UNIT 8
Text A

PRE-READING TASK

Exercise 1
Answer the questions before reading the passage.

1. Do you always get to the railway station much earlier or just in time?
2. Do you think it is necessary to get to the airport much earlier? Why or why not?

Now read the passage to find out the author's attitude toward getting to the airport.

Getting to the Airport

1. After years of study, I have determined there are only two types of people in this world: those who get to the airport early and those who stroll in as the plane is about to take off.
2. If there were any justice in this world, the early-airport people would be rewarded for doing the right thing. And the late-airport people would be punished.
3. But there is no justice. The early-airport people get ulcers, heart attacks and bite their fingernails to the bone.
4. The late-airport people barely are aware they are flying.
5. I once found myself in an airport bar with a man on the same flight as me. Our flight had been called three times, but he insisted we stay for another round.
6. "If we miss this one, there's always another plane in an hour," he said, signalling for two more drinks.
7. "To Dhahran, Saudi Arabia?" I said. "There isn't another flight for a week."
8. "I have a theory," he said. "If you miss your flight, it's because God didn't want you to go."
9. This is clearly a guy who is never going to get an ulcer.
10. Early-airport people suffer another abuse. They are called exactly what they are: wimps.
11. I know. I was an early-airport person for years.
12. My luggage will get on the plane first, I told myself.
13. Indeed it will. Which makes it the last luggage they take off the plane when you land.
14. You know who really gets his luggage first? The late-airport person, who strolls into the airport three minutes before the plane takes off.
15. The pilot is practically in the air when these people are still paying off the taxi.
16. Then they make a big fuss at the gate in order to get their luggage on board.
17. And when we finally take off, all us wimps know that not only will that late luggage be the first off the plane, but it is probably sitting on top of our luggage, crushing our shirts.
18. But if I get there real, real early, I told my old wimpy self, I will get the best seat.
19. Well, just try to show up early and get the seat you want. Go ahead and try.
20. No matter how early I showed up, I was always told that someone had called two or three years ahead of me and asked for that seat.
21. I figured it was a conspiracy. I figured there was someone in America who called every airline every day and said: "Is that wimp Simon flying somewhere today? If he is, give me his seat"
22. The ultimate embarrassment of the early-airport person happened to me a few years ago when I was flying from La Guardia to O'Hare.
23. When I got to the ticket counter, the person there said: "Sir, you have a seat on the 9:15 a.m. flight to Chicago, is that right?"
24. "Yes," I said.
25. "Well, it's only 7 a.m., and the 7:05 a.m. flight has not left yet. If you hurry, you can make it."
26. Do you think so?
27. I was too embarrassed to say that I arrived at airports early so I wouldn't have to hurry. Instead, I ran down the corridor to the plane.
28. I climbed on board, out of breath, red-faced, and stumbled over a woman's legs to get to the last unoccupied seat.
29. The woman I stepped over was no wimp. She had the guts to complain. "You should get to the airport earlier!" she snapped at me.
30. "I was here early," I said weakly. "But then somehow I wasn't anymore."
31. After a lifetime of arguing over whether I really have to pack 24 hours in advance and set the alarm clock four hours ahead, I have learned one other fact. They always marry each other.

New Words

determine
v. 1. to decide 决定，确定
2. 决心

stroll
v. to walk, esp. slowly, for pleasure 散步，闲逛

justice
n. the quality of being just; rightness; fairness 公平，正义

reward
v. 报答，酬劳

ulcer
n. 溃疡

fingernail
n. 指甲

barely
ad. almost not; hardly 仅仅，几乎没有

aware
a. having knowledge or consciousness 意识到，知道的

bar
n. 1. 酒巴间,餐柜
2.(铁、木等)条,杆,棒

flight
n. the aircraft making a journey 航班

signal
v. 用动作向...示意
n. 信号, 暗号

theory
n. 理论

guy
n. 家伙

abuse
n. unkind, cruel words 辱骂

wimp
n. 懦弱的人

luggage
n. the cases, bags, boxes, etc. of a traveller (总称)行李

practically
ad. almost 几乎

fuss
n. 忙乱

crush
v. 压坏

wimpy
a. 懦弱的

figure
v. to consider; believe 相信,估计
n. any of the number signs from 0 to 9 数字

conspiracy
n. 阴谋

airline
n. 航空公司

ultimate
a. 1. greatest 最大的
2. being at the end or happening in the end 最后的,最终的

embarrassment
n. 窘迫, 使人为难的事情

counter
n. 柜台

embarrass
v. to cause to feel socially uncomfortable 使窘迫

corridor
n. a passage 通道,走廊

stumble
v. 绊了一下脚

unoccupied
a. (座位等)没人占的

gut
n. 勇气, 胆量

snap
v. to say quickly, usu. in an angry way 厉声说,急促地说

somehow
ad. for some reason that is not clear 不知怎么地

anymore
ad. 而今再也

argue
v. 争论

alarm
n. 1. (闹钟的)闹铃,警钟
2.警报

Phrases and Expressions

get to
到达

be about to
将要,打算

take off
(飞机)起飞

pay off
付清,还清(债务等)

make a big fuss
忙乱

on (the) top of
在...的上面

show up
出现

ahead of
在...前面

ask for
要求

arrive at
到达

out of breath
气喘吁吁

in advance
提前

Proper Names

Dhahran
达兰(沙特阿拉伯城市)

