Lesson 2 Spare that spider不要伤害蜘蛛

Spare that spider ^{alliteration 头韵}

文章押韵

• Our hopes, our hearts, our hands are with those on every continent who are building democracy and freedom.
• I am in favor of the ingenious, interesting and informative advertisements which give me a lot of enjoyment and inspiration.

Gre写作范文

In sum, the vice president’s conclusion is suspicious. To better evaluate the argument, all of the above-mentioned evidence is definitely needed.

A wise decision is always based upon careful scrutiny and concrete, convincing proof, not unclear, unwarranted assumptions and anticipations.

rhyme ^尾韵

• Without art, society could still survive, but not thrive.
• Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. 
• Shops cater for the do-it-yourself craze not only by running special advisory services for novices, but by offering consumers bits and pieces which they can assemble at home.

Gre写作范文   

Without knowledge, there would be neither basis nor guidance for any progress and development of mankind. Without imagination, human society would lose precious inspiration, innovation and reformation, and eventually grind to a standstill. Thus, while most professions and academic fields necessitate knowledge, imagination is equally important. …

spare ^{v. 节约，吝惜；饶恕；分出，分让}

• Spare my life!  ^{饶（命）恕}
• Spare the rod and spoil the child.
• The government will spare no expense to stem the bird flu from spreading.

Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends?

插入语 ^{先去掉再翻译}

• Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends?
• Dogs, it seems, love to chew up money.
• Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables.
• A man without an education, many of us believe, is an unfortunate victim of adverse circumstances, deprived of one of the greatest twentieth-century opportunities.

should ^怎么会

• How should I know? ^{我怎么会知道？}
• Why should conservatives vote for Bush? ^{保守派怎么会投票给布什？}
• Why should they oppose this plan? ^{他们怎么会反对这个计划？}

You may wonder... ^{设问句结构(重点突出wonder)}

• You may wonder why he left early. ^{你可能会想知道他为什么早退。}
• You may wonder, why should we care about climate change? ^{你可能想知道，我们为什么要关心气候变化？}
• You may wonder, why should education be a priority? ^{你可能会想，为什么教育应该优先？}

【设问句】写作技巧 ^{引起兴趣，避免说教}

• Why should we learn from history? ^{我们为什么要学习历史？}
• Why must we rethink our lifestyles? ^{我们为什么必须重新思考我们的生活方式？}
• Why do small habits matter so much? ^{为什么小习惯如此重要？}

Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race.

Because they destroy so many insects which include some of the greatest enemies of the human race.  ✓ ^{虽然可以改为定语从句，但会让后半句重点降低(重要信息不用从句省略)。}

because ^{因为，用于回答why句}

• Because he was late, he missed the bus. ^{因为他迟到了，他错过了公交。}
• Because they work hard, they succeed. ^{因为他们努力工作，所以成功。}
• Because it rained, we canceled the picnic. ^{因为下雨了，我们取消了野餐。}

kill off  ^{杀死、屠杀、灭绝}

human race  ^{人类(人的总称)}

• We must protect the future of the human race. ^{我们必须保护人类的未来。}
• The human race has enough weapons to annihilate itself.^{人类有足够的武器灭绝自己。}
• Can the human race carry on expanding and growing the same way that it is now?^{人类能够像现在这样继续发展和增长吗？}

Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals.

虚拟语气 § ^{与事实相反的假设}

• If I were rich, I would travel the world. ^{如果我有钱，我会环游世界。}
• Had I studied harder, I would have passed the exam. ^{如果我更努力学习，我本可以通过考试。}
• Should it rain, we would cancel the trip. ^{如果下雨，我们会取消旅行。}

make it possible for sb. to do ^{使某人能做某事}

• They devise hundreds of competitions which will enable us to win huge sums of money. Radio and television have made it possible for advertisers to capture the attention of millions of people in this way.
• The device makes it possible for blind people to read. ^{这个设备使盲人能够阅读。}
• Radio makes it possible to reach millions. ^{广播使得能够接触到数百万人。}

flocks and herds ^牛羊群

• A flock of sheep grazed on the hill. ^{一群羊在山坡上吃草。}
• A herd of cattle crossed the road. ^{一群牛穿过马路。}
• They raised large herds of animals. ^{他们养了很多牲畜。}

if it were not for / but for / except for ^{要不是、若没有}

• If it were not for your help, I couldn’t succeed. ^{要不是你的帮助，我不会成功。}
• If it were not for your support, I would be in big trouble now. 
• Were it not for your support, I would be in big trouble now.^（倒装）

We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders.

owe ^欠、感谢

• How much do I owe you? ^{我欠你多少钱？}
• You owe him an apology. ^{你欠他一个道歉。}
• I owe you one. ^{我欠你一个人情。}

insect-eating animals ^{吃昆虫的动物}

• Insect-eating animals such as frogs help control pests. ^{吃昆虫的动物如青蛙有助于控制害虫。}
• Birds are insect-eating animals that maintain ecological balance. ^{鸟类是维护生态平衡的吃昆虫的动物。}
• Bats belong to insect-eating animals and reduce mosquito populations. ^{蝙蝠属于吃昆虫的动物，减少蚊子数量。}

fraction ^一小部分

仿写句 ^课文仿写

• All of us put together earn only a fraction of the money made by Bill Gates. ^{我们所有人加在一起挣的钱也不过是比尔·盖茨的一小部分而已。}

Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the least harm to us or our belongings.

