像。

  (=She resembles her mother in looks.)

Pattern:  resemble sb./sth. (in sth.)

ally: n.  a friendly nation; one who supports another in difficulty

* Canada and the United States were allies in World War II.

 * Bulgaria had been an ally of Germany in the First World War.

 * 在那场战争中, 英国不同任何一国结盟, 保持中立。

 (=In that war England was not an ally; she was neutral. )

solidarity:  n.  unity and agreement resulting from shared interests, feelings, etc.

 * We need a leader to speed up the decision-making progress and

enhance the solidarity among the member countries.

 * We are calling on supporters to show solidarity with the workers on strike.

(=I come before you today to express my solidarity with the people of New York. )

Collocation:

racial solidarity                    种族团结一致

national solidarity               全国团结一致

family solidarity                   家庭团结和谐

socail solidarity                   社会团结和谐

accomplice: n.  one who helps another person do sth. illegal or wrong

 * An accomplice may have helped the Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a plane.

 * The man claimed that he was not an accomplice to the murder.

(=She was her husband's accomplice in murdering a rich old man.)

fanatic:

1. n. one who has very strong religious or political beliefs that often make him behave in an unreasonable way

 * I will never be a fitness fanatic like her.

 * He is a movie fanatic and is said to have a collection of over 5000 films.

2. adj. excessively enthusiastic; of or like a fanatic

 * My husband is fanatic about politics.

 * The company is fanatic about exceeding customer expectations.     

bring down:

1) cause to fall;

 * Most of the planes were brought down by ground fire.

* The President decided to bring down the satellite because the chemicals aboard could endanger populated areas.

2) reduce to a lower level

 * You should bring down your blood pressure to a safe level.

(=The reduction in the price of crude oil has brought down the price of gasoline. )

Collocation:

bring about                           引起，导致

bring forward                       提出，提前

bring out                                使显现，阐释，说明

bring up                                 教育，养育

grief:  n.  extreme sadness

 * Kate writes of her grief at the passing of her only child.

* Millions of fans all over the world expressed great grief on the death of Michael Jackson, King of Pop.

revolve: v.  (cause to) turn around a central point

 * The wheels are revolving slowly.

 * She felt as though he'd stuck a knife in her heart and started to revolve it.

 * 月亮围着地球转，旋转周期近一个月。

 （=The moon revolves around the Earth in about one month. ）

mourn: v.  feel and show sadness ( for/over sb./sth.) because of the loss of sb./sth.

 * Russia is holding a day of mourning for the 113 people killed in a nightclub fire.

 * The whole nation mourns the passing of its greatest scientist and educator.

CF: grieve, mourn & sorrow

       这 三个词都是动词，都有“悲伤”、“悲痛”、“悲哀”之意。

grieve通常指因死亡、损失或失败等所造成的内心痛苦。可以是公开表达的，也可以是压抑于内心的。

mourn含义与grieve很相近，但为正式用词， 强调一段时间内特别是丧事期间的深切感情。

sorrow语气较弱，指对一般损失所表达的较为轻微的悲痛或遗憾。

(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.

1. The whole nation         over the death of the veteran stateman.  (=mourned)

2. She         at the mistake she had made. (=sorrowed)

3. I feel deeply         at your misfortune. (=grieved)

4. She        out with tears. (=sorrowed)

perish:  vi. (fml) die, especially in a sudden violent way

* Nearly 70,000 people perished in the earthquake that hit Sichuan Province in western China on May 12, 2008.

 * Many birds perished from hunger and cold last winter.     

CF：die, decease, perish & vanish

这些动词或短语动词均有“死”或“死亡”之意。

die最普通用词，指某人或某物失去生命而永远不存在。例如：Those who believe in God shall never die. 信奉上帝的人将永生。

decease正式用词，多指法律上的用语，只适用于人。例如：The deceased left a large sum of money to his wife. 死者给他的妻子留下了一大笔钱。

perish书面用词，多指夭折或不幸暴亡。例如：Hundreds of sheep perished that year because of drought. 那年数以百计的羊因天旱而死亡。

vanish指某物种绝迹、不存在或化为乌有。例如：Many kinds of animals have vanished from the earth. 许多种动物已经在地球上灭绝了。

in/within the space of: in/within a specified period of time

 * The painter’s show in New York drew 160,000 visitors in the space of one month.

