Day 1:Words & Phrases
1.Condense
to change from a gas into a liquid; to make a gas change into a liquid
• Steam condenses into water when it cools.
蒸汽冷却时凝结为水。
• The steam was condensed rapidly by injecting cold water into the cylinder.
由于汽缸中注入了冷水,蒸汽迅速凝结了。
2.Interstellar
between the stars.
• interstellar space.星际空间
3.Solar
of or from the sun, or using the energy from the sun to produce electric power
• solar radiation太阳辐射
• a solar cell/panel太阳能电池/电板
4.Stromatolite
叠层石
5.Mound
a large pile of earth, stones, etc. like a small hill
• a Bronze Age burial mound
青铜时代的坟塚
• The castle was built on top of a natural grassy mound.
这座城堡建在一个天然的绿草如茵的小丘上。
6.Photosynthesis
the process by which green plants turn carbon dioxide and water into food using energy obtained from light from the sun 光合作用
7.Bacteria
Bacteria are very small organisms. Some bacteria can cause disease.
• bacterial infections / growth 细菌传染/生长
8.Debut
A debut is a first appearance, a launch, or public introduction.
• He will make his debut for the first team this week.
本周他将在第一支出场的队伍中首次亮相。
• The programme debuted last year to great acclaim.这个节目去年首次演出就受到了广泛赞扬。
9.Intriguingly
very interesting because of being unusual or mysterious非常有趣的;引人入胜的;神秘的
10.Swathe
a long strip or large area especially of land
• Huge swathes of rainforest are being cleared for farming and mining.为了耕种和采矿,大片大片的雨林被砍伐。
• Year by year great swathes of this small nation's countryside disappear.年复一年,这个小国家的乡村面积正在一片片地大量消失。
11.Shore
the land along the edge of a sea, lake or wide river
• They walked down to the shore.他们走到了湖边。
• As soon as they were safely back to shore, Dirk raced for the nearest phone.他们一安全抵岸,德克就飞快地奔向最近的电话。
12.Basalt
a type of dark rock that comes from volcanoes 玄武岩(火山岩,深色)
13.Formation
a thing that has been formed, especially in a particular place or in a particular way
• rock formations 岩层
• cloud formations云的形状
14.Outcrop
a large mass of rock that stands above the surface of the ground(岩石)露出地面的部份;露头
15.Jasper
an opaque form of quartz; red or yellow or brown or dark green in color; used for ornamentation or as a gemstone
16.Compressed
squeezed into a small space or container and is therefore at a higher pressure than normal. 压缩的
17.Vein
a narrow layer of a substance which forms in or fills a crack in rock 矿脉;矿层,岩脉
• A rich vein of iron ore was found in the hillside.山坡上发现了储量丰富的铁矿矿脉。
• a rich and deep vein of limestone.储量丰富的深层石灰石矿脉
18.nodule
a small raised area or swelling 小结节;小瘤
19.Sit up
If something makes you sit up, it makes you suddenly pay attention to what is happening. 突然关注;警觉
• A defeat like that makes you sit up and think.那样的一次失败会令你警觉起来,开始思考。
20.Rosette
a thing that has the shape of a rose 玫瑰形的
• The leaves formed a dark green rosette.
这些叶子聚在一起,像是一朵深绿色的玫瑰。
21.Fossilised
having become a fossil 变成化石的;石化的
• fossilized bones变成化石的骨头
22.Conclusive
proving that something is true, or ending any doubt
• conclusive evidence / proof / results 确凿的证据;不容置疑的结果
23.Geological
relating to geology, or to the geology of a particular area or place 地质的;地质学的
• the complex geological structure of the region该地区复杂的地质结构
• With geological maps, books and atlases you can find out all the proven sites of precious minerals.
