READING
The Allende Meteorite
Sometime after midnight on February 8,1969, a large, bright meteor entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke into thousands of pieces, plummeted to the ground, and scattered over an area 50 miles long and 10 miles wide in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The first meteorite from this fall was found in the village of Pueblito de Allende. Altogether, roughly two tons of meteorite fragments were recovered, all of which bear the name Allende for the location of the first discovery.
plummet v 跌落/猛降
fragment v 拆分 n 碎片
Individual specimens of Allende are covered with a black, glassy crust that formed when their exteriors melted as they were slowed by Earth’s atmosphere. When broken open, Allende stones are revealed to contain an assortment of small, distinctive objects, spherical or irregular in shape and embedded in a dark gray matrix (binding material), which were once constituents of the solar nebula—the interstellar cloud of gas and dust out of which our solar system was formed.
specimen n 样本/抽样
assortment n 各式各样 an assortment of
embed v 把。。嵌入
nebula n 星云
The Allende meteorite is classified as a chondrite. Chondrites take their name from the Greek word chondros—meaning ‘seed’—an allusion to their appearance as rocks containing tiny seeds. These seeds are actually chondrules: millimeter-sized melted droplets of silicate material that were cooled into spheres of glass and crystal. A few chondrules contain grains that survived the melting event, so these enigmatic chondrules must have formed when compact masses of nebular dust were fused at high temperatures—approaching 1,700 degrees Celsius—and then cooled before these surviving grains could melt. Study of the textures of chondrules confirms that they cooled rather quickly, in times measured in minutes or hours, so the heating events that formed them must have been localized. It seems very unlikely that large portions of the nebula were heated to such extreme temperatures, and huge nebula areas could not possibly have lost heat so fast. Chondrules must have been melted in small pockets of the nebula that were able to lose heat rapidly. The origin of these peculiar glassy spheres remains an enigma.
chondrite n 球粒状陨石
allusion n 间接提及/映射
droplets 小滴
silicate 硅酸盐
enigmatic adj 神秘的/有效的/费解的 enigma n 迷
fuse v 合并/结合/熔断
texture n 质地手感
peculiar adj 特别的
Equally perplexing constituents of Allende are the refractory inclusions: irregular white masses that tend to be larger than chondrules. They are composed of minerals uncommon on Earth, all rich in calcium, aluminum, and titanium, the most refractory (resistant to melting) of the major elements in the nebula. The same minerals that occur in refractory inclusions are believed to be the earliest-formed substances to have condensed out of the solar nebula. However, studies of the textures of inclusions reveal that the order in which the minerals appeared in the inclusions varies from inclusion to inclusion, and often does not match the theoretical condensation sequence for those metals.
perplexing adj 使人困惑的
refactory adj 难管教的/耐高温的
inclusion n 包括/包括的东西
Chondrules and inclusions in Allende are held together by the chondrite matrix, a mixture of fine-grained, mostly silicate minerals that also includes grains of iron metal and iron sulfide. At one time it was thought that these matrix grains might be pristine nebular dust, the sort of stuff from which chondrules and inclusions were made. However, detailed studies of the chondrite matrix suggest that much of it, too, has been formed by condensation or melting in the nebula, although minute amounts of surviving interstellar dust are mixed with the processed materials.
pristine adj 崭新的/未触碰过的
All these diverse constituents are aggregated together to form chondritic meteorites, like Allende, that have chemical compositions much like that of the Sun. To compare the compositions of a meteorite and the Sun, it is necessary that we use ratios of elements rather than simply the abundances of atoms. After all, the Sun has many more atoms of any element, say iron, than does a meteorite specimen, but the ratios of iron to silicon in the two kinds of matter might be comparable. The compositional similarity is striking. The major difference is that Allende is depleted in the most volatile elements, like hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and the noble gases, relative to the Sun. These are the elements that tend to form gases even at very low temperatures. We might think of chondrites as samples of distilled Sun, a sort of solar sludge from which only gases have been removed. Since practically all the solar system’s mass resides in the Sun, this similarity in chemistry means that chondrites have average solar system composition, except for the most volatile elements; they are truly lumps of nebular matter, probably similar in composition to the matter from which planets were assembled.
