e.g. I was curious to know what had happened. 我很好奇，想知道发生了什么事。 learn about: get to know sth. 知晓
e.g. When did you learn about Mary?s divorce? 玛丽离婚的事你什么时候知道的？
e.g. I learned about his lonely life after his wife?s death. 我获悉他的妻子死后他生活寂寞。
5. The Soviets, like the Americans, prepared for their visit by learning about life in the other country. (Para.8)
prepare for: get ready for 准备
e.g. I didn?t leave myself enough time to prepare for the exam. 我没有预留足够的时间来准备考试。
e.g. Bob helped me prepare for the party. 鲍勃协助我筹备聚会。
6. They were surprised at the difference between daily life in the Soviet Union and that in the United States. (Para.10)
be surprised at: 对……感到惊讶
e.g. Everyone is surprised at the fact that the human population is exploding so rapidly. 每个人都为人类人口的急速增长而感到震惊。
7. And I learned that people all over the world are more the same than they are different. (Para.13)
Meaning: And I learned that people all over the world have more things in common than differences.
中文翻译：我还明白了一点：全世界的人们大同小异，共性大于差异。 Ⅲ.Words & Phrases
1. admire v. think of or look at with pleasure and respect 赞美；羡慕；钦佩 e.g. I really admire her beauty. 我真的很羡慕她的美貌。 e.g. Everyone admired the way he dealt with the problem. 大家都赞赏他处理这个问题的方式。
2. exchange n. [C; U] the act of giving and receiving in return 交换 e.g. We had an exchange of views among ourselves. 我们内部交换了意见。
v. give and receive in return 交换
e.g. I exchanged seats with him. 我和他互换了座位。
3. pour v. ① cause to flow continuously (out of or into a container) 倒；灌 e.g. He poured the wine into her glass. 他往她的杯里倒酒。
② flow steadily and rapidly 不断流出
e.g. Smoke was pouring out from the window. 烟不断从窗口冒出来。 e.g. Tears poured down her cheeks. 她泪流满面。
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4. shame n. ① [C] sth. one is sorry about 令人惋惜的事 e.g. What a shame it rained on the day of our picnic! 多可惜，我们野餐那天下雨了。
② [C] sth. or sb. that brings a loss of honor 带来耻辱的人（或事） e.g. He's a shame to his family. 他是家里的败类。 e.g. He thinks it a shame for a man not to work. 他认为男人不工作是件可耻的事。
③[C; U] a state of feeling sorry 羞愧 e.g.He was full of shame at his bad behavior. 他为自己的不良行为感到羞愧。
e.g. His family shares the shame. 他的全家都蒙受了耻辱。 Ⅳ. Exercises
5.1 Fill in the blanks with the words given below. Change the form where necessary. (P49) communicate voyage announce pour curious shame political exchange directly boil entire organize 1. We could do nothing but wait as the result of the meeting would be ＿＿ the next day. Key: announced
2. They made a plan and ＿＿ experienced workers to take part in the new project. Key: organized
3. Smoke was ＿＿ from the window and perhaps a fire had broken out. Key: pouring
4. We have first-class technology (技术); it is quite rare to have an accident ＿＿caused by some kind of technical failure. Key: directly
5. I saw the two women passing in the doorway and ＿＿ glances of greeting. Key: exchanging
6. The four adventurers went for the ＿＿ two months in the forest without seeing anyone. Key: entire
7. We ＿＿ by letter in these days. Key: communicated
8. Please leave the ＿＿ water for 10 seconds before pouring it onto the coffee. Key: boiling
5.2 Translate the following sentences into English using the words in the brackets. (P49) 1. 那位老师讲课时，同学们都一边细心地倾听，一边认真地做笔记。 (take notes)
The students listened and took notes carefully as the teacher gave them a lecture. 2. 我们钦佩伟人，因为他们的所作所为值得我们敬佩。(admire) We admire great people because what they did is worth admiring.
