Unit 1

Text A

Pre-reading Activities

1. How many of these idioms do you know? If any of them are unfamiliar to you, hypothesize about what they might mean. Then as you listen to the passage,
a) circle the idioms you hear in the dialogue, and
b) check to make sure your hypotheses are correct.

love at first sight
fall in love [with sb.]
make a pass at sb.
puppy love
have a crush on sb.
flirt with sb.
lovebirds
be head over heels in love
sweep sb. off his/her feet

2. Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Did you let the person know how you felt? Did you learn anything from the experience, or was it just a silly incident?

How I Got Smart Steve Brody

A common misconception among youngsters attending school is that their teachers were child prodigies. Who else but a bookworm, with none of the normal kid's tendency to play rather than study, would grow up to be a teacher anyway?
I've tried desperately to explain to my students that the image they have of me as an enthusiastic devotee of books and homework during my adolescence was a bit out of focus. On the contrary, I hated compulsory education with a passion. I could never quite accept the notion of having to go to school while the fish were biting.
But in my sophomore year, something beautiful and exciting happened. Cupid aimed his arrow and struck me right in the heart. All at once, I enjoyed going to school, if only to gaze at the lovely face in English II.
My princess sat near the pencil sharpener, and that year I ground up enough pencils to fuel a campfire. Alas, Debbie was far beyond my wildest dreams. We were separated not only by five rows of desks, but by about 50 I.Q. points. She was the top student in English II, the apple of Mrs. Larrivee's eye.
Occasionally, Debbie would catch me staring at her, and she would flash a smile that radiated intelligence and quickened my heartbeat. It was a smile that signaled hope and made me temporarily forget the intellectual gulf that separated us.
I schemed desperately to bridge that gulf. And one day, as I was passing the supermarket, an idea came to me. A sign in the window announced that the store was offering the first volume of a set of encyclopedias at the special price of 29 cents. The remaining volumes would cost $2.49 each.
I purchased Volume I — Aardvark to Asteroid — and began my venture into the world of knowledge. I would henceforth become a seeker of facts. I would become Chief Brain in English II and sweep my princess off her feet with a surge of erudition. I had it all planned.
My first opportunity came one day in the cafeteria line. I looked behind me and there she was.
"Hi," she said.
After a pause, I wet my lips and said, "Know where anchovies come from?"
She seemed surprised. "No, I don't."
I breathed a sigh of relief. "The anchovy lives in salt water and is rarely found in fresh water." I had to talk fast, so that I could get all the facts in before we reached the cash register. "Fishermen catch anchovies in the Mediterranean Sea and along the Atlantic coast near Spain and Portugal."
"How fascinating," said Debbie, shaking her head in disbelief. It was obvious that I had made quite an impression.
A few days later, during a fire drill, I casually went up to her and asked, "Ever been to the Aleutian Islands?"
"Never have," she replied.
"Might be a nice place to visit, but I certainly wouldn't want to live there," I said.
"Why not?" said Debbie, playing right into my hands.
"Well, the climate is forbidding. There are no trees on any of the 100 or more islands in the group. The ground is rocky and very little plant life can grow on it."
"I don't think I'd even care to visit," she said.
The fire drill was over and we began to file into the building, so I had to step it up to get the natives in. "The Aleuts are short and sturdy and have dark skin and black hair. They live on fish, and they trap blue foxes and seals for their valuable fur."
Debbie's eyes widened in amazement.
One day I was browsing through the library. I spotted Debbie sitting at a table, absorbed in a crossword puzzle. She was frowning, apparently stumped on a word. I leaned over and asked if I could help.
"Four-letter word for Oriental female servant," Debbie said.
"Try amah," I said, quick as a flash.
Debbie filled in the blanks, then turned to stare at me in amazement. "I don't believe it," she said. "I just don't believe it."
And so it went, that glorious, joyous, romantic sophomore year. Debbie seemed to relish our little conversations and hung on my every word. Naturally, the more I read, the more my confidence grew.
In the classroom, too, I was gradually making my presence felt. One day, during a discussion of Coleridge's "The Ancient Mariner", we came across the word albatross.
"Can anyone tell us what an albatross is?" asked Mrs. Larrivee.
My hand shot up. "The albatross is a large bird that lives mostly in the ocean regions below the equator, but may be found in the north Pacific as well. The albatross measures as long as four feet and has the greatest wingspread of any bird. It feeds on fish and shellfish. The albatross has an enormous appetite, and when it's full it has trouble getting into the air again."
There was a long silence in the room. Mrs. Larrivee couldn't quite believe what she had just heard. I sneaked a look at Debbie and gave her a big wink. She beamed proudly and winked back.
What I failed to perceive was that Debbie all this while was going steady with a junior from a neighboring school — a basketball player with a C+ average. The revelation hit me hard, and for a while I felt like forgetting everything I had learned. I had saved enough money to buy Volume II — Asthma to Bullfinch — but was strongly tempted to invest in a basketball instead.
I felt not only hurt, but betrayed. Like Agamemnon, but with less drastic consequences, thank God.
In time I recovered from my wounds. The next year Debbie moved from the neighborhood and transferred to another school. Soon she became no more than a memory.
Although the original incentive was gone, I continued poring over the encyclopedias, as well as an increasing number of other books. Having tasted of the wine of knowledge, I could not now alter my course. For:

