2.3.2 Language Focus在线视频

Welcome back.

In this video,

we are going to focus on the language points.

A sentence from para.4

“A soft murmur rippled across the room as students turned from side to side and

whispered expressions of disbelief.”

The sentence means that the whole class did not believe what the teacher said,

and the students kept turning to each other and began to talk in a low voice,

speaking out their disbelief.

A word from Para. 4

“murmur”

a softly spoken word or words;

a continuous low sound, like the noise of a river or of voices far away

Another word from Para. 4

ripple

(of a sound or feeling) to spread through a group of people like a wave

“thrust” also from Para. 4

to push sth./sb. suddenly or violently in a particular direction

一缕阳光透过云层照射下来。

A ray of sunlight thrust out through the clouds.

A word from Para.5

“utility”

the quality of being useful

很多人认为这种书没有用。

Many people believe that such books are of no utility.

A phrase from Para.6

“a host of”

a large number of, a crowd of

大量的冲突、争论和灾难充斥着2014年。

The year 2014 featured a host of conflicts, controversies and disasters.

Another phrase from Para.6

“take an approach (to)”

to adopt a way of dealing with a situation or problem

The new companies that are generating high profit,

growing fast and appealing to consumers

generally have taken an open-minded approach.

Let’s look at a sentence from Para.7.

“You don’t really attend this college.”

The author tries to say that though you take courses in this college,

you do not really understand what education the college provides for its students.

A sentence from Para.8

“They speak of courses one must ‘get out of the way’,

and their advisors help them ‘check off’ those requirements. “

Actually, the sentence means

they often discuss which liberal education courses they can drop,

and their advisors try to help them tick off the requirements.

A phrase from the sentence

“get out of the way”

to make sth./sb. no longer an obstacle or hindrance to one’s plans

Another phrase from the same sentence

“check off”

to mark things on a list to show that

you have dealt with them or that they are correct; tick off

A confusing sentence from Para.10

“ They dismiss as meaningless anything about higher learning

that doesn’t center on training someone to do a task

that would make them money.”

The author means that they think that any college learning

that does not focus on training students to make money is meaningless.

A phrase from Para. 10

“ dismiss as”

to treat as unworthy of serious consideration

Don’t be discouraged if what you produce initially

is something other people dismiss as a toy.

Let’s look at a long sentence from Para. 11.

“ If we are to understand what our subjects did that

enabled them to fashion such highly productive and creative lives,

we must appreciate why they valued a broad education

before specializing in one or two fields.”

Let me put it another way.

If we want to know how our courses helped our subjects (students)

become so productive and creative in their life,

we must first understand why they wished to pursue a liberal education

before narrowing their focus to their specific fields.

Another long sentence from Para.12.

“ To grow on the ideas and creations of others,

we must encounter them, and to do so,

we must explore the great works of the mind

found in the arts, sciences, mathematics, philosophies, and historical perspectives. “

The author tries to say that

to take full advantage of the ideas and creations of others,

we must first meet them, and in order to meet them,

we must first read great works in such fields

as arts, sciences, mathematics, philosophies, and history.

Let’s look at the last long sentence from Para.12.

The world of ideas and scholarship becomes our oyster,

and the possibilities become almost unlimited,

at least as large as all of human endeavor and achievement throughout history.

In other words, we come to feel at home

with the great ideas and creations of the world,

which give us freedom to roam in a nearly unlimited range of fields or areas,

to the extent that humans have ever explored throughout history.

Here comes your home assignment for this video.

Finish the exercises of Language in Use on page 51-53.

Coming up next, writing strategy.

Thank you for watching. Bye!