CanWeKnowtheUniverse 精解.docx

CanWeKnowtheUniverse 精解.docx

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CanWeKnowtheUniverse精解

[Introduction]

 1.reflection（n.）:

carefulthoughtoranideaoropinionbasedonthis

     eg.Amoment'sreflectionwillshowthestupidityofhisargument.

         ItwasinterestingtohearherreflectionsonthesituationintheFarEast.

    reflect（vt./vi.）--reflective（adj.）--reflectively（adv.）

    eg.Takesometimetoreflectonyourfutureplans.

        Ireflectedthattherewasn'tmuchpointincontinuingwithmyplansnowthatmy

        wifewasgone.

        Iwalkedinareflectivemoodtothecar,thinkingaboutthesceneIhadjust

        witnessed.

        Hegazedreflectivelyathiscompanion.

2.grain（n.）:

asingle,verysmallpieceofasubstancesuchassand,salt,etc.

    eg.Hefoundagrainofsandintherice.

        Thestoryseemedimprobable,buttheremayhavebeenagrainoftruthinit.

    [Anotheruse]

   grain（n.）:

acerealcrop,especiallywheatorcorn,thathasbeenharvestedand

   isusedforfoodorintrade

   eg.Thetruckwasloadeddownwithbagsofgrain.

       Coarsegrainsaresaidtobegoodforone'sdiet.    [Usefulphrase]

   totakesomethingwithagrainof/apinchofsalt:

nottobelievethatsth.is

   completelyaccurateortrue;toviewsth.withdoubt

   eg.Youhavetotakethesefindingswithagrainofsaltbecauserespondentstendto

       givetheanswertheyfeeltheyshould.

        Youmusttakehertalesofthepastwithapinchofsalt.

3.teardown:

todestroy（abuilding）

    eg.Theoldtheatreistobetorndownandreplacedbyoffices.

        Iimaginethey'llbetearingthebuildingdownsoonerorlater.

4.ThewallbetweenscienceandliteratureistorndowninSagan'sessay.

    [Note]

    Ametaphorisadoptedinthesentencetoconveytheideathatscienceandlitera-

    ture,twosubjectsindependentofeachotherinpeople'sstereotypedconception,

    areactuallyunited.Sagan'sessaywillcombinethetwowiththemethodoftellinga

    story.

5.argumentative（adj.）:

usingorcharacterizedbysystematicreasoning;（derog.

    likingtodisagree--argumentation（n.）

    eg.Thisspeechshowsthehigheststandardofargumentativerigor.

        Youcannottalktohimwithouthisbecomingargumentative.

    argumentation（n.）:

（rmi.）theactionorprocessofreasoningsystematicallym

    supportofanidea,action,ortheory--argument（n.）（semi-formal）

    eg.Ididn'tfollowhisargumentation/argument.

         Heusedseveralkindsofargumentationtosupporthisthesis.

 6.persuasion（n.）:

theactoftalkingsomeoneintodoingsomethingorbelievingthat

     somethingistrue

     eg.Parentsareencouragedtousepersuasionratherthanpunishment.

         Noamountofpersuasioncouldmoveher.

     persuade（v.）--persuasive--persuasively（adv.）--persuasiveness（n.）

     eg.Theyweretryingtopersuadehimoutofhisfoolishplans.

         Heisquiteeloquentandpersuasive.

         Atrainedlawyerpresentshisargumentspersuasively.

         Hewasconvincedthathispersuasivenesswouldtipthemintosupportinghim.

 7.metaphysics（n.）:

thepartofthestudyofphilosophythatisconcernedwithtrying

     tounderstandanddescribethenatureofreality

 8.exhilaration（n.）:

feelingsofexcitementandhappiness

     eg.Onhearingthenews,Ifeltacertainfeelingofexhilaration.

     exhilarate（vt.）--exhilarated（adj.）--exhilarating（adj.）

     eg.Hisunexpectedvisitexhilaratedme.

        IamalwaysexhilaratedbythehustleandbustleofNewYork.

        Racingdowntheskislopeforthefirsttimewasanexhilaratingexperience.

9.blade（n.）:

alongflatleafofgrassorsimilarplant

    eg.Thekidsinthelaboratoryspentanhourexaminingbladesofgrassundera

         microscope.

     [Anotheruse]

     blade（n.）:

theflatcuttingpartofatoolorweapon

     eg.Keepthebladeofyourpenknifesharp.

         Herhusbandaskedhertobuyapacketofrazorbladesforhim.

10.（L1）inexhaustible（adj.）:

ofboundlessamountthatitcanneverbefinishedor

     usedup;never-ending;immeasurable

     eg.Theenemyseemedtohaveaninexhaustiblesupplyofammunition.

         Hisenergywasunboundedandhispatienceinexhaustible.

11.（L2）fathom（n.）:

aunitformeasuringthedepthofwater,equalto1.8meters

[Paragraph1]

12.（IA）abodyof:

anamountof（information,etc.）

     eg.Anincreasingbodyofevidencesuggeststhatallofushavecancercellsinour

         bodiesthroughoutourlives.

         Itisacardinalerrorforanexperimentertodeliberatelyignorethebodyofdata.

13.（L5）regularity（n.）:

（frei.）thefactthatthesamethingalwayshappensinthe

     samecircumstances

     eg.Childrenunconsciouslyseekregularitiesinlearningtheirownlanguage.

