（全新版）大学英语《综合教程》第四册（全新版）大学英语《综合教程》第四册 Unit 2Unit 2

Smart CarsSmart Cars

I. Warm-up activities• Task 1: Free writing (5minutes)

Continue to write the sentence by giving your reasons for not driving a car.

“Even if I could afford a car, I would not actually want to drive one because…”

I. Warm-up activities• Task 2: Discussion

The topic of the unit we are going to study today is “Smart Cars”. Discuss the following questions with your partner:

• In your opinion, what is a smart car?

• What will the cars of the future be like?

I. Warm-up activitiesTask 3: Topic-related Listening• You are going to listen to a passage entitled “Cars of

the Future”. Write down some important features about cars of the future.

• Tips: • -- cleaner: electrically powered, environmentally clean• -- safer: controlled by computer; impossible for cars to

crash into each other• -- more comfortable: a versatile interior with the adults

and children in a family circle

• What kind of car will we be driving in 2010? Rather different from the type we know today, with the next 20 years bringing greater change than the past 50.

• Their vision is of a machine with three wheels instead of four, electrically powered, environmentally clean, and able to drive itself along "intelligent" roads equipped with built-in power suppliers. Future cars will pick up their fuel during long journeys from a power source built into the road, or store it in small quantities for traveling in the city.

• Instead of today‘s seating arrangements -- two in front, two or three behind, all facing forward -- the 2010 car will have a versatile ( 多功能的 ) interior ( 内部 ) with adults and children in a family circle.

• This view of the future car is based on a much more sophisticated road system, with strips built into motorways to supply power to vehicles passing along them. Cars will not need drivers, because computers will provide safe driving control and route finding. All the driver will have to do is say where to go and the computer will do the rest. It will become impossible for cars to crash into one another. The technology already exists for the car to become a true automobile.

General MotorsRobots perform repetitive, high-precision operations 24 hours a day without fatigue. Robots on this automobile assembly line weld body parts together. The General Motors Corporation uses about 16,000 robots to weld, assemble, and paint automobiles.

A Navstar SatelliteA total of 24 GPS satellites orbit overhead and provide accurate positioning and navigation information for both military and civilian use. Solar cells power each satellite and its atomic clocks. Antennas on a satellite continuously transmit timing information from the clocks. The signals can be picked up and processed by a GPS receiver to determine exact location and altitude.

GPS SystemThe Navstar Global Positioning System (GPS) is a network of 24 satellites in orbit around the earth that provides users with information about their position and movement. A GPS receiver computes position information by comparing the time it takes for signals from three or four different GPS satellites to reach the receiver.

Compound Dictation• The automobile industry is one of the most important industries in the world, 1) ______

not only economies but also cultures. It provides jobs for millions of people, generates billions of dollars in worldwide 2) ______, and provides the basis for a multitude of 3) ______ service and support industries. Automobiles revolutionized 4) ______ in the 20th century, changing forever the way people live, travel, and do business.

• Between 1886 and 1898, about 300 automobiles were built, but there was no real established industry. A century later, with automakers and auto buyers 5) ______ globally, automaking became the world's largest manufacturing activity, with more than 53 million new 6) ______ built each year worldwide.

• 7) _______________________________________________________. These companies often share parts, or use parts made in foreign factories. 8) ____________________________________________________. The three major automobile manufacturers in the United States--General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Daimler Chrysler AG--provide three fourths of the industry's total direct employment in the United States.

Keys1. affecting2. revenues3. related4. transportation5. expanding6. vehicles7. Automobile manufacturers are among the largest companies in

the world. These corporations are often multinational.8. The U.S. automobile industry produced 16.8 million vehicles in

1999.

Part One Paras 1-3

Part Two Paras 4-9

Part Three Paras 10-13

Text Organization

New technology will have a dramatic impact on cars and highways in the 21st century.

With the aid of advanced technology, smart cars will be so designed that they can help eliminate traffic accidents, determine their own precise locations and warn of traffic jams.

GPS and “ telematics” will make it possible to build smart highways, which will benefit us in more than one way.

• II. Text Study: Part 1• Task 1: Read the 1st three paragraphs and summarize t

he main idea of this part.

• Part One (Paras 1-3): New technology will have a dramatic impact on cars and highways in the 21st century.

• Important details:

1) According to the author, the automobile industry is the world’s ___________ manufacturing industry, but the cars, and the roads it travels on, will be _____________ in the 21st century.