有了地质图、书籍和地图册,你便可以找到所有已探明的珍贵矿藏的位置。
24.Haematite
a dark red rock from which iron is obtained赤铁矿
25.Oxide
a compound of oxygen and another chemical element氧化物
• iron oxide 氧化铁
26.Filament
a long thin piece of sth that looks like a thread细丝;丝状物
• glass / metal filaments 玻璃/金属丝
27.Anchor
to make something or someone stay in one position by fastening them firmly 把…系住(或扎牢);使稳固,使固定
• We anchored ourselves to the rocks with a rope.我们用绳子把自己固定在岩石上。
28.Corkscrew
tightly twisted or curled 螺旋形的
• Her daughter's hair is a mass of wonderful red corkscrew curls.她女儿留了一头漂亮的红色鬈发。
29.Contend
to say that sth is true, especially in an argument (尤指在争论中)声称,主张,认为
• I would contend that the minister's thinking is flawed on this point.
我倒认为部长的想法在这一点上有漏洞。
• The lawyer contended her client had never been near the scene of the crime.该律师声称她的委托人从未走近过犯罪现场。
30.Bear
to show sth; to carry sth so that it can be seen显示;带有
• The document bore her signature. 文件上有她的签字。
• The title of the essay bore little relation to the contents. 这篇文章的题目与内容很不相符。
31.Passing
lasting only for a short period of time and then disappearing
• a passing phase / thought / interest 过渡阶段;一闪念;一时之兴
• She bears more than a passing resemblance to your sister. 她酷似你姐姐。
32.Hydrothermal
of or relating to hot water — used especially of the formation of minerals by hot solutions rising from a cooling magma 水热
33.Vent
an opening that allows air, gas or liquid to pass out of or into a room, building, container, etc.(空气、气体、液体的)出口,进口,漏孔
• air / heating vents 通气/热风孔
34.Tower
to be very tall or large, usually in a way that makes people feel respect 高耸,矗立
• We turned the corner and there was the cathedral, towering in front of us.我们转过拐角,便看见大教堂高高耸立在面前。
35.Crenellated
有城垛的
36.Tectonic
relating to the structure of the surface of the Earth and the way it is formed, changed and moved by forces inside it 地壳构造的(与地球表面结构有关的,及与地球内部力量形成、改变、移动地球表面结构的方式有关的)
• the motion of Earth's tectonic plates (= sections of the planet's surface)地球板块(即地球表面各部分)的运动
• the tectonic plates of the Pacific region.太平洋地区的地壳构造板块
37.Superheated
If a liquid is superheated, it has been heated to a temperature that is higher than its boiling point without being allowed to boil. (液体)过热的,温度超过沸点的
38.Laden
laden used to form adjectives showing that sth is full of, or loaded with, the thing mentioned (用于构成形容词)充满…的,装载…的
• calorie-laden cream cakes 高热量的奶油蛋糕。
• a fat-laden meal.油腻腻的一顿饭
39.Spurt
to burst or pour out suddenly; to produce sudden, powerful streams of liquid or flames喷出;冒出
• Blood was spurting from her nose. / Her nose was spurting blood. 血从她鼻子里汩汩流出来。
• Red and yellow flames spurted out of the fire.
炉火吐出红色黄色的火焰。
40.Microbe
an extremely small living thing that you can only see under a microscope and that may cause disease 微生物
41.Coiled
Coiled means in the form of a series of loops 卷着的;盘绕的
• a heavy coiled spring. 重型螺旋弹簧
• special coiled kettle flexes. 特制的电热水壶加热圈
42.Branch
to divide into two 分岔,岔开
• The road branches at the bottom of the hill.公路在山脚下分岔。
43.Doubly
more than usual 更加;越发;倍加
• doubly difficult / hard / important 越发困难/努力/重要
• I made doubly sure I locked all the doors when I went out.
我一再查看所有的门都锁好后才出的门。
44.Plausible
An explanation or statement that is plausible seems likely to be true or valid. (解释或说法)似乎真实的,貌似合理的
• A more plausible explanation would seem to be that people are fed up with the Conservative government...
貌似更加合理的解释似乎是,人们已经厌倦了保守党政府。
• That explanation seems entirely plausible to me.
