Unit Four
Text B
Sounds We Cannot Hear
Text B Sounds We Cannot
Hear
Text-related information
Pre-reading task
Detailed study of the text
Summary and outline
Home assignment
Text-related information
1,Arizona,(AZ) a state in the southwest of
the USA known for its desert climate
2,post-mortem (examination),autopsy,an examination
of a dead body,esp,by cutting it open,to discover the
cause of death
3,infra-sound,Dangerous,destructive and harmful
sound waves whose frequency is lower than 20 Hz and
not audible to human ears
Pre-reading Task
1,Do you have any idea about infra-
sound?
2,What might be the possible role it
plays in our daily life?
Detailed study of the text
1,drift,to be carried along by wind,waves,or currents
e.g,The boat drifted down the river,
We switched off the motor and started to drift along,
2,to no avail,of no use; with no result
e.g,We tried and tried,but it was all to no avail,
He tried to persuade him to come,but to no avail,
3,crash,1) a sudden,loud sound made by a violent fall,
blow or break
e.g,a crash of breaking glass
2) a violent vehicle accident
e.g,His father was killed in a car crash,
4,end up,to come to be in a particular state,or finish in a
particular way; arrive in a place one did not plan to go
e.g,If you don't eat less,you'll end up looking like a whale!
We set off for Newcastle,but ended up in Scotland,
5,shortly afterwards,very soon; before long
e.g,The president of Russia,who arrived in China shortly
afterwards,immediately held talks with his Chinese counterpart,
6,mild,not very cold; not hard or causing much discomfort or
suffering; slight
e.g,The coat is too heavy for such a mild day,
The thief was given a milder punishment than he deserved,
7,as far as one can/could tell/know/remember,used to
say that one thinks that something is true,although he/she does
not know all the facts,can't remember completely,etc,
e.g,As far as I can tell,the whole thing should cost about $
500,
So far as I know,they're coming by car,
8,in (good) condition,in a good state; in good health,
physically fit
e.g,Everything arrived in good condition,
If you spare half an hour for exercise every day,you'll soon
be back in good condition,
9,though,but; nevertheless
e.g,It is a hard job,I enjoy it,though,
10,pick up,to be able to hear or receive
e.g,We picked up radio signals for help from the damaged
plane,
cf,Where did you pick up your English? (= learn)
The system looks difficult at first,but you'll soon pick it up,(=
begin to understand it)
11,vehicle,a machine such as a bus,car,that carries people
or things from place to place
e.g,No vehicles are permitted inside the park,
12,at speed,at high speed; fast
e.g,When we're traveling at speed,the passing countryside
just seems a blur,
It's dangerous to go round corners at speed,
13.,...depending on the car,the road surface and the
person concerned,.,
Note that when "concerned" is used after a noun,pronoun,or
a noun phrase,it means "involved",
e.g,I'd like to thank everyone concerned for making the
occasion run so smoothly,
It was quite a shock for all concerned,(= everyone involved)
14,You can become literally "drunk with sound",
-- "Drunk with sound" being a metaphor,the whole sentence
means that too much infra-sound can really make you unable to
judge in a sound way,
cf,drunk with sth.,behaving in a strange,often unpleasant
way because of the excitement of something
e.g,drunk with power/success
15,literally,used for giving force to an already strong and esp,
metaphorical expression
e.g,She was literally blue with cold,
He was literally blazing with anger,
16,investigate,to examine the reasons for (something),the
character of (someone),etc,
e.g,The police are investigating the causes of a railway
accident,
Scientists are investigating how the crash occurred,
17,switch on,to turn (an electric light or apparatus) on by
means of a switch
e.g,The TV set doesn't work,Have you switched it on?
