1. at / from a distance: a long way away in space or time

It’s wise to stay at a distance from the cobra.

Remembering the disaster at a distance, I now feel sure that it was not his fault.

2. let alone / not to mention / without speaking

There wasn’t enough room for us, let alone three dogs and two cats.

3. object to sth / objection to sth: oppose; be against 反对, 不赞成

       Professor Hawking objects to being treated like someone special.

   4.  at random: without conscious choice 胡乱地, 随便地, 任意地

       I chose a name at random, and it turned out to be an old acquaintance.

       They can't have seen us; they were shooting at random.

5.  fend for oneself: look after oneself 照料自己

      It is time you left home and fended for yourself.

Now that the children are old enough to  fend for themselves, we can go

away on holiday alone.

6.  faculty: n. any of the powers of the body or mind; a particular ability for doing sth. 才能；能力；天赋 ;all the teachers and workers of a university or college  (高等院校的)全体教师及职工

      Mary has a remarkable faculty for adding large numbers in her head.

      Jane is a member of the faculty at the local university.

7. grant sb sth, take it for granted that…, take sth for granted
8. make sense:
9. 1. have a clear meaning

No matter how I tried to read it, the sentence didn’t have any sense to me.

It makes sense to take care of your health.

9. attribute …to
10. 1. believe sth is the result of 把…归因于，认为是…的结果

He attributes his success to his hard work.

10. given:  prep.  considering , taking sth into consideration; 考虑到  if sb is / was / had been given sth     a.规定的；特定的;假设的；已知的

       Given their inexperience, they've done a good job.

Given (the fact) that she is interested in children, I am sure teaching is the right career for her.

        The work must be done within the given time.

       Given one more chance to go to college, I would choose to study engineering rather than maths.

       under a given condition

12.    attach…to

We attach great importance to English.

13.    compensate for: make up for

Her intelligence more than compensates for her lack of experience.  …是绰绰有余的

14.    entitle sb to sth (do sth) / be entitled to sth (to dosth): vt. (to) give (sb.) a right (to have or do sth.)给…权利；给…资格; give a title (to a book, etc.) 给(书等)题名

         A membership card entitles you to take a guest with you free.

          I am not entitled to comment on this.

          You are entitled to such a holiday.

          The author entitled the book "My Life Story".

15.  deference: n. politeness, respect 尊敬，敬重

       He treats his mother with as much deference as if she were the Queen.

       I refused to discuss the matter out of deference to my employer.

16.  sheer: a. pure; nothing other than (often used in descriptions of sth. 

        surprising, outrageous, inexplicable, etc.) 完全的，十足的;  (of fabric) very thin, light and almost transparent(织物)极薄的；透明的; very steep 陡峭的；垂直的

       It is a sheer waste of time.

       John peered through the sheer curtain.

        The climbers moved slowly up the sheer cliff.

17.  more than just: not just, not simply

more…than… 与其说…倒不如说…

She is more thoughtless than stupid. 与其说他笨倒不如说他粗心大意。

no more than: It’s no more than a mile to the sea.

no more…than: 与…同样不  

He is no more fit to be an athlete than I am.

Any more, once more, no more, and what’s more, more often than not, more than pleased (extremely pleased),  more or less, the more…the more…

18. 分词独立结构:

N. + v-ing /v-ed / adj. / n. / prep phrase

分词独立结构在意义上相当于各种形式的状语分句及伴随状况。

a. The report (having been) read, a lively discussion began.

    (When the report had been read, …)

b. Weather permitting, we’ll start tomorrow.

(If weather permits, …)

c. We all went home, he remaining behind.

     (…, and he remained behind.)

d. They sat in the room with the curtains drawn.

Language Points

1.  The Titanic Puzzle -- The Paradoxical Question Concerning the Titanic

A puzzle is a question that is difficult to understand or answer, or a game or toy that demands skill or careful thought to answer it or to put it together.

 Example:

Their reason for doing this is still a puzzle to me.

2.  Why women? = Why should women take the lifeboat first?

3. the period costumes, the period extravagance, and the period prejudices - the costumes, the extravagance, and the prejudices of that time in history

period - a. typical of an earlier time in history, either dating from that time or deliberately made in the style of that time

Examples: period furniture  a period cottage

4. An audience can enjoy these at a distance. - From far away in time, viewers can take pleasure in looking at these (period things).

An audience is not one person, but a group of people who are watching or listening to a play, concert, show, film, radio or TV program, or public speaker. One person who is doing this is generally referred to as a viewer or listener. The plural form audiences refers to groups of viewers or listeners on various occasions or in different places.

5. enjoy total acceptance by modern audiences - be fully approved of by modern groups of viewers

6. But is not grouping women with children a raging anachronism? - But is it not a serious mistake to place women and children in the same category in modern times as in old times?

grouping women with children - forming women and children into the same group; mentioning women and children together

The phrase is a gerundial phrase which functions as the subject of the sentence.

7. Should not any self-respecting modern person, let alone feminist, object to it as insulting to women? -- Should not any modern person with self-respect, not to mention the feminist, consider grouping women with children to be insulting to women and object to it?

8.  At a time when women fly combat aircraft and run multi-national corporations, how can one not wince when adult women are routinely classed with children? - In modern times when women are doing all sophisticated jobs as men do, how can one feel at ease when adult women are habitually grouped with children?

9. When things get serious, when blood starts to flow or when ships start to sink, you'll find them with the children. - When serious accidents or killings happen, women are certainly found to be classed with children.

10. The phrase “women and children” attributes to women the same dependence and moral simplicity we find in five-year-olds. - By classing women with children, we think that women are as helpless and innocent as little kids.

11. ..., what entitles women to the privileges -- and reduces them to the status -- of children? -- ..., why should women be given the same privileges, and be brought to the same insignificant status, as children?

12. The problem with this kind of logic ... is its depressing reductionism. - The problem with evolutionary psychologists' reasoning ... is that it disappointingly reduces women to the low status of child-bearers.

13. It's like a serious version of the geneticist's old joke that a chicken is just an egg's way of making another egg. -- It's like a repetition in serious words of what geneticists used to say jokingly about the relationship between a chicken and an egg - a chicken is nothing but an egg-layer.

14. women should go second - women should have the second priority (next to children who are given first priority)

15. But kiddie-centrism gets you only so far. - The explanation that women are given priority to survive just because children need them is convincing up to this point only.