deplete v 耗尽
noble adj 高尚的/宏伟的/贵族的/惰性的
distilled v 提炼/用蒸馏法提炼
sludge n 淤泥
volatile adj 易挥发的/变幻无常的/不稳定的
Breathing During Sleep
Of all the physiological differences in human sleep compared with wakefulness that have been discovered in the last decade, changes in respiratory control are most dramatic. Not only are there differences in the level of the functioning of respiratory systems, there are even changes in how they function. Movements of the rib cage for breathing are reduced during sleep, making the contractions of the diaphragm more important. Yet because of the physics of lying down, the stomach applies weight against the diaphragm and makes it more difficult for the diaphragm to do its job. However, there are many other changes that affect respiration when asleep.
respiratory 呼吸道的
contraction n 缩小，收缩
duaphragm n 隔膜
During wakefulness, breathing is controlled by two interacting systems. The first is an automatic, metabolic system whose control is centered in the brain stem. It subconsciously adjusts breathing rate and depth in order to regulate the levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2), and the acid-base ratio in the blood. The second system is the voluntary, behavioral system. Its control center is based in the forebrain, and it regulates breathing for use in speech, singing, sighing, and so on. It is capable of ignoring or overriding the automatic, metabolic system and produces an irregular pattern of breathing.
Interacting adj 相互作用的
subconsciously adj 潜意识的
During NREM (the phase of sleep in which there is no rapid eye movement) breathing becomes deeper and more regular, but there is also a decrease in the breathing rate, resulting in less air being exchanged overall. This occurs because during NREM sleep the automatic, metabolic system has exclusive control over breathing and the body uses less oxygen and produces less carbon dioxide. Also, during sleep the automatic metabolic system is less responsive to carbon dioxide levels and oxygen levels in the blood. Two things result from these changes in breathing control that occur during sleep. First, there may be a brief cessation or reduction of breathing when falling asleep as the sleeper waxes and wanes between sleep and wakefulness and their differing control mechanisms. Second, once sleep is fully obtained, there is an increase of carbon dioxide and a decrease of oxygen in the blood that persists during NREM.
cessation n 停止
reduction n 缩减
But that is not all that changes. During all phases of sleep, several changes in the air passages have been observed. It takes twice as much effort to breathe during sleep because of greater resistance to airflow in the airways and changes in the efficiency of the muscles used for breathing. Some of the muscles that help keep the upper airway open when breathing tend to become more relaxed during sleep, especially during REM (the phase of sleep in which there is rapid eye movement). Without this muscular action, inhaling is like sucking air out of a balloon—the narrow passages tend to collapse. Also there is a regular cycle of change in resistance between the two sides of the nose. If something blocks the ‘good’ side, such as congestion from allergies or a cold, then resistance increases dramatically. Coupled with these factors is the loss of the complex interactions among the muscles that can change the route of airflow from nose to mouth.
Other respiratory regulating mechanisms apparently cease functioning during sleep. For example, during wakefulness there is an immediate, automatic, adaptive increase in breathing effort when inhaling is made more difficult (such as breathing through a restrictive face mask). This reflexive adjustment is totally absent during NREM sleep. Only after several inadequate breaths under such conditions, resulting in the considerable elevation of carbon dioxide and reduction of oxygen in the blood, is breathing effort adjusted. Finally, the coughing reflex in reaction to irritants in the airway produces not a cough during sleep but a cessation of breathing. If the irritation is severe enough, a sleeping person will arouse, clear the airway, then resume breathing and likely return to sleep.
