An Integrated English Course Book 4

Unit Sixteen

Text I The Story of an Eyewitness

• How do you understand the title?

• Who is this eyewitness? What do you know about him or her?

• What is the story about?

Background information• About the article (Note 1)• About the author (Note 2)• About the city, San Francisco ( 旧金山 )• --the fourth largest city in California and the 14th

largest in the United States; the second most densely populated major city in the US.

• Located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco

About the 1906 San Francisco earthquake

Burning of San Francisco, Mission District

Basic information• Date April 18, 1906 • Magnitude 7.8 Mw

( 矩震级 Moment magnitude scale ） • Depth: 80 Kilometers • Epicenter location: San Francisco • Countries/regions affected

United States (San Francisco Bay Area) • Casualties: 3,000 killed

San Francisco earthquake of 1906

The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906.

The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude (Mw) of 7.8; however, other values have been proposed from 7.7 to as high as 8.3.

The main shock epicenter occurred offshore about 2 miles (3 km) from the city, near Mussel Rock. It ruptured along the San Andreas Fault both northward and southward for a total length of 296 miles (477 km).

Shaking was felt from Oregon to Los Angeles, and inland as far as central Nevada. The earthquake and resulting fire is remembered as one of the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire, estimated to be above 3,000, represents the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history. The economic impact has been compared with the more recent Hurricane Katrina disaster. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1906_San_Francisco_earthquake)

Subsequent fires (1)

As damaging as the earthquake and its aftershocks were, the fires that burned out of control afterward were much more destructive. It has been estimated that as much as 90% of the total destruction was a result from the subsequent fires. Due to the nearly universal practice of insurers to indemnify ( 赔偿 ) San Francisco properties from fire but not earthquake damage, most damage within the city was blamed on the fires.

Subsequent fires (2)It is probable, due to the extreme magnitude of the earthquake and the poor buildings standards of the time, that a majority of structures destroyed that day were initially destroyed from the movement of the earth before succumbing to fire. Fires broke out in many parts of town, some initially fueled by natural gas mains broken by the quake. Other fires were the result of arson （纵火） and campfires set by evacuees.

Worst of all, many were set when firefighters untrained in the use of dynamite attempted to dynamite buildings to create firebreaks （防火道） , which resulted in the destruction of more than half of buildings that would have otherwise survived. The fire chief, who would have been responsible, had died in the initial quake. The dynamited buildings themselves often caught fire. The fires lasted for four days and nights.

Subsequent fires (3)

Some property owners set fire to their damaged buildings because most insurance policies covered fire losses while prohibiting payment if the building had only sustained earthquake damage. This effort was futile, as wealthier citizens of the city were burdened with the cost of repairing an estimated 80% of the city.

Subsequent fires (4)Captain Leonard D. Wildman of the U.S. Army Signal Corps （美国陆军通讯兵连） reported that he "was stopped by a fireman who told me that people in that neighborhood were firing their houses... They were told that they would not get their insurance on buildings damaged by the earthquake unless they were damaged by fire.”

Text Comprehension and Structure

1. What is the author’s purpose of writing?

2. What’s the main idea of the text?

3. What type of writing is the text? How many parts can the text be divided into?

4. Can you locate the topical sentence of this text? (p. 252)

purpose of writing • (p. 251)

• To describe how the city was completely destroyed by the earthquake and the great fire.

Main idea• (p. 252)

• The text tells us the serious consequences of the conflagrations after the earthquake.

Narration; 3 parts• Part I (Paragraphs 1-3)

--gives a brief introduction to what happened in San Francisco in 1906 .

• Part II (Paragraphs 4-13)

-- gives a detailed description of what the author saw on Wednesday morning, afternoon and night.

• Part III (Paragraphs 14-16)

-- tells the reader what the author witnessed on the next day.

Topical sentence• Refer to Paragraph 1:• There is no estimating within hundreds of millions

the actual damage wrought.• How do you understand this sentence? • Paraphrase: The actual damage the earthquake and

the conflagration brought must be more than hundreds of millions of dollars.

OR: It is impossible to estimate the actual damage caused by the earthquake.

Part I (Paragraphs 1-3)• The first three paragraphs serve as a general

introduction to what happened in San Francisco in 1906.

Language work1. shake down: 摇落 , 临时搭铺 , 适应新环境

-- cause to descend by shaking; bring down• He shook some pears down from the tree.

