Unit One Fighting with the Force of Nature

Text A The Icy Defender

Text B The Normandy Landings

Words and Phrases

• Read

• Words you are familiar with:

• Words which are to be memorized:

Words you are familiar with:

Words which are to be Memorized

• devastating, launch, crucial, occupation, minus, stroke, alliance, declaration, tactic, instruct, render, casualty, offensive, reckon toll.

in the case of , stand/be in the way, take a gamble, bide one’s time, at the cost of , turn the tide,

Vocabulary Exercise 4 (P.17)

• be superior to• retreat to• rural region• unity• crucial/decisive• efficient• reckon with• bring to a halt

• turn the tide• launch a series of

counterattacks

Cultural Notes

• Background Information • Chengis Khan expanding the Mongolian Empire • Roman Emperors the Roman Empire

conquerors • Napoleon Bonaparte • Adolf Hitler

(launched a massive military campaign against the Soviet Union)

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

• emperor of the French, who consolidated and institutionalized many reforms of the French Revolution. One of the greatest military commanders of all time, he conquered the larger part of Europe. During 1802-1815 Napoleon tried to gain control of the whole of Europe. In 1812 Napoleon lost half a million men when he invaded Russia in winter. the British, Russians, entered Paris. They sent Napoleon to rule the island of Elba in the Mediterranean. But he collected an army around him and returned to Paris. He was soon defeated again, at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and was sent to the island of St Helena in the south Atlantic, where he died in 1821.

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) • German political and military leader and one of

the 20th century's most powerful dictators. Hitler converted Germany into a fully militarized society and launched World War II in 1939. He hoped to conquer the entire world, and for a time dominated most of Europe and much of North Africa. He instituted sterilization and euthanasia measures to enforce his idea of racial purity among the German people and slaughtered millions of Jews.

Reading Comprehension

1. Why can Napoleon occupy Moscow easily?

2. How many soldiers had been dead when Napoleon came to Paris?

3. Why did Stalin instruct people to “scorch the earth”?

4. How Long had Leningrad been besieged by Hitler?

5. What does “the icy defender” refer to in the article?

1. The Russians fled their capital. (Para. 7)

2. More than 500, 000 soldiers. (Para. 11)

3. He didn’t want the Germans get anything.

(Para 13)

4. Three years. (Para. 19)

5. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures.

(Para. 21)

Reading comprehension

• I. Part One

• Paras 1--2

• Introduction—Both Napoleon’s and Hitler’s military campaigns failed because of the severity of the Russian winter/because of the devastating enemy that met them in Moscow —the raw, bitter, bleak Russian winter.

Part Two Paras 3--11

• Read from paragraph 3 to paragraph 11, then select three paragraphs from them and write down the main idea.

• (remember: try to be brief)

Part Two Paras 3--11Napoleon’s military campaign against Russia Paragraph 3: the preparation and expectatio

n of Napoleon before his campaign against Russia.

Paragraph 4: the beginning of the war and the strategy adopted by the Russians

Paragraph 5: a crucial decision faced by Napoleon ── to retreat or to stay

Paragraph 6: Napoleon’s pursuit and the battle at Borodino

Paragraph 7: a truce offered by Napoleon to the czar but in vain

Paragraph 8: the reasons for the French retreat

Paragraph 9: the French nightmarish retreat Paragraph 10: the French fleeing Russia Paragraph11: the consequence of the

campaign

in the case of•as far as ... is concerned 至于，就什么来说Poverty depresses most people, but in the case of my father it was otherwise. Formal training will take at least 3 years in the case of interior decoration.•in case 以防；可能；倘若 . Take a hat with you in case the sun is very hot. •in case of 如果；万一 . In case of rain they can't go. 万一下雨•In any case 无论如何 •in no case 在任何情况下都不 •in that case 既然那样的话

stand / get / be in the way

• prevent from doing sth. 挡道， 妨碍• Many teachers complain that they can't make any i

mprovement in teaching methods as the existing exam system is in the way.

