现代大学英语4 unit 6.

1、 Unit 6 The Telephone Anwar F. Accawi First patented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell and further developed by many others, the telephone was the first device in history that enabled people to talk directly with each other across large distances. Telephones became rapidly indispensable to businesses

2、, government, and households, and are today some of the most widely used small appliances. Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 August 2, 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Bell placing the first New York to

3、Chicago telephone call in 1892 A 19th century acoustic tin can, or lovers telephone Actor portraying Alexander Graham Bell in a 1926 silent film. The single- port design required the user to alternately speak into and then listen through the same hole. Wooden wall telephone with a hand-cranked magne

4、to generator磁发电机磁发电机 1896 Telephone (Sweden) A German rotary telephone, the W48 A hardware-based IP phone, with touch- tone dialing （按模音调拨号） A modern mobile phone, also called a cell phone An iPhone, a mobile smartphone that is able to access the Internet. Discussion: How do the products of modern t

5、echnology, say, the telephone, the computer, the Internet, iPad, or iPhone, etc. affect our life? Born in Lebanon in a family whose ancestors are believed to have gone to Jerusalem in the Crusades. While he was teaching English at the University of Beirut (贝鲁特， 黎巴嫩首都) , he married an American from T

6、ennessee. When the civil war broke out in Lebanon, they were forced to leave the country and settle in the United States. Anwar F. Accawi became a teacher of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (诺克斯维尔,当地华人一般简称之为 “诺城”，是美国田纳西州东部的一个城市). About Lebanon History of Lebanon A country of southw

7、est Asia on the Mediterranean Sea. The site of ancient Phoenicia (腓尼基), the region was gradually absorbed by the Persian Empire and later conquered by Alexander the Great. Eventually it came under Roman control and was Christianized before the Arab conquest of the 7th century. Part of the Ottoman Em

8、pire from the early 16th century, Lebanon became a French League of Nations mandate (委任统治地) after World War I and proclaimed its independence in 1941, although full self-government was not achieved until 1945. Tensions between Christians and Muslims led (1975) to civil war, which finally came to an

9、end in 1991. Beirut is the capital and the largest city. Population: 3,930,000. About 95% of Lebanese are Arabs; Armenians (亚美尼亚人) are the principal minority. About 60% of the population is Muslim and about 40% is Christian. Arabic is the official language; French, English, and Armenian are also spo

10、ken. Before the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed a period of relative calm and prosperity, driven by the tourism, agriculture, and banking sectors of the economy. It is considered the banking capital of the Levant (黎凡特: 地中海东 部地区，包括希腊、埃及以东诸国及岛屿) and was widely known as the Switzerl

11、and of the East due to its financial power and diversity. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the Paris of Western Asia. Structure of the text Life in the village before it had a telephone (paras. 1-10) The installation o

12、f the first telephone in the village (paras. 11-18) Effects of the telephone on the life of the villagers (paras. 19-25) Detailed Study When I was growing up in Magdaluna, a small Lebanese village in the terraced, rocky mountains east of Sidon (西顿, 黎巴嫩西南部港市) (para. 1) east (west, etc.) of: at a dist

13、ance to the east (west, etc.) He was born in a small town about 100 kilometers southwest of Hangzhou. The Browns live 150 miles west of London. time didnt mean much to anybody, except maybe to those who were dying. (para. 1) The villagers didnt think time was important until perhaps when they were d

14、ying. In those days, there was no real need for a calendar or a watch(para.1) Theres a growing need for new housing in this area. Theres no need to apologize. The only timepiece we had need of then was the sun. (para. 1) We have no need of this old desktop (台式电脑) now that weve bought an up-to-date o

15、ne. When he found they had no more need of him, he quit. to keep track of the hours, days, months, and years. (para. 1) keep track of: to keep oneself informed about a person, situation, etc. The boy has kept track of his favorite sports stars. They try hard to keep track of all the new developments

16、 in the IT industry. lose track of: to fail to remain informed He loses track of time whenever he surfs the Net. During WWII, the Chinese couple lost track of their son who was studying in Britain. It rose and set, and the seasons rolled by (para. 1) roll by: (of time) to pass, esp. quickly The year

17、s rolled by, and still they got no news of their son. the seasons rolled by: the seasons came and went in steady succession married our cousins. Cultural Note: Intermarriage among cousins is very common in some countries. The practice has come down from ancient times, when people there were mostly n