         Thesameexamquestionscroppedupwithunfailingregularity.

14.（L6）penetrate（vi.）:

totrytounderstandsomethingdifficult

      eg.Tobetterunderstandtheproblem,youshouldtrytopenetrateintotheveryheart

          ofit.

          Sociologistsareworkingtopenetrateintothecausesofthephenomena.

15.（L6）subnuclear（adj.）:

（physics）occurringinorsmallerthananatomic

           nucleus

 16.（L7）particle（n.）:

（tech.）apieceofmattersmallerthananatom,forexample

      anelectronoraproton

 17.（L7）constituent（n.）:

anyofthepartsthatmakeupawhole--constitute

      （vt.）

      eg.Caffeineistheactiveconstituentofdrinkssuchasteaandcoffee.

          China'sethnicminoritiesconstitutelessthan7percentofitstotalpopulation.

          These75,000menconstitutedthewholestrengthoftheDutcharmy.

 18.（L7）matter（     andgases

     eg.Theentireuniverseismadeupofdifterentkindsofmatter.

         Aprotonisanelementaryparticleofmatterthatpossessesapositivecharge.

19.（L7）organism（n.）:

ananimalorplant,especiallyonethatissosmallthatit

     cannotbeseenwithoutusingamicroscope

     eg.Notallchemicalsnormallypresentinlivingorganismsareharmless.

         Insect-borneorganismsmaycausesleepingsickness.

20.（L8）thence（adv.）:

（fml.）fromthatplaceonwards

     eg.WewilldrivetoLondonandthencetoParisbyair.

         HewenttoItalyandthencetoFrance.

21.（Lg）intuition（n.）:

unexplainedfeelingssomeonehasthatsomethingistrue

     evenwhenthereisnoevidenceorproofofit

     eg.Hisintuitiontoldhimthatsomethingwaswrong.Thechildrenweretooquiet.

         Itissaidthatwomenhavemoreintuitionthanmen.

     intuitive（adj.）--intuitively（adv.）

     eg.HeseemedtohaveanintuitiveawarenessofhowIfelt.

         ThismightexplaintheintuitivefeelingIhavelonghadaboutpopmusic.

         HeseemedtoknowintuitivelythatImustbemissingmymother.

22.（L9）bynomeans/notbyanymeans:

notatall

     eg.Itisbynomeanscertainthatthegamewilltakeplace.

         Sheisnotabadkid,byanymeans.

23.（L9）infallible（adj.）:

alwaysrightandnevermakingmistakes--infallibility

    （n.）

     eg.I'monlyhuman,I'mnotinfallible.

         Shehasaninfallibleeyeforstyle.

         Theseviewshaveexaggeratedtheinfallibilityofscience.

24.（L8-9）Ourintuitionisbynomeansaninfallibleguide.

     Paraphrase:

Weshouldnotalwaysrelyonourinstinctivefeelingsforaperfect

     judgment.

25.（L9）perception（n.）:

thewaypeopleregardsomethingandtheirbeliefs

     aboutwhatitislike

     eg.Parents'viewsinfluencetheirchildren'sperceptionsoftheworld.

         Heisinterestedinhowourperceptionofdeathmayaffectthewaywelive.

     [Anotheruse]

     perception（n.）:

thewaythatpeoplenoticethingswiththeirsenses;thenatural

     abilitytounderstandornoticesomethingquickly

     eg.Thisdrugaltersperception.

         Rossshowsunusualperceptionforaboyofhisage.

26.（L9）distort（vt.）:

toexplainafact,statement,idea,etc.inawaythatchanges

      itsrealmeaning

     eg.Thejournalistwasaccusedofdistortingthefacts.

         Theministersaidhisremarksmadeovertheweekendhadbeendistorted.

     distorted（adj.）--distortion（n.）

        eg.Thesefiguresgiveadistortedviewofthelocaleconomy.

         Thereportergaveadistortedreportofwhathadactuallyhappened.

          Ithinkitwouldbeagrossdistortionofrealitytosaythattheyweremotivatedby

         anythingotherthanself-interest.

          Helateraccusedreportersofwillfuldistortionandbias.

27.（L10）prejudice（n.）:

anunfairandoftenunfavorablefeelingoropinionnot

      basedonreasonorenoughknowledge,andsometimesresultingfromfearordistrust

      ofideasorracesdifferentfromone'sown

      eg.Womenstillhavetofaceagreatdealofprejudiceintheworkplace.

          PrejudiceagainstblackpeopleiscommoninmanypartsofAmerica.

      prejudice（vt.）--prejudiced（adj.）

      eg.Thereportwasheldbackforfearofprejudicinghistrial.

          Hedeniedbeingprejudicedagainstforeigners.

          IliketothinkIamnotprejudiced.

28.（L10）limitation（n.）:

（usu.pl.）thefurthestpointthatcanbereached,be-

     yondwhichonecannotpass;thefurthestpointofalimitonhowgoodsb.orsome-

      thingcanbe,orofwhattheyareabletodo

      eg.Itisagoodlittlecar,butithasitslimitations.

          Parentsaretoolikelytoblameschoolsfortheeducationallimitationsoftheir

          children.

29.（Lll）organ（n.）:

apartofthebody,suchastheheartorlung,thathasa

      particularpurpose--organic（adj.）

      eg.Senseorgans,forexample,youreyesa