• I don't think kids have as much fun as we used to. Fierce competition keeps getting in the way of their development.

• stand by 在场；靠近 袖手旁观 （无线 电台或军事方面）试图援助；极力支持 忠于；信守 to stand by one's promise 遵守诺言

• stand for 代表，象征 容忍；允许• stand out 明显；醒目 突出；杰出 坚持；支撑 to stand out a crisis 挨过危机• stand up 耐久；耐用 成立 Will the charge stand up in court? 这个指控在

法庭上能成立吗？• stand up for 维护；拥护；支持

launch

• send sth. on its course 发射；使船下水；推出新产品

• On October 4, 1957, Soviet scientists launched the world's first artificial satellite, called Sputnik.

• Beginning in the early 1960s, humans launched probes to explore other planets.

campaign

a series of military operations or planned activities with a particular aim 战役；运动

• Hitler's advisers tried to persuade him to avoid the risks of a winter campaign in the Soviet Union and wait until spring.

• Some people complained that too much money had been spent on political campaigns.

• 形近词辨析： champagne 香槟 champion 冠军

efficient

• The new secretary is a quick, efficient worker, and the boss is quite satisfied with her.

• efficient,effective, sufficient,adequent

decisive

• 决定性的 a decisive influence 决定性的影响

• 果断的 ; 明确的； a decisive person 果断的人• 无疑的 ; 确切的 ; decisive advantage 明显的优

势

• Lincoln took decisive measures to end slavery.• The adoption of the euro is widely viewed as a dec

isive step toward a single European government.

engage• engage a new secretary• Wait a moment, he is engaged just now.• The teacher tried to engage the shy boy in conversation.• They engaged the enemy. • Can you engage that he can pay back the money in due t

ime?

be engage in doing sth. 忙于，从事某事 They are currently engaged in lengthy trade negotiations.

be engaged to sb.

be faced with• 面临，要对付 I am faced with the awful job of breaking th

e news to the boy’s family.• face to face • in the face of• make a face at• save (one's) face Though she'd lost her job, she saved face by

saying she'd left it willingly.

crucial

• followed by to

Improved consumer confidence is crucial to economic recovery.

The road of life is long, but only a few steps are crucial especially during some years when people are young.

take a gamble

The company took a gamble by cutting the price of their products, and it paid off.

I think she's taking a gamble investing all her money in stocks.

•   take a risk 冒险

occupation

•占领；占有 ; 工作；职业 ; 消遣What is his occupation? During the Japanese occupation of China, millions of innocent Chinese people were killed.

She has many occupations including gardening and wine-making.

bide one's time

• wait patiently for a chance 等待良机 Our neighbor seems to be doing nothing, bu

t in fact he's just biding his time.

His political rivals are biding their time for an attack on his policies.

minus （词性？）

• Tomorrow's temperature will be as low as minus ten degrees centigrade.

• The gross profit of an automobile manufacturer equals the value of its car sales minus the cost of making cars.

• I got B minus in the final examination.

• 【反义词】 plus

stroke

With one stroke of his ax, he had cut the tree down. at the stroke of midnight. 午夜钟声

He stroked the baby's head. 他抚摩婴儿的头。 I saw a chance of solving all my problems at a stro

ke. He drove in a nail with one stroke of the hammer. He won a car in the lottery last week. That's his fir

st stroke of good luck.

at the cost of

• with the loss of 以…为代价 Berhman saved Johnsy at the cost of his ow

n life.

The local government developed its economy but at the cost of environment.

• 相关短语：• at all costs 不惜任何代价 (= at any co

st)

limp

• The cripple who is lame in the left leg is limping on his way home.

• I injured my ankle and had to limp.

alliance

• a union or an association formed for mutual benefit, between countries or organizations

NATO is considered as the most powerful military alliance in modern history.

Japan and Germany made their formal alliance in 1940.

ally, alley,alloy, alien

Homework (1.1)

Exercises for the first and second periods:

• 1. write down the new words and phrases you have learned by heart on your book.