18,on the spot,
1) at the place of the action
e.g,They know what's going on because they are on the spot,
2) at once
e.g,He was hit on the head and died on the spot,
19,reduce (sth./sb.) to sth.,to cause (something or someone)
to reach (a certain condition);make(something) smaller or less
e.g,Allied bombing reduced the city to ruins,
I reduced the problem to a few simple questions,
20,detect,to find out; notice
e.g,These instruments can detect minute amounts of radiation,
Small quantities of poison was detected in the dead man's
stomach,
21,un)aware (of),(not) having knowledge or consciousness (of
something)
e.g,He seemed to be (un)aware of the trouble he was causing,
He was completely (un)aware that be was being watched,
22,be sensitive to,to be strongly or easily influenced or changed
by something
e.g,She is so weak that she is extremely sensitive to cold,
cf,He's very sensitive to his students' need for
encouragement and knows when to praise them,(= knowing or
being conscious of the feelings and opinions of others)
23,be familiar with,to have a thorough knowledge (of)
e.g,I am not familiar enough with the computer,
We are already fairly familiar with each other,
24,turn out,happen to be,or be found to be
e.g,The party turned out a success,
To our surprise,the stranger turned out to be an old friend of
my mother's.,
25,vital,extremely important and necessary for something to
succeed or exist
e.g,Choosing the right equipment is vital,
If you are to avoid being blamed,it is vital that you should tell
them the truth at once,
Summary of the Text
A running vehicle makes infra-sound at
between ten and twenty cycles per second
which we cannot hear,but it can affect us
because it can produce "euphoria,
recklessness,lower efficiency and dizziness."
Professor Gavreau of Marseilles in his
experiment discovered that infra-sound is
extremely dangerous to the body,However,
by detecting low-frequency vibrations,we can
foretell the coming of an earthquake,So we
need more research on how infra-sound can
be used and how we can protect ourselves
from being hurt by it,
Outline
A,The Arizona highway accident and its possible causes
(Para,1)
B,Infra-sound -- a possible killer with the effects similar to
drunkenness (Para,2)
C,Study of Infra-sound (Paras,3 - 4)
1,Destructive effect producer
2,Valuable information provider
D,The Conclusion (Para,5)
A useful yet dangerous sound
Home Assignment
Recite the text
Do exercises after the text
Read three passages
Thanks
Text B
Sounds We Cannot Hear
Text B Sounds We Cannot
Hear
Text-related information
Pre-reading task
Detailed study of the text
Summary and outline
Home assignment
Text-related information
1,Arizona,(AZ) a state in the southwest of
the USA known for its desert climate
2,post-mortem (examination),autopsy,an examination
of a dead body,esp,by cutting it open,to discover the
cause of death
3,infra-sound,Dangerous,destructive and harmful
sound waves whose frequency is lower than 20 Hz and
not audible to human ears
Pre-reading Task
1,Do you have any idea about infra-
sound?
2,What might be the possible role it
plays in our daily life?
Detailed study of the text
1,drift,to be carried along by wind,waves,or currents
e.g,The boat drifted down the river,
We switched off the motor and started to drift along,
2,to no avail,of no use; with no result
e.g,We tried and tried,but it was all to no avail,
He tried to persuade him to come,but to no avail,
3,crash,1) a sudden,loud sound made by a violent fall,
blow or break
e.g,a crash of breaking glass
2) a violent vehicle accident
e.g,His father was killed in a car crash,
4,end up,to come to be in a particular state,or finish in a
particular way; arrive in a place one did not plan to go
e.g,If you don't eat less,you'll end up looking like a whale!
