他们的建议与技术提高效率的大量证据背道而驰。 drop vt.

infml allow sb. to get out of the vehicle 〖非正式〗使（某人）下车，卸下（乘客） e.g. 1. She dropped Johnny at the school gate at about 8:30 every day.

2. He dropped me outside the hotel. 他把我送到了酒店。

pull over

drive to the side of the road and stop one‘s car 把（车）停靠在路边

e.g. 1. The policeman signalled to him to pull over to see if he was drunk-driving/drink-driving.

2. Joe, please swallow your pride and pull over to ask directions! 乔，请你放下身段，停车问路吧!

stamp vt.

mark (a pattern, sign, letters, etc.) on (an object or surface) by pressing把〔图案、记号、字等〕印盖在〔某物品或表面〕上

e.g. 1. Please wait here in line to have your passport stamped.

2. Car manufacturers stamp a vehicle identification number at several places on new cars to help track down stolen vehicles.

汽车制造商在新车的好几处地方打上车辆识别号码，以便于追查被偷车辆。

style n.

[C; U] a general manner of doing sth. which is typical or representative of a person or group, a time in history, etc. 风格，作风

e.g. 1. Have you thought about having your hair in a shorter style?

2. Our children‘s different needs and learning styles created many problems. 孩子们不同的需求和学习方式给我们带来了许多问题。

grateful a.

[( for, to)] feeling or showing thanks to another person [常与for或to连用]感激的；表示感谢的 e.g. 1. I am extremely grateful to all the teachers for their help.

2. I should like to extend my grateful thanks to all the volunteers. 我想对所有的志愿者致以衷心的谢意。

come on in

come in进来吧（比come in更随和友好的说法） e.g. 1. Come on in, my dear.

2. Come on in. Sorry, my room is a bit messy. 进来坐坐吧。不好意思，我的房间有点乱。

roast n.

[C] a large piece of roasted meat大块烤肉

e.g. 1. My mother always cooks a traditional pot roast when we gather at home for a special day.

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2. I forgot about the oven and the roast has frizzled up. 我忘了看炉火，结果把烤肉给烤干了。

bunch n.

[(of), +sing./pl. v] infml a group [常与of连用；谓语动词用单数或复数]〖非正式〗一群，一伙

e.g. 1. The people that I work with are a great bunch. 2. My neighbours are a bunch of busybodies.

我的邻居们是一群爱管闲事的人。

expose vt.

[(to)] uncover; leave without protection [常与to连用]（使）暴露 e.g. 1. My job as a journalist is to uncover truth and expose falsehood.

2. After the scandal was exposed, Dr Bailey committed suicide. 丑闻曝光后，贝利博士自杀了。

help (sb.) out

give help (to sb.) at a time of need （需要时）帮助（某人） e.g. 1. I helped her out when she became ill.

2. I‘m in a rather tricky position;can you help me out? 我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？

have ... in mind consider 考虑

e.g. 1. Camping in summer is just what I have in mind now.

2. What kind of starting pay do you have in mind? 你希望起薪多少？

Difficult Sentences for Text A

1. There was a time in this country when you‘d be considered a jerk if you passed by somebody

in need. (Para. 1)

Q: Translate this sentence into Chinese.

A: 在这个国家，曾有那么一段时间，你要是对需要帮助的人置之不理，大家会认为你是混蛋。

Q: Make a sentence with the italicizeditalicized structure.

A: There was a time when blackberry and apple were just fruits.

2. So I decided to make a leap of faith a continent wide — to go from the Pacific to the Atlantic

without a penny. (Para. 7)

Q: Why does the author refer to his plan as ―making a leap of faith a continent wide‖?

A: Before this trip, he had never taken a gamble in life, and now he was going to do something so dramatically different and this sure involves a huge leap of faith. On the other hand, it was about going across the continent. So it makes sense to say he decided to ―make a leap of faith a continent wide.‖

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3. I was amazed by the stubborn capacity of Americans to help a stranger, even when it seemed

to run contrary to their own best interests. (Para. 11) Q: Translate this sentence into Chinese.

A: 我诧异于美国人执意帮助陌生人的能力，甚至于在看来与自己的最大利益相冲突时他们也绝不袖手旁观。

4. This woman was telling me she’d rather risk her life than feel bad about passing a stranger on

the side of the road. (Para. 13)

Q: Translate this sentence into Chinese. A: 这个女人是在告诉我，她宁肯冒生命危险也不愿意因为没为一个站在路边的陌生人停车而感到内疚。

Q: Make a sentence with the italicized structure.