2) Smart cars in the future will be able to ______ and _______ and ______ and ______ and ______ and act.

biggest

feelhear smellsee

revolutionized

talk

• Key words & expressions in this part1. presently: (esp US) at present, now; after a short time; soon• Examples: 1) She will arrive presently. • 她一会儿就到。 2) We presently have no plans to expand our business overs

eas, but that may well change in the future. 3) 她现在正在写一本书。 She is presently writing a book. 2. manufacture: make goods on a large scale using machinery Examples: Britain now manufactures approximately 40 per c

ent of Europe's desktop computers. Ford has been manufacturing cars for nearly a hundred yea

rs. manufacturer n. 制造商，厂家

Sentences to Remember

• 1. (Para 2) The automobile industry ranks as among the most the lucrative and powerful industries of the twentieth century.

• 汽车工业是 20 世纪最赚钱、最有影响的产业之一。• 他是班上最好的学生之一。• rank v.

名列…，位居…，列为… The magazine ranked a lowly 52nd among British publications.

• He ranks among the top students in his class.

• 2. (Para 2) Sales of the automobile industry stand at about a trillion dollars, making it the world’s biggest manufacturing industry.

• stand at 处于…状况，处于…数量

• Inflation currently stands at nine per cent.• Your bank balance stands at $460.• 汽车工业的销售额达一万亿美元左右，从而成

为世界上最大的制造业。• 3. (Para 3) The cars, and the roads it travels on, wil

l be revolutionized in the twenty-first century.• 汽车及其行驶的道路，将在 21 世纪发生重大变革。

• Text Study: Part 2• Task 2: Read Paras 4-6 and complete the following sentences:

1) A smart car will be able to eliminate _______________________ by monitoring one’s driving and the driving conditions nearby.

2) In case of drunk-driving, the electronic sensors in the car can __________ alcoholic vapor in the air, and __________________________.

3) If a driver makes a serious driving mistake, the computer will ___________________________.

4) Smart cars can alert the police and ____________________________.

5) Smart cars can __________________.

most of the car accidents

pick uprefuse to start up the engine

sound an immediate warning

provide precise location if stolenwarn of traffic jams

• Text Study: Part 2

• Part Two (Paras 4-9): With the aid of advanced technolog

y, smart cars will be so designed that they can help eliminate

traffic accidents, determine their own precise locations and

warn of traffic jams.

• Key words & expressions in this part• 3. approximately: about• Examples: 1) Approximately $150 million is to be spent on impro

vements on school buildings. • 2) The car accident happened at approximately 7:45 a.m.• 4. eliminate: remove, esp. sb./sth. that is not wanted or needed; g

et rid of (used in the patterns: eliminate sth.; eliminate sth. from sth.) 消灭；消除；排除

• Examples: eliminate errors 消除错误• eliminate corruption 消除腐败• eliminate the possibility of… 排除…可能性

• The Chinese government approved a new plan to eliminate illiter

acy ( 文盲） nationwide by 2006.

• 5. in the air: in the earth’s atmosphere; uncertain, not yet decided 在空中； ( 计划等 ) 悬而未决

• Examples: There is a peculiar smell in the air.

• Hundreds of birds suddenly rose in the air.

• Our plans are still in the air.

• 6. start up: 发动 , 开动• Examples: Peter looked in his mirror and started up the engin

e.

• 7. alert: warn sb. that there may be danger, trouble, etc. 使警觉 / 惕，使注意

• (used in the patterns: alert sb.; alert sb. to sth.)

• Example: 医生警告我注意吸烟的危险。 • The doctor alerted me to the dangers of smoking.

• 8. monotonous: dull and never changing or varying; constant and boring 单调的，一成不变的

• Examples: a monotonous task / job

• The monotonous voice sent me to sleep.

• In the 1970s we had a monotonous diet of rice and vegetables.

• 9. get / be stuck in (sth.): be unable to move or to be moved 停留，被阻塞

• Examples: I was stuck in the traffic yesterday for about one hour. That's why I missed the plane.

• I was stuck at home with flu.

• 10. frequency: the rate at which sth. happens or is repeated

• 频率，次数• Examples: My computer broke down with increasing frequen

cy.

• frequent adj. 时常发生的 , 频繁的• 11. convert: change from one form or use to another (follo

wed by into / to) 使转变，使改变• Examples: convert a forest into farmland 把森林变成耕地• convert the sun's rays into heat energy

• convert defeat into victory 转败为胜• 那座楼房改成学校了。 • That building has been converted into a school.

• 12. correlate: have a mutual relationship or connection (followed by with/to) 使相互关联

• correlate A to B: 使 A 与 B 相关

• Locate a car’s position by correlating the rotations in the steering wheel to its position on a map. 将方向盘的转动与汽车在地图上的位置的相关并置来测定汽车的方位。

• Example: A mother's smoking in pregnancy correlates with low birth weight in her baby.

• Difficult Sentences • 1. (Para 4) The number of people that are killed or badly injur

ed in car accidents is so vast that we don’t even bother to mention them in the newspapers anymore.

