Lesson 4 Seeing hands

看手

In the Soviet Union several cases have been reported recently of people who can read and detect colours with their fingers, and even see through solid doors and walls. One case concerns an

'eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can also perceive things with different parts of her skin, and through solid walls. This ability was first noticed by her father. One day she came into his office and happened to put her hands on the door of a locked safe. Suddenly she asked her father why he kept so many old newspapers locked away there, and even described the way they were done up in bundles.

Vera's curious talent was brought to the notice of a scientific research institute in the town of UIyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she was given a series of tests by a special commission of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federal Republic. During these tests she was able to read a newspaper through an opaque screen and, stranger still, by moving her elbow over a child's game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures and colours printed on it; and, in another instance, wearing stockings and slippers, to make out with her foot theoutlines and colours of a picture hidden under a carpet. Other experiments showed that her knees and shoulders had a similar sensitivity. During all these tests Vera was blindfold; and, indeed, except when blindfold she lacked the ability to perceive things with her skin. lt was also found that although she could perceive things with her fingers this ability ceased the moment her hands were wet.

New words and expressions

生词短语

1、Perceive

察觉，瞬间感觉到的

to make out 费尽心机辨出

I looked thoroughly for my elderly mother, finally I make her out . Yeah, I remembered, I finally make him out.

I perceive a fly in my teacup.

