TextAAnIMPRESSIVEEnglishlesson1If I am the only parentwho still corrects his child's English, then perhaps my sonis right. To him, I am a tedious oddity: a father he is obliged to listen to and a manabsorbedintherulesofgrammar,whichmysonseemsallergicto2I think I got serious about this only recently when Iran into one ofmyformer students,freshfrom an excursionto Europe."Howwas it?"Iasked,full of earnestanticipation.3Shenodded threeor four times,searched theheavensfortheright words,andthenexclaimed,"Itwas,like,whoa!"Andthatwas it.Thecivilizationof GreeceandthegloryofRoman architecturewerecaptured in a condensed non-statement.My student's"whoa!"was exceeded onlybymyhead-shaking distress.Thereare manydifferent storiesabout the downturnin theproperuseof EnglishSurely students should beableto distinguish between their/there/they're orthe注：课文中的生同以遇体注3LanguageinmissionJNIT1
distinctive difference between complimentary and complementary.They unfairly bearthe bulk of the criticism for these knowledge deficits because there is a sense that theyshould know better.6Students are not dumb, but they are being misled everywhere they look and listen. Forexample, signs in grocery stores point them to the stationary, even though the actualstationery items-pads,albums and notebooks-arenot nailed down.Friendsandloved ones often proclaim they've just ate when, in fact, they've just eaten. Therefore,itdoesn'tmakeanysenseto criticizeour students.7 Blame for the scandal of this language deficit should be thrust upon our schools,whichshouldbesettinghigh standards ofEnglishlanguageproficiency.Insteadthey only teach a littlegrammar and even lessadvanced vocabulary.Moreover,theyounger teachers themselves evidentlyhave littleknowledge of these vital structures oflanguage becausethey also went without exposure to them,Schools fail to adequatelyteach the essential framework of language, accurate grammar and proper vocabulary,while they should take the responsibility of pushing the young onto the path ofcompetentcommunication8 Since grammar is boring to most of the young students, I think that it must be handleddelicately, step by step.The chance came when one day I was driving with my son.As we set out on our trip, he noticed a bird in jerky flight and said, "It's flying sounsteady." I carefully asked, "My son, how is the bird flying?""What's wrong? Did I sayanything incorrectly?"He got lost."Great! You said incorrectly instead of incorrect. Weuse adverbs to describe verbs.Therefore, it's flying so unsteadily but not so unsteady."gCurious aboutmy correction,he asked mewhatan adverb was.Slowly,I said,"It'saword that tells you something about a verb."It led to his asking me what a verb was.Iexplained,"Verbs are action words; for example, Dad drives the truck. Drive is the verbbecause it's the thing Dad is doing."io He became attracted to the idea of action words, so we listed a few more:fly,swim, dive,run. Then, out of his own curiosity, he asked me if other words had names for their useand functions.This led to a discussion of nouns, adjectives, and articles.Within thespan of a 10-minute drive, he had learned from scratch to the major parts of speech ina sentence.Itwaspainless learningandgreatfun!1i Perhaps, language should be looked upon as a road map and a valuable possession:oftenstudytheroadmap(checkgrammar)andtuneupthecar engine(adjustvocabulary). Learning grammar and a good vocabulary is just like driving with a roadmap in a well-conditioned car.12 The roadmapprovides theframework and guidanceyou needforyourtrip,but itwon't tell you exactly what trees or flowers you will see, what kind of people you will4New Horizon College English Third Edition
encounter,orwhat types of feelings you will be experiencing on your journey.Here,thevocabularymakes the journey's true colors come alive!A good vocabulary enables you to enjoy whatever you seeas you drive along.Equipped with grammar and a good vocabulary,you have flexibility and excellentcontrol.Whiletheroad mapguidesyourjourneytoyourdestination,an excellent vehiclehelpsyoutfully enjoyall of the sights, sounds and experiences alongthe way.13Effective,precise,and beneficial communication depends upon grammar and a good vocabulary,thetwoessential assetsforstudents,buttheyarenotbeingtaught inschools.14 Just thismorning,myson and I were eating breakfast when I attempted to add milk to my tea."Dad,"he said, "If I were you, I wouldn't do that. It's sour."1s"Oh my!"I said, swelling with pride toward my son,"That's a grammatically perfect sentence.You usedwere instead ofwas."16"I know, I know," he said with a long agreeable sigh."It's the subjunctive mood."17 I was, like, whoa!(815 words)New wordstedious/'tidis/boringand continuingfortoolong长乏味的a.oblige/a'blad3/ut.(usu.passive)makesb.feelthatitisnecessarytodosth.迫使；使负有义务absorbed/ob'zo:bd/a.so interested or involved in sth.that you do not notice anything else极感兴趣的；全神贯注的：专注的allergic/a'l3:d3ik/1 (be~to sth.) (infml.)if you are allergic to sth.,you do not like it anda.trytoavoidit不喜欢某事；对某事反感2havinganallergy过敏的excursion/ik'sk3:fn/[C]ashort journeyyoutakeforpleasure短途出行；远足n.earnest/'3inist/veryseriousandsincere非常认真的；郑重其事的a.exclaim/ik'skleim/say sth,suddenly and loudly because of surprise,anger, or excitementV.（由于惊奇、气愤或激动）呼喊，惊叫whoa/wau/interj.said to show that you are surprised or that you think sth. is impressive哎呀，哇（表示惊或认为某事物令人赞叹）civilization/,sivalar'zeifn/[C, U] a society that is well organized and developed, used esp.about an.particular societyinaparticularplaceorata particular time文明（社会）architecture /'aiki,tektfo/[U]1thestyleanddesignofabuildingorbuildings建筑风格；建筑式样n.2theartandpracticeofplanninganddesigningbuildings建筑学违：单词表中斜体的单词为派生词或复合调5UNIT1Language in mission