• You will soon shake down at the new post.你很快就会适应新的工作岗位的。

• The police shook down the apartment for clues to the murder. ( 俚 ) 警察彻底搜查公寓 , 寻找谋杀案的线索。

• The crooks shook down the shopkeepers for extortion money. ( 俚 ) 流氓向店主们索取保护费。

conflagration-- an extensive fire which destroys a great

deal of land or property 大火灾 • 星星之火足以燎原。• A small fire without care gives rise to a

conflagration.

3. There is no estimating within hundreds of millions the actual damage wrought.: -- The actual damage the earthquake and the conflagration brought must be more than hundreds of millions of dollars.

OR: It is impossible to estimate the actual damage caused by the earthquake.

• There is no doing sth…• There is no telling what he will do.

他要干什么不好说。• There is no mentioning the exact number of the victims

in the accident. 事故中受害者的确切人数没有提及。

wipe out-- destroy completely; demolish

• wipe out the enemy’s major military targets

• Doctors are searching for a cure that will wipe out cancer.

• 医生们正在寻找消灭癌症的医疗方法

5. ... this lurid tower swayed in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day, and filling the land with smoke.: -- the fire, moving back and forth slowly, made the sun redder and the sky darker and covered the land with smoke.

sway: to move back and forth or sideways

• The branches of the trees were swaying in the wind. 树枝在风中摇晃。

Questions for discussion1) Why does the San Francisco earthquake of

April 18, 1906 rank among the most destructive earthquakes of all time?

2) What rhetorical devices did the author use to describe the damage to all sections of San Francisco in Paragraph 2?

3) Which brought more destructive damage to the city, the earthquake or the following conflagration?

4) When did the earthquake occur and how long did the conflagration last?

1) Why does the San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906 rank among the most destructive earthquakes of all time?

• Because this earthquake brought hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage and completely destroyed the famous modern imperial city of San Francisco. The only dwelling houses left were those on its outskirts.

2) What rhetorical devices did the author use to describe the damage to all sections of San Francisco in Paragraph 2?

• He used such rhetorical devices as inversion and parallelism. For example,

• Inversion:• Not in history has a modern imperial city been

so completely destroyed.• Remains only the fringe of dwelling houses on

the outskirts of what was once San Francisco.

• Parallelism:

• San Francisco is gone. ... The factories and warehouses, the great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the palaces of the nabobs, are all gone.

• Its industrial section is wiped out. Its business section is wiped out. Its social and residential section is wiped out.

3) Which brought more destructive damage to the city, the earthquake or the following conflagration?

• As the first paragraph suggests. the earthquake shook down thousands of dollars worth of walls and chimneys, but the conflagration burned up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property. Therefore, more destruction came from the fires the quake ignited.

4) When did the earthquake occur and how long did the conflagration last?

• The earthquake came at quarter past five on Wednesday morning (April l8, 1906) , and the conflagration lasted for three days and nights.

Part II (Paragraphs 4-13)• This part tells the reader in more detail what

the author witnessed on Wednesday morning, afternoon and night.

Language work6. There was no opposing the flames. There

was no organization, no communication.:-- It was impossible to oppose the flames, and it was impossible to organize any battles against the fire or communicate with other people.

7. All the cunning adjustments of a twentieth-century city had been smashed by the earthquake.: -- Human ingenuity enabled people to make all kinds of adjustments to nature. However, the achievements of their efforts had been completely destroyed by the earthquake.

8. The streets were humped into ridges and depressions ...: -- The streets were no long smooth after the earthquake ...

9. perpendicular:-- an angle of 90°to a given line, plane, or surface

• horizontal: -- parallel to the plane of the horizon; at right angles to the vertical

10. shrewd contrivances: -- something cleverly devised or invented with ingenuity, especially a mechanical device

11. out of gear: out of control• The car is out of gear. 汽车未挂档。• My watch got out of gear and would not run.• 我的表出毛病了，它不走了。• The virus threw the whole computer system out

of gear.

12. twitch: give a sharp, sudden pull; pluck 猛拉，抽搐

• …thirty seconds’ twitching of the earth-crust: -- the earthquake which lasted 30 seconds

13. dead calm: -- completely or absolutely calm

• dead adv. completely; absolutely; thoroughly 完全地 ; 绝对地 ; 彻底地

14. flicker: a brief appearance or feeling

• A flicker of smile showed at the corners of her mouth.

• A flicker of hope (interest, fear, envy, etc.)

15. the doomed city: -- the city which is destined to be destroyed

16. The heated air rising made an enormous suck: -- It is commonly known that the hot air will rise up while the cold air goes down, which forms the air current. This sentence means the air heated by the fire rose to the sky and caused the cold current to pour in from other places. It seemed as if it was sucking the wind.

