1、新概念英语第4册课文笔记Lesson 1 Finding fossil man 发现化石人We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write.But there are some parts of the world where even now people cannot write. The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas
2、-legends handed down from one generation of storytellers to another. These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migrations of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now l
3、iving in the Pacific Islands came from. The sagas of these people explain that some of them came from Indonesia about 2,000 years ago.But the first people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. So archaeologists have neither history nor legen
4、ds to help them to find out where the firstmodern men came from.Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, because this is easier to shape than other kinds. They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away. Stone does not decay, and so the tools of lon
5、g ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.ROBIN PLACE Finding fossil manNew words and expressions生词短语recount /rikaunt/ v.叙述 / reikaunt/ 再数一次record / rekd/ /ri kC:d/ 第一个音节带重音，名前动后 叙述：recount : emotionless重复describedepict： a little emotionalnarrate
6、： temporal&spacial根据时间或空间顺序描述。portray：描述saga /sa:g/ n.英雄故事描述的内容mostly real北欧海盗活动的故事legend /ledVnd/ n.传说，传奇unreal e.g robin hoodanthropologist/ AnWrpCldVist/ n.人类学家anthrop：人philosophere :philosopher|爱智慧哲学家philanthropist : 慈善家（对人有爱心的人）anthropology :人类学带-gy结尾的都是学科：biology生物学geography地理学ecology生态学remote
7、/ rimut/ n.遥远ancestor / Ansest/ n.祖先an在前面forefather,forebear ，predecessor祖先rot/ rCt/ v.烂掉leave me rot.leave me alongrot to death.soon ripe,soon rotten.decay国家民族逐渐衰亡decompose逐渐衰竭deteriorate关系逐渐恶化trace /treis/ n.痕迹，踪迹trace the problemi follow your tracei follow where you gopolynesia波利尼西亚poly-多polyandr
8、ic: a wife with more than one husband polygeny : a husband with more than one wifeflint /flint/ n.燧石flinting heartedfossil / fCsl/ n. 化石cobble鹅卵石Notes on the text课文注释read of读到谈到：speak of ,talk of ,know of,hear ofnear east：近东mediterranean, south europe,north afric far east非限定性从句，表原因oral(spoken) langu
9、age is earlier than written language. precede :什么在什么之前，不用比较，直接跟名词counterpart: two things or two people have the same position oral(spoken) language is earlier than written counterpart.preserve: 保留，保存（腌制） 如果句中有only，那后面的表语结构就要用to do sth,而不是doing sth. storyteller: 讲故事的人fortuneteller, palmreader: 算命先生mi
10、gration ：移民migrantimmigrant v. migrate:迁移，迁徙 migratory bird:候鸟none: no body peoples民族 if they had any: 即便是有 his relatives,if he hadany,never went to visit him when he was hospitalized.find out千方百计，费尽周折explore modern men :the men who were like ourselves howeveranywhere you want ,加逗号but,yet不加标点，only a
11、t the beginning of the sentence therefore自由so自由tool:小工具instrument:实验器械equipment:设备shape:成型；教育，改造may also have:表推测peel:果皮leather:皮革hide:兽皮cowhide:牛皮without (any) trace:无影无踪Lesson 2 Spare that spider别伤害蜘蛛Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends ? Because they destroy so many insects, and ins
12、ects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat
13、insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the dif
14、ference almost at a glance for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf ? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,0
15、00 in one acre, that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meal
16、s a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.T. H. GILLESPIE Spare that Spider from The ListenerNew words and expressions生词短语flocks and herds牛群和羊群flCk/the bi
17、rds of the same feather flock together.物以类聚，人以群分you are the same flock.也可指人herd多指牛群cowherd cowboythrong and crowd swarmowe /U/ vt.感激,欠i owe you.i owe you a big favor.欠issue oblige indebt appreciate-常用口语词 正式：grateful thankfulbeast /bi: st/ n兽形容人野蛮无比，不能用animal形容creature可以指小孩，女人，不用于男性fraction / frAkFn/
18、 n.小部分分数，小数a fraction of rice will suffice on ones behalf代表利益I beat you on your behalf.我打你是为你好on behalf of somebody /somethinge.g on behalf of chinese governmenton behalf of representauthority /C:WCriti/ n.权威authorize批准authoritative权威性的authoritarian独裁的tarian带有这种词缀的词都是坏词dictator独裁者dictatorial独裁的autho
19、rities 权威（可单数可复数）当局（复数）census /senss/ n.统计数据the fifth national population census.censor审查,censorious挑剔的，挑刺的acre /eik/ n.英亩acresquare metersfootball pitch足球场football yard football court football field be content with满足于满足作表语，不能出现定语结构He is content with status quo.contented heart :心满意足的人spare /spZ/ v.