那个解释在我看来完全说得通。
45.Candidate
A candidate is a person or thing that is regarded as being suitable for a particular purpose or as being likely to do or be a particular thing. 适合…的人(或物);可能有…结局的人(或物)
• I think Birmingham City are prime candidates for relegation next season.我认为下个赛季伯明翰城队最有可能降级。
• Those who are overweight or indulge in high-salt diets are candidates for hypertension.
体重偏高或口味偏咸者易患高血压。
46.Microscopic
extremely small and difficult or impossible to see without a microscope 极小的;微小的;需用显微镜观察的
• a microscopic creature / particle 微生物;微粒
47.Gradient
the rate at which temperature, pressure, etc. changes, or increases and decreases, between one region and another (温度、压力等的)变化率,梯度变化曲线
48.Primitive
relating to human society at a very early stage of development, with people living in a simple way without machines or a writing system 原始的,早期的,远古的
• Primitive races colonized these islands 2000 years ago.原始种族2000年前开拓了这些岛屿。
49.Reveal
to make sth known to sb揭示;显示;透露
• The report reveals (that) the company made a loss of £20 million last year.
报告显示,公司去年亏损 2 000 万英镑。
• It was revealed that important evidence had been suppressed.
据透露,重要的证据被隐瞒了。
50.Strike
a sudden discovery of sth valuable (珍贵东西的)意外发现
51.In sb’s favour
if sth is in sb's favour, it gives them an advantage or helps them有利于某人;有助于某人
• The exchange rate is in our favour at the moment. 目前汇率对我们有利。
• She was willing to bend the rules in Mary's favour. 她愿意放宽规定以有利于玛丽。
52.For so long
During a long time 这么长时间以来,长久以来
• At 62, Brain found the celebrity and status that had eluded him for so long.
布莱恩在62岁时获得了多年来未能得到的名望和地位。
53.Palaeobiologist
古生物学家
54.Implication
a possible effect or result of an action or a decision可能的影响(或作用、结果)
• The development of the site will have implications for the surrounding countryside.
这个地点的开发将会影响周围的乡村。
• They failed to consider the wider implications of their actions.
他们没有考虑到他们的行动会产生更广泛的影响。
55.Well up
if a liquid wells or wells up, it comes to the surface of something and starts to flow out 涌现
• Tear well up in my eyes. 我泪如泉涌。
56.Confine
to exist only in a particular area or group of people 仅存在于…;仅限于…
• We know that the illness is not confined to any one group in society.我们知道这种疾病不只局限于社会的某一个群体中。
• This attitude seems to be confined to the upper classes.这种态度似乎只存在于上层阶级中。
延伸
Now, though, the date of life’s debut may be pushed back even further.
push back 一般表示对某事的推迟,延迟。但这里表示的是去年的研究估计生命起源在37亿年前,如今研究发现生命的最初起始日有可能是在38亿到43亿之间,实际表示的是生命起源日应该提前至更早。之所以用push back,个人理解是以现在日期为基准,生命的起源越早,距离现在日期的时间段就越长。
因为这个感觉有点绕,所以要特别记住。表示日期起源更远的搭配, the date of sth push back further.
Scientists have a pretty good idea of how the earth formed. They are less sure how and when life got going.
结构方面:作者用have a pretty good idea和They are less sure来形成了两句之间的承接关系。
可积累的短语方面:非常清楚用have a pretty good idea来表示,be less sure表示对某事不太肯定,不太确定
e.g. He’s less sure what effect hurricanes have on global warming.
他不太确定飓风对全球变暖产生了何种影响。
This suggests that even very early in its existence, Earth was hosting several different kinds of living organism.
这里suggest表示表明,类似意思还可用词如:indicate, show, convey, state, advise, prove。
Suggest最常用义是表示劝告,建议。表示劝告,建议的还有如下词,它们的含义分别是:
recommend → 指向对方提出公开的建议或规劝。
propose → 多指较正式地提出建议。
suggest → 语气较委婉,指提出不成熟的建议或参见意见。
prescribe → 多指医生对病人在用药或饮食等方面的建议。
One of the biggest questions in science is whether life is an inevitable and common consequence of the laws of chemistry, or a lucky one-off confined to Earth alone.