Saudi Arabia
沙特阿拉伯(国名)

Simon
西蒙(人名)

La Guardia
拉瓜迪亚(美国地名)

O'hare
奥黑尔(美国地名)

Chicago
芝加哥(美国城市)


Text B

PRE-READING TASK

Exercise 1
Before reading the passage, think over the questions.

1. Do you think there is anything mysterious in our life?
2. Can you give one or two examples about strange coincidence in your life?
3. What do you think is superstition? Say something about superstition in both the West and our country.

Now compare your answers with those of your neighbours'.

Coincidences or Miracles?

1. Was it only a coincidence that Anne appeared at the wishing well just after Johnnie had made his wish, or was there something more that caused her to appear? Some people feel that when things like this happen, it is not just a coincidence, but a manifestation of some higher power or order where all things, including our thoughts, come together. "Ridiculous!" say others. "That's all superstition." Perhaps -- but let's take a further look before we jump to conclusions.
2. We all know that some things exist even though we cannot see them with our own eyes: electricity, love, pain, the sun on a cloudy day. And many of us have had the experience of deja vu -- the feeling of having been in a specific place and situation before. Most of us have performed various superstitious rites, such as blowing out the candles on our birthday cake or crossing our fingers for luck. Many of us have had a dream about a friend or relative who we haven't seen in a long time, and then the person just happens to appear the next day.
3. Throughout history people have observed strange, unexplainable events and have wanted to know their cause and their cause and their meaning. Scientists have studied nature and have found perfect order in it, down to the smallest levels of existence. Psychologists are studying the human mind and making important discoveries. And yet, as deep as we go into things, there are always mysteries that lie just beyond our understanding. Within nature we have discovered a particle smaller than the electron, and through an abstract formula (E=mc2) we have found the link between matter and energy. But in spite of all the scientific progress we have made, there are still questions and happenings that we call "supernatural" because we do not understand them.
4. Do miracles as recorded in the Bible happen in our life? Some insist that they do. There are many people in the world today who, at one time in their lives, were declared terminally ill, but have completely recovered without the help of medicine. There are recorded cases of people doing things that, under normal circumstances, would be absolutely impossible for them. An extreme case is a frail old woman who lifted a car off the ground when her grandchild was trapped under it. And there are also cases of people who claim to have seen "visions" of other times and other worlds.
5. Sometimes we hear about "coincidences" that are so extraordinary we have to stop and ask ourselves: "What made such a strange thing happen?" For example, a friend says, "I haven't seen Mary in ten years. I dreamed about her last night, and she called me today." Is it just a coincidence? Or is it something more? Of course there are many mysteries in life that we do not understand. And many people are troubled because they don't have the answers to these mysteries. But there is no need for despair, for as long as there is that force that brought Anne and Johnnie back together, there is hope for the world. And that force is love.


New Words

miracle
n. 奇迹

coincidence
n. 巧合

manifestation
n. 表明，表现形式

ridiculous
a. silly 可笑的，荒谬的

superstition
n. 迷信

conclusion
n. a judgement or decision 结论

cloudy
a. full of clouds 多云的

deja vu
n. （法语）记忆错觉

superstitious
a. 迷信的

rite
n. 仪式，惯例

relative
n. a member of one's family 亲属

existence
n. the state of existing 存在

mystery
n. sth. which can not be explained or understood 神秘的事物，难以理解的事物

particle
n. 粒子

electron
n. 电子

abstract
a. 1. 抽象的,纯理论的
2.深奥的, 难解的

formula
n. 公式, 程式

link
n. 1. sth. which connects two other parts 联系
2. a ring of a chain 链环
v. to join or connect 联系

supernatural
n. 超自然的东西, 神奇的东西
a. 超自然的, 神奇的

terminally
ad. 不治地, 致命地, 晚期地

recover
v. to return to the usual state of health ability, etc. 恢复,使身体复原

circumstance
n. 情况, 环境

absolutely
ad. completely 完全地

frail
a. weak in body or health 虚弱的

grandchild
n. 孙(女), 外孙(女)

trap
v. 陷入

vision
n. 幻象

extraordinary
a. 离奇的, 使人惊奇的

despair
n. complete lack or loss of hope 绝望

Phrases and Expressions

take a (further) look
(进一步)观察

jump to conclusions
匆匆作出结论

in spite of
不管,不顾

under (normal) circumstances
在(一般)情况下

as long as
只要

Proper Names

Anne
安妮(人名)

Johnnie
约翰尼(人名)

Mary
玛丽(人名)

Bible
《圣经》