20、不伤害，宽恕spare me He doesnt spare himself. I spare no efforts to learn english.( spare no efforts: 不遗余力作什么)Notes on the text课文注释why, you may wonderyou may wonder why插入语先不管插入语，弄清句子结构you may wonder why spiders should be our friends？插入语位置不固定why以疑问句 开头why,you may wonder,the problem of pollution befalls hum
21、an beings. why,you may wonder,one of my friends is so kindhearted.destroy程度比damage要重得多，片甲不留，消灭光tear into pieces greatest enemies:天敌dying enemycrying enemydear enemy human race:人的种族，一般不加复数，表示一个总称词impossible和possible永远不要以人开头It is impossible for somebody to do something. likely可以以人做主语。i am likely to go
22、.probable也不以人做主语they would表示假设devour狼吞虎咽devour the foodmake a cake of myselfmake a god of myselfdevour the book it虚拟语气前面是主句，下面是条件句 前面一般的加动词devour,后面用一般过去时If it were not for:如果这不是因为I would not survive if it were not for his timely help. but for一定是虚拟语气 if it were not forowe感激，欠i owe you.引出主题all of the
23、m put together:把他们堆到一起谓语动词是kill destroyed后置定语，重心转到spiderLesson 3 Matterhorn man马特霍恩山区人Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded. In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all. The e
24、arly climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top because the summit was the prize they sought, especially if it had never been attained before. It is true that during their explorations they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature, equipped in a manner which would m
25、ake a modern climber shudder at the thought, but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement. They had a single aim, a solitary goalthe top!It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers. Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had
26、rapidly become popular, Alpine villages tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains. Such inns as there were were generally dirty and flea-ridden; the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarse wine. Of
27、ten a valley boasted no inn at all, and climbers found shelter wherever they couldsometimes with the local priest (who was usually as poor as his parishioners), sometimes with shepherds or cheesemakers. Invariably the background was the same: dirt and poverty, and very uncomfortable. For men accusto
28、med to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have been very hard indeed.New words and expressions生词短语1、 alpinist(1.1)/$lpinist/n登山运动员climbermountaineer词根：alpAlps(1.16)/$lps/ n阿尔卑斯山脉Alpine(1.9)/$lpain/adj阿尔卑斯山的2、 attain(1.4)/+tein/ v到达
29、to get toto arrive at/into attain ones goal=realizeto attain the top/peak/summit达到顶点attain youth永葆青春attainment (n) attainments成就accomplishment3、perilous(1.5)/peril+s/adj危险的peril（随时可能出现的）危险avalanche雪崩4、shudder (1.5)/Md+/ v不寒而栗shudder:quick and suddentremble:long and very obviousquiver:excitement ,may
30、be coldshiver: cold and nervous5、 go out of ones way专门by the way顺路too much for me受不起6、 court （multiple meanings多义词）1 朝廷朝臣courtier2 courteous彬彬有礼的3 法庭4 娱乐场 足球场soccer/football court高尔夫球场golf court5 追求6 招致骄兵必败pride courts failure7、 solitary(1.6)/s&lrt+ri/adj唯一的sol-独solo独唱独奏solitude孤独I live in solitude.
