Unit 2 Text B

Green Spaces in Cities

Why we need green spaces?

One clear finding from their (psychologists’) studies is that people need green spaces for better mental health.

Trees and bushes have been planted; the roots of these plants will hold the soil, too, and the green leaves make the area beautiful.

The costly result is a growing greenness in the cities and a healthier environment for all the civilians who live there.

Directions:For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a composition on the title: Make Our Cities Greener. Your composition should be based on the following outline:

1. 城市绿化的现状2. 绿化的好处（如，清洁空气，美化城市，改善气 候……等等）3. 怎样才能实现绿化

Make Our Cities Greener

SampleIn recent years, the expansion of population

and industry in our cities has been accompanied by a corresponding shrinking of the areas planted with trees and grass. This shows that our urban environment is becoming worse, and poses a threat to our health. It is imperative that we take drastic actions to make our cities greener.

There are several advantages to making the urban areas more pleasant places to live and work in by planting trees and grass. For one thing, science has proved that plants reduce the amount of harmful carbon dioxide in the air we breathe. For another, green areas help us to relax by making us feel that we are surrounded by nature.

Therefore, I strongly recommend that every city resident take it as his or her duty to promote the greening of our cities. This can be done by spreading awareness of the importance of this task among our friends and neighbors. Moreover, I feel that it is the duty of our local governments to put their weight behind this great cause.

Words and Phrases

旷野几乎没有选择公寓大楼乡村绿色空间城市规划师努力寻找解决办法输电线环境保护工程绿化带

open fieldhave few optionsapartment buildingrural areas/ the countrysidegreen spacecity plannerwork on a solutionpower linesconservation projectgreen belt

Words and Phrases

住宅开发自行车道和步行道野生动物保护齐心协力建筑用地很差的居住条件一张纸片苏伊士运河城市生活

housing developmentbiking and walking trailswildlife conservation coordinate one's efforts toa building plot poor housing conditions a strip of paper the Suez Canal urban life

Sentences (C – E)

他们没有留给他多少选择的余地。 They didn't leave him much option.这家饭店已换了新主人。 The restaurant is under new ownership.

成语通常不能用另一种语言逐字翻译。 Idioms usually cannot be translated lit

erally in another language. 色彩明亮是他早期绘画的特点。Bright colors characterize his early pa

intings.

他写的诗无法与雪莱相比。 His poems are by no means comparable to Shelley's. 他目前正值事业的顶峰时期。He is now at the summit of his career.

把这封信放在那堆书上面，这样容易被看到。

Put the letter on top of that pile of books, where it can be seen easily.

假如你想通过考试，就得努力攻克你英语方面的薄弱环节。

You will have to work on the weak points in your English if you want to pass the examination.

我们必须齐心协力去帮助穷人。We must coordinate our efforts to help the poor. 这条小路通到森林的中部就断了。 This path leads halfway into the forest and then stops.我的车最多能带 4 个人。I can take up to four people in my car.

vacant (L1)

empty with nothing in it 空的 , 空洞的 , 空虚的 There are three empty houses in our street. vacant with nobody in it; not occupied 空闲的 , 空缺的 By the end of the game the stadium was almost vacant.

blank without writing, print, or other marks on a surface 空白的 , 空着的

a blank page 空页 a blank screen空白的屏幕

bare without natural and customary covering 赤裸的 , 无遮蔽的

Don't walk on that broken glass with bare feet.

lot & plot (L1)n. used mainly in American English There is a parking lot around the corn

er. 拐角处有一个停车场。

plot

a small marked or measured piece of ground for building or growing things:

I grow potatoes on my little plot of land. a vegetable plot

option (L4)

option 特别给予的选择权 , 从两个或多个中选一个

choice 指一般意义上的选择 , 任意的选择 alternative 强调二取一的选择 , 有条件的

限制 selection 范围广泛的选择 , 而且要通过

鉴别或品尝等 .

Multiple-_____ techniques have been used frequently in listening test.

You have the ______ of leaving for home or staying with us.

I made a careful _______ of a football team.

The judge offered the criminal the _____ of a fine or a six months in prison.

choice, option, selection, alternative

at one’s option由某人选择取舍任凭你选择 .It is at your option to take it or not.