Reflexive adj 反身的
cough v/n 咳嗽
reflex n 反射动作/本能反应 adj 本能的
resume v 恢复重新开始/ n简历
Additional breathing changes occur during REM sleep that are even more dramatic than the changes that occur during NREM. The amount of air exchanged is even lower in REM than NREM because, although breathing is more rapid in REM,it is also more irregular, with brief episodes of shallow breathing or absence of breathing. In addition, breathing during REM depends much more on the action of the diaphragm and much less on rib cage action.
Moving into Pueblos
In the Mesa Verde area of the ancient North American Southwest, living patterns changed in the thirteenth century, with large numbers of people moving into large communal dwellings called pueblos, often constructed at the edges of canyons, especially on the sides of cliffs. Abandoning small extended-family households to move into these large pueblos with dozens if not hundreds of other people was probably traumatic. Few of the cultural traditions and rules that today allow us to deal with dense populations existed for these people accustomed to household autonomy and the ability to move around the landscape almost at will. And besides the awkwardness of having to share walls with neighbors, living in aggregated pueblos introduced other problems. For people in cliff dwellings, hauling water, wood, and food to their homes was a major chore. The stress on local resources, especially in the firewood needed for daily cooking and warmth, was particularly intense, and conditions in aggregated pueblos were not very hygienic.
communal adj 公共的/共同的
dozen n 一打/许多
traumatic adj 令人痛苦的
Few of the cultural traditions and rules that today allow us to deal with dense populations existed for these people accustomed to household autonomy and the ability** to move around the landscape almost at will
很少有可以让我们处理密集人口的文化传统和规则为有些人存在， 这些人习惯了家庭自治，并且可以随意移动地点跟随自己的意愿
awkwardness n 不方便/笨拙
Chore n 例行家务/讨厌的事
intense n 强烈/紧张/刺激
hygienic n 卫生的
Given all the disadvantages of living in aggregated towns, why did people in the thirteenth century move into these closely packed quarters? For transitions of such suddenness, archaeologists consider either pull factors (benefits that drew families together) or push factors (some external threat or crisis that forced people to aggregate). In this case, push explanations dominate.
transition n 过渡期
Population growth is considered a particularly influential push. After several generations of population growth, people packed the landscape in densities so high that communal pueblos may have been a necessary outcome. Around Sand Canyon, for example, populations grew from 5 -12 people per square kilometer in the tenth century to as many as 30 - 50 by the 1200s. As densities increased, domestic architecture became larger, culminating in crowded pueblos. Some scholars expand on this idea by emphasizing a corresponding need for arable land to feed growing numbers of people: construction of small dams, reservoirs, terraces, and field houses indicates that farmers were intensifying their efforts during the 1200s. Competition for good farmland may also have prompted people to bond together to assert rights over the best fields.
outcome n 结果
culminate v 告终
arable adj 可耕种的
corresponding adj 相符合的
intensify v 加强
prompt adj 及时的 v导致 n 提示符
assert v 主张 / 断言
Another important push was the onset of the Little Ice Age, a climatic phenomenon that led to cooler temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere. Although the height of the Little Ice Age was still around the corner, some evidence suggests that temperatures were falling during the thirteenth century. The environmental changes associated with this transition are not fully understood, but people living closest to the San Juan Mountains, to the northeast of Mesa Verde, were affected first. Growing food at these elevations is always difficult because of the short growing season. As the Little Ice Age progressed, farmers probably moved their fields to lower elevations, infringing on the lands of other farmers and pushing people together, thus contributing to the aggregations. Archaeologists identify a corresponding shift in populations toward the south and west toward Mesa Verde and away from higher elevations.