 * It's extremely rare for one author to write, publish and release three books within the space of one year.

fill/step into sb.’s shoes: do the job that sb. used to do

 * No one could fill into the shoes of such a great salesman.

* When Jack Welch retired from GE, Jeffrey Immelt stepped into his shoes.

pick at: touch or pull at with the fingers slightly

 * She was always picking at her sweater with her nails.

 * The baby loved to pick at his mother’s glasses.

Collocation:

pick and steal          扒窃

pick out                      选择

pick up                       拾起

pick up with              在偶然机会认识

heal: v.  restore to health or soundness, cure

 * Food that is fresh and full of nutrients would help heal the patients. 

 * I am healing slowly from my neck injury.     

 * 医生治好了那位士兵腿部的枪伤。

 (=The surgeon healed the soldier's bullet wound in the leg.)

CF: treat, cure, heal & remedy

       这几个词都是动词，都有“治疗”、“医治”之意。

treat是最普通的用语，指整个治疗过程，包括诊断、处方、建议及其它处理等，但不一定治愈。这种治疗可以指内伤、外伤，也可以指药物治疗和非药物治疗。

cure着重治疗的结果，含有“治愈”、“治好”之意，多指治愈内科疾病，间或用来喻指消除某种不良现象或恶习。

heal也着重治疗的结果，含有“治愈”、“治好”之意，多指外伤的治愈，间或可指精神创伤或环境破坏的复原。

remedy是比较正式的用法，包含了cure和heal的意思。有时表示“矫正”之意，相当于correct。

(Directions:) Fill in the blanks with the words above. Change the form where necessary.

1. Your faults of pronunciation can be       . (=remedied)

2. Parents try to        their children of bad habits. (=cure)

2. The dentist is        me for my bad cold. (=treating)

3. Time        most troubles. (=heals)

4. The new treatment        his skin disease. (=cured)

topple: v.  (cause to) become unsteady and then fall over

 * The tree was toppled by high winds during an afternoon storm.

 * A stack of plates swayed, and began to topple over.

  (=The government toppled after several large public demonstrations. )

coat: vt.  cover (sth.) with a layer of a substance

 * The board was coated with a special paint

 * Amy coated the biscuits with chocolate.

 * 他在椅子上涂了一层白漆。

 (=He coated his chairs with white paint.)

sting: vt.  pierce or wound painfully with or as if with a sharp point, as that of certain insects

 * The boy got stung by a bee yesterday.

 * The wood smoke stings my eyes.

 * 我被格林先生的批评激怒了。

 (= I was stung by Mr. Green’s criticism. )

divine:

1. vt. perceive intuitively or through some inexplicable perceptive powers

 * No one could have divined such a horrible disaster.

 * He has divined the truth with his perceptiveness.

2. adj.   coming from or relating to God

* Some fans seem to regard pop singers as divine beings.

 * We can all experience life as a divine event.

hijack: vt. use violence or threats to take control of a vehicle, esp. a plane

 * A man with a knife hijacked the bus.

 * A British-flagged cargo ship was hijacked by pirates off Somalia.

void: n.  (fml) a large empty space

 * Sadly Lisa’s husband passed away a number of years ago which left a great void in her life.

 * The man seemed to have disappeared into the void.

 * 他心中有一种悲痛的空虚感。

 (= There was an aching void in his heart. )

sacred: adj.   Of God; solemn; treated with great respect

 * Marriage is sacred to Lisa, not in a religious sense, but in a moral and intellectual sense.

* The tourists will visit the sacred temples in Macau.