2、elbow one’s way (用肘)挤出

elbow one’s way out of the crowed.挤出人群 Notes on the text

课文注释 Flash 中没有详细讲解

Lesson 4 Seeing hands 能看见东西的手
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
How did Vera discover she had this gift of second sight?
Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people who can read and
detect colours with their fingers, and even see through solid doors and walls．One case
concerns an eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can
also perceive things with different parts of her skin, and through solid walls．This ability
was first noticed by her father．One day she came into his office and happened to put 5
her hands on the door of a locked safe．Suddenly she asked her father why he kept so
many old newspapers locked away there, and even described the way they were done up
in bundles.
Vera 's curious talent was brought to the notice of a scientific research institute in the
town of Ulyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she was given a series of tests by a
special commission of the Ministry ofHealth of the Russian Federal Republic．During these
tests she was able to read a newspaper through an 10 opaque screen and, stranger still, by
moving her elbow over a child's game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures and
colours printed on it; and, in another instance, wearing stockings and slippers, to make out
with her foot the outlines and colours of a picture hidden under a carpet．Other
experiments showed that her knees and shoulders had a similar sensitivity．During all
these tests Vera was blindfold; and, indeed, except when blindfold she lacked the ability to
perceive things with her skin．It was also found that although she 15 could perceive things
with her fingers this ability ceased the moment her hands were wet.
ERIC DE MAUNY Seeing hands from The Listener
New words and expressions 生词和短语
solid（1.2）/'s&lid/ adj．坚实的
lotto（1.10）/&'ltu/ n．一种有编号的纸牌
safe（1.5）/seif/ n．保险柜
slipper（1.11）/'slip+/ n．拖鞋
Ulyanovsk（1.7）/u:lj%:n&:fsk/n．乌里扬诺夫斯克
blindfold（1.13）/'blaindf+uld/ adj．＆ adv．被蒙上眼
commission（1.8）/k+'miM+n/n．委员会睛的
opaque（1.10）/+u'pek/ adj．不透明的
Notes on the text 课文注释
1 of people who can read…，这个定语从句用来修饰主语cases，由于太长，因此被移
至谓语之后。
2 through solid walls 与 with different parts of her skin 并列，作 perceive 的状语。
3 lock something away，把……锁藏起来。
4 do up，引起捆，包
5 bring … to the notice of，引起某人注意。
6 except when blindfold，其中 when之后省略了 she was。
7 the moment her hands were wet，这是一个时间状语从句，the moment有“一……
就……”的意思。
参考译文
俄罗斯最近报导了几个事例，有人能用手指看书识字和辨认颜色，甚至能透过厚实的门
和墙看到东西。其中有一例谈到有一个名叫维拉·彼托洛娃的11岁女学生。她的视力与常人
一样，但她还能用皮肤的不同部位辨认东西，甚至看穿坚实的墙壁。是她父亲首先发现她这
一功能的。一天，维拉走进父亲的办公室，偶然把手放在一个锁着的保险柜的门上，她突然
问父亲为什么把这么多的旧报纸锁在柜子里，还说了报纸捆扎的情况。
维拉的特异功能引起了她家附近乌里扬诺夫斯克城一个科研单位的注意。4月里，俄罗斯
卫生部的一个特别委员会对她进行了一系列的测试。在这些测试中，她能隔着不透明的屏幕
读报纸。更为奇怪的是，她把肘部在儿童玩的“罗托”纸牌上移动一下，便能说出印在纸牌
上的数字和颜色。还有一次，她穿着长筒袜子和拖鞋，能用脚识别出藏在地毯下面的一幅画
的轮廓和颜色。其他实验表明，她的膝盖和双肩有类似的感觉能力，在所有这些实验中，维
拉的双眼都是蒙着的。如果不蒙上双眼她的皮肤就不再具有识别物体的能力。这是千真万确
的。同时还发现，尽管她能用手指识别东西，但她的手一旦弄湿，这种功能便会立即消失。
Comprehension 理解
Give short answers to these questions in your own words as far as possibe．Use one
complete sentence for each answer.
1 How did Vera 's father accidentally discover that his daughter possessed unusual
powers of perception?
2 Under what conditions was Vera incapable of perceiving objects with her skin?
3 Under what conditions did Vera lose the ability to perceive objects with her fingers?
Vocabulary 词汇
Refer to the text to see how the following words have been used, then write sentences
of your own using these words: several（1.1）; detect（1.1）; vision（1.3）; perceive
（1.3）; curious（1.7）; series（1.8）; outlines（1.12）; a similar（1.13）；ceased
（1.15）.
Sentence structure 句子结构
A Supply the missing words in the following sentences．Do not refer to the passage
until you have finished the exercise:
1 Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people ___ can read
______ detect colours with their fingers, __________ even see through solid doors and
walls．One case concerns an eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, ____ has normal
vision _____ _______ can also perceive things with different parts of her skin, __________
through solid walls．(11.1-4)
2 It was also found that ______ she could perceive things with her fingers, this ability
ceased ______________her hands were wet．(11.14-15)
B Complete these sentences in any way you wish．Then compare what you have
written with the sentences in the passage:
1 One day she came into his office and _________．(11.4-5)
2 Suddenly she asked her father why _________．(11.5-6)
3 Vera 's curious talent was ________．(1.7)
4 During these tests she ________．(1.9)
5 It was also found that ________．(11.14-15)
C Write three sentences describing Vera 's unusual abilities.
Key structures 关键句型
A Supply the correct form of the verbs in parentheses．Do not refer to the passage
until you have finished the exercise:
1 Several cases _________ (report) in Russia recently of people who can read and
detect colours with their fingers．(11.1-2)
2 This ability first _______ (notice) by her father．(1.4)
3 Vera 's curious talent _______ (bring) to the notice of a scientific research institute in
the town of Ulyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she ________ (give) a series of
tests by a special commission of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federal Republic．
(11.7-9)
4 It also ______ (find) that although she ______ (can) perceive things with her fingers,
this ability ______ (cease) the moment her hands _____ (be) wet．(11.14-15)
B Compare the word order in these two sentences:
