unit 4 Heroes among us.doc

Unit 4 Heroes among us1 Whos a hero these days?In aneraof heightened heroism, the wordherohas become more common.We use hero to describe bothvictimsandsurvivorsof all kinds of difficulties andtragedies.Who are the heroes among us?1 谁是当今的英雄？在一个英雄主义发扬光大的时代，“英雄”一词已经变得更加常见。我们把各种困难和悲剧的受害者和幸存者都称为“英雄”。那么，我们身边哪些人是英雄呢？2In the dayssubsequentto a mass shooting inTucson,Arizona, many described 20-year old politicalassociateDaniel Hernandezas a hero.During the horrible shooting, he courageously ran through the danger to save the life of one of the victims, his boss and friend,congresswomanGabrielle Giffords.Daniel held her head up so she could breathe and applied pressure to her wounds.He spoketenderwords ofsympathy,telling her that he would find her husband and her parents and that everything would be fine.And he never left her side, staying beside her in the ambulance all the way to the hospital.2 在亚利桑那州图森市枪击案发生后的日子里，许多人都把20岁的政界同事丹尼尔赫尔南德兹描述为英雄。在骇人的枪击案发生时，他勇敢地冒着危险，去救助受害者之一、也是他的上司和朋友的加布里埃尔吉福德议员。丹尼尔把她的头托高，便于她呼吸，并用力摁住她的伤口。他用温柔体贴的话语安慰她，告诉她他会把她的丈夫和父母找来，告诉她一切都会好的。而且，他一直守护在她身边，在去医院的路上，他也一直在救护车里陪伴在她身旁。3 Another hero from the mass shooting in Tucson wasDory Stoddard.Dory gave his life for his wife,Mavy.Dory and his wife had been friends since childhood andwhen Dory heard shots ring out he immediately fell on top of his wife toshieldher from thehailofbullets.At the memorial service, thepriestsaid: Dory didnt die a hero; he lived a hero.Long known for hisremarkablespirit and love of humanity, Dory Stoddard died as he had always lived, assisting others.3 图森枪击事件中的另一位英雄是多利斯托达德。多利为保护妻子梅维献出了自己的生命。多利和他的妻子自小青梅竹马。一听到枪声，多利马上扑在妻子身上为她挡住扫射过来的子弹。在葬礼仪式上，牧师说道：“多利一生英雄，非死才为英雄。”多利斯托达德一直以来以精神高尚、富有爱心而为大家所熟知，他至死也同他生前一样在帮助他人。4These arecivilianheroes, who acted instinctively with courage andgracewhen caught up in extraordinarycircumstances.5But what about firstresponders, whose job is, in the words of the widow of a fallen police officer, to rush toward danger?4 这些都是平民英雄。他们在特别危急的情况下，本能地做出勇敢而高尚的举动。5 但是，那些应急救援人员是否也算是英雄呢？用一位已故警官遗孀的话来说，他们的工作就是“迎着危险上”。6InToronto, Canada, downtown life stopped when more than 11,000 police and other emergency responders marchedsolemnlythrough the streets to honorSergeantRyan Russell, a 35-year-old good man and good cop, who believed deeply in hiscommitmentto protect and serve.Sgt.Russell moved quickly to protect others from harm.He tried to stop a drunk driver in a stolen snowplow with only his policeautomobileand his goodwill to help others.Sadly, Sgt.Russell was unable to stop the drunk driver and was killed in the effort.6 在加拿大多伦多市，11,000多名警察和其他应急救援人员肃穆地在大街上游行，纪念一位具有高度保护和服务意识的“好男人和好警察”、35岁的瑞安罗素警佐。当时整个市中心的其他活动都停止了。罗素警佐迅速采取行动，保护他人免受伤害。他仅凭着一辆警车和一颗帮助他人的善良的心，试图挡住一辆醉驾司机驾驶的偷来的扫雪车。不幸的是，他没能拦住醉驾司机，不幸牺牲。7It used to be that the wordherowas reserved for those who performed acts ofdistinctcourage beyond the call of duty.A soldier who runs through gunfire to rescue othermilitarypersonnelis seen as a hero.So are larger-than-life leaders such asNelson Mandela, who emerged after 27 years of jail, confined in asolitarychamber.He made the choice not to be bitter, and worked hard as South Africas first black president toestablishharmonyand helped societyreconcileitsconflictedpast.7 在过去，“英雄”一词仅限于称呼那些做出超乎职责范围的特别英勇的行为的人们。一位战士冒着枪林弹雨去抢救其他战友，他被看作英雄。同样，超凡卓越的具有传奇色彩的领袖人物也是英雄，比如纳尔逊曼德拉。