We set off for Newcastle,but ended up in Scotland,
5,shortly afterwards,very soon; before long
e.g,The president of Russia,who arrived in China shortly
afterwards,immediately held talks with his Chinese counterpart,
6,mild,not very cold; not hard or causing much discomfort or
suffering; slight
e.g,The coat is too heavy for such a mild day,
The thief was given a milder punishment than he deserved,
7,as far as one can/could tell/know/remember,used to
say that one thinks that something is true,although he/she does
not know all the facts,can't remember completely,etc,
e.g,As far as I can tell,the whole thing should cost about $
500,
So far as I know,they're coming by car,
8,in (good) condition,in a good state; in good health,
physically fit
e.g,Everything arrived in good condition,
If you spare half an hour for exercise every day,you'll soon
be back in good condition,
9,though,but; nevertheless
e.g,It is a hard job,I enjoy it,though,
10,pick up,to be able to hear or receive
e.g,We picked up radio signals for help from the damaged
plane,
cf,Where did you pick up your English? (= learn)
The system looks difficult at first,but you'll soon pick it up,(=
begin to understand it)
11,vehicle,a machine such as a bus,car,that carries people
or things from place to place
e.g,No vehicles are permitted inside the park,
12,at speed,at high speed; fast
e.g,When we're traveling at speed,the passing countryside
just seems a blur,
It's dangerous to go round corners at speed,
13.,...depending on the car,the road surface and the
person concerned,.,
Note that when "concerned" is used after a noun,pronoun,or
a noun phrase,it means "involved",
e.g,I'd like to thank everyone concerned for making the
occasion run so smoothly,
It was quite a shock for all concerned,(= everyone involved)
14,You can become literally "drunk with sound",
-- "Drunk with sound" being a metaphor,the whole sentence
means that too much infra-sound can really make you unable to
judge in a sound way,
cf,drunk with sth.,behaving in a strange,often unpleasant
way because of the excitement of something
e.g,drunk with power/success
15,literally,used for giving force to an already strong and esp,
metaphorical expression
e.g,She was literally blue with cold,
He was literally blazing with anger,
16,investigate,to examine the reasons for (something),the
character of (someone),etc,
e.g,The police are investigating the causes of a railway
accident,
Scientists are investigating how the crash occurred,
17,switch on,to turn (an electric light or apparatus) on by
means of a switch
e.g,The TV set doesn't work,Have you switched it on?
18,on the spot,
1) at the place of the action
e.g,They know what's going on because they are on the spot,
2) at once
e.g,He was hit on the head and died on the spot,
19,reduce (sth./sb.) to sth.,to cause (something or someone)
to reach (a certain condition);make(something) smaller or less
e.g,Allied bombing reduced the city to ruins,
I reduced the problem to a few simple questions,
20,detect,to find out; notice
e.g,These instruments can detect minute amounts of radiation,
Small quantities of poison was detected in the dead man's
stomach,
21,un)aware (of),(not) having knowledge or consciousness (of
something)
e.g,He seemed to be (un)aware of the trouble he was causing,
He was completely (un)aware that be was being watched,
22,be sensitive to,to be strongly or easily influenced or changed
by something
e.g,She is so weak that she is extremely sensitive to cold,
cf,He's very sensitive to his students' need for
encouragement and knows when to praise them,(= knowing or
being conscious of the feelings and opinions of others)
23,be familiar with,to have a thorough knowledge (of)
e.g,I am not familiar enough with the computer,
We are already fairly familiar with each other,
24,turn out,happen to be,or be found to be
e.g,The party turned out a success,
To our surprise,the stranger turned out to be an old friend of
my mother's.,
25,vital,extremely important and necessary for something to
succeed or exist
e.g,Choosing the right equipment is vital,
If you are to avoid being blamed,it is vital that you should tell
them the truth at once,
Summary of the Text
A running vehicle makes infra-sound at
between ten and twenty cycles per second
which we cannot hear,but it can affect us
because it can produce "euphoria,
recklessness,lower efficiency and dizziness."
Professor Gavreau of Marseilles in his
experiment discovered that infra-sound is
extremely dangerous to the body,However,
by detecting low-frequency vibrations,we can
foretell the coming of an earthquake,So we
need more research on how infra-sound can
be used and how we can protect ourselves
from being hurt by it,
Outline
A,The Arizona highway accident and its possible causes
(Para,1)
B,Infra-sound -- a possible killer with the effects similar to
drunkenness (Para,2)
C,Study of Infra-sound (Paras,3 - 4)
1,Destructive effect producer
2,Valuable information provider
D,The Conclusion (Para,5)
A useful yet dangerous sound
Home Assignment
Recite the text
Do exercises after the text
Read three passages
Thanks