Why did he keep so many old newspapers locked away there?
She asked her father why he kept so many old newspapers locked away there．(11.5-
6)
Write these sentences again, beginning each one with the words 1 asked him:
1 When did he buy that car?
2 Where did he find that book?
3 Why did he send a fax?
4 How did he know I was here?
5 Which one did he like best?
C Note the form of the verb in italics in this sentence:
By moving her elbow over a child's game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures
and colours printed on it．(11.10-11)
Supply the correct form of the verbs in parentheses:
1 He can walk for miles without ________ (get) tired．
2 On ____ (arrive) at the station, I went and bought a ticket.
3 While ________ (try) to climb over that wall, he fell down and broke his leg.
4 You will never succeed in _______ (persuade) me to come with you.
D Compare these two sentences:
Instead of saying: She was able to describe the colours and figures printed on it．
(11.9-10)
We can say: She succeeded in describing the colours and figures printed on it.
Supply could or was able to in the following sentences:
1 I ________ easily swim across this river if I wanted to.
2 He ________ run a mile in five minutes when he was younger.
3 Amundsen ______ reach the South Pole before Scott.
4 I rang up several times before I ______ contact him.
5 I ______ get these tickets because I was willing to stand in the queue for several
hours.
Special difficulties 难点
A Study the following pairs of words and then write sentences of your own to bring out
the difference.
1 normal (1.3) ---- ordinary
I'm not looking for anything fancy, just a normal kettle.
I'm just an ordinary person.
2 skin (1.3) ---- complexion
I got so sunburnt that my skin is peeling.
Drinking a lot of water is good for the complexion.
3 noticed (1.4) ---- remarked
I've noticed that there are more butterflies this year.
‘You're looking very well!’she remarked．
4 office (1.4) ---- study
Reuters is a big news agency with offices all over the world．
I'll have a bigger study in my new apartment.
5 game (1.10) ---- toy
Let's play a game．of hide-and-seek.
Alice got a new toy for her birthday.
6 lack (1.14) ---- need
His real problem is that he lacks confidence.
We need an hour to get to the airport.
7 wet (1.15) ---- damp
Don't sit on that bench．The paint is still wet.
You shouldn't wear that shirt if it's still damp.
B Explain the expressions in italics:
1 The newspapers were done up in bundles．(1.6)
2 It's too late to save him now．He's done for.
3 She'll never go back to her husband．She's done with him for good．
4 This room looks lovely now that we've done it up.
5 I wouldn't trust him if I were you．He once did me out of a lot of money.
C Explain the word figure in these sentences:
1 By moving her elbow over a child's game of Lotto she was able to describe the
figures and colours printed on it．(11.10-11)
2 I could make out the figure of a man on the bridge.
3 She has such a beautiful figure, she could make a living as a model, I'm sure.
D Explain the expressions with make in these sentences:
1 She was able to make out with her foot the outlines and colours of a picture．(11.10-
12)
2 The thief made off with quite a lot of money.
3 He's a strange fellow．I just can't make him out.
4 Before he died, he made over all his money to his wife.
5 Are you any good at making up stories for children?
Multiple choice questions 多项选择题
Choose the correct answers to the following questions.
Comprehension 理解
1 Solid doors and walls are _____.
a．no obstacle for people who can read and detect colours with their fingers
b．invisible to people who can read and detect colours with their fingers
c．transparent to people who can read and detect colours with their fingers
d．concerned in cases reported in Russia recently
2 Vera Petrova's father _____.
a．had always known his daughter had this talent
b．found that his daughter could perceive things with different parts of her skin
c．discovered his daughter's gift by accident
d．described the way newspapers were done up in bundles
3 The scientific research institute in the town of Ulyanovsk ______.
a．made Vera read a newspaper
b．arranged that Vera．should undergo a number of experiments
c．tested Vera thoroughly
d．set up a game of Lotto with Vera
4 Which one of these statements is true?
a．Vera couldn't always perceive things with her skin.
b．Vera was occasionally blindfold when she did the tests.
c．Vera 's hands had to be wet before she could perceive things through her skin.
d．Vera 's knees didn't have the same sensitivity as her fingers.
Structure 句型
5 Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people _________ can
read .．(1.1)
a．whom
b．that
c．which
d．they
6 One day she came into his office and put her hands on the door of the safe _____
(1.5)
a．as it happened
b．by chance
c．perhaps
d．intentionally
7 ________ these tests were being conducted, she was able to read a newspaper．
(1.9)
a．During
b．On occasion
c．While
d．As if
8 Vera couldn't ‘see* with her skin ______ she was blindfold．(11.13-14)
a．only
b．except
c．as if
d．unless
Vocabulary 词汇
9 This ability was first ____ by her father．(1.4)
a．observed
b．remarked
c．regarded
d．acknowledged
10 Vera 's curious talent was brought to the _____ of a research institute．(1.7)
a．attention
b．observation
c．regard
d．care
11 ---- wearing stockings and slippers, she was able to _____ colours with her foot．
(11.11-12)
a．draw
b．see
c．understand
d．watch
12 This abilitythe moment her hands were wet．(1.15)
a．continued
b．renewed
c．increased
d．stopped