Unit 7  Learning about English  

Text A  The Glorious Messiness of English

 

Language Study

1)  massive

w  The ancient temple’s massive stone pillars had begun to crumble.

w  The scale of the problem is so massive that it will require all our resources to deal with it.

 

2)  snack

w  I usually have a snack of a hamburger and a glass of Coke at lunchtime.

w  The children in the kindergarten have a midmorning snack of milk and biscuits.

 

3)  corrupt

① cause errors to appear in

w  The Academy ruled that such foreign expressions were not permitted, as they corrupted the language.

w  Has Japanese been corrupted by the introduction of foreign words?

w  This jargon merely corrupts your good English.

② cause to act dishonestly in return for personal gains

w  We believe film of violence will corrupt young people.

w  To our great surprise, the former mayor turned out to have been corrupted by the desire for money and power.

w  To gain more profits, the businessman tried every means to corrupt the officials in the local government.

 

4)  ban

v. (used in the patterns: ban sth.; ban sb. from sth./doing sth.)

w  The local government will ban smoking in all offices later this year.

w  Scientists from many countries called on the international community to create an international convention to ban human cloning as soon as possible.

w  Tom was banned from driving fro six months after being caught speeding again.

w  Lady Chatterley’s Lover was banned when it was first published.

n. (followed by on)

w  The government is considering a total ban on cigarette advertising.

w  The ban on underground nuclear tests is a vital step toward disarmament.

 

5)  invent

① create (a thing or idea that has not existed before)

w  James Watt invented the steam engine.

w  Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.

② give (a name, reason, etc. that doesn’t exist or is not true)

w  All the characters in the novel are invented.

w  Standing still in the teacher’s office, the boy tried to invent a plausible excuse for his absence from class.

(Cf.: invent, discover) If somebody invents something, they are the first person to think of it or make it. If somebody discovers something, they find out about something which exists but which was not previously known.

w  Walter Hunt and Elias Hone invented the sewing machine.

w  The planet Pluto was discovered in 1930.

 

6)  fascinating

w  The story of his adventures in the Arctic was fascinating to listen to.

w  I found the discussion about cloning absolutely fascinating.

w  It is fascinating to imagine what might have happened if the U.S. had not declared war against Japan in World War II.

 

7)  strictly speaking: if one uses words, applies rules, etc. in their exact sense  

w  He’s not strictly speaking an artist; he is more of a performer.

w  Strictly speaking she was not qualified for the job. But we employed her because of her honesty.

 

8)  tolerance

① the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you don’t agree or approve of it (followed by of/for)

w  School teachers have to have a great deal of tolerance in order to deal with difficult children.

w  I think tolerance between students is extremely necessary since they live and study together.

② the ability to bear sth. painful or unpleasant (followed by of/for)

w  Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.

w  The patient had no tolerance for pain. Whenever he was given an injection he would cry.

 

9)  to a (very real, great, certain, small, etc.) extent

w  I agree with him to some extent but there are still some areas of sharp disagreement between us.

w  To a certain extent the failure of the restaurant was due to bad management.

 

10)  necessity

① sth. you must have in order to live properly or do sth.

w  Water is a basic necessity of life.

w  A lot of people would consider a TV as more of a necessary than a luxury item.

② circumstances that force one to do sth.; the state of being necessary; the need for sth. (followed by of/for)

w  There is absolutely no necessity for you to be involved in the project.

w  They reached an agreement on the necessity of educational reforms.

 

11)  arouse

w  These educational toys give children a feeling of self-worth by arousing their interest in challenging tasks.

w  The man’s strange behavior aroused the policeman’s suspicions.

 

12)  channel: stretch of water joining two seas; (radio, TV) band of frequencies within which signals from a transmitter must be kept (to prevent interference from other transmitters); any ways by which news, ideas, etc, may travel  

w  Thanks to Eurostar and the Channel Tunnel, the journey between London and Paris is convenient and comfortable one.

w  Stop channel surfing and get focused on one program!

w  The problem of criminal responsibility of foreigners who enjoy diplomatic privileges is to be resolved through diplomatic channels.