capture/kaeptfa/vt.1 succeed in recording,showing,ordescribing a situation or feeling,usingwordsorpictures（用文字或图片）记录下，描述，捕捉2catchapersonandkeepthemasaprisoner俘虏；速捕condense/kan'dens/vt.makesth.thatisspokenorwritten shorter将（讲话或文章）压缩condensed/kan'denst/being made shorter,usu.including onlythemost important parts 压缩的a.exceed/ik'sitd/vt.（fml.）bemorethanaparticularnumberoramount超过；超出distress /dr'stres/[U]afeelingofextremeunhappiness优虑；苦恼；悲伤n.distinguish/dr'stingwif/recognizethedifferencesbetweenthings区分；辨别U.distinctive/dr'stimktiv/easy to recognize because of being different from other people or things ofethe sametype与众不同的；特殊的；特别的complimentary1givenfreetopeople免费赠送的a.2sayingthatyouadmiresb.orsth.赞美的；钦佩的/.kpmpli'ment()ri/complementarycomplementary things go well together although they are usu.differenta../.kpmplr'ment(a)ri/互为补充的：互补的bulk/bAlk/[U](the~ofsth.）themajorityorlargestpartofsth.（某物的）大部分，多半n.criticism/kritl,siz(0)m/[C,U] remarks that say what you think is bad about sb.or sth.批评;n.批判：指责deficit/'defast/[C]1alackofaquality,skill,orabilitythatyoushouldhave（素质，技n.能或能力的）缺乏，不足2the amount by which sth.is less than you need or should have赤字;亏损；逆差dumb/dam/(infml.）stupid思鑫的a.1 [C] (also-~ store) (AmE supermarket)a store selling food and othergrocery'grousori/n.goods超级市场2（~ies)[pl.]foodand othergoods食品杂货stationary /'sterfn()ristandingstill insteadofmoving不（移）动的；静止的a.stationery /'sterfn(o)ri/[U] materials used for writing, such as paper, pens, pencils, etc.文具n.pad /paed/[C] 1 several sheets of paperfastened together, used for writing orn.drawing便本；拍纸薄2 a thick flat object made of cloth or rubber, used to protect or clean sth.ortomakesth.morecomfortable垫；衬垫；护垫album/elbom/n.[C]abookthatyouputphotographs,stamps,etc.in（收存照片、邮票等的）薄，册proclaim/pra'kleim/ut.(fml.)saypubliclyorofficiallythatsth.importantistrueorexists宣称：宣布：声明scandal/'skaendl/1 [sing.] a situation that shocks you and makes you angry,esp.one thatn.youthinksb.inauthorityshouldchange（尤指当局本应改变的）令人震惊的事，引起愤概的事2[C]anevent inwhichsb.,esp.sb.important,behavesinabadwaythatshockspeople（尤指牵涉知名人士的）丑闻，丑事thrust/0rAst/(thrust，thrust)pushsth.somewhereroughly猛推；猛塞U.proficiency/pra'fifnsi/n.[U] agood standardofabilityandskill 熟练；精通New Horizon College English Third Edition
ad.(fml.)in addition-used to introduce information that adds to or supportsmoreover/mo:r'auva/whathaspreviouslybeensaid而且；再者；此外evidently/'evid(a)ntli/ad.usedforsayingthatsth.isobviouslytrue明显地；显然exposure/ik'spau3a/1[sing.,U]thechancetoexperiencenewideas,waysoflife,etc.接；体验n.2 [U] when sb. is in a situation where they are not protected from sth.dangerousorunpleasant暴露adequate/'aedikwat/enough in quantity or of a good enough quality for a particular purposea.足够的；充分的；合乎需要的adequately/aedikwatli/ad.足够地；充分地having enough skills or knowledge to do sth.to a satisfactory standardcompetent/"kpmpitant/a.合格的；能干的jerk/d33:k/[C]asuddenquickmovement猛的一动；猝然一动n.jerky/'d33:ki/movingroughlywithmanystartsandstops（在行进中）不平稳的，颠籁的a.function/fankfn/[C, U] the purpose that sth.has,or the job that sb.or sth.does （事物的)n.功能，作用；（某人的）职责workoroperateinthecorrectway正常工作；正常运转vi.[C]aperiodoftimebetweentwodatesorevents（两个日期或事件之间的）span/span/n.时距，期间[C] 1 (from ~) from a point where nothing has been there, so you have toscratch/skraetf/n.doeverythingyourself从零开始：从头开始；白手起家2a thinmark orcut on the surface of sth.or on sb.'s skin（物件或皮肤上的）刮痕，划痕tune/tjun/vt.1 (also~up)make small changes to an engine so that it works as well aspossible调整，调节（发动机）使达到最佳状态2make small changes to a musical instrument so that it will producethecorrectnotes为（乐器）调音，定弦adjust/a'd3ast/change or move sth.slightly to improve it or make it more suitable for aUparticularpurpose调整：调节get used to a new situation by changing your ideas or the way you dovi.things适应destination/,desti'nerfn/[C]theplacethatsb.orsth.isgoingto目的地；终点n.exact,clearandcorrect精确的准确的precise/prr'sars/a.beneficial/,benr'fifl/havingagoodeffect有利的；有帮助的；有用的a.1[C]amajorbenefit有利条件：长处asset/'aeset/n.2 [C, usu.pl.] the things that a company owns, that can be sold to paydebts资产：财产sour/'saua/having a sharp acid taste, like the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is nota.readytobeeaten酸的usedingrammartoexpressdoubt，wishes，etc：（语法中的）虚拟语气的subjunctive/sab'd3anktiv/a.（语法中的）虚拟语气n.UNIT1Languagein mission