infring v 违背/触犯/侵犯
In the face of all these pushes, people in the Mesa Verde area had yet another reason to move into communal villages: the need for greater cooperation. Sharing and cooperation were almost certainly part of early Puebloan life, even for people living in largely independent single-household residences scattered across the landscape. Archaeologists find that even the most isolated residences during the eleventh and twelfth centuries obtained some pottery, and probably food, from some distance away, while major ceremonial events were opportunities for sharing food and crafts. Scholars believe that this cooperation allowed people to contend with a patchy environment in which precipitation and other resources varied across the landscape: if you produce a lot of food one year, you might trade it for pottery made by a distant ally who is having difficulty with crops—and the next year, the flow of goods might go in the opposite direction. But all of this appears to have changed thirteenth century. Although the climate remained as unpredictable as ever between one year and the next, it became much less locally diverse. In a bad year for farming, everyone was equally affected. No longer was it helpful to share widely. Instead, the most sensible thing would be for neighbors to combine efforts to produce as much food as possible, and thus aggregated towns were a sensible arrangement.
contend v 争斗你/主张/竞争
patchy adj 分布不均的/参差不齐的
sensible adj 使用的/明智的/意识到的
WORD
| 英文 | 中文 |
|---|---|
| absorb | 吸收 |
| ambitious | 有野性的 |
| applaud | 故障 |
| bald | 秃头的/不加掩饰的 |
| bolster | 增强/鼓舞 |
| carve | 雕刻 |
| commitment | 承诺/责任/话费 |
| confer | 授予 |
| deception | 欺骗 |
| dictate | 口述 |
| editorial | 社论的 |
| emit | 删除 |
| erect | 直立/建造 |
| exhaust | 耗尽 |
| favored | 优先的 |
| fertile | 肥沃的/提供环境的 |
| forecast | 预测 |
| healing | 康复 |
| insult | 辱骂/侮辱 |
| latter | 后者 |
| mature | 成熟的/深思熟虑的 |
| merchandise | 商品 |
| orbit | 轨道 |
| parking | 泊车 |
| Personal | 私人的 |
WRITING
Independent Writing Task
T1
环境保护
Many companies provide important products and services while at the same time cause damages to the environment. Some people believe the best way to prevent these companies from damaging the environment is for the government to impose penalties to them, such as higher tax and larger fine. Others believe there are better ways to deal with this problem. Which opinion do you agree with and why?
Personally, I think imposing penalties to the compnaies is a necessary way to prevent damaging the environment. But it is not the only solution to the pollution from companies. Only by combining different ways can the government solve this problem better.
Firstly, higher tax and larger fine to the company which cause damages is necessary and is efficient method. As we all know, nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards. The government should not be tolerant of these pollution of companies. Take my living city, Beijing as an example. I still remember that when I went to university in Beijing, the fog and haze is too thick that people can not breath. Everytime I went to the rural area around the Beijing city. I would see a group of factory standing on the plain and releasing the black smock. Once I came across an big pool. However, the water in the pool is dirty and smell. At the edge of the poor, a wide pipe line which was leting out the sewage. With the environment becoming worse and worse, the Beijing government issued a series of serious polices and laws to punish companies that cause damages. All of heavy industrial company were asked to leave Beijing. And the light industrial factories were also limited the emission. As it turned out, the effect is remarkable. Now it is less possible to meet the fog and haze in the sky. The environment gets better immediately.
However, Only to punish the companies can solve the problem radically. Some companies can not avoid let out some damage to the enviroment when they are producing. Like the small power station which produce the electricity by burning fuels. Its by-products are carbon-dioxide and some toxic gas. If the government only imposes them large fine because they engender the air worse. Then, the possible result is that these small power station will close down. But, without them to produce the power, people in big city may not be affected while people in rural villages will have enough power to face the daily life. In the cold winter, without power to use the heater, they have nothing to rely on to get through the winter. At that time, the government should help these stations to deal with these pollution,instead of just punishing these station. The government can subsidize and invest these stations to import good systems and machines which can transform the toxic gases. By doing these, the small companies can provide important prodcuts and services without pollution.
To sum up. Only imposing high taxes and large fine is not enough to solve these contamination of company better. We need some other better solutions like funding these companies to transform toxic materials. In this case, the environmental problem can be utterly handled.