被囚禁于单人牢房27年后，曼德拉终于摆脱了牢狱生活。他没有抱怨，作为南非的第一位黑人总统，他努力奋斗，致力于创建和谐国家，促进社会化解以往的矛盾。8But today, our heroes are average men and women, everyday heroes to whom we can relate, people like us. 8 但是今天，我们的英雄是平凡的男男女女，他们是我们看得见、摸得着的“平民英雄”，是和我们一样的普通人。9However, while many people honor Sgt.Russell, some people raise this question when they try to make sense of a tragedy like Sgt.Russells: Some first responders do not succeed in helping others and they get injured or die in their efforts.Do these people become heroes because of what happens to them as they try to help others instead of what they actually make happen?9 虽然很多人尊重罗素警佐，但有些人在试图理解像罗素警佐这样的悲剧时提出了一个问题：“有些应急救援人员在帮助他人时没能获得成功，而自己却受伤或牺牲了。这些人不是因为他们成功帮助了别人，而是因为他们在帮助别人时所遭遇的不幸才成为英雄的吗？”10I asked road safetyadvocateEleanor McMahonwhether she thought Sgt.Russell was a hero.Ms. McMahons late husband, a police officer, was killed by a drunk truck driver in a 2006 off-duty bicycling accident.Through grief and rage, Ms. McMahon foundedShare the Road, a cyclingassociation, and worked tirelessly until the government established Gregs Law,legislationthat gaveauthorityto police to immediately seize the automobiles of drunk drivers caught on the road.10 我问道路交通安全倡导者埃莉诺麦克玛农，她是否认为罗素警官是位英雄。麦克玛农女士的已故丈夫曾是一名警官，2006年的一天，他未当班，却在骑车时因一名醉驾卡车司机肇事而丧生。在悲伤和愤怒中，麦克玛农女士创立了“道路共享单车联合会”，一个自行车协会。她不懈地努力，直到政府颁布了格雷格法案，授予警察在路上一旦发现醉驾司机就当场予以扣留车辆的权力。11 Ms. McMahon replied that she thought Sgt.Russell was indeed a hero.Just imagine, in the middle of anintensesnowstorm this policeman thinks: Ive got to stop this snowplow before it hurts others.Ms. McMahon summed up why she considered many police officers to be heroes: Its natural to be afraid of danger. Its natural for that fear to cause most people to rush toward safety and away from danger. Heroes do just the opposite. They rush toward danger to help those in need.11 麦克玛农女士回答说，她认为罗素警官确实是英雄。“想象一下，在狂风暴雪中，这位警官想道：我必须挡住这辆扫雪车，不让它伤及他人。”麦克玛农女士概括了为什么她认为许多警官都是英雄的原因：“害怕危险是正常的。大多数人因害怕危险而奔向安全之处躲避危险，这也是正常的。而英雄则恰恰相反。他们迎着危险上，为的是帮助需要帮助的人。”12We count on first responders to rush toward danger, especially when it involves us or those we love.We expect nothing less.So when one of them dies doing that, we should recognize the heroic action even though we may doubt our own capacity to be heroic ourselves.12 我们指望应急救援人员冲向危险，尤其是当我们或我们所爱的人身处险境时。这正是我们对应急救援人员的期望。所以，当他们中的一位因冲向危险而遭遇不幸时，我们应认可他们的英勇行为，哪怕我们可能怀疑自己是否具有这样的勇气。13The inspiring stories of heroes help remind us that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, whether it is in thefulfillmentof their duties or as part of everyday life.We honor the fireman, the policeman, and the average citizen by recognizing their heroism.Perhaps, even more importantly, we honor them by working to change the circumstances that led to their death.By honoring them we can be inspired by them.Will we be heroes when circumstances call on us to act heroically?Hopefully, we will!13 英雄们激励人心的事迹有助于提醒我们，平凡的人也可以做出不平凡的事，不管是履行职责，还是在日常生活中。我们向消防员、警察和普通平民致敬，赞扬其大无畏的精神。也许，甚至更为重要的是，我们要通过改变让他们遭遇不幸的环境来向他们致敬。通过缅怀他们，我们可以从中得到鼓舞。一旦有情况召唤我们挺身而出时，我们会当英雄吗？但愿我们会！作为通过中国游历亚洲的首批欧洲人之一，马可波罗可能是中国人最熟知的外国商人和航海家。从1271年到1295年，他和他的家人游历广泛，遍及欧洲和亚洲。期间，他在中国留居了17年。他的著作马可波罗游记描述了他游历亚洲的旅程，让欧洲人首次全面领略了包括中国、印度和日本在内的远东地区的情况。从他的文字叙述中，西方人第一次了解到瓷器、煤炭、火药、印刷术、纸币以及丝绸。在15世纪末和16世纪欧洲发现与征服的大航海时代，马可波罗所记录的大量新的地理信息得到了广泛使用。在他去世后的这几个世纪里，马可波罗获得了他在有生之年未曾获得的赞誉。