• 在汽车事故中死亡或严重受伤的人数太多，我们已经不屑在报纸上提及。

• 2. (Para 6) The monotonous, almost hypnotic process of staring at the center divider for long hours is a grossly underestimated, life-threatening hazard.

• 一连数小时注视着分道线这样一个单调、几乎能催眠的过程是被严重低估的威胁生命安全的重大隐患。

• 3. (Para 7) Sensors in you car tuned to radio signals from orbiting satellites can locate your car precisely at any moment and warn of traffic jams.“…tuned to radio signals from orbiting satellites”: a post attribute of the noun in front of it

• 你汽车上与绕轨道运行的卫星发出的无线电信号调谐的传感器能随时精确地确定你汽车的方位，并告知对方交通阻塞情况。

• tune vt. 调谐，收听，收看

• Text Study: Part 3

• Part Three (Paras 10-13): GPS and “telematics” wil

l make it possible to build smart highways, which wil

l benefit us in more than one way.

Key words & expressions in this part• 13. application: the action or an instance of putting a theory,

discovery , etc to practical use• Examples: an application of a new method 新方法的实施• They have made a new invention which will have a variety o

f applications in industry.• The application of the new invention will bring great profits

to the company.• 14.  be poised to (do): be ready to take action at any moment• 做好准备随时（做…）• Examples: The automobile company is poised to launch its

new advertising campaign.• It is reported that US forces are poised to attack Iran.

• 15. take control of: control• Examples: The new manager didn't know how to take control

of his company.• The government has taken control of all the newspapers.• 16. incorporate: make (sth.) part of a whole 将…包括进去• Example: His newly published book incorporates his earlier es

say.• 17. expansion: the process of becoming greater in size, extent

or importance 扩大；扩展；发展• Examples: expansion of output 扩大产量• expansion of the school building 扩大学校建筑• Under heat the metal undergoes considerable expansion.• expand v.

• Difficult Sentences • 1. (Para. 10) With the price of microchips dropped so dras

tically, future applications of GPS are virtually limitless. “The commercial industry is poised to explode.”

• 随着芯片价格的大幅度下降，未来对全球卫星定位系统的应用几乎是无限的。“制造这一商品的工业定会飞速发展。”

• 2. (Para. 11) GPS is actually but part of a larger movement, called “telematics,” which will eventually attempt to put smart cars on smart highways.

• 全球卫星定位系统其实只是“远程信息学”这一更大行动的一部分，这一行动最终将把智能汽车送上智能高速公路。

• 3. (Para. 12) The plan calls for computers, aided by thousands of three-inch magnetic spikes buried in the highway, to take complete control of the driving of cars on heavily trafficked roads. Cars will be bunched into groups of ten to twelve vehicles, only six feet apart, traveling in unison, and controlled by computer.

• 这一计划要求计算机在公路上埋设的数千个 3 英寸长的磁钉的协助下，在车辆极多的路段完全控制车辆的运行。车辆会编成 10 到 12 辆一组，车距 6 英尺，在计算机的控制下一起行驶。

• Spot Dictation: Listen to the talk carefully and write down the missing words.

Culture shock is ____________________________ when they encounter different ways of life in another culture. It often happens to people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. The foreign culture ____________________________________ that they may become extremely anxious. They may find it hard to ____________________________, customs and value systems there. Sometimes they may ________________________ and confused as to what is proper and what is not proper, and even what is right and what is wrong.

• Spot Dictation: In what way can we cope with culture shock?

There are several things we can do to prevent or reduce the negative effects of culture shock. Before we enter a strange culture, we can learn about it and ___________________________________. When we are in a new culture, we should _______________________ towards people and things, and try to __________________________. When we run into problems, we should not panic but keep calm, and try to _________________________. Finally, if we are going to have a long stay in the culture, we should make an effort to ___________________________________ and make ourselves comfortable there.

• Spot Dictation: Listen to the talk carefully and write down the missing words.

Culture shock is ____________________________ when they encounter different ways of life in another culture. It often happens to people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. The foreign culture ____________________________________ that they may become extremely anxious. They may find it hard to ____________________________, customs and value systems there. Sometimes they may ________________________ and confused as to what is proper and what is not proper, and even what is right and what is wrong.

a painful feeling people experience

has such a strong impact on newcomers

understand people’s behavior

feel like fish out of water

• Spot Dictation: In what way can we cope with culture shock?

There are several things we can do to prevent or reduce the negative effects of culture shock. Before we enter a strange culture, we can learn about it and ___________________________________. When we are in a new culture, we should _______________________ towards people and things, and try to __________________________. When we run into problems, we should not panic but keep calm, and try to _________________________. Finally, if we are going to have a long stay in the culture, we should make an effort to ___________________________________ and make ourselves comfortable there.

prepare ourselves for the new experience

maintain an open attitudeadjust to the new environment

get assistance from the natives

gradually blend in the new surroundings