Consequence表示结果,后果。相近词有result, outcome, upshot(注意upshot通常指意外的结果)
one-off有两个词性:
1 作形容词,表示一次性的,非经常的; something that happens or is made or done only once
e.g. They gave him a one-off payment to compensate for the extra hours that he had to work.他们一次过支付给他一笔钱作为他必须加班的补偿。
2 作名词,表示绝无仅有的事物,一次性事物。
e.g. Our survey revealed that these allergies were mainly one-offs.
我们的调查显示这些过敏多为一次性反应。
Such a find is doubly intriguing because hydrothermal vents are seen as a plausible candidate for the cradle of life.
亮点词Plausible表示(解释或说法)似乎真实的,貌似合理的. 近义词有reasonable, believable conceivable, credible, persuasive, possible, probable, tenable
e.g. The only plausible explanation is that he forgot. 唯一合理的解释就是他忘掉了。
Plausible还可用于形容人时表示某人花言巧语,巧言令色的。
e.g. He was so plausible that he conned everybody.
他那么会花言巧语,以至于骗过了所有的人。
另外还要注意plausible的反义词implausible同样是个高频词,表示难以置信的,似乎不合情理的;不像真实的。近义词有farfetched.
e.g. an implausible claim / idea / theory
不合情理的要求/思想/理论
e.g. The whole plot of the film is ridiculously implausible.影片的整个情节荒谬得令人难以置信。
Day 2:Translation
1. The team contends that these bear more than a passing resemblance to the networks of bacteria that live in hydrothermal vents--towering, crenellated structures that form in the deep ocean above the boundaries between tectonic plates, where superheated mineral-laden water spurts up from beneath the seabed.
笃师翻:该团队认为, 这些和生活在深海热泉的细菌群落极为相似----深海热泉指的是: 深海中构造板块交界边缘上方高耸锯齿型的部分,富含矿物质的水从海底喷涌而出。
自翻: Dodd的团队认为这些形成物酷似寄居在水热孔中细菌的网状结构,网状结构是形成于深海中处于地壳构造版板交界上的高耸,垛状结构。在这个交界处。过热的富含矿物质的水会从海底喷出。
知识点:Bear more than a passing resemblance to: passing指的是过关,及格线,more than a passing resemblance指远超及格线,非常相似。
这句句子结构相当复杂,从句套从句,还是提醒大家牢记就近原则,但是最后一个where打头的从句,前面一个逗号与破折号之间的部分是修饰hydrothermal vents的插入语,所以where修饰的也是hydrothermal vents。大家可以再仔细体会一下。
2. Such a find is doubly intriguing because hydrothermal vents are seen as a plausible candidate for the cradle of life.
笃师翻:人们认为深海热泉很有可能是生命的摇篮,这就使得该发现显得更有意思。
自翻: 这个发现越发有吸引力,因为如此一来,将水热孔认为是生命的起源这一看法将显得可信。
知识点:. Plausible:有两种意思,一个偏褒义,另一个偏贬义,此处指appearing worthy of belief
eg. the argument was both powerful and plausible褒义
3. Although the sorts of bacteria apparently found by Dr. Papineau and his colleagues are too complicated to reveal much about the very earliest organisms, the suggestion that hydrothermal vents have played host to life for so long is a strike in the theory’s favor.