 

13)  surrender: (followed by to)

w  After several weeks of severe attacks, Afghanistan’s Taliban forces surrendered to the Northern Alliance.

w  We’ll never surrender to terrorism despite the terrorist attacks.

 

14)  for effect

w  Everything he says and does is calculated for effect.

w  She paused for effect, then carried on speaking.

 

15)  invade

w  In July 1937 the Japanese army invaded China.

w  The Germans invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the start of World War II.

 

16)  inhabit

w  Long before the early settlers came to America, the land was inhabited by tribes and nations of people known to us today as Indians.

w  With more and more people inhabiting the virtual world today, doctors are using that space to encourage people to quit smoking.

 

17)  mystery

w  The politician’s sudden death remains a mystery to us all.

w  No one has ever been able to explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.

 

18)  resemble

w  I’d say he resembles his mother more than his father.

w  In his childhood, Stevie Wonder loved music and would pound spoons or forks on any surface that resembled a drum.

 

19)  systematic

w  Our professor not only imparts knowledge to us, but also teaches us how to read books in a systematic way.

w  The staff made a systematic check to make sure that no name had been omitted from the register.

 

20)  descend: (followed by from)

w  These ideas descend from those of the ancient philosophers.

w  The Japanese are thought to be descended from tribes from the north of China.

 

21)  come up with

w  I’ll have to give this some thought before coming up with an answer.

w  Darwin came up with an explanation for the vast diversity of living things: natural selection.

 

22)  establish

① cause to be set up

w  The school was established in 1905 by an Italian professor.

② place or settle sb. / oneself in a position, an office, etc. (used in the pattern: establish sb. / oneself as)

w  They are rapidly establishing themselves as the market leaders.

w  She established her fame as an actress.

 

23)  drift

w  Jimmy spent the year drifting around Europe.

w  The football match was over, and the crowds drifted away from the stadium.

 

24)  climate

w  Brought up in the south of China, she wouldn’t enjoy living in such a cold climate.

w  Due to the greenhouse effect, changes in the earth’s climate have taken place.

 

25)  influence

n. power to affect sb.’s character, beliefs or actions through example, fear, admiration, etc.

w  Should religion be an influence in politics?

w  His influence on modern art is immeasurable.

v. have an effect on

w  Can you list the top ten books that have influenced your life?

 

26)  enrich

① make rich or richer

w  That once poor coastal village has been enriched by the profits from tourism.

② improve

w  It is important to enrich the soil prior to planting.

w  Travel enriches people’s lives.

 

27)  addition: (followed by to)

w  The baby is a welcome addition to the Smith family.

w  The young professor will be a most valuable addition to our board.

 

28)  conquer

w  She has conquered the hearts of many men.

w  The Spanish once conquered most of South America.

 

29)  royal: of a king or queen, or other members of their family, and things relating to them  

w  The newborn baby was welcomed not only by the Japanese royal family but by the country at large.

w  The royal wedding drew large crowds from across the country.

 

30)  alternative: (followed byto)

w  Check out the alternatives before deciding whether to go to a nearby college.

w  What was the alternative to going home?

 

31)  modify

w  The school authorities plan to modify the school regulations.

w  The computer programmers tried to modify the design of the software to make it suitable for commercial production.

 

32)  habitual

w  His habitual expression was one of mild puzzlement.

w  I don’t want my daughter to marry a habitual drinker.

 

33)  source: a place from which sth. comes or is obtained  

w  Tourism, which is a major source of income for the city, has been seriously affected by the terrorist attacks.

w  The source of the anthrax (炭疽) outbreak in the USA remained a mystery.

 

34)  out of control: no longer able to be controlled  

w  The fire was out of control by the time the second fire engine arrived.

w  There was nothing they could do about it. The situation was out of control.

 

35)  put into practice: carry out  

w  Having delayed several times, we must put his plan into practice now.

w  They weren’t allowed to put into practice in their daily lives the teachings they received.

 

36)  strike out: create, produce  

w  After working for his father for about ten years, he decided to strike out on his own.

w  With a baby on the way, Mary and her husband struck out for the suburbs.

 

37)  spring up: appear or be produced suddenly and quickly  

w  New buildings sprang up like mushrooms after a spring rain.

w  The sun shone warm, the air was balmy, and the grass sprang up.