"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing:
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."

So wrote Alexander Pope, Volume XIV — Paprika to Pterodactyl.
(1,034 words)

New Words

prodigy
n. a person who has unusual and very noticeable abilities, usually at an early age 奇才；天才

child prodigy
an unusually clever child 神童

bookworm
n. a person devoted to reading 极爱读书者；书呆子

devotee
n. a person strongly devoted to sth. or sb. 热爱…者；献身于…的人

adolescence
n. 青春期

* compulsory
a. required by law or a rule 义务的；强制的

compel
vt. oblige or force (sb.) to do sth. 强迫；强求

passion
n. a strong, deep, often uncontrollable feeling 热情；激情

gaze
vi. look fixedly 注视；凝视

princess
n. 1. 理想中的女友；心目中追求的女友
2. (oft, cap.) a female member of the royal family, usually the daughter of a king or queen or the wife of a prince ［常大写］公主；王妃

prince
n. 1. 少女理想中的未婚者，白马王子
2. a male member of the royal family, especially the son of a king or queen 王子；亲王
3. (usu. sing.) (among, of) a very great, successful or powerful man of some stated kind ［常单数］（喻）大王；巨头；名家

sharpener
n. 卷笔刀；卷笔器

campfire
n. a wood fire made in the open air by campers 营火，?诨

quicken
v. (cause to) speed up 加快

scheme
v. make plans (for); plan in a deceitful way 计划；谋划
n. 1. a formal, official or business plan 计划；规划
2. a clever, dishonest plan 阴谋，诡计

volume
n. 1. one of a set of books of the same kind （一套书的）一册；一卷
2. (of) 体积；容积

encyclop(a)edia
n. a book or set of books dealing with a wide range of information presented in alphabetical order 百科全书

aardvark
n. 土豚，非洲食蚁兽

asteroid
n. 小行星；海星

* henceforth
ad. from this time onwards 自此以后

hence
ad. 1. for this reason, therefore 因此，所以
2. from this time on 今后，从此

erudition
n. learning acquired by reading and study 博学；学问

* cafeteria
n. a self-service restaurant 自助餐厅

anchovy
n. 凤尾鱼

sigh
n. the act or sound of sighing 叹息（声）；叹气（声）

reliefn. feeling of comfort at the end of anxiety, fear, or pain （焦虑等的）解除；宽慰

casually
ad. in a relaxed way 随便地；漫不经心地

casual
a. relaxed; not formal 随便的；漫不经心的；非正式的

* sturdy
a. physically strong 强壮的

seal
n. 1. 海豹
2. 印记，印章
vt. 1. 盖章于
2. 封，密封

widen
v. make or become wider 加宽；变宽

* browse
v. casually look or search, e.g. in a shop, in a library, at a book, etc., with no specific aim or object in mind 浏览

crossword
n. (= crossword puzzle) 纵横字谜，纵横填字游戏

frown
vi. contract the brows, as in displeasure or deep thought 皱眉头

* stump
vt. put an unanswerable question to; puzzle 把…难住；使为难

* oriental
a. of, from or concerning Asia 东方的

amah
n. 阿妈（印度等一些东方国家的奶妈、女佣或保姆）

glorious
a. having or deserving glory; very delightful and enjoyable 荣耀的；令人愉快的

joyous
a. full of or causing joy 充满欢乐的；令人高兴的

romantic
a. 1. (of sth.) beautiful in a way that strongly affects one's feelings 有浪漫色彩的
2. (of sb.) showing strong feelings of love 多情的；浪漫的
3. being unrealistic or unpractical 不切实际的