SAMPLE 1
Personally, I believe that companies that release toxic waste into our atmosphere and water system should be harshly fined and taxed.
First, heavy greenhouse gas tax sends a clear message to businesses that irresponsible behaviors will not be tolerated. Most countries today impose such tax also known as Carbon Tax. Basically the more toxic emission a business produces, the more carbon tax it pays. The benefits are obvious. For one, an oil refinery produces much more emission compared to a beer factory, therefore it makes perfect sense for the refinery to pay more tax for the damages done to the environment. The tax that the government collects can be used toward environmental protection projects like planting a forest, or funding more research on developing alternative energies. And as the tax increases to a certain amount, it will also force the refinery itself to cut down production in order to reduce emission, or even look into developing better technology in-house to keep emission level to a minimum. Carbon taxes serve as a leash to keep things under control.
Heavy greenhouse gas tax sends a clear message to businesses that irresponsible behaviors will not be tolerated.
严重的温室气体税给那些商人传达了一个明确的信息，不负责任的行为将不会杯容忍。
make perfect sense 非常有意义/合情合理
develope alternative energy 发展可替代能源
Carbon taxes serve as a leash to keep things under control.
碳税作为一个现实可以使事情在掌握之中
look into 调查/追究
look into developing better technology in-house to keep emission level to a minimum
浏览发展更好的室内技术去控制排放层度到最小
Second, fines must be imposed to those who do not obey the rules. Some companies are so profit driven that they put public safety and interests at jeopardy. Take the Coal Mining Industry in China as an example. Many factories didn’t care about workplace safety and environmental impacts at all up until about six years ago. The consequences were devastating, and most of the time irreversible. People lost their lives breathing toxic air and drinking polluted water. Because the lack of fines and extreme high profits, more and more small companies joined the gold rush, hundreds of coal mines appeared over night. It was a feast for the greedy. What was the result? Miners died from accidents, local resident suffered horribly from the pollution. And these unlicensed coal mines got away with it because there was no fine or consequences for their misconducts. But it all began to change around about six year ago. Severe fines were imposed by both the local and central government. Many of these mines were fined to the bankruptcy as a result. All of a sudden, mining turned from an easy money making industry to risky business. Today, the situation is much better though not perfect.
Some companies are so profit driven that they put public safety and interests at jeopardy
一些公司太重视利益 以至于 他们将大宗的安全和利益 摆到了危险的境地
jeapardy n 危险
put sb in jeapardy / be in jeapardy 置于危险境地
devastating adj 有毁灭性的
irreversible adj 不可逆转的
It was a feast for the greedy 这是贪婪的盛宴
misconduct n 管理不善/行为不端
bankruptcy n 破产
Of course, it doesn’t necessarily mean that no better ways will someday be figured out. But the truth is, no country has policies other than taxations and fines that were proven to be effective. I’m afraid until then, we have no choice but to keep imposing these taxes and fines, and enforcing them as best as we can.
no country has policies other than taxations and fines that were proven to be effective
除了税收和罚款之外没有国家有被证明是有效的政策
T2
SAMPLE 2
Some people believe siblings can take care of the younger kid, while others believe only parents can do this. What is your opinion?
Family can be influential in shaping a child’s worldview. When it comes to taking care of a young child, some educators argue that older siblings can do a better job because there would be no generation gap. However, I would still vote for parents for the following reasons.
Family can be influential in shaping a child’s worldview
家庭在塑造还是世界观的方面是很有影响力的
sibling n 兄弟姐妹
First off, parents are financially capable of providing a happy childhood. Needless to say, it takes a fortune to raise a child. Their body health starts with a nutritious and well-balanced meal. Aware of that, parents can afford to go grocery shopping, make a home-cooked meal and prepare a nice dinner. As for siblings who have no job or income, dinner might have to come from a vending machine. They’d end up feeding snacks or junk food to the little ones. Intellectual development is another aspect that cannot bloom without financial support. Research indicates that nine in ten no-parent families struggle to get by and can hardly cover tuition fees, not to mention hiring a private tutor for art savvy kids.