马可波罗的故事鼓舞了其他无数的探险者去踏上征程，发现世界。 Zheng He was the most famous maritime explorer in Chinese history. In 1405 AD, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty sent Zheng He on a voyage to the Western Seas in order to strengthen border defense and develop trade by sea. In the following 28 years, Zheng He led his fleet, made seven voyages to the Western Seas with over 100,000 crew members in total, and visited more than 30 countries and regions The fleet traveled far into South Asia and West Asia, and made all way to the continent of Africa. Zheng Hes voyages to the Western Seas were a great feet in the worlds navigation history. It showed Zheng Hes outstanding navigation and organization talents; meanwhile, it exhibited the national strength and prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and strengthened the relationships between the Ming Dynasty and the overseas countries.Unit 4 Heroes of Our TimeText A Heroes among UsWords & Expressions(Para. 1)era: n. C a period of time in history that is known for a particular event, or for particular qualities 时代；年代- We are living in the information era.- 我们生活在信息时代。heighten: v. if sth. heightens a feeling, effect, etc., or if a feeling, etc. heightens, it becomes stronger or increases（使）加强；（使）增加 - 吸烟会增加患癌的风险。- Smoking may heighten the risk of cancer.(Para. 2)subsequent: a. (fml.) happening or coming after sth. else 随后的；继之后的- 你探望后的第二天, 他便去世了。- The day subsequent to your visit he died.- Fires and floods subsequent to an earthquake often cause greater damage.- 地震后继发的火灾和洪水往往会造成更大的破坏。Note:1. 在表示先后次序时，常用的形容词有next, following, last, subsequent, previous及preceding等。这些形容词通常置于被修饰的名词之前，例如：the next morning, the following class, the last week, the subsequent events, the previous meeting, the preceding page。2. subsequent to（在之后）和previous to（在之前）作定语时，通常置于被修饰的名词之后。例如：- 在他去看她后的第二天，她失踪了。- On the day subsequent to his visit, she disappeared.- 在抢劫案发生的前一晚，有人看到他在那座大楼外面徘徊。- On the night previous to the robbery, he had been seen wandering outside the huge building.associate: 1. n. C sb. who you work or do business with 同事；（生意）伙伴- He is not a friend but an associate; we work in the same department.- 他不是朋友，只是同事，我们在同一部门工作。2. vt. make a connection in your mind between one thing or person and another联想；联系 Collocation: associate sth./sb. with sth./sb. 由.联想到.；把.联系起来- 我们说起中国, 就联想到长城。- We associate China with the Great Wall.- Nowadays, most people associate APPLE with good quality.- 如今，大多数人将苹果这一品牌与高品质联系起来。(Para. 3)give ones life: die in order to save other people or because of a strong belief捐躯；牺牲- Many people are willing to give their lives for the great cause of their country.- 很多人愿意为自己祖国的伟大事业献出自己的生命。shield: 1. vt. protect sb. or sth. from being harmed or damaged保护；保卫- shield a country from invasion 保卫国家不受侵犯- shield ones eyes with ones hand 用手遮护眼睛2. n. C a large piece of metal or leather that soldiers used in the past to protect themselves when fighting盾；盾牌- The soldiers shield saved him from being killed by his enemy.- 那个士兵的盾保护他免遭敌人杀害。Collocation: shield sb./sth. from sb./sth. 使免受- 他尽力保护自己的孩子避开媒体的关注。- He tries his best to shield his children from the press.hail: 1. n. 1) (a of bullets/stones, etc.) a large number of bullets, stones, etc. that are fired or thrown at sb.一阵弹雨/像雹子般袭来的石块等- The riot police were met with a hail of stones.- 防暴警察遭到一阵石头的袭击。