17. Thus did the fire of itself build its own colossal chimney through the atmosphere.:-- The fire automatically followed the heated air rising to the atmosphere, in the same way as the smoke and fire go up through the chimney.

18. ... so mighty was the suck..: -- ... the suck was extremely powerful.

19. Wednesday night saw the destruction of the very heart of the city.: -- This is a personification in which Wednesday night is regarded as a person who witnessed the disastrous destruction of the very heart of the city.

20. crumble: -- break into small particles or crumbs ( 碎屑，面包屑 )

21. ... there was no withstanding the onrush of the flames.:-- ... it was impossible to fight the enormous flames.

• Onrush: a surging rush forward 猛冲 / 急流• the onrush of the water / crowd• He felt an onrush of shame.

• make a stand 停住进行抵抗 ( 对抗 )

• to make a stand against the enemy 对抗敌人

• The army made a stand against the fierce attack.

• 部队抵抗敌人猛烈的进攻。

22. hard won victory: -- victory won through hard work

来之不易的胜利

23. An enumeration of the buildings undestroyed would be a line and several addresses.: -- The buildings undestroyed in this disaster would be so limited in number that they could be counted as several addresses.

24. ... stock a library and bankrupt the Carnegie medal fund.: -- The courageous deeds in the firefighting would fill up a library if related in writing and exhaust the Carnegie medal fund if rewarded.

25. hysteria: -- exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement, especially among a group of people 歇斯底里

• hysterical: a hysterical outburst of fury

26. panic-stricken: -- overcome with, characterized by, or resulting from fear/ panic 惊恐 / 惊慌失措的• a panic-stricken mother looking for her child

27. ... a whole family was harnessed to a carriage ... : -- ... all members of a family fastened themselves with straps to a carriage ...

• harness sth (to sth): put a harness on (a horse, etc) 给（马等）套上马具

28. weigh down: -- cause something or somebody to bow under a weight 压弯，压垮• The fruit weighed down the branches of the

tree.

29. Never, in all San Francisco’s history, were her people so kind and courteous as on this night of terror.: -- In all San Francisco’s history, her people had never been as kind and polite as they were on this night of terror.

• courteous: having or showing good manners; polite; gracious

• courtesy: excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior

• burden v ~ sb/oneself (with sth) -- put a burden on sb/oneself; load sb/oneself 加负担於某人 [ 自己 ]:

• refugees burdened with all their possessions • 带着沉重家当的难民 • (fig 比喻 ) I don't want to burden you with my

problems.• 我不想让我的问题给你增加负担 . • Industry is heavily burdened with taxation.

工业为重税所累 .

30. lighten up: lessen the load

1) Make or become more cheerful

• After a glass of wine, he lightened up a bit. 变得轻松

2) Become lighter• The room lightened up. 变亮

31. flinging out upon the street clothing and treasures they had dragged for miles: -- forcefully throwing the clothing and treasures away on the street though they had dragged them for miles

• fling: throw or cast with force, violence, or abandon 扔 , 抛 , 掷 • He flung the paper away in disgust. 他厌恶地

把报纸扔了 . • She flung herself into her new job. • 她全力投入新的工作 .

32. held on longest to their trunks: -- clung to their trunks for the longest time

• hold on to: keep a firm grip on something抓住，紧握 • hold on to a piece of plank （厚木板）• My father said that if we believe something

was true, we should hold on to it (the belief).

33. Before the march of the flames were flung picket lines of soldiers.: -- The soldiers were sent to keep the crowds of people moving before the march of the flames.

34. a heart-breaking hill: -- a steep hill that breaks man’s heart

• 转移修饰 transferred epithet• metaphor: wall of flame

35. compel: -- force, or drive, especially to a course of action

• His unruliness ( 任性；无法无天 ) compels us to dismiss him.

36. play out: -- use up; exhaust

• His horse was played out when a day’s hunting was over.

• The match was not yet played out.比赛还没有结束。

37. soft members of the middle class: -- those people in the middle class who were weak both in body and spirit because of lack of effort or challenge

38. at a disadvantage: 使处于不利地位-- in an unfavorable circumstance or condition• His inability to speak French puts him at a

disadvantage. 他不会说法语 , 这使他很吃亏 .

• Our soldiers had very little ammunition so they were fighting at a disadvantage.

• 我军只有很少的弹药，所以战事处于劣势。

• give out 分发，释放，用尽• The teacher gave out the examination

papers.教师发了考卷 .

• After a month their food supplies gave out.

• 过了一个月 , 他们的食物已消耗殆尽 .

• The radiator is giving out a lot of heat.

• 散热器释放出很多热量 .

Questions for discussion (1)1) How did the author describe the day of the

earthquake?