31、=I live a lonely life.8、 pioneer(1.2)/?pai+n+/ v开辟，倡导；n先锋，开辟者9、 impoverish(11.9-10)/$mp&v+rM/v使贫困poor（口语词）罗素名言：A great many man will cheerfully face inpoverishment if they can securecomplete ruin for their rival,hence present level of taxation.许多人会高兴的面对贫困，如果他们能使对手落魄，因此出现了现在的税收水平。10、coarse(1.12)/k&:s
32、/adj粗劣的coarse throat嗓子哑sore throat嗓子发炎coarse fare粗粮refined fair细粮coarse and refinedin a coarse manner粗暴无礼11、boast(1.12)/b+ust/v自恃有用法：以人作主语，夸耀；以物作主语，拥有He boasted that of his knowledge.The center boasts a team of high qualify(qualified researchers.)12、parishioner(1.13)/p+riM+n+/n教区居民parish教区13、shepher
33、d(1.14)/Mep+d/n牧羊人sheepshep羊herd兽群14、linen(1.15)/linin/n亚麻布床单Notes on the text课文注释1、Route路线Road道路2、good sports :stimulus刺激thrilling震撼、兴奋3、regardregard sb with sth(感情词love hatredhorrorrespect) Dad, I regard you with horror.爸爸，我很害怕你。4、pineering days, ancient (先人时期)5、not at all根本不case这回事6、be doing表达当时的
34、行动（状态）7、top:顶点summit山顶peak山顶The scenery is at the peak ofthe mountain.无限风光在险峰。I am at the top of the world.我在世界之巅。 Summit meeting峰会8、 attain到达conquer征服9、be of the most perilous naturenature特点、特性the most perilous difficulties and dangers学会be of the + adj+noun结构He is the kindest man. =He is the man of
35、 the kindest man.10、equipped表示当时的一种伴随。11、in a manner以这样的方式12、make sb do sth(省to结构)13、at the thought一想到 ，mention一提到,idea一想到 这个结构后面加介词of原文即at the thought of their poor equipment14、go out of ones way刻意intentionallyeye catching引人注目的15、the real living conditions真实生存状况16、nowadays插入语，现在回想起来，可在句首、句末17、excep
36、t for把其中的一部分扣除18、tend to be倾向于19、settlement生存地、驻扎地20、cut off=which are cut off21、flea ridden跳蚤22、as they were可以这么说，插入语还有as it wereThis book is , as it were, his life portrait.这本书，可是说，是他的人生写照。23、local当地的24、wine低度酒alcohol酒精alcoholic酒鬼25、boast拥有priest牧师shepherd牧羊人invariably=all the same26、dirt and pove
37、rty， and very uncomfortable （结构不符合习惯，不可学）27、course一道菜28、must have been表推测29、be accustomed to ,be used to + 名词、动名词I am used to the life in Bejing.I am used to living in Bejing.30、早餐：scratch a meal中午餐：snack快餐晚餐：dinner31、the change toEducation brings great change to his outlook/view on life.教育使他的面貌（对生活
38、的看法）产生了很大变化。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 aneleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can a
39、lso 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
40、, and even described the way they were done up in bundles.Veras 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 Fe
41、deral Republic. During these tests she was able to read a newspaper through an opaque screen and, stranger still, by moving her elbow over a childs 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
42、 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 fo
43、und 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
44、fly in my teacup.2、elbow ones way (用肘)挤出elbow ones 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 5 No Room in the Ark诺亚方舟无容身之地The gorilla is something of a paradox in the African scene. One thinks one knows him very well. For a hundred years or more he has been killed, captured,
45、and imprisoned, in zoos. His bones have been mounted in natural history museums everywhere, and he has always exerted a strong fascination upon scientists and romantics alike. He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scien
46、tific) link with our ancestral past.Yet the fact is we know very little about gorillas. No really satisfactory photograph has ever been taken of one in a wild state, no zoologist, however intrepid, has been able to keep the animal under close and constant observation in the dark jungles in which he
47、lives. Carl Akeley, the American naturalist, led two expeditions in the nineteen-twenties, and now lies buried among the animals he loved so well. But even he was unable to discover how long the gorilla lives, or how or why it dies, nor was he able to define the exact social pattern of the family groups, or indicate the final extent of their intelligence. All this and many other things remain almost as much a mystery as they were when the French explorer Du Chaillu first described the animal to the civilized world a