2) U frozen raindrops which fall as hard balls of ice冰雹- Disastrous weather includes drought, floods, hail, and strong winds.- 灾害性天气包括干旱、洪水、冰雹和强风。2. vt. describe sb. or sth. as being very good把称赞为；把誉为- 她被誉为当今最有前途的青年舞蹈明星之一。- Shes being hailed as one of the most promising young dancing stars today.remarkable: a. unusual or surprising and therefore deserving attention or praise非凡的；不寻常的；显著的- It is that kind of courage and determination that makes him a most remarkable person.- 正是那种勇气和决心使他成为一个非凡的人。humanity: n. 1) U people in general人；人类（总称）- a great contribution to humanity- 对人类的一大贡献2) U kindness, respect, and sympathy toward others仁慈；博爱；同情心- 我们应该以仁慈之心对待动物。- We should treat animals with humanity.3) pl. (the ies) subjects of study such as literature, history, or art, rather than science or mathematics人文学科- 人文学院为学生们提供各种各样的课程。- The school of Humanities offers a wide range of courses for the students.(Para. 4)civilian: 1. a. (only before n.) relating to civilians平民的；百姓的；民用的；非军职的- Let us pray for the helpless civilian people trapped in this dreadful war.- 让我们为陷入这场可怕战争的无助的平民祈祷吧。2. n. C anyone who is not a member of the military forces or the police平民；老百姓- The war lasted two years and thousands of innocent civilians were killed during the war.- 这场战争持续了两年，成千上万的无辜平民在战争中丧生。with (good/a good) grace: 有风度地；情愿地- 约翰在比赛中输了，但是他心平气和地接受了失败。- John failed in the competition, but he accepted the failure with grace.be/get caught up in sth.: 被卷入；陷入- Innocent passersby got caught up in the riot.- 无辜的路人被卷入了那场暴乱。circumstance: n. C, usu. pl. the conditions that affect a situation, action, event, etc.情况；情形- We have been told that under no circumstances may we use the telephone in the office for personal affairs.- 我们被告知，无论什么情况下都不得使用办公室的电话办私事。Collocation:under the circumstances在这种情况下under all circumstances无论如何 under no circumstances 决不, 无论如何也不, 在任何情况下决不in no circumstances (=under no circumstances) (Para. 5)in the words of sb. / in sb.s words: 用某人的话来说- Michael and his sister went to the concert, and in the words of his sister, it was a night to remember.- 迈克尔和他的姐姐一起去了音乐会，用他姐姐的话来说，那是难忘的一夜。(Para. 6)commitment: n. 1) U the hard work and loyalty that sb. gives to an organization, activity, etc.投入；忠诚；奉献- My commitment to study has made me the most successful person in my small town.- 我在学习上的投入使我成为我们小镇上最成功的人。2) C a promise to do sth. or to behave in a particular way承诺- 我们承诺继续合作。- We made a commitment to keep working together.Note:As can be seen in the examples above, commitment can be followed by either a prepositional phrase “to sth.”（介词短语）or an infinitive “to do sth.”.（动词不定式）drunk driver: 酒后驾车者Note：drunk, drunken1. drunk和drunken都可用作形容词，表示“醉的”。但是在用法上，两个词有所不同：drunk一般用作表语形容词，而drunken通常用作定语形容词。例如：- 这名男子酩酊大醉，几乎说不出话来。- The man was so drunk that he could barely get his words out.- A mob of drunken people rushed into a store and smashed everything there.- 一群醉酒的暴徒冲进一家商店，砸烂了所有的东西。2. drunk还可用作名词，表示“醉鬼；酒鬼；醉酒”。例如：- I dont like to take the bus at night. Its full of drunks and crazy people.- 我晚上不想乘公共汽车，因为车上满是醉鬼和疯狂的人。3. drunk driver是固定用法，主要用于美国英语，意思是“酒后驾车者”，英国英语则用drink-driver。类似的用法还有drunk driving (AmE)，drink-driving (BrE)，表示“酒后驾车”。(Para. 7)reserve sth. for sb./sth.: 保留；预留- If you get there early, please reserve a seat for me. - 如果你到得早，请帮我留个位子。distinct: a. 1) (usu. before n.) definite and obvious确实的；显著的- 你的英语口语有明显的进步。