2) Why do you think there was “no opposing the flames” , “no organization, no communication” , “no withstanding the onrush of the flames” after the earthquake and the fire occurred?

3) What is “the cunning adjustments of a twentieth-century city” and what are “the shrewd contrivances and safeguards of man”?

Questions for discussion (2)4) What is the main idea of Paragraph 7?

5) How did the people of San Francisco behave? Why was this so remarkable?

6) According to the author, why did those trunks break many men’s heart?

7) What did the picket lines do?

1) How did the author describe the day of the earthquake?

• He divides the day of the earthquake into three parts: morning, afternoon, and night.

• Morning --- at quarter past five came the earthquake, flames were leaping upward, fires started, streets were humped into ridges and depressions, steel rails were twisted, telephone and telegraph systems were disrupted.

• Afternoon --- half the heart of the city was gone, it was dead calm, strong winds were blowing upon the doomed city, heated air rising made an enormous suck.

• Night --- the very heart of the city was destroyed, dynamite was used, structures were crumbled by man himself into ruins, firefighters fought the flames. Wednesday night was a quiet night, no crowds, no hysteria, no disorder.

2) Why do you think there was “no opposing the flames” , “no organization, no communication” , “no withstanding the onrush of the flames” after the earthquake and the fire occurred?

• The city was struck by an earthquake registered 7.8 in the early morning, and though lasting only one minute, it put the streets, the steel rails, the telephone and telegraph systems and even water mains utterly out of control. In the afternoon, the fire turned into a vast conflagration because of the strong wind (caused by the heat) from all directions. It is not until the night that people started their fight against the fire. However, their attempt to dynamite the structures in order to stop the fire failed.

3) What is “the cunning adjustments of a twentieth-century city” and what are “the shrewd contrivances and safeguards of man”?

• Here they refer to all the scientific and technological inventions made by human intelligence, such as the modern constructions, transportation and communication systems, and defense works established against natural disasters, etc. Though people are “cunning” and “shrewd” , they are still too weak to fight against the mighty natural power. These two words are sarcastically used to emphasize the great disparity in strength between man and nature.

• 4) What is the main idea of Paragraph 7?• It is about the thorough destruction of the

whole city. In this paragraph, the author uses several parallel sentences to illustrate how completely the city was destroyed. Only a few buildings were left undestroyed, and the victims of the earthquake were hard to count. But even in such a horrible disaster, there still appeared so many deeds of heroism that they would also be hard to be recorded and rewarded.

5) How did the people of San Francisco behave? Why was this so remarkable?

• On “this night of terror” everyone was gracious, kind and courteous. They were not hysterical or disorganized. No one yelled. No one wept. No one was panic-stricken. Though thousands of people were fleeing with their possessions on this night of terror, everyone kept the most perfect courtesy. It was so remarkable because people didn’t show any sign of nervousness or fright in such a dangerous situation.

6) According to the author, why did those trunks break many men’s heart?

• Many a strong man dragged their possessions up those steep hills of San Francisco to flee. After toiling for a dozen hours, thousands of these exhausted people were compelled to abandon their trunks in order to keep their lives in the advancing flames.

• 7) What did the picket lines do?

• They walked before the advancing flames and stirred up the exhausted people to keep moving.

Part III (Paragraphs 14-16)• This part describes what happened the next

day, i. e. how the very heart of the doomed city was being completely destroyed by the spreading fire and why the surrender was complete.

Language Work39. Everything still stood intact.:

-- Everything still remained unbroken.

40. And against this wall of flame, silhouetted sharply, were two United Sates cavalrymen sitting their horses, calmly watching.: -- Two soldiers sat astride on their horses and watched the conflagration, their shapes contrasting sharply with the wall of flame when seen from their back.

41. Surrender was complete.: -- People completely gave themselves up to the enormous natural power of the earthquake and the fire.

42. In that direction stood the tottering walls of the Examiner Building ... : -- The walls of the Examiner Building were swaying in that direction ...

• 43. the smouldering ruins: -- the ruins still burning without flames

• (US smolder)

• a butt smouldering in the ashtray

• It took hours for the ruins to smoulder out.

• She smouldered silently with jealousy, ie did not express it openly. 她妒火中烧 .

44. gut: -- destroy the interior of something v.   取出内脏 ; 摧毁内部装置• Fire gutted the building.

45. devastate: destroy or ruin• towns and villages devastated by a long war

Questions for discussion1) What are the differences between the scene

of the very heart of the city at nine o’clock Wednesday evening and that at one o’clock the next morning?

2) Did people try to fight against the fire?