A: He would rather be poor than have got money by dishonest methods．

Extended Questions

▇ Extended questions (Para. 1)

Q: If you were the author, would you help the young man? A: Possible answers:

Yes, I would help the young man. He was holding a gas can in his hand. He must have run out of gas. And it was in the middle of the desert. People should help each other.

No, I wouldn‘t. In a society where ―I don‘t want to get involved‖ is the motto and dangers are lurking everywhere, I wouldn‘t risk my own interests to help him.

Q: There have been quite a few reports in China about people getting into trouble when trying to help others. Now people tend to be indifferent to others. Do you think that ―I don‘t want to get involved‖ is also becoming a national motto in China? A: Possible answers:

Yes, I do think so. I‘ve read of numerous incidents where certain individuals take advantage of people‘s kindness and how people set out to help out a stranger but end up getting into big trouble. It seems to me that with the influence of commercialism, people are becoming more and more self-centred and money-conscious and the concept ―Every man for himself and the devil take the hindmost‖ seems to have taken root in the minds of the younger generation. No, I don‘t think so. Though we have all heard a lot about immoral incidents, we should realise that such incidents are relatively few. In our daily life, positive examples showing people‘s kind-heartedness and selflessness far outnumber those negative examples publicized by the media. T

▇ Extended questions (Paras. 2-6)

Q: Do you think the author‘s plan is a risky one?

A: Yes. I think it was a risky plan. For one thing, he would be travelling alone and might encounter all sorts of difficulties or even dangers. For another, he would carry no money on him. Who would feed him, shelter him, carry him down the road? However, it was worth taking all the risks, for this was indeed a brilliant plan to test if anyone could still rely on the kindness of strangers.

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▇ Extended questions (Paras. 7-10)

Q: Can you find some clues about his travel plan from these paragraphs? A: Yes.

? ―So I decided to make a leap of faith a continent wide — to go from the Pacific to the

Atlantic without a penny.‖ (Para. 7)

—He would travel from the West coastline of America to the East coastline. ? ―I …… headed for the Golden Gate Bridge.‖ (Para. 8)

—Golden Gate Bridge is in San Francisco, California, a state on the Pacific seashore. ? ―My final destination would be Cape Fear in North Carolina.‖ (Para. 7.) ? —Cape Fear in North Carolina is on the Atlantic seashore.

? He meant to journey across the North American continent without money, relying solely

on the help of strangers he might meet on his way.

▇ Extended questions (Paras. 11-13)

Q: Do you know the cultural connotation of the phrase ―Sunday finest‖?

A: ―Sunday finest‖ (also Sunday best) means one‘s best clothes, which are worn only on special occasions. Traditionally, people always wore their best clothes for going to church on Sundays. Hence a similar idiomatic expression: Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes (meeting here meaning ―prayers‘ meeting‖).

Q: Would you like to help a stranger on the side of the road if you were one of the two old ladies driving a nice car in China?

A: Answers may vary. Possible answers:

Yes. I think I would. I believe most people are kind. If a stranger by the roadside is in desperate need of my help, I will stop and help him or her.

No. I‘m afraid I would not. This is dangerous in some places in China, especially at night. I have to watch out for potential dangers.

▇ Extended questions (Paras. 14-16)

Q: What might the possible reason for the truck driver to lock his brakes so hard that he skidded on the grass shoulder?

A: One possible reason was that it was raining and the road was slippery. The driver spotted the author in the rain and he had to brake suddenly. Another possible reason was that the driver had once been robbed by a hitchhiker and this time he was aware of the potential danger and wanted to pass by. However, he hated to see a man standing out in the rain, so he made a sudden stop. Q: If you were to travel across China, do you think you would find many compassionate Chinese? A: Answers may vary. Possible answers:

Yes, I do believe that most Chinese are kind-hearted. In fact, I have read some reports about college students travelling around successfully in China with no or little money. No, I don‘t think so. Nowadays, people seem to be cold and indifferent towards others. With so many crimes and immoral incidents reported by the media, even though some people are kind-hearted by nature, they will hesitate to help strangers.

▇ Extended questions (Paras. 20-28)

Q: Do you know anything about a campsite (Br.E) or a campground (Am.E)?

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