* relish
vt. get pleasure out of; enjoy greatly 从…获得乐趣；很喜爱

confidence
n. belief in one's own or another's ability 信心

mariner
n. (obsolete) a sailor 〈废〉水手

marine
a. 1. of ships and their goods and trade at sea 航海的；海事的
2. of, near, living in, or obtained from the sea 海洋的；海生的；海产的

n. 水兵

albatross
n. 信天翁

wingspread
n. the distance between the tips of a pair of fully spread wings 翼幅

shellfish
n. 贝壳类动物

shell
n. 1. the hard covering of a sea creature, egg, fruit, seed, etc. 动物的壳（如贝壳、蛹壳等），蛋壳；果壳；荚
2. the outside frame of a building （房屋的）框架；骨架

appetite
n. 1. one's desire to eat and one's feeling about how much to eat 食欲，胃口
2. (for) a strong desire 欲望；爱好

beam
vi. shine brightly; smile warmly 照耀；（面）露喜色；满脸堆笑
n. 1. 微笑；喜色
2. 光束

perceive
vt. notice; be conscious of 注意到；感觉；察觉
* revelation
n. the act of revealing sth., usually of great significance 揭示；暴露

asthma
n. 气喘，哮喘

bullfinch
n. 红腹灰雀

invest
vi. put money into sth. with the expectation of profit or other advantage 投资

investment
n. 1. 投资；投资额
2. the spending of (time, energy, etc.) to make sth. successful （时间、精力等的）投入

* betray
vt. be disloyal or unfaithful to 出卖，背叛

* drastic
a. strong, violent or severe 激烈的；迅猛的

consequence
n. (usu. pi.) the result or effect of an action or condition ［常复数］结果；后果

* incentive
n. encouragement to greater activity; motivating factor; stimulus 鼓励；刺激

paprika
n. 红灯笼辣椒

pterodactyl
n. 翼手龙

Phrases and Expressions

out of focus
not sharply defined 焦点没对准；模糊的

beyond one's wildest dreams
(in a way that is) better than what one expected or hoped for 超过某人所期望的（地）；出乎某人意料的（地）

the apple of sb.'s eye
a person or thing that is the main object of sb.'s love and attention 某人的掌上明珠；宝贝

sweep sb. off his/her feet
make sb. feel suddenly and strongly attracted to you in a romantic way 使某人倾心

get sth. in
manage to say sth. about a subject 设法说完

play into sb.'s hands
do something which gives sb. an advantage 干对某人有利的事

file into
enter in a single line 鱼贯进入

step up
(infml) increase the size or speed of 〈口〉加快；增加

hang on sb.'s words
listen very carefully to 倾听；注意地听

feed on
eat habitually 以…为食物；靠…为生

go steady with
date sb. regularly and exclusively 仅与（同一异性）经常约会

invest in
1. buy (sth.) with the expectation of profit or some other kind of advantage 投资于
2. (infml) 〈口〉买

in time
1. eventually 经过一段时间后；最终
2. at or before the right or necessary time 及时

pore over
study or give close attention to 钻研；专心阅读

Proper Names

Steve Brody
史蒂文·布罗迪（男子名）

Cupid
丘比特（罗马神话中的爱神）

Debbie
黛比（女子名）

Larrivee
拉里维（姓氏）

Spain
西班牙（欧洲西南部国家）

Portugal
葡萄牙（欧洲西南部国家）

Aleutian Islands
阿留申群岛（美国阿拉斯加州西南部）

Aleut
阿留申人

Coleridge
柯尔律治（1772—1834，英国诗人，评论家）

"The [Rhyme of the] Ancient Mariner"
《古舟子咏》（柯尔律治的著名诗作）

Agamemnon
阿伽门农（希腊神话中迈锡尼的国王，特洛伊战争中希腊联军统帅，战后回国被妻子及其情夫谋杀）

Pierian spring
比埃里亚圣泉；知识的源泉