3) Why does the author say “Surrender was complete”?

1) What are the differences between the scene of the very heart of the city at nine o’clock Wednesday evening and that at one o’clock the next morning?

• At nine o’clock Wednesday evening, before the fire marched here, the very heart of the city was in perfect order with people strolling around. But it was doomed to face the disaster since two conflagrations were well on their way to it. At one o’clock in the morning after the conflagration swept down, all the people withdrew and the district was absolutely abandoned.

• 2) Did people try to fight against the fire?

• Since there was no water and dynamite to fight against the conflagration, people had to retreat and abandon all their possessions, buildings, and even the whole city. And what the firemen, policemen, troopers and the citizens could do was only watching as the disaster spread to every block of the city.

3) Why does the author say “Surrender was complete”?

• Because there was no water and dynamite and the conflagration was sweeping down everywhere, people could do nothing but wait for the fire to burn itself out, which means they had to give up completely in the face of natural power.

Text comprehension -II1. T. Refer to Paragraph 1. The earthquake brought

about a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of housing while the conflagration burned up hundreds of millions of dollars worth of property.

2. T. Refer to Paragraph 1, in which it is said that “There is no estimating within hundreds of millions the actual damage wrought”, meaning that it is impossible to estimate the actual damage within hundreds of millions of dollars.

• 3. F. Refer to Paragraph 6, where it is indicated that the purpose of man’s dynamiting the city was to prevent the advancement of the furious fire rather than maliciously destroy the city.

• 4. F. Refer to Paragraph 6, where it is shown that organized firefighters made efforts to combat the flames.

• 5. F. Refer to Paragraphs 11-12, which tell us that the men broke their heart over their trunks because they were compelled to abandon their trunks, which contained their family treasures and which they had been dragging along with great difficulty for a dozen hours.

• 6. T. Refer to Paragraphs 13-14, which show that twenty hours after the earthquake, miles and miles of magnificent buildings and skyscrapers still stood intact. They were reduced to rubble, however, by man with dynamite and by the fire.

Text comprehension -III1. What is meant by “all the cunning

adjustments of a twentieth-century city”?

• Refer to Paragraph 4. They refer to the shrewd man-made life conveniences and safeguards in San Francisco such as the streets, the steel rails, the telephone and telegraph systems.

2. Is it self-contradictory when the author writes “Not a flicker of wind stirred. Yet from ever side wind was pouring in upon the city”?

• No. Refer to Paragraph 5. Away from the burning city, it was dead calm. Inside it, however, the flames were going more and more rampant and the heated air became lighter and lighter and rose continuously. Thus a discrepancy of air pressure was formed. Consequently, under the higher pressure from outside, air was pouring in upon the city where the atmospheric pressure was lower.

3. How did man’s efforts to combat the conflagration turn out?

• Refer to Paragraph 6. It was very hard or even impossible for man to halt the advancement of the flames. Their efforts to combat the conflagration by building stands turned out to be useless.

4. Why does the author say “An enumeration of the dead – will never be made”?

• Refer to Paragraph 7. As the author sees it, it will be impossible to know the exact number of the victims of the earthquake because all their traces have been erased by the flames.

5. Can you tell any reason why lines of soldiers were flung before the march of the flames?

• Refer to Paragraph 11, which tells us that one of the tasks of the soldiers was to keep the trunk-pullers moving so as to reduce the loss of life in the disaster.

6. Why did man give in completely at the end of the campaign against the conflagration?

• Refer to Paragraph 16. Man had tried his best to fight against the flames, and yet the conflagration was getting all the more rampant. Moreover, water and dynamite, with which the firemen fought against the flames, were exhausted. As a result they had no choice but to admit defeat.

Paraphrase1. Except for some dwelling houses on its

outskirts, San Francisco is no more in the material world though it is still lingering in the memories of its dwellers.

2. ... it was very difficult or even impossible to resist the advancement of the flames.

3. The courageous and brave deeds in the firefighting would fill up a library if related in writing and exhaust the Carnegie medal fund if rewarded.

4. Sometimes all members of a family fastened themselves with straps to a carriage or delivery wagon that was heavily loaded with their possessions.

5. Two soldiers sat astride on their horses and calmly watched the conflagration, their shapes contrasting sharply with the wall of flame when seen from their back.

Structural analysis of the text• The topical sentence of this text is “There is no

estimating within hundreds of millions the actual damage wrought”, which appears in Paragraph 1. This topic is further developed in the following paragraphs by a chronological description of the author about the destruction caused by the earthquake and conflagrations, i. e. what happened to the city of San Francisco on Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, Wednesday evening and then early next morning.