18、omadic herdsmen who had no permanent settlements and moved with the animals from place to place. There were very few options open to young people in the choice of spouse. Today, this intermarriage is still common because of economic considerations. For poor families, marriage within an extended fami

19、ly saves the trouble of exchanging dowries（嫁妆）. When rich people marry their cousins, they dont worry that someday their money and property will pass to another family. .those children who survived This implies that infant mortality rate was high. because it was framed by acts of God: (para. 2) fram

20、e: to organize and develop a plan, system, etc. 制订，构思 frame a new bill 制订新的法案 frame a new method frame an excuse it worked just fine for us. (para. 2) fine: adv. (infml) in a way that is acceptable and good enough Dont worry. He is doing fine. Things are fine at school this year. that caused the roo

21、f on the mayors house to cave in. (para.4) cave in: (of roof or wall) to fall down or inward; to collapse the big earthquake that cracked the wall (para. 6) crack: v.: The heat cracked my lips. The glass cracked when I poured icy water into it. n. There are many cracks in the old wall. You couldnt b

22、e more accurate than that, now, could you? (para 7) now: (spoken) used for giving emphasis to a request, order, or comment For example: Be careful, now! (order) 好了，小心了。 Now, whats going on here? (request) 呃，这儿是怎么回事？ Its marvelous, now, isnt it? (comment) 哎，好极了。 And thats the way it was in our little

23、 village for as far back as anybody could remember.(para. 8) And thats how we kept track of the important events in our little village for as long as even the oldest people could remember. a whirlwind struck (para. 8) strike: (of sth unpleasant) to happen suddenly 突然 侵袭 The rise in living cost struc

24、k the poor people of the country. 生活费用的上涨使这个国家的穷人遭受打击。 because men who would not lie even to save their own souls told and retold that story until it was incorporated into Magdalunas calendar.(para. 8) save their own souls: to save their own lives incorporate sth. (into): to add or include sth as pa

25、rt of sth else, e.g, The company decided to incorporate the new feature into their microcomputer. A number of courses in public relations have been incorporated into our curriculum. There was, for instance, the year of the drought, when the heavens were shut for months (para.9) heavens: (literary) t

26、he sky the heavens were shut for months: It didnt rain for months as if the sky were shut tight. and the spring from which the entire village got its drinking water slowed to a trickle. (para. 9) slowed to a trickle: gradually there was only a small amount of water coming slowly out of the spring to

27、: prep. used for stating what condition or state sb or sth is after a change, e.g. The ancient temple has been restored to its former glory. The disease has reduced the patient to a bag of bones. In the year of the drought, that little clearing was always packed(para. 9) pack: to put or push things

28、into 挤满、塞满 We were packed tight in the bus. The audience packed the hall. their napping men and wet babies (para. 9) their husbands who were taking a nap and their babies who needed to change their nappies Cultural Note: Men in Arab countries, especially in the countryside, usually dont do any house

29、work. And sometimes the arguments escalated into full-blown, knockdown-dragout fights.(para. 10) And sometimes the arguments became so fierce that the women began to fight violently. full-blown: in the most complete and developed form, e.g. a full-blown economic crisis call each other names that mad

30、e my ears tingle. (para. 10) call sb names: to abuse sb by insulting words the words they used when they were quarreling were so offensive that we little boys felt uncomfortable Arab women I remember the rush, the excitement, the sun dancing on the dust clouds as a dress ripped and a young white bre

31、ast was revealed, then quickly hidden. (para. 10) Some women were fighting furiously creating dust clouds. The sun was moving quickly on the dust when a young womans dress was torn open and her breast exposed. We little boys would rush to steal a glance before it was hidden again. I still remember t

32、he excitement I felt at such moments. rush: a strong, usually pleasant feeling that you get from taking a drug or from doing sth. exciting (身体 的）一阵感觉，（感情的）一阵激动 The memory came back with a painful rush. 回忆往事，心里一阵难过。 rip: to tear sth. or be torn quickly and violently He ripped the letter across and th

33、rew the halves into the basket. The sails ripped under the force of the wind. reveal v. a. to make known; to disclose b. to lay open to view; to expose/show/ display/exhibit Examples: Investigation has revealed him to be a criminal. She drew the curtains aside to reveal a beautiful garden. Their fac