On top of (L6)

a. In addition toHe lost his job and on top of that his wife

left him. b in complete control of: a competent teacher who's really on top

of his job

Literally (L7)

in a literal manner or sense; specific, a) word for word; not imaginatively, figur

atively, or freely to translate a passage literally 逐字翻译 b) actually; in fact the house literally burned to the ground c) seemingly, but not really (a loose usag

e) she literally flew from the room

figuratively , literally

______ speaking, it was a blow right between the eyes.

(= it was a bad shock) Idioms usually cannot be translated

_______ in another language. When he said he never wanted to see you

again, I’m sure he didn’t mean it ______. figuratively, literally, literally

urban (L9)adj. of a town or city 都市的 I don’t enjoy an urban life. rural adj. of or like the country side; concerning country or village life 乡村的，有乡村特色的 We left the city for a rural home. 我们离开城市去乡村的住所。 Do you prefer urban life or rural life? 你喜欢城 市生活还是农村生活 ?

urb = city

urbane→adj. having very good social manners as that in a city 彬彬有礼的 , 文雅的suburb (sub = near ) → n. an outer area or a town or city 市郊→ suburbanexurb (ex- = out)→ n. a region, generally semi-rural, beyond the suburbs of a city 远郊地区

Pave (L10)

Country boys thought the streets of London were paved with gold.

(=that London was a place of wealth and success)

pave the way for (to) 为…铺平道路这个协议将为两国间持久和平铺平道路 .This agreement will pave the way for

a ________ peace between the two countries.

lasting

Mud (L12)

someone's name is mud infml someone is unpopular and spoken abo

ut with disapproval after causing trouble: My name's mud in the office after what happ

ened today.

tend (L15)

v [T] old-fash 1.to take care of (a living thing); look afte

r: 在丈夫生长病期间 , 她充满爱心地照顾他 .She tended her husband lovingly during

his long illness. a farmer tending his sheep 2 AmE to serve customers in (a store, ba

r, etc.): a bartender

costly etc (L19)costly implies that a price is a large sum ， usually because of good quality ， preciousness of an object 昂贵的 The furs are too costly.expensive suggests a price more than the average person would normally be able to pay or a price much higher than article’s worth 花费的 , 昂贵的

The diamond ring is more expensive than the silver ring and the gold ring.

dear (BrE) refers to something that sells beyond its normal price; high-priced 昂贵的；价高的

Fruit is dear at this time of year.

valuable stresses the quality and importance of the object without specifying the price 有价值的 Grain is very valuable to human kind.precious implies sth that is quite unique and can’t be replaced by other thing 宝贵的 , 贵重的 Diamond, gold and silver are often called the precious metals.

priceless suggests a value beyond a person’s power to estimate; invaluable 无价的 , 极贵重的

The seas and oceans are priceless assets to human beings.

costly ， expensive 和 dear 强调物品价格的昂贵；某物品尽管 expensive 甚至 costly ，但人们还是乐意买；如果 dear ．便会犹豫不决，因为这种高价极有可能是由于物品暂时的供应不足造成的。

valuable 强调某物的价值很高 ; precious 强调事物极其难得、非常珍贵．但不一定价格也很高。所以有些非常dear 或 expensive 的东西并不一定便 valuable 或 precious 。 priceless常作夸张用语。

Why not (L21)

Why not …. 为省略句 . 完整句式是 :Why don’t we/you……

Why not make one for yourself instead of buying one?

我们干吗不就这件事再谈一下呢 ? Why don’t we talk it over again? 为什么你不自己去问他 ? Why don’t you ask him yourself?

up to (L31)

as far as, as much as, as many asUp to two thousand students can hold

a party in this hall. 这个大厅可以容纳 2,000 学生举行聚会。

Everyone works, from the boy who sweeps the floor up to the President.

从扫地的服务生到总统人人都在工作。

Downtown (L34)

going to downtowndowntown the business center of a town or city: City Hall has recently passed a proposal

to improve street lighting in the city's downtown.

comparable (L41)comparable adj [+with/ to] 1) similar; that can be compared 可比较的 ,类似的 The sets of figures are not comparable. Man and ape have comparable anatomies. 2) deserving to be compared 比得上的 His thesis is not comparable with yours.

comparative adj 1) relating to, based on, or involving

comparison 比较 (级 ) 的 ‘Worse’ is the comparative form of

‘bad’. 2) measured or judged by a comparison

which is not stated 比较的，相当的，还可以的

He lives in comparative comfort

civilian (L49)

civilian n. a person not of the armed forces (与军、警相对的 )平民，百姓 Many civilians are killed in any war. 任何战争中总有许多平民丧生。 civilian clothes 便装， 便衣

citizen n. a person who belongs to a particular country by birth or by being naturalized, who gives loyalty to it, and expects protection from it, whether or not he/she actually lives there 市民，公民

She's an American citizen but lives in Canada.

她是美国公民 , 但居住在加拿大。