• Furthermore, the author describes the physical destruction of the city first and then the quiet and calm reactions of the city dwellers.

Rhetorical features of the text• In Paragraphs 8 and 14 you can find similar

structures:• ... I saw not one woman who wept, not one man who

wax excited, not one person who was in the slightest degree panic-stricken. / There were no firemen, no fire-engines, no men fighting with dynamite.

• All these parallel sentences help to illustrate the destructive power of the earthquake and conflagrations.

Vocabulary exercises -I• 1. moved back and forth slowly

• 2. intelligent mechanical devices and protective measures

• 3. resisting

• 4. fill a library

• 5. polite or considerate in manner

• 6. threat

Grammar exercises -II1. Under no circumstances will we tolerate that.2. So absurd was his manner that everybody stared.3. Only with full agreement of everyone can we hope

to succeed. 4. Here is the book you want.5. Down sprang the cat.6. Sitting at the kitchen table was the misbehaving

child.7. Hidden in the cellar were several barrels of wine.8. Never have I seen such a mess.

Grammar exercises -V1. There is no telling what he’ll do.• There is no mentioning the exact number of the

victims in the accident.2. a) Partial Inversion• Not for one minute do I think \ have any hope of

getting promoted. • Visit our stores. Nowhere else will you find such

magnificent bargains.• Thus began an intricate minute between us and the

Japanese,

• b) Full Inversion

• Bang! bang! bang! came three reports of firecrackers and Philip suddenly felt his body become light.

• So dangerous were the avalanches that skiing had to be stopped.

• From the valley came a tinkling sound, a soothing moo, the lull of alien voices.

1. Determiners1.Central determiner: the, a(n), zero; this, that, these,

those; my, your, his, etc; John’s, the old man’s, etc. some, any, no, every, each, either, neither, enough; what(ever), which(ever), whose, etc.

2.Predeterminer: all, both, half, double, twice, three times, etc; one-third, two-thirds, etc; what, such (a), etc.

3.Postdeterminer: one, two, three, etc; first, second, third, etc; next, last, (an)other, etc; many, much, (a) few, (a) little, fewer, (the) fewest, less, (the) least, more, most; several, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, a great (large, good) number of, a great (good) deal of, a large (small) amount of; such, etc.

Order of determiners (rule)• all the four teachers前 中 后

• half his lecture• twice the strength• three times more food• all other students• many more books• those last few months• all these last few days前 中 后 后

determiners (confusing cases)• The first few evenings头几个晚上• A few first violins 几个第一小提琴手• 他的那个三哥 that third brother of his

• 我的一个伟大的朋友 a great friend of mine

• 五个这样的样品 these five samples

• 他的几个朋友 his few friends

such• As predeterminer

• such people; such a lot of money; such an action

• As postdeterminer• All such possibilities

• No such things

• Any such plan

• Several such teams

• Many such books 许多本这样的书

Number as determiner

• 序数词一般位于基数词之前• The first three chapters need to be rewritten.• The second five pupils are from Class Three.

• 例外：• He won three first prizes. 三个一等奖• They’ve booked five second cabins. 五个二等舱

位。

Translation -I1. My whole morning’s work has been put out

of gear by that mishap.

2. By hiding himself among the bushes, he at last flung off his pursuers.

3. We must make every effort to wipe out the injustice in the system.

4. The soldiers held on to that isolated position until reinforcements arrived.

5. In front of all the facts, he was compelled to admit that he had stolen that confidential document.

6. His inability to speak English puts him at a disadvantage when he attends international conferences.

7. They are about to harness some of their most sensitive technologies against cancer.

8. At the beginning of May 1945, it was clear even to the most zealous of Hitler’s followers that his “Thousand Year Reich” was doomed.

Translation -II• 19 世纪，南达科他州戴德伍德镇发现黄金

，吸引了许多心地善良或居心叵测、但都一心想发财的人，进而被称作是“胆小鬼决不敢动身前往，不中用的则死于途中”的地方。但是在戴德伍德镇，最出名的歹徒一直是一样东西：火灾。小镇建筑在陡峭的山坡上，下面深谷蜿蜒。假如发生火灾，这山谷就成了烟囱，把火焰一直吸上房屋。

• 在我们这个时代，大火再一次威胁过这个小镇。有一些废纸在山谷脚下烧着了，然后大火就熊熊而起，不到一个小时，火焰就穿过树顶。大风在森林中呼啸而过，几乎把火焰引到了小镇的边缘。惊慌失措的居民们准备离开，他们尽量多抓一些他们的财物，街头到处是衣服堆得很高的卡车。风向在变化，卡车也不断被迫改变它们的撤退路线。

• 消防队员奋不顾身地与火搏斗了 24小时，最后飞机也用上了。飞机开始用水“轰炸”大火，这样才阻止了大火的蔓延。大火开始减势，离开的人们回家了。他们看到山谷成了黑黑的一片，但他们的房屋仍然存在。戴德伍德镇终于从它最险恶的敌人手中得救了。

Text II Memories of … Earthquake and Fire 1. They are mutually supportive in the

following ways:1) They tell us the same time for the outbreak

of the earthquake, i. e. 5:15 a. m. , a Wednesday in 1906.