unlike ^{不像；与…不同}

• Unlike his brother, he is very outgoing. ^{与他哥哥不同，他很外向。}
• Unlike most birds, ostriches cannot fly. ^{与大多数鸟不同，鸵鸟不能飞。}
• Unlike other cars, this model is electric. ^{与其他汽车不同，这款车型是电动的。}

do harm to ^对…有害

• These chemicals do harm to your health. ^{这些化学物质对你的健康有害。}
• Noise pollution can do harm to wildlife. ^{噪音污染会对野生动物有害。}
• Careless disposal of waste does harm to the environment. ^{乱扔垃圾对环境有害。}

never do the least harm to ^完全无害

• Vaccines never do the least harm to patients. ^{疫苗对患者完全无害。}
• These shoes never do the least harm to hardwood floors. ^{这些鞋子对硬木地板完全无害。}
• The software never does the least harm to system performance. ^{该软件对系统性能完全无害。}

Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them.

as ^正如

• As a poet points out, life is but a dream. ^{正如一位诗人指出的那样，人生不过是一场梦。}
• Children, as is always the case, love their mother. ^{孩子们通常都爱他们的母亲。}
• She became angry, as many could see. ^{她生气了，正如许多人所见。}

非限定性定语从句 ^{补充说明主句内容}

• Things can go wrong on a big scale, as a number of people recently discovered. ^{正如一些人最近所发现的那样，事情可能会出大问题。}
• As the Commanding Officer explained later, one half of the station did not know what the other half was doing. ^{正如指挥官后来所解释的，一半人不知道另一半人在干什么。}
• As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon. ^{正如经常指出的，知识是一把双刃剑。}

nor ^部分倒装

• It tires not, nor does it boast of its power. ^{它不会疲倦，也不会夸耀自己的力量。}
• If we glimpse the unutterable, it is unwise to try to utter it, nor should we seek to invest with significance that which we cannot grasp. ^{若我们瞥见无法言说之物，试图言说是不智的，我们也不该赋予其意义。}
• All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days. ^{这一切不会在头一百天完成，也不会在头一千天完成。}

One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never more than six.

tell the difference ^{分辨，区别}

• It's hard to tell the identical twins apart. ^{很难分辨这对双胞胎。}
• She can tell the difference between genuine and fake jewelry. ^{她能分辨真假珠宝。}
• You should learn to tell the difference between good and bad habits. ^{你应该学会分辨好习惯和坏习惯。}

省略结构 ^{并列句省略}

• Paul likes poetry, and Peter (likes) fiction. ^{Paul喜欢诗歌，Peter喜欢小说。}
• One can tell the difference, for a spider always has eight legs and an insect never (has) more than six (legs). ^{因为蜘蛛总是有八条腿，而昆虫不超过六条。}
• He enjoys swimming, and she (enjoys) diving. ^{他喜欢游泳，她喜欢跳水。}

How many spiders are engaged in this work on our behalf?

be engaged in ^{忙于（做）某事}

• He is engaged in politics. ^{他忙于政治工作。}
• He is engaged in searching for solutions. ^{他正忙于寻找解决办法。}
• Young people are engaged in seeking their identity. ^{年轻人正忙于寻找自我认同。}

on one’s behalf / on behalf of sb. ^{为了某人的利益 / 代表某人}

• We are raising a fund on behalf of orphans. ^{我们正在为孤儿募捐。}
• I beat you on your behalf. ^{我是为了你打的他。}
• He delivered a speech on behalf of the government. ^{他代表政府发表了演讲。}

One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in a grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6 million spiders of different kinds on a football pitch.

that is (to say) ^{也就是说；确切地说}

• One solution would be to change the shape of the screen, that is, to make it wider. ^{一种解决方案是改变屏幕的形状，也就是说，把它做得更宽。}
• I'll meet you in the city, that is, if the trains are running. ^{我会在市里见你，也就是说，如果火车运行的话。}
• I loved him — that is, I thought I did. ^{我爱他——也就是说，我以为我爱他。}

authority ^{权威；当局}

• Yuan Longping is a leading authority on hybrid rice. ^{袁隆平是杂交水稻方面的权威。}
• The authorities ordered the evacuation. ^{当局下令疏散。}
• The local authorities have imposed a curfew. ^{地方当局实行了宵禁。}

something like ^{大约，大概}

• The price is something like $300. ^{价格大约是300美元。}
• They reached something like an agreement. ^{他们达成了某种形式的协议。}
• It looked something like a bear. ^{它看起来像是一只熊。}

pitch / court / rink ^场地种类

Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects.

be busy (in) doing sth. ^{忙于做某事}

• She is always busy preparing dinner. ^{她总是忙着准备晚餐。}
• The workers are busy repairing the road. ^{工人们正忙着修路。}
• He was busy writing a report when I called. ^{我打电话时，他正忙着写报告。}

It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day.

guess ^猜测

• Guess what? I just won the lottery! ^{猜猜怎么了？我刚中彩票了！}
• Make a guess at who’s knocking the door. ^{猜猜是谁在敲门。}
• Guess who I ran into yesterday? ^{猜猜我昨天遇见了谁？}

wild ^{离奇的；不切实际的}

• She had a wild imagination. ^{她有丰富的想象力。}
• It’s just a wild guess. ^{这只是胡乱猜测。}
• He made some wild accusations. ^{他做出了一些毫无根据的指控。}

more than ^{超过；不仅仅}

• This is more than a book — it’s a philosophy. ^{这不仅仅是一本书，而是一种哲学。}
• Peace is more than the absence of war. ^{和平不仅仅是没有战争。}
• The loss is more than we expected. ^{损失超出了我们的预期。}

not content with ^不满足于

• She is not content with being an average student. ^{她不满足于做一个普通的学生。}
• They are not content with local success — they want to go global. ^{他们不满足于地方上的成功，想要走向全球。}
• The company is not content with its current market share. ^{公司对现有市场份额不满意。}