1. Unit Five English Chunnel

2. Pre-reading Questions 1.In terms of word formation, Chunnel is a blend of two parts, what are them? 2.What do you know about the Chunnel? 3.What do you want to know about the English Chunnel?

3. An information chart To know about the Chunnel, we must make sure of the following information. Now please fill in the following chart: countries linked time proposed time of opening persons who inaugurate the opening people’s attitudes toward the Chunnel

4. Language Points: 1. lobby: A hall or waiting room at or near the entrance to a building, such as a hotel or theater. the lobby of a hotel [theater] lobbyman n. 1>( 戏院 、剧场等的 ) 收票员 2>a group of persons engaged in trying to influence legislators or other public officials in favor of a specific cause: the banking lobby; the labor lobby. V. lobbied the bill through Congress;.

5. 2. soon-to-be-opened compound adjective formed by an elliptical attributive clause; may also be written in full as “The English Channel that is to be opened”. an easy-to-perform task a difficult-to-use camera the soon-to-be-completed Metro 3. be about to do sth.= on the point of doing sth./ just going to do sth. He’s about to leave for London. I was about to tell the truth when you interrupted me.

6. 4. I’d rather England become the 51st state….. ---------would rather here introduces a clause with its own subject. This construction is used to show that one would rather prefer somebody to do sth. As a rule, the verb in the subordinate clause is in the past form when referring to a present or future act; in the past perfect form when referring to the past: I’d rather you stayed with us this weekend.’ He’d rather John hadn’t called on him.

7. 5. forebode: forebode disaster Black clouds forebode a storm. 6. shudder: to shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion He shuddered when he saw the dead animal. shudder (at; to do) shudder at the thought of (=shudder to think of) 想到... 就发抖 [ 毛骨悚然 ]

8. 7.He nodded,…. his pale blue eyes filled with foreboding.---------- This part of the sentence is a nominative absolute construction ( 【语】 ( 分词 ) 独立主格 ( 如 :“The day being warm, we took off our coats.” 中的 “The day being warm” 。 ). The –ed participle in the example indicates a passive action. The work done, we left the office with a light heart. If the action is active, then an –ing participle is used. E.g. The last bus having gone, we had to walk home. It being a holiday, the park was crowded with people.

9. 8 ． gull: 1>any of various chiefly coastal aquatic birds of the family Laridae, having long wings, webbed feet, a thick, slightly hooked beak, and usually gray and white plumage. 2>a person who is easily tricked or cheated; a dupe to gull a person into buying rubbish gull sb. out of sth.=cheat sb. out of sth.

10. 9. decent: 1> characterized by conformity to recognized standards of propriety or morality 合适的；恰当 的；得体的 decent behavior 2> Free from indelicacy; modest decent language and decent behaviour 3> meeting accepted standards; adequate: a decent salary. a decent house He made a decent record. 4> kind or obliging: It’s very decent of you to lend me money.

11. 10. feat: A notable act or deed, especially an act of courage; an exploit. feats of bravery feats of horsemanship (skill) 骑术

12. Paraphrase 11: Well, by grace of one of the engineering feats of the century … -------Thanks to one of the remarkable construction achievements of the 20th century, whether one likes it or not, England and French are on the way of getting connected geographically.

13. Paraphrase 12. The Chunnel rewrites geography, at least in the English psyche….. --------As far as the British are concerned, the Chunnel has changed the geographical pattern which long separated Britain from Continental Europe.

14. 13: dozen: twelve dozens: an indefinite, large number several dozen exercise-books some dozen (of) people some dozens of people pack pencils in dozens sell by the dozen

15. 14. The Chunnel is a work in progress. in progress: going on; under way: The building of the largest bridge is in progress. 15. quirk: a peculiarity of behavior; eccentricity a quirk of fate. 命运难料 All men have their own quirks and twists. 人人都有他们自己的怪癖和奇想。

16. 16. color: Olivia is coloring the picture in her book. (to impart color to or change the color of) The war colored the lives of all of us. You must be aware that personal feelings may color judgment. (to exert an influence on; affect) She tried to color the facts. (to misrepresent, especially by distortion or exaggeration) Parents shouldn’t color their children's lies. (to excuse) Present it in its true colors. You’ve been off color these days. show one's true colors

17. Text Two 1. I'm accustomed to Beijing winter. 使习 惯于 (be accustomed to) I’ve accustomed myself to Beijing winter. (accustom oneself to) I have accustomed myself to working long hours. (be accustomed to doing sth.)

18. 2. take to: 1>to develop as a habit or a steady practice: ： take to drink. take to climbing mountains at weekends 2>to become fond of or attached to: The two young man took to each other when they worked together. Has the baby taken to its new babysitter?

19. Letter Writing: Technical Department Xinming Electronics Works Hankou 6 June, 2005-10-20 Dear professor Black, I hope you will forgive me for not writing you since I graduated a year ago. I’m now an assistant engineer at the Xinming Electronics Works. Our factory specializes in the manufacture of electronics equipment of various kinds. As I am in charge of a new production line, I find it my duty to renovate the equipment and instruments. You are in constant contact with the most advanced information in this field. Furthermore, you have always been an electronics expert. I was wondering if it would be possible for you to forward to me some information on the latest developments in this field. I would be much obliged if you could. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. With best regards, Respectfully yours, Huang Dazhong

20. Words and Phrases in Exercises 1. alibi A form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed. Have you an alibi? He alibied his wife out of a fix. alibi for being late (to make an excuse for oneself)

21. 2. au pair: n. （名词） A young foreigner who does domestic work for a family in exchange for room and board and a chance to learn the family's language. 免费食宿家庭：为换取房间、住处、及学 习某家语言的机会而为该家做家务的年轻 外国人

22. 3. 1> get across: 被理解；使人了解 Did your speech get across to the crowd? 2> get at A>To touch or reach successfully The cat hid somewhere we couldn‘t get at it. B>to try to make understandable; hint at or suggest I don't know what you're getting at. C>to discover or understand: If we could only get at the cause of the problem! 3> get away to break free; escape to leave or go away: I wanted to come along, but I simply couldn't get away.

23. 4> get down: A>to descend B>to give one's attention 常与 to 连用： Let's get down to work. C>To exhaust, discourage, or depress The heat was getting me down. D>To swallow: got the pill down on the first try 5> get off: A>To start, as on a trip; leave. B>To fire (a round of ammunition, for example): got off two shots before the deer disappeared C>To write and send, as a letter D>To escape, as from punishment or danger got off scot-free E>To get permission to leave one's workplace got off early and went fishing