- There is a distinct improvement in your spoken English.2) separate and different in a way that is clear有区别的；不同的；单独的- The regions linguistic and cultural identity is quite distinct from that of the rest of the country.- 该地区的语言和文化特征与该国的其他地区大不相同。3) able to be clearly seen, heard, smelt, or tasted清晰的；清楚的；明显的- The outline of the ship became more distinct.- 船的轮廓变得更加清晰了。personnel:（公司、组织或军队中的）人员；员工；职员Note：personnel, personality, personal1. personnel只有单数形式，但表达的是复数概念。personnel作主语时，其谓语动词一般要用复数。例如：- 船上和岸上是否有足够的人员来处理紧急情况？- Are there sufficient personnel on board and ashore to deal with an emergency?2. personality: n. C, U个性；名人- She has a powerful personality.- 她有坚强的个性。- Einstein was a great personality.- 爱因斯坦是个伟大的人物。3. personal: a.个人的；亲自的；针对个人的- Its a personal letter.- 这是私人信件。- 他想亲自去参观那家工厂。- He wanted to have a personal visit to that factory.- 关于这件事我们不要进行人身攻击。- Lets not get personal about this issue.confine: vt. 1) keep sb. in a place that they cannot leave, such as a prison监禁；禁闭- 那名罪犯被捕了，并在监狱里关了两年。- The criminal was caught and confined to prison for two years.2) if sth. is confined to one area or group of people, it happens only in that area or affect only that group of people使局限于- The risk of infection is confined to relatively small groups.- 感染的危险只局限于较小的人群。establish: vt. 1) begin a relationship with sb. or a situation that will continue建立（关系或联系）- 我们已和许多国家建立了外交关系。- We have established diplomatic relations with many countries.2) make sth. start to exist or start to happen建立；创立；设立- Our health research center was established one year ago.- 我们的健康研究中心是在一年前创建起来的。Note：Collocation:We can establish a company / organization / school, etc. We can also establish sth. that is abstract, for example, establish harmony / confidence / innocence / fame / habit / tradition / truth / trust / virtue, etc.harmony: n. U when people live or work together without fighting or disagreeing with each other融洽相处- People used to talk about the conquest of nature, but now we realize we must stay in harmony.- 人们过去常说要征服自然，但现在我们认识到我们必须与自然和谐共处。Collocation:live in harmony 和睦相处be in harmony with 与.协调一致reconcile: 1. vt. find a way to make ideas, beliefs, needs, etc. that are opposed to each other capable of existing together调和；调解- We suggest that it is possible to reconcile these apparently opposing perspectives.- 我们认为这些看似对立的观点是可以相互统一的。Note：We often say reconcile sth. with sth.（使和谐；使一致; 使符合） 例如：- reconcile his words with his actions- 使他的言行一致2. v. if you reconcile two people or groups or they reconcile, they become friendly again after a disagreement（使）和解；（使）恢复友好关系- 最终，他与家人言归于好。- Eventually, he had reconciled with his family.(Para. 8)relate to sth./sb.: 理解；认同- Sam gave up his profession as a doctor. I found it really hard to relate to him.- 山姆放弃了他的医生职业。我觉得很难理解他。(Para. 9)make sense of sth.: 理解，弄懂某事（尤指困难或复杂的事）- 那位老师的口音很重，所以我们谁都不明白他在说些什么。- The teacher had such a strong accent that none of us could make sense of what he was saying.(Para. 10)advocate: 1. n. C sb. who publicly supports sb. or sth. 提倡者；拥护者；鼓吹者- He was regarded as a strong advocate for a variety of educational improvements.- 他被认为是多种教育改进措施的强烈支持者。2. vt. publicly say that sth. should be done主张；拥护；鼓吹- 政府主张的经济政策加速了旅游业的衰退。- The economic policies the government advocated quickened the decline of the tourist industry.authority: n. 1) U the power you have because