笃师翻:尽管P教授和同事们发现的这类细菌太过复杂,无法更深入的揭示早期生命体的情况,但依然表明深海热泉养育生命的历史甚为悠久,这是支撑该理论的有力依据。
自翻:虽然Papineau教授和他同事发现的这类细菌显然因为太复杂而不能揭示关于最早有机体的更多信息。但关于水热孔容纳生命这一迹象己是有利于该理论的珍贵发现。
知识点:Too....to...太......以致不能......You are too young to drive. 你太年轻,还不能开车。
Day 3 Logic lines
文章总结:
详细请参逻辑导图,大概脉络整理如下:
P1 介绍:地球如何成形及其成形时间在46亿年前己是定论,但生命何时及怎样开始在科学上仍是谜题。去年有研究认为生命是光合作用细菌堆积形成的,时间约是37亿年前;
P2 递进上段,表示研究有最新发现,Dr.Papineau的团队认为按他们的发现,可能有生命体迹象存在于38亿至43亿年前,同时还有另一个有趣的发现,在生命形成的最早期有可能就存在多种形态的生命体。
P3承接上段,介绍他们的研究内容及发现
P4-P5 阐述并分析:他们根据发现所推测结果的合理性
P6 介绍并分析:这个发现对深海热泉生命起源论的贡献
P7 递进:发现仍待其他专家考证,同时详细介绍了深海热泉生命起源机制和第一段所提到的光合作用生命起源机制
P8 结论段。总结如果推测属实,意味着什么。并提出更大设想,如果地球生命的How确定了,那么这种生命起源是必然事件还是偶然事件呢?有可能其他地方也在发生着同样的生命进程。
Topic总结
一、科技类文章的生词但凡是比较重要的概念生词,其实后面一句都会有介绍。这里我拿文中如下的两例举例说明(其实文中有很多这样后句解释前句偏僻生词的例子),所以碰到生词时先不用头大,看后面有没有相关解释。
1 Last year a group of researchers found evidence for stromatolites—small,
layered mounds produced by photosynthesizing bacteria。
分号后解释了stromatolites就是small, layered mounds. 我们只要知道stromatolites是一种mound就行了
2 It is mostly composed of pillow-shaped basalt, a type of rock formed when lava cools rapidly in seawater.
逗号后解释了basalt是a type of rock,同理,我们就知道了basalt是一种rock就足够理解句意了.
二、 科研话题因为主要目的是介绍新的研究发现,所以并不像之前话题那样有一推一拉的套路(即提出一个好的影响或作用,再提出一个不好的影响或作用)以表示作者的中立立场,而更多的是在:
1 介绍研究的内容;
2 介绍研究的发现结果;
3 研究团队对结果作的一些科学推测;
4以科学的角度来分析推测的理论来源;
5 分析推测结论的合理性,并提出其他可能的推测;
6 作者给出结论:如果研究推测确实成立,则在科学上有什么样的影响。
三、 科研类文章由于生词较多,要更注意通过主副标题及首段,最后一段找关键点。这篇文章的主标是Living is easy. 副标是A new fossil, if confirmed, suggests life got started quickly on the ancient Earth。
这里我以分析副标为例:
关键点1:A new fossil表明我们要注意和fossil相关的词,文中也确实有重复提到研究对象the rock;
关键点2:if confirmed的if已经表明文章讲述对象是有假设前提的,那我们就知道提取文章观点就不能用一定,确定这样的词,而是可能,或许,也许;
关键词3: life got started表示文章讲述主题有关生命的起源;
关键词4:quickly则我们要注意在文中作者是怎么体现quickly的。
反思
昨晚听了一个直播是讲如何读书的,但我想应用在读报刊上应该也是相同的道理,所以也跟大家稍微分享下:
讲座老师提到的:
1 拿到一本书,从第一页开始读下去,对每个部分都给予同样的关注度那是低级读书法,往往是消耗时间且没有重点的。要根据认知目的不同,设定不同的目标,分配不同的时间资源。(比如本文,对于专业名词不用太过纠结,关键是了解作者要传达的文章的主旨)
2 正确的读书方法是带着问题去读,看书是去找答案而不仅仅是浏览信息,读书应该是要解决困惑,而不是集邮式地收集信息(比如本文,在看到主标时,我们就应该有这样的问题:为什么作者说the living is easy?看完文章后我们就会明白因为生命起源仅比地球起源晚了不久,而且迅速有了多样的生命形式,说明了the living is easy.)
总结下就是在读书时要:先明白自己的阅读目标(分娱乐类,了解知识类,深入读透类)-调整自己的时间资源分配-带着问题进入。