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3. 四个学生共住一个套间(flat)，套间内有他们共用的厨房、厕所和卫生间。(share) Four students share a flat, where they share a kitchen, a toilet and a bathroom. 4. 那些美国人对中国文化非常好奇，很想了解中美文化的主要差异。(curious)
Those Americans were curious about Chinese culture and were curious to know about the main differences between Chinese culture and American culture. 5. 那些英国学生非常喜欢去年在中国度过的暑假，主要原因是他们结交了许多中国朋友。(enjoy one?s vacation)
Those British students enjoyed their summer vacation in China last year, mainly because they made lots of Chinese friends.
5.3 Translate the following sentence into Chinese. (P50)
1.“If you want to say ?okay?, don?t make a circle with your thumb and first finger,” the woman announced.
“如果你们想说?同意?，不要用拇指和食指做成一个圈儿，”那位女士大声说道。 2. That means okay here in the USA, but in the Soviet Union it has a dirty meaning. 在美国，这表示“同意、许可”的意思，但在苏联，那样做含有淫秽的意思。
3. You might not have hot running water to take a bath, or you might have to share a bathroom with five or six people.
你可能没有热的自来水洗澡，你也可能不得不与五六个人共用一间浴室。
4. When they arrived in the Soviet Union, the Americans were glad that they had prepared themselves to experience life under communism.
到达苏联时，那些美国人为自己已准备好体验共产主义制度下的生活而感到高兴。 5. The Soviets knew that Americans liked to eat fast food in restaurants, but they were disappointed to see that Americans ate fast meals at home, too.
那些苏联人知道美国人喜欢在餐馆里吃快餐，但看到美国人在家里也吃快餐，他们感到失望。
Ⅴ.Spotlight on Grammar as well as的意义和用法
In spite of the political differences between their countries, as well as the differences in language and culture, the Soviets and Americans became friends. (Passage A, Unit 3)
在这一句中，复合连词as well as连接两个名词短语：the political differences between their countries和their differences in language and culture，而其着重点在第一个名词短语，即 “国家间的政治差异”上。
作为复合连词，as well as可用来连接名词短语(1)、动词短语(2)、形容词短语(3)、介词短语(4)等。例如：
(1) Women, as well as men, have the right to work.
His students, as well as he himself, attended the meeting. (2) He hurt his arm as well as breaking his leg.
She?s got a cleaning job at night as well as working during the day.
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(3) She?s clever as well as beautiful. I felt sad as well as angry.
(4) I put my books in my office as well as in my study. He fished for fun as well as for a living. 在实际使用中，请提示学生注意下面几点：
1. 当as well as连接动词短语时，它后面所跟的动词短语必须是-ing分词形式，如上例(2)所示。又如：
He did a lot of translation as well as teaching English. [误] He did a lot of translation as well as taught English. She plays the piano as well as singing. [误] She plays the piano as well as sings.
2. 不少学生把as well as当作跟and或not only…but also…同义的连词来用。其实，用as well as连接两个短语时，其着重点往往在其前面的短语上，这一点正好与not only…but also… 相反，即A as well as B = not only B but also A。例如：
Women, as well as men, have the right to work. = Not only men, but also women, have the right to work.
He fished for fun as well as for a living. = He fished not only for a living, but also for fun. 3. 当as well as连接的名词短语作主语时，其后的动词和其他成分应在性、数上与as well as前面的名词短语相一致。例如：
The mother, as well as her three children, was taken to hospital.
[误] The mother, as well as her three children, were taken to hospital. The girl, as well as the boys, has finished her homework.
[误] The girl, as well as the boys, have finished their homework.
Unit 4 The Letter
Ⅰ.Discussion:
A. Have you ever written a letter to other people? When was the last time you did that? B. Compare with emails, what are the advantages of writing letters? How about a love letter, which one do you prefer, in email or by post?
Ⅱ.Sentence Analysis: 1. I had to pound on the taxi to get his attention. (Para. 1) pound on: hit or beat sth. many times 敲击；拍击
e.g. Great waves pounded on the rocks. 巨浪拍击岩石。 2. …and then apologized… (Para. 3)
apologize: vi. say one is sorry about sth. that one has done道歉；赔不是 e.g. I do apologize for taking so long to reply to your letter. 这么久才回信，实在过意不去。 apologize to sb. for sth.
e.g. I apologized to John for losing his book.
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