2) They give similar descriptions of the destructive force of the earthquake and the flames.

3) They give similar descriptions of the reactions of the victims.

2. In Text II, you can find a change of attitude on the part of an eight-year-old child in the following expressions and clauses: excited (Paragraph 4), was curious to see the nearest fire (Paragraph 6), saw many things that entertained ( Paragraph 9), the gravity of the situation (Paragraph 14), developed sober consciousness (Paragraph 16), sorry that others did not have the same transportation (Paragraph 17), realize as never before the importance of food, shelter and protection (Paragraph 18).

• In Text I, however, there is no such change of altitude on the part of the author because Jack London was old enough to know the gravity of the situation as soon as the earthquake began.

• Here is another point that deserves our attention, i. e. the way these two authors describe what they saw. As a professional writer, Jack London’ description is more sophisticatedly or ganized than DeWitt C. Baldwin’s in the way Jack London uses repetitious structures and inverted sentences and in the way he uses big words such as conflagration.

Vocabulary check1. （地区或群体的）边缘 2. 贫民区3. 残骸，碎片 4. 使成碎屑 5. 水平的，横的 6. 精明的，敏锐的7. 和善的，仁慈的 8.摧毁，彻底破坏9. 歇斯底里 10. 炸药11.列举 12. 痉挛，抽搐13. 发明（物） 14. 马具，挽具

Key to vocabulary1. Fringe 2. ghetto

3. Debris 4. crumble

5. Horizontal 6. shrewd

7. Gracious 8. devastate

9. Hysteria 10. dynamite

11. enumerate/enumeration 12. twitch

13. Contrivance 14. harness

Oral practice• Talk about the earthquake that happened in China. • Talk about other natural disasters and about the

precautions we can take to prevent or alleviate the possible damage and losses.

• Comment on the following sayings:1. Man can conquer nature.2. Man proposes; God disposes. 3. Calamity is man’s true touchstone. 灾难是考验人的试金石。

Facts and figures about China quake and relief

www.chinaview.cn 2008-05-26 22:00:56     BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the latest facts and

figures about the massive 8.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked southwest China's Sichuan Province on May 12:

    -- The death toll from the quake rose to 65,080 nationwide as of Monday noon, while 360,058 people were injured and 23,150 people were missing.

    -- Rescuers saved and evacuated 666,331 people to safe places, including 6,537 survivors buried under the rubble, as of Sunday midnight.

    -- Hospitals took in a total of 83,527 injured people, 53,247 of whom recovered and left as of Monday noon.

    -- Domestic and foreign donations had reached 30.88 billion yuan (4.48 billion U.S. dollars), up 1.82 billion yuan overnight. And 9.05 billion yuan had been forwarded to the earthquake-affected areas.

    -- A total of 495,997 tents, one of the most urgently needed relief supplies, had been delivered to quake regions.

    -- A total of 3,096,617 quilts and 5,214,626 garments had been sent to these regions.

    -- The government disaster relief fund reached 16.63 billion yuan (2.41 billion U.S. dollars) as of 2 p.m. Monday. The fund included 12.56 billion yuan from the central budget and 4.06 billion yuan from local budgets.

Winter storms leave Chinese dark, cold, hungry in "dead cities"

• www.chinaview.cn 2008-02-01 23:56:11  •     CHANGSHA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- With heavy snow snarling much of

China for the past three weeks, cutting power and disrupting transportation, people in many areas have been living in what they call "dead cities".

•     "Without water to cook and electricity for heat, life has become really inconvenient," said one freshman from Changsha University of Science and Technology, who had just returned to his home in Chenzhou, in southern Hunan. With the Spring Festival approaching, the student said, he didn't sense any holiday atmosphere.

•     In Hunan's capital city of Changsha, many shops, including several large supermarkets, were closed because of electricity shortages. Conditions in the city were similar to those elsewhere in weather-stricken areas. For example, at night, the city – with a population of 4.6 million -- was largely dark, except for lights in a few hotels. Those hotels were full of families who had brought electric heaters.