34、es revealed anger and alarm. Magdaluna was not going to get anywhere until it had one. (para.11) get anywhere/somewhere/nowhere：to make some/no progress or have some/no success Have you got anywhere in your project? Youll surely get somewhere if you persist in it. cf. not to get sb. anywhere: will n

35、ot help sb. to succeed e.g.: Losing your temper wont get you anywhere with them. Finally he talked Xiao Chen into accepting the job. If she wants to do something, no one can talk her out of it. A few mendid all they could to talk Abu Raja out of having a telephone brought to the village. (para.11) t

36、alk sb. into/out of (doing) sth.: to persuade sb. to do/not to do sth But they were outshouted and ignored and finally shunned by the other villagers(para. 11) But the majority of the villagers were for the telephone, and they wouldnt listen to those few people and finally avoided them for resisting

37、 progress. the shout went out that(para. 12) go out: to be told to people The word went out Some of the rich villagers walked right into the store and stood at the elbows of the two important-looking men(para. 13) at ones elbow: very close to or beside sb The man is very interested in cooking and al

38、ways has a lot of cookery books at his elbow. wire up the telephone (13) to wire up: connect sth to a supply of electricity by means of wires As soon as the equipment is wired up, you can use it . the poorer villagers stood outside and listened carefully to the details relayed to them (para. 13) rel

39、ay: to pass a message from one person to another 转述，转达 We had to relay what he said to his employees and then relay back to him their answer. to wriggle ones way through (para.17): to move or make ones way in the specific direction with wriggling movements They managed to wriggle their way through t

40、he thick hedge (树篱). She was a devout Catholic (para. 19) Cultural Note: The estimated population of Lebanon in 1998 was 3,506,000, of whom 95 percent were Arabs. There are small minorities of Armenians (亚美尼亚人亚美尼亚人) and Kurds (库尔德人库尔德人). It is estimated that 70 percent of Lebanons population are Mus

41、lim while 30 percent are Christian. Maronite (流行于黎巴嫩的马龙教派流行于黎巴嫩的马龙教派) Christians comprise the largest Christian sect. Other Christian sects include Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic and Protestant. (Also Druze, a small strange religious sect 德鲁兹德鲁兹) .because Im Kaleem

42、 took some of the pressure off them and kept the men out of their hair while they attended to their endless chores. (para. 19) get in ones hair: (infml) to annoy someone, esp. by being continually present （因不断烦扰而）惹 恼（某人） keep sb. out of ones hair: (collo.) to have sb. away from the trouble 使某人不被烦扰 a

43、ttend to: attend to a sick man He should attend better to his studies. when the loud voices of the men talking, laughing, and arguing could be heard in the street belowa reassuring, homey sound. (para. 20) a reassuring, homey sound: a sound that makes you feel less worried and that is in a way pleas

44、ant and reminds you of home Her house was an island of comfort, an oasis for the weary village men, exhausted from having so little to do. (para. 20) 村子里的男人因无所事事而筋疲力尽，对 那些疲惫而沉闷的男人们来说，她的家就 是一个舒适的小岛，一片沙漠中的绿洲。 metaphor paradox: 似非而是的隽语 the signal that they were ready to toss back and forth, like a ball

45、, the latest rumors going around the village.(para.21) this showed that now they were ready to exchange the latest news. would change their lives and deliver them from their aimless existence. (para. 21) deliver sb. from sb. / sth.: to help sb. escape from sth. bad or evil 释放、解救、解 脱 They delivered t

46、he hostages from the terrorists. existence: a way of living, especially if this is difficult or boring, e.g. The refugees have a miserable existence. The family depended on what their land could produce for their very existence. drank lukewarm sodas that they called Kacula, Seffen-Ub, and Bebsi. (pa

47、ra. 21) lukewarm: (of food, liquid, etc.) slightly warm and not as hot or cold as it should be 不冷不热的、温的 lukewarm water Buyers have adopted a lukewarm attitude. 买主的态度不甚热情。 On a good day, I ran nine or ten of those errands,(para. 22) errand: n. short journey to take a message, get or deliver goods, etc.（短程的）差事、任 务 He did three errands in one trip. run errand for sb. which assured a steady supply of marbles (para. 22) assure (sth): to make sth. certain to happen or be gained 确保（利润、成功、幸福等)；保 障 assure accura