新视野大学英语

课文难点

1.       (L.1) Years ago, any open field, any vacant lot, any group of trees—these were the places where children played.

2.       vacant: a.

    not filled or occupied; empty  未被占用的，空着的

    By the end of the game the stadium was almost vacant.  比赛结束时体育馆的观众几乎走空了。

     (position or post) unfilled  （职位、工作等）空缺的

    I’m looking for work; are there any positions vacant in your firm?  我在找工作，你们公司有空缺岗位吗？

    showing no interest or activity  茫然的，空虚的

    The mad man gave a vacant laugh.  那个疯子傻笑了一下。

3.        (L.2) As families left family arms, …, the places for their children to play in became rarer.

    句中play 一词用作不及物动词，其后的介词 in 的宾语为其前的 places。

4.       rare: a.

    not often happening or seen, etc.; not common  稀有的，罕见的，冷僻的

    not common and as a result sometimes valuable  稀罕的，珍奇的

5.       (L.4) Children in the cities had few options, fewer choices of places to play.

    句中fewer choices of places to play 系options 一词的同位语，对 options 进行进一步的解释。

6.       option: n.

     [C] a thing that is or may be chosen; a choice  供选择的事物，可选择的事物；选择

    There are two choices open to you.  在你面前有两种选择。

     [U] power or freedom of choosing; choice  选择权，选择自由，选择

    There is not much choice between the two.  在二者之间没有多少选择的余地。

7.       (L.7) The feeling of private space and ownership no longer exists in houses literally piled one on the other.

8.       private: a.

    of, belonging to or for the use of one particular person or group only; personal  私人的，个人的，私有的

    The public is fascinated by the private lives of public figures.  公众对社会名流的私生活有浓厚的兴趣。

    not to be told to others; secret  秘密的，私下的

    Plans for the takeover were kept private.  有关接管计划处于保密状态。

    of, belonging to or run by an individual or a self-governed company rather than the State; not state-controlled  私营的，私立的；非国家控制的

    He attended a private school in town.  他在镇上一所私立学校读过书。

9.       ownership:

    n. [U] state of being an owner; (right of) possession

    Ownership of property involves great expense.  有房地产就要有很大开销。

    The capitalists are reaping rich harvest from monopolistic ownership.  资本家靠垄断所有权获得丰厚的利润。

10.   literally: ad. in a way that follows exactly the original; exactly  照字义，逐字地；真正地

     ‘Overlook’ can also be taken literally: His house overlooks the park.  ‘Overlook’一词可以从字面上理解，如，在他家里可俯瞰下面的公园。

    hey were literally starving to death.  他们真的快要饿死了。

11.   (L.11) However, they just don’t have as much fun as children in small towns.

12.   (L.11) Without grass and trees and bushes and, yes, dirt and mud to get dirty in, children miss an important part of childhood.

    句中to get dirty in 为动词不定式作定语修饰前面的 dirt and mud。其中，动词不定式 to get dirty in 与它修饰的名词词组之间存在逻辑上的动宾关系。又因 get 为联系动词，而 dirty 属表语，所以 get dirty 本身意义结构均完整，不可用作定语修饰其前面的名词词组。但其后用上 in 后，则和前面的名词词组发生了逻辑上的关联，即 “in dirt and mud”。又如：

    Would you like to go swimming? The lake is a good place to swim in.  你想游泳吗？这个湖是游泳的好地方。

    I’ve brought this stool to sit on.  我带来这个凳子是坐的。

13.    (L.13) The human soul, it seems, needs to stay close to its roots.

    句中 it seems两边用两个逗点隔开，用作插入语。

14.   be close to: near in space or time  （在空间或时间上）接近

    The church is close to the school.  教堂离学校很近。

    The children are close to each other in age.  孩子们彼此的年龄很接近。

15.   (L.15) However, tending window boxes isn’t the same as being an amateur gardener and growing peas, tomatoes and salad greens in a backyard garden.

    句中tending window boxes 系动名词短语，在此用作句子的主语。being an amateur gardener and growing… 也属动名词短语，与 the same as结构连用。

16.   the same as…: not different; identical   毫无二致的；同一的

    My stand on this is just the same as it was four years ago.  我对此的立场与四年前完全一样。

    Shelly’s views on the matter are the same as Godwin’s.  雪莱的观点和戈得温的毫无二致。

17.     The lack of green space is now recognized and understood as a problem.

18.   recognize…as…: to admit…as being real or having the right to be the stated thing  认出……是……；承认……为所述之人或物

    I recognized the handwriting as that of my father.  我认出这些文字是我父亲的亲笔。

    Acid rain is recognized as one of the most serious global environmental problems.  酸雨被公认为最严重的全球性环境问题之一。

19.   (L.19) They want to build more parks, but land in cities is quite costly.

20.   costly: a. costing much; expensive  昂贵的，代价高的

    Some of the standards are costly to shipowners.  要达到某些标准，对船主来说代价很高。

    The house is too costly for us to buy.  这所住房太贵，我们买不起。

21.   (L.21) Why not use these unused spaces for green areas?