•  BEIJING, June 3, 2009 (Xinhua) -- China expected to receive seed viruses of A/H1N1 influenza from the World Health Organization (WHO) within this week and will start producing vaccines in mid June, said the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) here Wednesday.

•     If the transport of seed viruses and production of vaccines go smoothly, the country will have its first batch of A/H1N1 influenza vaccines as early as in late July, said Yin Hongzhang, head of the SFDA biology production office, in an interview with Xinhua.

•     “We are still waiting for the WHO to make the decision on whether A/H1N1 flu should be categorized as seasonal or pandemic ( 全国流行的 )," Yin said.

•     China has 11 flu vaccines manufacturers, but only one of them is qualified to produce pandemic vaccines.

•     If it is a seasonal flu vaccine, the first batch will be 3 million doses and annual production can reach 360 million. But, for a pandemic vaccine, the first batch will only be 250,000 doses and annual production will be 27 million, he said.

China prepared as worst months for hand-foot-mouth disease lie ahead

• BEIJING, June 11,2010 (Xinhua) -- China is well prepared to fight the spread of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) as peak season for the virus begins, a Health Ministry spokesman said Friday.

• Deng Haihua, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said at a press conference here, it was important to stop HFMD from spreading as it has a high mortality and is a threat to children's health.

• China reported 186 deaths from HFMD in May, 11 more than that in April. The number of total HFMD cases reached 354,347 in May, a 43 percent increase from April.

• Medical experts said the virus peaks during the hotter months in China, or from May to July.

• Deng said the ministry had dispatched medical experts as supervisors to disease-endemic regions and would train more medical staff specialized in HFMD prevention and treatment, especially at rural health facilities.

• Speaking about the potential of an A/H1N1 flu outbreak, Deng said A/H1N1 cases represented a decreasing share of total flu-like cases.

• "By autumn this year when a new round of influenza might strike, A/H1N1 flu could be downgraded to a seasonal flu," he said.

• China reported 48 cases of A/N1N1 flu and one death in May.

Floods kill 365 in China this year• BEIJING, June 24, 2010 (Xinhua) -- Until 8:00 a.m. Thursday, floods had

killed 365 people in China this year and 147 remained missing, according to the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH).

• Further, the death toll caused by floods was more than double the annual average since 2000, said the SFDH.

• The economic losses attributed to the flooding reached 70.9 billion yuan (10.4 billion U.S. dollars), more than triple the annual average losses from floods since 2000.

• Till 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, 100,000 people in flood-battered east China's Jiangxi Province had been evacuated and no report of casualties had been received, according to flood control officials Thursday.

• In other developments, the Fuhe River in Fuzhou City breached its bank again early Wednesday, two days after a dike on another section of the river burst, forcing the evacuation of residents, according to the SFDH.

• The office had gradually shifted the focus of its work to assuring adequate housing for those who had been evacuated, officials said.

• NANCHANG, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of workers and soldiers will Friday start shoring up two breached river dikes in east China's Jiangxi Province, authorities said Thursday, as floods that have killed 211 people ravaged the south of the country for a tenth day.

• The Fuhe River in Fuzhou City breached its banks for a second time early Wednesday, two days after a dike on another section of the river burst, forcing the evacuation of 100,000 people, according to the provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

• The breaches were expected to be fixed in six days, but continuing heavy rains could undermine the efforts.

• "Workers are battling to build a road to transport stones and other materials and we plan to block the breaches in six days," said a spokesman with the headquarters.

• The goal was to let the evacuees return to their homes on July 2, but continuing rain in the area could delay the completion.

• Torrential rain had further drenched Fuzhou since Wednesday night and was still pouring down at Thursday noon.

• The first breach in the dike was about 400 meters wide and the second was slightly smaller.

• A landslide carrying 50,000 cubic meters of debris hit Qingfeng River in Fengcheng City Wednesday, threatening the safety of 500,000 people in Fengcheng and Zhangshu cities, of Jiangxi.

• The debris could block the flow and cause a lake, which could easily burst with dire consequences, said a spokesman of Jiangxi Provincial Land and Resources Department.

• By 2 p.m. Thursday, two thirds of the debris had been removed and Qingfeng River dike has been strengthened with sandbags and stones, said Su Rong, secretary of the provincial committee of the Communist Party of China.

Oral practice• Talk about the earthquake that happened in China. • Talk about other natural disasters and about the

precautions we can take to prevent or alleviate the possible damage and losses.

• Comment on the following sayings:1. Man can conquer nature.2. Man proposes; God disposes. 3. Calamity is man’s true touchstone. 灾难是考验人的试金石。