• 2.  exercises on Page 15 (1, 2, 3)

• 3. launch, counter-, under-

Homework3. launch ~ a rocket, a spaceship, satellite, missile ~ an attack, a campaign, a movement counter- counteract, counterbalance, counterpart counterclockwise, countercharge over- overburden, overcharge, overeat, overdo overlook, overhead,

Part III (paras 12-21)

• Section One （ Paras.12-13 ） Hitler’s blitzkrieg against Soviet Union and Stalin’s so called “Scorched earth” policies.

• Section Two （ Paras.14-18 ） the process of the war at Leningrad, Moscow and Stalingrad

• Section Three （ Paras.19-20 ） the Russian counterattack and the final outcome of the war

declaration

• a formal announcement (followed by of)

• The opening speeches sounded more like declarations of war than offerings of peace.

• The Japanese attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941 without a declaration of war.

catch sb. off guard

• take sb. by surprise 趁某人不备 The invitation to his wedding caught me off

guard.

The manager didn't know what to say. It was clear that my question had caught him off guard.

instruct

• instruct sb. to do sth. • instruct sb. that• instruct sb. • instruct sb. in/on sth.

• instruct a class in history教授一个班的历史

• She instructed me in the use of the telephone.

她教我使用电话。• instruct sb. to start early 命令某人早动身• I've been instructed to w

ait here until the lecturer arrives.

render

• 给与 : to render thanks• 致使 : 造成 His fatness renders him lazy.• 提供 : render assistance.• 翻译 : to render into Chinese

Hundreds of people were rendered homeless by the earthquake.

He was rendered unconscious by a blow on the back of the neck.

casualty

casualty insurance

The enemy suffered heavy casualties.

敌人遭受惨重伤亡。C-lists were published the day a

fter the train accident.

siege

• a state of siege 戒严• siege warfare 包围战

• We must do everything possible to lift the siege.

• The city was under siege for six months.

bring to a halt

• n.• Air traffic in Poland had been brought to a halt by

an air traffic controllers' strike.

• v. 使…停止；阻止• No one can halt the advance of history. • 不确定；摇摆• halt between two opinions 拿不定主意

offensive: aggressive action or attack

• 得罪人的；气人的 攻击的；进攻性的• Faced with the invasion, they took immedia

te offensive action.

• He made crude jokes that are offensive to women.

thanks to

• Thanks to her financial support, the two children in the remote village could go to school.

• Thanks to their tireless efforts, the performance was a great success.

owing to, due to, because of, as a result of, on account of, in virtue of

The soldier saved the girl at the cost of his own life. His heroic deeds were appreciated by all the people

in the community.He was famed for his heroic deeds during the war.

• In recent years increasing numbers of tourists have visited Antarctica to appreciate the region's majestic scenery and wildlife.

reckon

• （与 in 连用）把…计算在内；• （与 on 连用）依靠；指望；• （与 with, without 连用）考虑到；没有考虑到• She reckoned the money we owed her.• I reckon him as a friend. • They had many difficulties to reckon with.• Looking up at the sun, I reckoned that it must be a

bout three o'clock.• be reckoned with: be taken into consideration • All these problems had to be reckoned with as the

y arose.

toll

• The toll of road deaths and injuries is on the rise.

• The local government was allowed to charge tolls for the use of the roads.

• take its / a toll: 造成损失（伤亡等）• The famine took a toll of 3,000,000 lives.

• His hard work has taken its toll on his stomach.

Homework (1.2)

Exercises for the third and fourth periods:

• 1. Select the words and phrases from the text and get prepared for a writing entitled Can Man Triumph over Nature.

• 2.  exercises on Page 18 (Usage, Structure,

Cloze (B) ， Translation ）

Homework (1. 3)

Exercises for the fifth and sixth periods:

• 1.   exercises on Page 30.

• 2. translate the Chinese phrases into English.

• 3.      get prepared for dictation.