22.   Why not…?: used to make or agree to a suggestion  用于提出一建议或对一建议表示同意

    Why not call on me tomorrow?  你何不明天来看我呢？

    —Let’s go to the cinema.  我们去看电影吧。

    —Why not?  好哇。

23.   (L.24) This soil has been dumped along the sides of rivers, and strong walls have been erected to hold it there.

24.   erect:

vt.

    build, set up; establish  建造，建立

    They plan to erect an office block there.  他们打算在那建造一幢办公大楼。

    set straight up; put up  竖立，直立

    They erected a television antenna on the roof.  他们在屋顶上架起了电视天线。

    standing on end  竖直的，挺直的，直立的

    The dog was trained to stand with ears and tail erect.  这条狗训练得能够直立，还把两耳和尾巴竖起来。

25.    (L.29) Its purpose is to protect land and public resources for people.

26.   to be to…: “be +不定式”结构可以表示按计划、安排等将要发生的动作，例如：

    The Prime Minister is to speak on television tonight.  首相今晚将作电视讲话。

    There is to be an investigation.  将会（对此）展开调查。

27.   (L.30) In the past nineteen years, TPL has completed up to a thousand conservation projects in Canada and the United States.

28.   conservation: n. [U] prevention of loss, waste, damage, destroying, etc.  保护，保存，节省

    Conservation of water is of great importance in desert areas.  节约用水在沙漠地区是非常重要的。

    wildlife conservation  对野生动物的保护

29.    (L.32) In Portland, Maine, the land along the old train tracks near the coast has become a green belt of trails between areas characterized by housing developments and those characterized by downtown businesses.

30.   characterize: vt.

    to be typical of a person, place, or thing  ……表现出某人、某地、或某一事物的特征；以……为某人、某地、或某一事物的特征

    An interest in people’s deepest feelings characterized all his writings.  关注人们内心深处的感情乃是他所有作品的特点。

    describe…by stating its main qualities  描绘（人或物的）特征，归纳（人或物的）特征

    What characterizes the current world situation is the danger of war.  能够表现当今世界形势特征的是爆发战争的危险。

    注：characterize 一词常用于characterized by…句型中，如：

    The education system there is characterized by an emphasis on success in exams.  重视通过考试是那里教育制度的特点。

    A miser is characterized by greed.  守财奴的特点是贪婪。

31.   trail:

n.

     [C] a path, esp. through country  小道，崎岖小路

    The trail winds through the forest.  小道蜿蜒穿过森林。

     [C] a mark or sign in the form of a long line left by sth. or sb. passing by  踪迹，痕迹

    The dogs found the rabbit trail.  狗发现了兔子的踪迹。

v.

    drag; be dragged along behind  拖，拉，下垂

    Her long skirt was trailing along the mud.  她的长裙在泥里拖地前进。

    He sat on the side of the boat and trailed his feet in the water.  他坐在船边，脚垂在水中。

    fall behind  （在比赛中）落后，失利

    The horse I had backed trailed in last.  我下赌注的那匹马落在后面，跑了个倒数第一。

vt. follow the trail of; track  追踪，尾随

    The police trailed the criminal to his hiding-place.  警察跟踪罪犯到他的藏身处。

32.   comparable: a.

    similar, that can be compared, equal to  相似的，同类的

    The achievements of an athlete and a writer are not comparable.  运动员的成就与作家的成就不能相提并论。

    meriting being compared  可比的，比得上的

    His work is comparable with the very best.  他的工作可与最优秀的相比。

33.   (L.43) These trails will link a dozen neighborhoods and the downtown business areas.

34.   dozen: n.  打；十二个（左右）

    I want three dozen of these.  这些我要三打。

    They sold three dozen copies of the magazine.  他们卖了六、七十本这种杂志。

35.   (L.44) In some cities, the bicycle paths connect every area to every other area.

36.   connect…to…: bring together, join  连接，联结

    The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.  股骨连着髋骨。

    Connect the hose to the tap and turn on the water.  把软管接到水龙头上面，然后放水。

37.   In Flagstaff, Arizona, a thousand miles of bike trails lead into the San Francisco Peaks, the highest     summit in the state.

38.   summit: n.

     [C] highest point; top, esp. of a mountain  最高点；（尤指山的）顶，绝顶

    From the mountain camp they reached the summit in six hours.  他们从登山营地用6个小时登上顶峰。

     [C] a meeting between the heads of two or more governments, esp. of the world’s most powerful countries  两国或两国以上（尤指世界上最强的国家）政府首脑的最高级会谈

    We met at the summit in Geneva.  我们是在日内瓦最高级会议上相识的。

39.   (L.48) The costly result is a growing greenness in the cities and a healthier environment for all the civilians who live there.

40.   civilian: n. [C] a person not serving in the armed forces or the police force  平民

    They tried to avoid bombing civilians.  他们尽量避免轰炸平民。

    He left the army and returned to civilian life.  他退伍后恢复了平民生活。