主题：Finance 经济
Parents are financially capable of providing a happy childhood
父母有经济能力为孩子提供一个快乐的童年
Needless to say 不用说
It takes a fortune to raise a child 抚养孩子需要一大笔钱
Intellectual development is another aspect that can not bloom without financial support
智力发展是另外一个没有经济支持不能快速发展的方面
bloom v 迅速发展
struggle to 努力
get by 得到/过得去/获得认可
cover tuition fees 支付学费
savvy n 常识/技术 adj 精明的/有见识的
hire a private tutor 雇佣一个私人教师
Research indicates that nine in ten no-parent families struggle to get by and can hardly cover tuition fees, not to mention hiring a private tutor.
研究表明 十个无双亲的家庭中有九个在努力的去活着，不可能付得起学费，更不用说雇佣私人老师了
Second, parents can serve as a life coach with more life experience. If a boy falls victim to school bully and comes home for help, how would his teenage brother react? Irritated, the older child might get into a fight to defend his young brother. This could have terrible consequences, though this immature kid cannot be to blame. At times like this, grown- ups can better handle the situation by having a peaceful talk with the bully’s family or showing the young child some tricks to fend for himself. Only parents who have been through it all can offer words of wisdom and problem-solving methods. So when it comes to offering advice, only parents can fill in the gap.
主题： experience 经验
fall victim to 沦落成…的牺牲品
be to blame 受惩罚/被指责
handle the situation 处理这种情况
fend for oneself 照顾自己
word of wisdom 智慧的话
fill in the gap 填补空白
Last but not least, parents’ devotion to child rearing lends them another strength. Sure, siblings can also be loving and caring, but they have much to attend to. Most young adults are facing over-scheduled schoolwork and cutthroat job competition, all of which entails hard work and time commitment. How can we ask an older sister to babysit at the cost of her own life? It wouldn’t be fair to ask her to give up on her field trips or study groups. Parents, however, have plenty of time and energy; their unconditional love to the next generation can create a better home environment for the young child.
**主题：对于siblings 每个人都有自己的事情做 time commitment 投入的时间 **
Last but not least 最后但却重要的是
Over-scheduled schoolwork 时间排满的作业
cut-throat adj 严酷无情的
commitment n 责任
babysit v 临时照看
unconditional love 无条件的爱
Parents , however , have plenty of time and energy; their unconditional love to the next generation can create a better home environment for the young child.
但是，父母，有大量的时间和能量。 他们对下一代无私的爱能够为小孩子创造一个更好的家庭环境
To sum up, parents should be responsible for child rearing because of their financial resources, life experience and time commitment.
Verbal
Task 1
What is your favorite personality trait of a friend?
Personally speaking, Patience is my favorite personality trait of friends. Because my best friend , Oliver , is very patient. Everytime I came across a problem in study and ask him, he will explain this question in details using graphs and formulations. If I still do not understand it, he will repeate it again and again until I make sense of it. Sometimes when I meet with unhappiness and disappointment, I will confide to him. At that time, he is always a patient listener. And after my saying, he will enlighten me considerably.
Task2
Some people like to make plans in advance when they decide to travel, while others prefer to make decisions when they are travelling. Which do you prefer?
Personally speaking , I prefer to making plans in advance when I decide to travel. The first reason is that it can help me save time. When I have visited a site, wihout hesitation, I can go to the next destination by most convenient transportation means according to my plans.Thus I do not have to spend extra time on deciding where we go next and how we go there. Another reason is that Making Decisions in travelling might bring some problems. Take myself as an example. On last summer vacation I went to Beijing.Before this I even had not deserved the hotel. When I arrived at Beijing, I found every hotel deserved. I had no place to rest only stayed at my friends home. It was embarrassed.
